as stated above, whatever the condition, a denarius of Claudius is a must have. I would like to put my hands on one of them ! Good catch Q
A most wonderful coin! I love the portrait and the amount of wear is not too distracting and gives the coin an eye-appealing ancient look. Congrats!
CLAUDIUS AR Denarius OBVERSE: TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG P M TR P VI IMP XI, laureate head right REVERSE: PACI AVGVSTAE, Pax-Nemesis advancing right, drawing out fold of robe at neck, holding caduceus above serpent preceding her Struck at Rome, 46/7AD 3.6g, 19mm RIC39, BMC40
Although my Claudius coins have been posted on this site so frequently that the regulars here will roll their eyes and yawn, I noticed that you're fairly new to this site so I'll show my favorite Claudius: CLAUDIUS 41 - 54 A.D. AV Aureus (7.79 g.) Rome 44 - 45 A.D. RIC 25 Obv. TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG P M TR P IIII laureate head r. Rev. Battlemented wall IMPER RECEPT enclosing praetorian camp, Fides Praetorianorum left. Ex. Metropolitan Museum of Art The history memorialized in this coin is impressive; I quote from Heritage's description: "Claudius owed his elevation to the Praetorian Guard and was not ashamed to promote this fact on his coinage. The reverse of this interesting aureus type depicts the Praetorian camp and the legend "IMPER RECEPT" -- "The Emperor Received," a direct reference to the chaotic aftermath of Caligula's assassination in January of AD 41, when a platoon of Praetorians found Claudius hiding in the imperial palace and quickly hustled him behind the walls of the fortress. He obliged them with a donative of 3,750 silver denarii per head, nearly quadruple the previous highest amount (1,000, by Tiberius). The Praetorians remained fiercely loyal throughout his reign and, faced with this reality, the Senate was loath to challenge him." It is simply staggering to imagine a Roman Emperor being appointed by a small group of Praetorian Guards.
Money talked just as loudly then as it does today. Ides, I don't think you're in any serious danger of anyone rolling their eyes at your coins.
I warn those in the market for a Claudius denarius that he is very common in fourree. Really nice ones may not show plating breaks through to the core but you don't want to pay solid money for a plated coin. Buy from a trusted source. Mine is not deceptive due to the considerable wear. The dark fields are surface crud but the reddish core shows clearly on head, shoulder and the reverse figure. It was a well made coin and the plating wore through before it peeled away. For the record: the same goes for Caligula.
Thanks for the wise words. I am still relatively new to this and so I believe I was cautious. I bought my coin from a very reputable online dealer. He has sold some very high end ancients and other high end coins. In addition I showed high res photos to a friend of mine who is a dealer in ancient coins. I told him I wanted to buy it. His reaction was "If you do not buy this then I will". So I bought it and do not regret it in the least. I do agree that it is wise to be careful with coins like these and so I thank you for your comments.
At the price that I purchased this coin, I did indeed think it was a steal. I guess the Metropolitan Museum of Art had better areas into which to invest their money.
Spectacular as always IOM !!!! I will never tire of viewing anything from your collection!! Owning anything like it is a WHOLE different story LOL