Just bought my first ancients

JA and the others bring up some pertinent points--especially about the Postumus coin...which is a great buy for the price, although a bit rough as the posted example illustrates in comparison.

I have a Numerian I'll post--just a tad higher grade and actually was one of my initial purchases from a decades-old lot of 'uncleaned coins'...

 

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I'm envious. Nice selection.

 

Nice assortment! Welcome to ancients

 

I just bought a replacement Postumus, haha! I'll image it and post it when it arrives.

 

Nice assortment!

 

A problem with ancients is so many of us see things differently when it comes to grade and desirability. I am really hard on rough surfaces unless the coin is extremely interesting in some special way which none of these are. I am a fan of interesting or different reverses so I might consider that Postumus if it had one. The Gallienus is a sharp reverse strike of a very common die. Again, I would love the coin with a different reverse but would expect the Pax one to be low priced. Others of us here never look at the reverse and only care about the portrait.

The question we all have to answer is how deeply we insist on having exactly what we want either in type or grades and how important we consider getting a good 'deal'. I approve of most of your selections compared to what we generally see as 'first ancients'. Your decision to upgrade the Postumus is interesting. We will be interested in seeing the new one.

I regularly prove my tastes in coins are different from many. You are invited to see my favorite coins (and why!) posted on the link below:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/favs.html
While I really like Postumus and have several, none made the cut for this page. I'm not sure why.

 

Nice batch of Roman coins.

When you can read part (or all) of a legend, it is possible to search for the coins that include those letters on the Wildwinds website. Since you already know the emperor on these coins, you can conveniently search for all the examples on Forum, Wildwinds, and other websites.

Nice batch of Roman coins.

 

Naah. Spend the money on a coin. Worry about the book later. As long as you trust you're dealer and gather opinions your pretty good. I'm not saying don't get a book, I am just saying get the book about the stuff you like or plan on collection. Many of the Catalogs are Bookoo bucks. Make sure you get as much free material as you can before hand. Just my take on the whole thing.

And for the record I like #5 and # 7 kudos.

 

If I may, a few comments about your coins with suggestions for further research. No. 1 is known as the "Two Victories" type - don't be surprised at how small it is. These were minted in AD 347-348, at the height of an inflationary cycle during which the bronze coins had continually shrunk. The Two Victories types were the last and smallest of this period before the coinage was reformed and enlarged (it then started shrinking yet again).

Your coin is very desirable because it has excellent reverse detail. On Roman coins, the obverse was typically the stationary, or anvil die, to ensure that the portrait of the emperor was fully struck-up. The reverse design was typically on the moveable die, and the reverse designs were engraved less deeply, again to ensure that the metal flowed fully into the portrait. Consequently, finding good detail on the reverses of many Roman coins is a challenge. Here are two of mine, from the Siscia mint...



Speaking of mints, do you know which mint your coin comes from? The mark is quite clear. For a list of Roman mints and mint marks click here. Most Roman mint marks also include a symbol signifying the officina, or workshop they were produced in. Sometimes, as on my coins, they are given in Greek letters. Sometimes they are abbreviated P, S, T etc., (prima, secunda, tertia).

Also, it's worth reading the wikipedia articles on Constans and his brothers, to give you some historical context. After Constantine the Great died, the three of them engaged in a massive struggle of sibling rivalry which left only one standing. Constans was a bit of black sheep, as you'll find out.

Finally, the inscription on the reverse of these coins occurs only on this type: VICTORIAE DD AVGG Q NN. What does it mean? (Roman legends include copious abbreviations.)

 

Doug Smith has a great page on the Falling Horseman types, analyzing the styles from various mints. Click here. Your coin was minted by Constantius Gallus, who never achieved the rank of Augustus (another interesting read). Hence, he is bare-headed - only the Augusti are portrayed with diadems on their heads.

The style of the bust on your coin suggests a barbarous issue, that is, a contemporary imitative coin. The reverse also seems to be a bit off from the High Roman style. Either that or the engraver was having a bad day, or maybe he didn't care much for Constans (it was a common theme) and intentionally made him somewhat ugly. At any rate, a very interesting example.

Here are two of mine for comparison, the first an official issue, the second barbarous.

 

For the third coin, I'll refer you to Warren's page here, with useful information. Constantine I moved the Roman capitol to Constantinople. These coins commemorate the city. They are quite common, but as Warren says, common can be very interesting!

I recently bought one that either has its original silvering which has toned gold, or it was gilded for jewelery (probably the latter).

 

When you say, "imitative," does that imply fake, replica, or counterfeit?

 

Maybe, maybe, and maybe. It's possible many of the barbarous issues were officially sanctioned in areas that had a dearth of small change. Mostly they tried to replicate certain types, but the style is unrefined. Were some illegal counterfeits? That's also possible. Unfortunately, that's all we can say. Much of collecting ancient coins consists of embracing the mystery.

 

That mystery is freaking me out a little, John.

 

Ancient counterfeits are considered part of the hobby. Most collectors have a few, myself included. It's the modern counterfeits you want to avoid at all costs. In fact, there are so many imitative coins among ancients, and we know so little about their role, that we specifically use the non-judgmental word "imitative" as opposed to "counterfeit."

You have nothing to freak out about. The counterfeiters that got caught were fed to the beasts in the arena. That would be something to freak out about.

 

I see. This morning when I made my decisions and first purchases, I was so proud of myself for getting past issues like cleaning, surface roughness, and edge damage, etc. Then WHAM!... the imitative issue is presented to me! Too much for one day! I can't take it!!!

 

It's an utterly different ballgame compared to moderns.

 

I hope you are only kidding. Many imitative coins are as collectible if not more so than some official issues. It's just another avenue to explore.

 

I wasn't kidding! Remember, I come from the world of perfection. U.S. coins and the dreaded "cleaned" designation on everything from PCGS!

 

And thats why some of us came to the dark side that is ancients. No slabs & some faults are OK where they arent with moderns.