Just for its condition

[Valentinian]

I like Constantinian-period coins and already had this type, but sometimes they are too good-looking and inexpensive to pass up. I bought it just for its condition. 


19.67-18.8 mm. 3.85 grams.
Licinius, 308-324. 
RIC VII Antioch 27 struck 317-320.
Licinius bust left with mappa, globe, and scepter.
IOVI CONSERVATORI AVGG
Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe with wreath crowning him, long scepter in right, captive crouching left with hands tied behind his back.
Δ in right field. SMANB (the "B" is weak).

Look at the detail on the head of Jupiter and his excellent beard. Look at the detail on the captive, down to winkles in his trousers. The coin lacks wear and has light silvering. Pro-rated shipping included, it cost me $35. I am not a condition-junkie, but I can appreciate a coin in good condition. I'm glad I bid enough to win it, even though I had the type already. 

Show us something you bought "just for its condition".

 
 

[Orange Julius]

Great coin with amazing detail! That captive is great. I love everything about him. I bought this one recently for similar reasons. I have probably 15 of this type and probably 4 or 5 from Antioch but it was too nice to pass up for the $22 it cost.

[CPK]

Wow, those are both beautiful coins @Valentinian and @Orange Julius!

[-monolith-]

The quality of strike and patina on this coin of Hieron II was to good to pass up. These coins are either heavily worn or heavily tooled:

Province, City - Reign:  Sicily, Syracuse - Hieron II

Denomination: AE Litra (Punic War Issue)

Mint:  Syracuse (275 – 215 BC)

Obverse: Head of Poseidon left, wearing tainia, border of dots

 Reverse: Ornamented trident flanked by two dolphins swimming downwards; IEPΩ-NOΣ across field; Θ Φ flanking base

 References: BMCG 2. 218. 609; SNG Cop 850; HGC 2, 1550

Edited September 14, 2024 by -monolith-

[Kali]

Love the reverse details on it. Great find.

[Amarmur]

I bought this Trajan As with Victory on reverse just because I love the condition. It's a very common type just in great shape. It was issued near the beginning of Trajan's reign. You can appreciate all the details in victory and Trajan's Nerva like portrait. 

[Victor_Clark]

 

I bought this one because of the sharp reverse

 

 

Constantine I
A.D. 323-4
18x19mm 3.6g
CONSTANTINVS AVG; laureate head right.
SARMATIA DEVICTA; Victory advancing r., holding trophy, palm branch, spurning captive std. on ground to right.
In ex. STR crescent
RIC VII Trier 435

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Great examples all!  Well, I guess the lazy pick would be the Justin II, in my current thread.  I probably have some other examples but I'd have to think about it.

[Postvmvs]

I already had the type, but I bought this example just for its condition:

Postumus, 260-269AD antoninianus
Obv: IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: IOVI STATORI, Jupiter standing left, holding thunderbolt and sceptre.
AGK 38a

[hotwheelsearl]

I have a obverse with decent silver. It seems like this particular type tends to have higher silvering quality than others.

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

Just recently I bought a Septimius Severus with Neptune reverse for 110€ hammer just because it looked brand new! Neptune is notorious for always being very worn:

Septimius Severus (193-211). AR Denarius, 209 AD. Obverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG. Laureate bust of Septimius Severus right. Reverse: PM TR P XVII COS III PP. Neptune standing left, right foot on pile of rocks, holding trident. RIC IV 228. AR. 3.41g. 20.50 mm. Superb example, virtually as struck. Lightly toned with underlying luster. About FDC.

 

Fun fact: it was probably inspired by this Demetrios with Poseidon reverse.

Edited September 15, 2024 by AncientCoinnoisseur

[Qcumbor]

Beautiful coin @Valentinian

I bought that one, just because I found the reverse tremendous : I already had the type, from another mint, but that reverse had me mesmerized !

 

Q

[Al Kowsky]

I bought this coin November 15, 2023, at a CNG auction, the second time it was sold by CNG. It's from the Michel Prieur collection, #401, & pictured in his book, one of 5 examples known & also pictured in RPV VIII, unassigned ID: 29170.

https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/29170

[Heliodromus]

Not quite "just for its condition", given that it was an upgrade of something that I had and would collect anyway, but I recently bought this one based on condition as an upgrade for a measly EUR 24 at auction!

The style of Sol is fairly awful as is normal for this issue, but it's close to mint state made from crispy fresh dies, and has some die prep filing marks  visible.

 

[Al Kowsky]

I won the argenteus pictured below at a CNG auction. Diocletian began issuing these high grade silver coins in AD 294 as a replacement for the silver denarius that no longer circulated. Most of these argentei were hoarded & very few circulated, so mint state examples are common. However, finding argentei that were struck from fresh dies is a real challenge 😉.

[expat]

I picked this up fairly cheaply at auction. Not for the reverse, which is either weakly struck or an overused die. The obverse portrait is what compelled me to purchase.

Otacilia Severa AR Antoninianus. Rome 247. M OTACIL SEVERA AVG, diademed, draped bust right on crescent / CONCORDIA AVGG, Concordia seated left with patera and double cornucopiae. RIC 119b, RSC 9. Sear5 #9160
23 mm, 3,51 g

[expat]

This was a spontaneous decision due to the centering and lovely obverse and reverse.

RPC Volume: IX №: 1701
Reign: Trajan Decius Persons: Trajan Decius (Augustus)
City: Antioch  Region: Syria Province: Syria Coele
Denomination: Tetradrachm Average weight: 11.69 g. Issue: Group 3, officina 2
Obverse: ΑΥΤ Κ Γ ΜΕ ΚΥ ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟϹ ΔΕΚΙΟϹ ϹΕΒ; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Decius, right, seen from rear; below bust: •• (Officina 2)
Reverse: ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞΟΥϹΙΑϹ, S C; eagle standing on palm, left, spreading wings, holding wreath in beak
Reference: Prieur 578, McAlee 1126b.

26mm, 11.48g.

[Al Kowsky]

5 hours ago, expat said:

This was a spontaneous decision due to the centering and lovely obverse and reverse.

RPC Volume: IX №: 1701
Reign: Trajan Decius Persons: Trajan Decius (Augustus)
City: Antioch  Region: Syria Province: Syria Coele
Denomination: Tetradrachm Average weight: 11.69 g. Issue: Group 3, officina 2
Obverse: ΑΥΤ Κ Γ ΜΕ ΚΥ ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟϹ ΔΕΚΙΟϹ ϹΕΒ; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Decius, right, seen from rear; below bust: •• (Officina 2)
Reverse: ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞΟΥϹΙΑϹ, S C; eagle standing on palm, left, spreading wings, holding wreath in beak
Reference: Prieur 578, McAlee 1126b.

26mm, 11.48g.

I scored a nice example of that issue from a CNG auction about 4 years ago ☺️.

SYRIA, Antioch. Trajan Decius, AD 249-251. Billon Tetradrachm: 13.03 gm, 27 mm, 6 h. McAlee 1126b, Prieur 578, RPC IX 1701. 

[SteveJBrinkman]

I try to buy the highest condition available to me for my budget and circumstances.  At this stage in my collecting,  I've acquired most of the easy stuff in my specialty areas so finding a really nice example of a type that I need is very difficult, so  lately I buy only a handful of coins a year.  Sometimes, just one.     When I go to coin shows, this is one of my primary criteria - to buy the nicest coin in the show given my financial means (of course it should roughly fit into my collecting themes).   I sometimes pay hefty prices - sometimes all-time record prices - but I never regret paying a lot for really nice examples, whereas,  I often regret the bargain compromises in my collection and usually end up selling them at a loss.  Here are some really high condition coins in my collection:

this denarius of Fonteius cannot be represented sufficiently in a photograph.  The early die state produced almost proof-like mirror surfaces in the fields.  The slight reverse centering is an issue and keeps this from an uncontroversial FDC assessment.  I bought this from Ed Waddell at the 2024 NYINC.   This was the best coin at the show within my budget in my judgement, so I bought it.

This is perhaps one of the highest grade early Roman Republican quinarii I have seen.  It is a flan crack away from perfection.  Purchased from CNG auction 120, Ex NAC 61 (RBW Collection), Lanz 80. 

This numus of Maximianus Herculeus from the Aquileia mint is a very common coin, often found in high grade.  When this came up for sale in Leu web auction 18, I was struck by the quality of surfaces, especially the degree of remaining silvering.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Even though I have some other Severus coins I bought this because of its condition, same type as @AncientCoinnoisseur !

[Amarmur]

I'm happy to win this but I'm not sure if it's tooled. High grade Nero As. Probably overpaid but they hardly come this nice.

[hotwheelsearl]

How about the insane grade of this Gallus???

 

Here's a very common coin in very uncommon condition.

[maridvnvm]

I don't collect Julian II and have no interest in Sirmium coinage but the condition on this was too good to just let it pass by.

An otherwise unremarkable coin.

 

[JAZ Numismatics]

I seldom buy coins only for their grade, but how often have we seen highly worn, off-center cistophoric tets of Ephesus? They are in fact, the norm. So when this beauty came along I dug deep to bring it home. Not only is the condition superb, but it features Priapus as a minor device, with a rare date to boot.

Recent scholarship has reframed the Attalid cistophori from a series emblematic of a closed monetary system, a theory proposed by earlier scholars, to a revolutionary coinage that defines an innovation in the structure of the Attalid state. Following the defeat of the Gauls in 166 BC, Eumenes II dramatically reorganized his kingdom. Civic structure now became the backbone of the state, with large amounts of money being spent to more thoroughly incorporate rural areas into the urban Pergamene kingdom. Key to this was the new cistophoric coinage, which was struck at a lower weight than the common Attic standard, to ensure circulation only within the kingdom. Andrew Meadows writes of the cistophoric issues: “This was a coinage designed to look federal, rather than royal. The king’s image was removed in favour of creating the impression of civic unity across clearly defined and identified space. Since the ‘mintmarks’ that appear on a number of these coinages do not in fact designate sites of production, we might speculate that their inclusion was at least partly an element of the ideological programme.” (“The Closed Currency System of the Attalid Kingdom,” in Attalid Asia Minor. Ed. Peter Thonemann. Oxford. 2013.) [CNG]

 

IONIA, Ephesos. Circa 180-67 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26.5mm, 12.67 g, 1h). Cistophoric standard. Dated CY 57 (78/7 BC). Cista mystica with serpent; all within ivy wreath / Two serpents entwined around bow and bowcase; above, Priapos facing; to left, NZ (date) above EΦE, torch to right. Kleiner, Dated 58; DCA 325; SNG Copenhagen 331. Lightly toned, scrape at edge on obverse. Good VF. Rare date, none in CoinArchives. Ex CNG eAuction 534 Lot 87. 

Edited October 2, 2024 by JAZ Numismatics

[Mucius Scaevola]

I also tend to only collect coins where I like the style and condition. I can accept some scratches on bronze coins, but not a bad style or too much wear. This limits me mostly to non-rare coins and often leads to overpaying a bit😅 here‘s the latest one.

Edited October 2, 2024 by Mucius Scaevola