I'm hoping my father will enjoy this Christmas coin

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

There's zilch chance Dad will read this forum so there's very little chance of spoiling the surprise.

It's not the main present, just the coin part.   The piece is very respectable, having a nice patina and pretty decent details.

Also many thanks to Aegean Numismatics. It arrived very rapidly.  I should be able to inspect the actual piece once my hands become sufficently dry. I had just washed dishes when it arrived.

9.91g, 26.5mm
Radiate bust of Augustus left "DIVVS AVGVSTVS PATER"
Altar, with closed, double panelled door, "PROVIDENT SC"
RIC I 81 (Tiberius)
Ex CNG eAuction 519, lot 389 with tag.

The second one is for myself.  It's homely but I had wanted an Alexander Zabinas and his silver issues are generally fairly pricey.

1.61g, 11.5mm
Diademed head of Alexander II Zabinas right
Nike advancing left, holding a wreath and palm. Monograms to inner left.
SC 2224.d

[kirispupis]

The Augustus coin should make an excellent gift, though if I were giving it to my father I'd probably leave out what "divus" means. 🙂

Recently I gave ancient coins as gifts to several of my relatives. All were also purchased from Aegean. I don't have any photos because they aren't my coins.

My uncle, whose family is from southern Italy, received a Sybaris diobol.

One cousin, who loves horses, received a Carthage coin with a horse.

My aunt, whose nickname is "Godzilla", received a Julia Maesa denarius.

Another cousin, who loves dolphins, received a Sinope drachm.

Another cousin received an Antoninus Pius Vesta denarius.

And another cousin, who collects coins himself, received a post-lifetime Alexander drachm from Kolophon.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Those are very thoughtful presents!

 

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Nice idea. Unfortunately when I show my mom a coin the only thing she says is "Oh, that's nice." Otherwise no curiousity or interest at all.

[Al Kowsky]

15 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

There's zilch chance Dad will read this forum so there's very little chance of spoiling the surprise.

It's not the main present, just the coin part.   The piece is very respectable, having a nice patina and pretty decent details.

Also many thanks to Aegean Numismatics. It arrived very rapidly.  I should be able to inspect the actual piece once my hands become sufficently dry. I had just washed dishes when it arrived.

9.91g, 26.5mm
Radiate bust of Augustus left "DIVVS AVGVSTVS PATER"
Altar, with closed, double panelled door, "PROVIDENT SC"
RIC I 81 (Tiberius)
Ex CNG eAuction 519, lot 389 with tag.

The second one is for myself.  It's homely but I had wanted an Alexander Zabinas and his silver issues are generally fairly pricey.

1.61g, 11.5mm
Diademed head of Alexander II Zabinas right
Nike advancing left, holding a wreath and palm. Monograms to inner left.
SC 2224.d

I love the patina on Augustus bronze 😍. I'm sure the "old man" will like the coin if you present it with some written history 😉.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

He's collected off and on, mainly budget coins.  I'm pretty happy with my choice.  It's a nice side present.

The patina was also the clincher, for me.

 

[Greekcoin21]

I wish my son would buy me a similar coin

[LONGINUS]

 

Great coins and post @Nerosmyfavorite68!

 

Here is my Alexander Zabinas.

 

 

 

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I finally opened up the coin (three days later, lol).  The Augustus looks nice.  It's not as vivid as the pic; the green is more muted, but it's still nice.

Well, my Christmas shopping kind of got thrown for a loop.  He doesn't want gift cards, so I was thinking about a coin as the main present, too.

Drat, London Ancients is out of the office until Dec. 10th. (they've been out pretty often in the past couple of months), so that's one main source that's out.

Savoca doesn't have quite the selection LAC has (although still a lot), and it's a bit harder to navigate (they got a bit lazy with the sidebar - it's 'Imperial', not Augustus-Claudius, etc.  The pricing is also kind of all over the board. There's a bunch of reasonbly-priced ones, though some of the most recent additions are way too high for the types, in my opinion.

I'm doing a general search by price.  I should look around before just jumping on a coin there, however.

He wants a coin with a ruler/emperor on the obverse.  Roman Republic is out.  So, that kind of leaves Hellenistic and Roman. 

I was looking at Nero recently and price inflation has really hit.  One's hard-pressed to find an imperial, as or above, AE below $300 that's not crummy.

Or, I guess a wildcard could be a huge King Louis medallion, like I got mom. 

[Furryfrog02]

That is a great coin! That green patina is beautiful. If I were your dad, I'd love it. 
PS - do you need another one? I'm looking to adopt haha.

[Qcumbor]

I'm positive your dad will love the coin. It's an interesting cointype and the patina is gorgeous, well done !

Q

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

The patina is closer to forest green.  It's slightly less attractive than the photo (just because the colors just popped in the photo), but it's still quite nice for the money.

I'm still trawling around for the 'main.'  I'm even looking at French medallions.  However, I just don't have the expertise to know if a restrike is an old one or not, besides avoiding the really new-looking ones.  Some of the patinas do look old.

Perhaps I should just play safe and keep it ancient. The current contenders are a Domitian denarius in VF/F+, with a bold portrait and very nice toning (the latter is why I'm looking at it - it's nice, but slightly overpriced, IMO) or a Demetrius I Tetradrachm.  The price difference is around 60 bucks.  The Demetrius probably has more 'wow factor.'

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

For the 'main' coin present I ended up going with a purchase from Musa, a Nero/Claudius Antioch Tetradrachm.  I think Dad should enjoy it. Many thanks to Musa, by the way.  The shipping was lightning-fast and the envelope perfect.  The coin's much more handsome in person.

It's a good 'two-fer'.  Dad only had a $9 Nero Alexandrian Tet (which wasn't horrible for 9 bucks).  This is about the only truly affordable Claudius in silver. The piece is a decent Fine/Fine plus.

 

[DonnaML]

3 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

For the 'main' coin present I ended up going with a purchase from Musa, a Nero/Claudius Antioch Tetradrachm.  I think Dad should enjoy it. Many thanks to Musa, by the way.  The shipping was lightning-fast and the envelope perfect.  The coin's much more handsome in person.

It's a good 'two-fer'.  Dad only had a $9 Nero Alexandrian Tet (which wasn't horrible for 9 bucks).  This is about the only truly affordable Claudius in silver. The piece is a decent Fine/Fine plus.

 

 

A very attractive coin!

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Thanks much!  Your coin cabinet is very enviable! What a wonderful top dozen list.

I'm actually pleased he went back into coins.  It's more satisfying than gift cards.

It is a bit embarrassing, however, when I walk in with tiny boxes.  I always wait til last to open my tiny box.  The coin is always my favorite.

My humble gifts can't compare to their generosity; a new car and new den windows.  I do the best I can.  Dad is always pleased when I find his obscure DVDs, however.  I'm very grateful for my folks.

The glassblock windows have made the once-leaky den (fireplaces are completely useless - it was a complete liability for 50 years) so efficient that it kind of messed up the furnace. I had to buy extra sensors in order for the furnace to kick on enough, and disable the den sensor. 

I bought other gifts, of course, but I feel I really need to do more.  My mom's really not into coins and collectibles, although she'll appreciate the Louis medal I purchased (she is into history).  They're hard to shop for. 

Perhaps a last-minute tremissis for Dad and figure something out for my mother?

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Nerosmyfavorite68