Coin Talk

This coin is the one I had hinted at in the “Post Your Favorite Coin” thread. I was extremely excited to be able to buy it, and I was quite surprised for one to simply fall into my grasp like this one did. What you are looking at is a gold-inlaid knife cast by Wang Mang between 6 and 9 AD. The inscription reads “Yi Dao Ping Wu Qian,” or “One Knife Worth Five Thousand.” Since it will readily fit into your hand, you might be surprised how something so small can be worth five thousand of a monetary unit (likely Wu Zhu). However, there is a reason for why this is, which I will explain below.



I am sure most of you have at least heard of Wang Mang, but I would guess that few of you are familiar with the details of his story. If so, then there is no time like the present to read about this fascinating tale. I find the lore surrounding Wang Mang’s rule to be some of the most fascinating in all of world history as it began with brilliance and good intentions but...

A couple of hours ago during lunchbreak on this sunny day I took the bike to visit my very first ever floor auction and this is what I took home with me:



IMP CAES D CAEL BALBINVS AVG - Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Balbinus right
CONCORDIA AVGG S C - Concordia, in long dress, seated left on throne, holding double cornucopiae in her left and patera in her outstretched right hand
Sestertius, Rome, 22 April - 29 July 238
30 mm / 18,53 gr
RIC 22, BMCRE 18, Cohen 4, Sear 8494



Chosen by the Roman Senate against Maximinus Thrax in a unique feat after the failure of the Gordiani Africani, Decimus Caelius Calvinus Balbinus and his colleague Pupienus Maximus were doomed by their mutual antipathy and growing unpopularity with the Army and the city plebs, who wanted a successor with a pedigree, namely the young Caesar Gordian III.

According to Edward Gibbon, "Balbinus was an admired orator, a poet of distinguished fame,...

I worked out one heck of a deal to acquire both of these truly beautiful, scarce and amazing pieces today. With a little knowledge of these error types, researching recent sales, an emphasis that few people collect these error types, illustrating a passion to preserve such pieces and that they will be in good hands, and providing proof that I am a collector and not a dealer looking to flip it, it is amazing what you can offer a seller yet they feel comfortable giving it away for a whole lot less than even very recent market value/trends.

1. The 1/2 cent blank planchet is one of only three known total in existence anywhere, according to writeups in Mint Error News. As you can see, it is in absolutely amazing condition (beautiful color and few marks or dings on both sides, great rims) for being at least 161 years old (James Buchanan was in office as President in 1857).




Nickels on Cent...

There are many aspects of numismatics that can be challenging. The Lincoln Cent series is full of such challenges and is probably the most collected series of US coins. The common 1982 cent is one of those many challenges that seems to trouble collectors both new and old. So, I thought I would put together a simple guide to help identify the 1982 Lincoln cent.

Before 1982, the Lincoln Cent was made on a 95% copper planchet. Due to the cost of materials, a planchet change was needed in the 1980s. It was decided that a change to a 99.2% zinc planchet plated with copper was the economical alternative. So, that change was made in 1982. Unfortunately for collectors, the change was made in the middle of 1982 resulting in some cents comprised of 95% copper and others 99% zinc with no obvious way to tell them apart. To make matters worse, during the same year the font size of the date was changed from large to small…also midyear. The typical annual release of two different...

I'm sure many here know Mark. He wrote this many years ago to help collectors such as us. I just wanted to share it here. Mark is good with me posting it here. Great information.

Disclaimer :
I have no doubt that much or all of this has been discussed previously and in some cases, in greater detail and in a more interesting fashion. But, I have received a lot of questions about pointers for examining and grading coins, so I'll try to address them in this format.
These are merely my opinions and they may differ from those of others.

LIGHTING
Different people prefer different types of lighting. I prefer using a small, high intensity "Tensor" lamp. I can sometimes see things (hairlines, etc.) on coins under this type of light that I can't see under a regular lamp with a 75 or 100 watt bulb. Some prefer halogen lamps and others prefer 75 or 100 watt lamps, like you might see at coin shows or auction lot viewings.
There is no right or wrong in this area. I would suggest experimenting...

I have been looking at sales prices achieved over the years and 2014 appears to be a good year for sellers, especially for run-of-the-mill gold coins because of the high price of the base metal. But although the base metals have been fairly stable I recent times, I find that I am able to pick up some fairly desirable coins at 20-30% less than in 2016-7. In exceptional cases, the price of very rare or high grade coins has appreciated, but this represents a small minority IMHO.

The three coins below are a glaring example. They are in no way sloppy examples of their era, I think. However, I placed advance bids because of the time difference in my country of residence and actually won 3 out of 5 coins, in my sleep, at 30-40% less than estimates and at least 20% less than what I paid for another MS63 Seljuqs of Rum AV dinar less than 6 months ago. A fluke or a disturbing trend??

Was it my lucky day or is it because of a general feeling of nervousness throughout the globe!! If the trends...

The tumultuous year of 238 was one of the most chaotic in all of Roman history. The coins presented here are in my collection, with the exception of Gordian I and II. Balbinus and Pupienus I was fortunate to acquire in @John Anthony 's auction of last week.

The emperor at the beginning of the year was Maximinus Thrax, who had ruled since 235. Later sources claim he was a cruel tyrant, and in January of 238, a revolt erupted in North Africa. The Historia Augusta states:

"The Romans could bear his barbarities no longer — the way in which he called up informers and incited accusers, invented false offences, killed innocent men, condemned all whoever came to trial, reduced the richest men to utter poverty and never sought money anywhere save in some other's ruin, put many generals and many men of consular rank to death for no offence, carried others about in wagons without food and drink, and kept others...

I received an interesting coin Monday thanks to Ken Dorney.

The auction ended Friday the 13th and arrived Monday. That was a quick trip from California to Texas!
I was not in the market for a second coin from a large issue of coins (Crawford estimates 988 obverse dies). I found over 200 examples of Cr. 342/5b on line before I stopped looking. I have a similar coin that I bought in 2006. It is the second coin on my RR spreadsheet. The artwork is far from the best on RR coins. But..... @Ken Dorney is a good salesman! He mentioned an unpublished control mark: "This type unrecorded with any [reverse] control marks.", and the hook was set.

Roman Republic, Silver Denarius, Rome, C Vibius Cf Pansa, 90 BC, unpublished reverse control mark
Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo right, [control mark?] before, PANSA behind. Crawford says that this coin should have a control mark before Apollo’s chin. I see no signs of a control mark there,...

Hello CT friends. I have slowed down quite a bit on my coin purchases this year which has allowed me the chance to study and learn about some interesting coins in my collection I might not otherwise have spent as much time studying. This awesome coin came to me by way of our coin friend who’s namesake had some serious mother issues (looking at you @Severus Alexander ). I think this coin is fascinating because it was minted by a ruler who did not identify himself on his coins and thus remained a mystery to numismatists for centuries. Also this coin comes from a rare type of ancient civilization that we can study from sources both east and west (I.E. Chinese, Greek, Roman etc.). However, after studying this coin the only thing that I can say about it with certainty is that there is nothing certain to be said about it! More on that below.


Kushan Empire
Vima Takto, AD 78-110
AE Unit, Unkown mint, struck ca. AD 78-110
Dia.:...