I am not much into ancients but was told this one was extremely hard to come by. Would welcome input and estimated values please. Thanks.
Interesting that you have an example of a type I'm still missing. The reverse with the four rulers or 'Tetrarchs' is a highly popular type of Constantius I as Caesar ---which indicate a senior ruler and his associate/heir, two for the west and two for the east-------but I'll let you google the rest of the historical relevance. It's silver and one of slightly varied reverses and can easily sell at auction in similar grade/condition for $250-$300 and often higher if two bidders simply must have it. Notice the variations on this link: https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...s=1¤cy=usd&thesaurus=1&order=0&company=
These are nice coins and yours is in exceptional shape. Mikey has the price about right, but I think it could sell for more. I bought one that is chipped in order to afford a reverse like it, but mine is a Maximinus. MAXIMIANUS AR Argenteus OBVERSE: MAXIMIANVS AVG, laureate head right REVERSE: VIRTVS MILITVM, four tetrarchs sacrificing before walls with 6 turrets Struck at Ticinum, 295 AD 2.6g, 18mm RIC VI 18b
The general type of the four Tetrarchs sacrificing for Constantius is not rare, nor do I see a premium paid for scarcer varieties. That said, I think this is a really nice example and would be surprised if it went for less than $500 shipped.
I agree with you zumbly. The very reputable auction house that I bought it from said they had not seen this particular type in more than a decade. . That suits me just fine!!!
Well, it's not a rare coin, regardless whether this particular auction house has seen it in a while or not. But I agree with Zumbly about being in the $500 range, maybe a little more - it's a lovely example. It could, however, hammer much higher than $500 because all sorts of collectors of modern coins are WAY overpaying for ancients these days because they refuse to study the market. As long as a coin is slabbed, that's good enough for them.
I wasn't going to comment on this until you played the 'very reputable' card but really... I assume this was a company that does not specialize in ancient coins. A search online in the usual places will turn up a couple hundred of them. They are very popular and exist in high grades. I dislike slabs but would never remove this one from the slab it is in. The listed grade is more than fair to the coin and you would get a lot less from a sale to people looking at the coin rather than the slab. XF coins do not have the wear (hair and beard) shown in the photo. 5/5 surfaces do not have little pits and scratches. I'd prefer a 4/5 strike be centered better but I am unreasonable. Overgrading is becoming a problem in the hobby. I do suspect that it would sell for $500 and I would be happy to have a nice coin like that in my collection but there is no reason to call it XF 4/5 5/5 when it is a decent VF. Some people would hold the reverse centering against the coin since it clips the gamma in exergue but slab buyers don't care about ID details not printed on the label as much as specialists in the tetrarchy might. The coin is right where it belongs and I hope you will be happy owning it for many years to come even if it is not a great rarity.
Well, the consensus seems to be about $500.00 for this particular coin, however generously graded and that probably explains why I still don't have one LOL I'd be hard pressed to pay more than $400.00 shipped for the type, but I suppose that really depends on my mood at that particular time and how determined I was to finally snag one.
Well I did not pay over the odds for it and the price paid fits in well with the general consensus here so I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it. I particularly like to own something from the more well known historical figures just out of curiosity so next perhaps Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony or even a nice Phoenicia Byblus shekel. . Any preferences from the experts?
[QUOTE=" As long as a coin is slabbed, that's good enough for them. [/QUOTE] Ancient coin purists find slabbed coins a real problem; and I agree with this, just for the reason you pointed out. There are far too many common types that are getting slabbed just to get new collectors, or those that want one or two examples, to buy coins that are way overpriced. And I truly doubt that the people who are grading these coins are experts in the field of ancient numismatics.
Obviously I will never consider myself an 'expert' but what you ask depends so much on your budget and what appeals to you most. All of us do a little 'due diligence' and research a bit about a specific coin on sale or at bid that interests us and then proceed accordingly. My interests are wide-ranged throughout the ancient world but mostly 'focus' on Greek and Late Republican to early Imperial. That said, The 12 Caesars and other popular types naturally attract collectors and the prices can vary in ways that seem to make little sense....and that is not even considering rarity and high grade. So, scan some auctions and see what 'talks to you most' within a price range that still appeals to you.
I am by no means an expert, but I do collect in the area you mention. For JC there are bronzes available and some will cost less than a denarius. For denarii, non-portrait denarii are readily available especially the "elephant" denarius. For portrait denarii there are lifetime and posthumous issues. The lifetime issues will be very expensive the posthumous issues are less so but are still not cheap by any means. Coins of JC are relatively plentiful, but since JC is very popular, there is much competition for his coins and the prices can be high. Here is a posthumous issue. As for Marc Antony his legionary denarii are quite plentiful. Some legions are much rarer than others. Still, overall, the legionary denarii are available in many price ranges. If you want a portrait denarius, you will pay more. Some of these are more common than others, but all of them are popular. I mean, who does not want a coin of Marc Antony? Here is my Antony. Read some more posts on this site and find what you like. I too like coins of historical figures. It means though that these are popular coins and so there will be some competition for them, and the prices will be higher than for less famous individuals. Good luck and have fun!
