Coin Talk

Something nice came in the post today. After disinfecting the envelope and very carefully emptying the contents on a table, I was able to enjoy the latest addition to my yet small collection. A Lysimachos tetradrachm. Lysimachos was one of Alexander the Great's succesors (diadochoi). His coins are quite interesting and artistic and he wasn't shy to put his name on them. For these reasons they are usually a bit pricey, so when I found this one for the right amount (a bit over £300) I was happy to snatch it as I have seen ones in lesser condition going for double that. I even got it from a retail shop. With the prices that coins fetch nowdays in auctions, I still hope I did well.



I got this one because it has a decent amount of detail. Alex is well rendered and I particularly like the Athena side where you can see the spear in good detail plus the little Nike that she is holding. Usually these are the bits that are very worn out.

Going back to the...

May 22nd 337 AD was the day of the death of Constantine the Great. But was he really that "Great" ? Hard to tell ; he always had a controversial reputation. Bruno Bleckmann wrote in his Sources of the history of Constantine : "ancient sources for his reign are abundant and detailed, but they have been strongly influenced by the official propaganda of the period and are often one-sided; no contemporaneous histories or biographies dealing with his life and rule have survived". Many stories had been told about him, but were they the truth, only the truth and nothing but the truth ? Not sure at all. Here is an example : Some of the ancient sources detail plots that Galerius made on Constantine's life in the months following Diocletian's abdication. They assert that Galerius assigned Constantine to lead an advance unit in a cavalry charge through a swamp on the middle Danube, made him enter into single combat with a lion, and attempted to kill him in hunts and wars....

I took the longest drive I've made in two and a half months on Thursday. My wife and I drove 75 miles each way to take treats and necessities to my 91 year old father-in-law who is locked down in an assisted living facility. It was great to get behind the wheel of my CT-6 Cadillac and open it up to 70 miles per hour. It's been a long while.

At any rate, here's another article from the archives.

The twenty dollar gold piece, which is also known as the double eagle, is the heaviest, most impressive coin that The United States has ever issued for general circulation. Containing almost an ounce of pure gold, the double eagle became the coin of choice for bank reserves and large business transactions from its introduction in 1850 until the end of U.S. regular issue gold coinage in 1933. Many observers believe that the St. Gaudens double eagle is the most beautiful U.S. coin as well. The double eagle might have been the most collectable U.S. coin had it not been for its...

A couple of months ago, I think I mentioned that I was keeping my eye out for examples of coins of both Galerius and Galeria Valeria, since I didn't think it would be right to buy one without the other! I recently came across two coins that I liked (from two different sellers) and decided to buy them. The first one arrived last week and the second today, so I thought I'd post about both of them together. I very much like the color on both of them; the first one is a brighter and shinier brown than the photo shows.

Galerius, AE Follis, 305-306 AD, Cyzicus Mint (4th Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS P F AVG/ Rev. Genius, wearing modius, nude, chlamys draped over left shoulder, standing left, holding cornucopiae in left hand and pouring libation from patera in right hand, GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI; K Δ [K = Cyzicus, Delta = 4th Officina] in exergue. RIC VI Cyzicus 21b & 25a (pp. 582, 584), Sear RCV IV 14546, Cohen 81. 27.8 mm., 9.65 g. 12 h. Ex. Dattari...

In the words of Tom Petty, “even the losers get lucky sometimes”. You have to love an auction where you lose and still get the coin you wanted. This unexpected star (*) lot from a Frank Robinson (fsrcoin) auction showed up recently. I was outbid on the coin listed in the auction, but there was a second coin, lurking behind the scenes.

Roman Provincial, Gordian III, AD 238-244, AR Drachm, Caesarea-Eusebia, Cappadocia, Regnal Year 4 (AD 240-241)
Obv: AV KAI M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind.
Rev: MHTPO KAICA B N, Mount Argaeus, pellet to upper left, ET Δ (date) in exergue
Size: 3.50g, 17mm
Ref: Syd. 603



Where is Mt. Argaeus?
Mt. Argaeus is a volcanic mountain, today called Mt. Erciyes, which google maps describes today as “This 12,851-foot mountain with a ski resort is also a...

Today I will be reviewing Jax brand patina restoring products.
If you want to try, I recommend getting the Jax 4-pack sampler from Nobleromancoins.com at https://nobleromancoins.com/product_info.php?products_id=1008
For $12, this is the absolute best price you will find.

But it is worth it?

At least, do these products do much beyond what a simple Renaissance Wax application will?

Brown/Black, Brown, Green, and Black (COMBINED)
Let's start with this Philip I Provincia Dacia sestertius. Originally heavily encrusted and ruined, a long soak in Sodium Hydroxide (lye) yielded this disgusting and multicolored piece.

This is unacceptable. So I first tried the "Brown/Black" compound. It helped the rust colored parts a bit, but didn't tough the green.
The I tried the Brown. Again, didn't do too much.
I did some Green for good measure.
Finally, I used Black. This finally darkened the rust colored portions enough that they were no...

As promised, I am opening a new thread to get your thoughts on auction estimates. At CNG we have always tried to estimate coins at what we think is "high wholesale". Over time this is a moving target as the market changes but generally that is what we try to do. The limiting factor on lower valued coins is there are some standard starting points that work with the bid increment system. For example: You will see estimates from CNG starting with: $75; 100; 150; 200; 300; 500... etc. If we think a coin has a wholesale value of $240 it will likely get a $200 estimate placed on it.

All lots open at 60% of estimate. Theoretically, this means if you buy a coin at the opening bid you got a real bargain. If you buy at estimate, it is generally still cheap. Then the question becomes "what is the mark up to figure retail?" On low priced coins this might be 100%. This because the cost for a dealer to buy a coin, reticket it, photograph it, potentially post in on their coin shop website, and...

(LONG POST WARNING)

I spent $150.00 on Noble Roman Coins' "Deluxe Beginner's Set" so you don't have to.

This is the product I will be reviewing.
https://nobleromancoins.com/product_info.php?products_id=237

NRC offers two Beginner's Sets - the regular and the Deluxe. I will indicate the individual price of each component, as sold on NRC.
Regular includes:
5 cleaned and attributed Roman coins ($8 x 5 = $40.00)
5 Premium Uncleaned Coins ($1.70 x 5 = $8.50)
regular dental pick ($10.00)
5 archival double-pocket plastic flips ($0.12 x 5 = $0.60)
2 20-pocket pages ($0.50 x 2 = $1.00)
3-ring lay-flat binder (~$5.00 (not sold on the site))
Custom printed title page for the binder
TOTAL VALUE: $65.10
Sold For: $50.00
Savings: $15.10, or 30%


Deluxe includes: everything above PLUS:
Diamond Dusted Dental Pick #2 ($39.95)
8-ounce packet of Gringgott's Wizard Mix #2 ($10.00)
50 archival double-pocket plastic flips ($0.12 x 50 = $6.00)
25 Premium Uncleaned Coins...

A few days ago, I finally received a Republican denarius I had won in an Artemide auction in late March. Together with another denarius that I purchased in AMCC 2 last year, it constitutes a small set: both coins were produced for Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (c. 130–63 BC), one of the most successful Roman generals of the Civil War, consul together with Sulla in 80/79 BC, and leader of the conservative political faction of the Optimates.

The two denarii struck by him in 81 BC, during a time when Sulla permitted his generals to produce their own money, are full of fascinating political references to this troubled period in Roman history. Both bear a bust of Pietas (embodying “loyalty,” “devotion,” or “filial piety”) on the obverse, identified by her symbolic animal, the stork. This is a reference to the moneyer’s cognomen “Pius,” which had been awarded to him for his repeated attempts to have his father, the war hero Metellus Numidicus (c. 160–91 BC), recalled from exile....

Recent increases in postage rates remind me of a time in the 19th century when the government decreased the postage rate and issued a new coin to make the purchase of postage stamps easier. In 1851 Congress reduced the postage rate for a letter from five to three cents and authorized a new coin, the Silver Three Cent Piece or “Trime,” to facilitate the transition.



Very few customers in rural post offices would have had three large cents available to purchase the new three cent stamps. Large cents did not circulate well outside of the big cities, especially Philadelphia.

Although the mint had been issuing Large Cents for almost 60 years, the big pennies were never popular and were seldom seen in circulation outside of the big cities. Therefore it was highly unlikely that a customer in rural post office would have had three cents to purchase a stamp, and it was almost equally unlikely that a postal clerk would have had two...