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Count Nervula. Post Your Worn Horrors!


John Conduitt

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Yikes.

This is my first Nerva, so I'm not going to complain. Too much. I have a rule that any Roman coin I buy must be found in Britain, and for the early Empire, this usually means they're very worn.

Some emperors have the face for it - Domitian 'wears' it well, Titus hardly looks any different, and Galba is the boss. Nero looks like a potato, but he does anyway. Nerva, on the other hand, turns into some sort of ghoul. Here, he looks like he has a torch beneath his chin and is scaring little children with tales of vampiric blood lust.

Nerva Denarius, 96

Nerva.jpg.f9b363f790d58f72041c0be224cd72ea.jpg

Rome. Silver, 16mm, 2.84g. Head of Nerva, laureate, right; IMP NERVA CAES AVG PM TR P COS II P P. Aequitas, draped, standing left, holding scales in right hand and cornucopiae in left; AEQVITAS AVGVST (RIC II, 1 (denarius)). Found Tyne and Wear.

Post your eroded emperors!

Edited by John Conduitt
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Here's Galba, looking very distinguished.

Galba Denarius, 68-69image.png.0993c46a6d9dd025a4c3296873b7af86.pngRome. Silver, 16x17mm, 3.03g. Bare head of Galba right; IMP SER GALBA AVG. Oak wreath, S P Q R, OB C S (RIC I, 167). From the Westbury Sub Mendip (Somerset) Hoard 2016, Portable Antiquities Scheme: SOM-F1847A.

Edited by John Conduitt
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@John Conduitt, your photo isn't showing up for me in this post for some reason.  But your Galba came through fine (and looks good to me!).

Here is a horrific dead Nerva I got a while ago.  He looks dead and decayed, but this is kind of rare, so I'm happy with it:

image.jpeg.cab2eb8b99fc0541869273e42da9cae1.jpeg

Trajan (for Divus Nerva) Æ 31
(98-102 A.D.)
Perinthos, Thrace

[NEPOV]AΣ ΘEOΣ ΣE[BAΣTOΣ], laureate head of Nerva right / ΠER[IN]ΘIΩN,
Homonoia standing left, holding phiale and cornucopiae.
RPC III 684; Varbanov 43; Schönert-Geiss 312-4; BMC 18.
(21.84 grams / 31 x 29 mm)
eBay April 2022
Countermark: Unclear on obverse bust; eagle facing? This countermark is found on
many issues from Thrace.
Obv. die-match (Note heavy brow ridge, lettering):
Numismatik Lanz München Auction 144; Lot 462; 24.11.2008
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=551540
Gorny & Mosch Giessener Auction 134; Lot 1855; 11.10.2004
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=191941

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10 hours ago, Marsyas Mike said:

@John Conduitt, your photo isn't showing up for me in this post for some reason.  But your Galba came through fine (and looks good to me!).

Thank you. It's tricky because it shows for me, but I noticed the one not showing didn't have a little 'uploaded images' bit below the post when I edit it. Hopefully it works now!

Edited by John Conduitt
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9 hours ago, Marsyas Mike said:

Here is a horrific dead Nerva I got a while ago.  He looks dead and decayed, but this is kind of rare, so I'm happy with it

Yes that is horrifying 🤣

9 hours ago, JayAg47 said:

Elagabalus and Aelius denarii, can't complain for 8 and 20 bucks each

That is the good thing about these. Mine is apparently so bad I've sold some of the other coins from the lot it came in for more than the lot cost. So the Nerva actually has negative value and the seller paid me to have it 😁

 

8 hours ago, CPK said:

Worn, but attractive (IMO)

Yes this is Nerva looking pretty good when worn.

Edited by John Conduitt
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A couple of worn Nerva denarii:

[IMG]
Nerva, AD 96-98.
Roman AR denarius, 3.18 g, 17.5 mm, 7 h.
Rome, AD 96, shortly after 18 September.
Obv: IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P COS II P P, laureate head, right.
Rev: FORTVNA AVGVST, Fortuna, draped, standing left, holding rudder in right hand and cornucopia in left hand.
Refs: RIC 4; BMCRE 10-11; RSC/Cohen 59; RCV --; CBN --.

[IMG]
Nerva, AD 96-98.
Roman AR denarius, 2.65 g, 17.1 mm, 6 h.
Rome, 18 Sept - Dec AD 97.
Obv: IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P II COS III P P, radiate head, right.
Rev: LIBERTAS PVBLICA, Liberty standing left, holding pileus and scepter.
Refs: RIC 31; BMCRE 61; Cohen 117; RCV --; ERIC II 83.

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My collecting strategy doesn't refuse worn coins. As long as they can be attributed. From the profitability point of view, this is wrong (but I don't intend to sell my coins on short/medium term). But rather than spending, let's say, x EUR for a coin in good condition, I prefer to buy 4-5 similar coins.

I like the OP coin. And I find it very interesting as it's the first Nerva coin in RIC.

Here is one of my Nerva coins.

image.png.25b63208f33d4f39c89cc3ae79844c68.png

Nerva AD 96-98. Rome As Æ 27 mm, 9,76 g
RIC II Nerva 100 (as)
Date: AD 97
Obv: [IMP NERVA] CAES AVG P M [TR P II COS III P P], Head of Nerva, laureate, right / LIBERT[AS PVBLICA] S C, Libertas, draped, standing left, holding pileus in right hand and short sceptre, pointing up slightly to right, in left hand

 

Nerva looks disappointed on this.

 

dis.gif

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7 hours ago, ambr0zie said:

Nerva looks disappointed on this.

He does. I have no idea how a bust on a coin can express so many unintended emotions 🤣

3 hours ago, Oldhoopster said:

Lots of worn horrors in the "Oldhoopster Cluster".

I can't see any horrors 😉 Some of them are really nice.

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"Zombie Valeria"

(19)Valeria.jpg.0a2ac9c61578c47307a96b8907879a71.jpg

Galeria Valeria. Augusta. (AD 293-311). Æ Follis. (25mm, 4.26g). Heraclea mint.
2nd officina. Struck circa (AD 309-310).
O: GAL VALERIA AVG; Draped bust right, wearing stephane.
R: VENERI VICTRICI; Venus standing left, holding up apple and raising drapery over shoulder; HTB(mintmark) in exergue.

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1 minute ago, Herodotus said:

"Zombie Valeria"

(19)Valeria.jpg.0a2ac9c61578c47307a96b8907879a71.jpg

Galeria Valeria. Augusta. (AD 293-311). Æ Follis. (25mm, 4.26g). Heraclea mint.
2nd officina. Struck circa (AD 309-310).
O: GAL VALERIA AVG; Draped bust right, wearing stephane.
R: VENERI VICTRICI; Venus standing left, holding up apple and raising drapery over shoulder; HTB(mintmark) in exergue.

Wow, that is a sinister looking coin. Considering it has Venus on it!

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Usually I don’t collect coins that are too heavily worn. But I’ll make an exception for this Julius Caesar denarius because it’s Caesar. The low grade was why I could afford this coin:

image.jpeg.d5d786b06b7a68d42b3216a99b00b21c.jpeg

3.16g, 17mm Diademed head of Venus right Aeneas advancing left, holding plladium and carrying Anchises on his shoulder. "CAESAR" RSC 12

Ex. Aegean Numismatics 

 

I also got a worn Galba denarius that has a decent portrait, though it has a few edge chips or flan flaws:

image.jpeg.fe6dd3cb56f286081eda96d0e9ea41b8.jpeg

Galba. 68-69 AD. AR Denarius (19mm; 2.84 gm; 6h). Rome mint. Struck August-October 68 AD. Obv: IMP SER GALBA AVG, bare head right. Rev: SPQR/OB/CS in three lines within oak-wreath. RIC I 167; RSC 287.

Ex. Akropolis Coins

Edited by MrMonkeySwag96
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Especially worn large coins can be very beautiful, and I prefer them to smoothed or over cleaned coins. 

Also some of the denarii shown here in this thread are still beautiful coins.

 

One of my worn, but beautiful Faustinas 

 

Faustina_II_36.jpg.8ca913587efe2ff0f32515293416903e.jpg

 

Faustina II
Sestertius
Obv.: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, Draped bust right, wearing stephane, hair in chignon at the back of the head.
Rev.: SAECVLI FELICIT / S - C, The twins T. Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus and Commodus facing on throne
AE, 23.94g, 32.2mm
Ref.: RIC 1665, C 193

Edited by shanxi
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1 hour ago, shanxi said:

Especially worn large coins can be very beautiful, and I prefer them to smoothed or over cleaned coins. 

Also some of the denarii shown here in this thread are still beautiful coins.

 

One of my worn, but beautiful Faustinas 

 

Faustina_II_36.jpg.8ca913587efe2ff0f32515293416903e.jpg

 

Faustina II
Sestertius
Obv.: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, Draped bust right, wearing stephane, hair in chignon at the back of the head.
Rev.: SAECVLI FELICIT / S - C, The twins T. Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus and Commodus facing on throne
AE, 23.94g, 32.2mm
Ref.: RIC 1665, C 193

Sestertii seem more often than not to be very worn, but still look good. Maybe it's the way the metal looks like warm chocolate.

Commodus VICT BRIT Commemorative Sestertius, 184image.png.a4606fc491fe6552a2403151ce829fb3.pngRome. Bronze, 29.5mm, 22.61g. Laureate head right; M COMMODVS ANTON AVG PIVS BRIT. Victory, winged, draped, seated right on shields, cradling palm frond in right arm, inscribing shield set on knee and held in place by left hand, two shields on ground to left; P M TR P VIIII IMP VII COS IIII P P S C; VICT BRIT in exergue (RIC III, 440).

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In the early 2000s, I used to buy low end bulk lots on eBay.  I posted some of the low end stuff here.  Also have middle of the road VG-F Denarii as well.  Maybe not the best as a collection, but I got a lot of practice attributing the using RIC, Sear, and Van Meter. 

Also have lots of low end LRB that I attributed with RIC (that was a challenge). But I Learned a lot about the coins and history, so even if the they aren't very valuable or desirable, it was worth it to me

Edited by Oldhoopster
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