New collector.. new to site....first denarius

Hello all... I am very new to ancients (and coin collecting in general). Took me awhile to find this site and I certainly like the posts that I have read and everyone seems very supportive. I started just a few months ago with a lot of uncleaned coins and found this fascinating. I also realized after much research that while that is a fun exercise you are limited to what you'll find and much of it is very poor (apparently I was 10 or 15 years behind the best opportunities with uncleaned coins.. but thus is life). I think I will always have an small uncleaned lot "on the go" going forward - I just love the process... but I have started to buy a few individual coins that look interesting to me.
I have a family and 2 teenage daughters in high school.. so my purchasing power is very limited as other priorities take precedent.. which is fine by me.
So interesting lower grade coins and buying books on the subject are my focus now and I feel this is a great spot to be in. I am really enjoying this hobby and especially the learning curve - it is huge ..and a great challenge!
I tip my hat to you experts and some day hope to enter your ranks. One thing I did learn from all of my research (and probably the most important thing!) is that I now understand how little I know and I am very careful with my purchases and who I purchase from.
But - I did treat myself recently and purchased my first piece of Roman silver from the recent Frank S. Robinson auction. I love this coin and can't believe that I own it.. it is a truly wonderful work of art with incredible history. I know this is probably a minor purchase for many of you but I feel very honored to own it, take care of it, share it and some day pass it on. I think I did well..

Trajan
obv: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC
laureate draped bust right
rev: PM TRP COS VI PP SPQR
Mars walking right holding spear and trophy




Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to introduce myself. I hope you won't mind me picking your collective brains as I strive to learn more about this hobby, more about history and how to direct my future collecting (I am kind of all over the place at the moment).
Cheers!

 

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Welcome to Coin Talk, I think you will enjoy the experience and people on this forum, love your avatar by the way. That first silver coin is simply fantastic well centered with exceptional detail, and I am sure you got a good deal from Frank.

 

welcome Clavdivs.. looks like a fine coin!.. i've never seen Trajan looking so good!

 

fixed the avatar... lol - thanks for that!

 

Welcome @Clavdivs. Great coin you picked up there! I really like the denarii of Trajan... the celators did a really good job getting a long legend on them.

 

Welcome! Very nice addition and I love reverses showing Mars.


Severus Alexander, Rome, AD 222-235
AR, denarius, 19mm, 2.4g; 6h; Rome mint, AD 226
Obv.: IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG; laureate bust right
Rev.: PM TRP V COS II PP; Mars advancing right holding spear and trophy arms

 

Welcome again! That's a nice pickup from Frank. The reverse is excellent and the portrait Trajan looks unusually genial.

 

"Welcome to the party pal." (In my best Bruce Willis impression). It's always good to have another collector aground.
Ooooooo! Now that is a good looking Trajan. Fantastic detail on his face, hair and look at the neck muscles (wouldn't want to get into a bar room brawl with him). Talk about a man's man and a great leader. He spent his entire career on the march. Certainly a coin to be proud of. Congrats!

 

Welcome, @Clavdivs! Glad you found CoinTalk

 

Wellcome Claudius , great denarius , great portrait of Trajan.
beats my Mars denarius:



Your Trajan might be a good start for a 5 good emperor set:

 

Welcome, Claudius!

Like you, I started out with uncleaned coins. Most of the coins you find will probably be from the 4th century, with a few from the late 3rd century. To get started, maybe google "list of Roman emperors." In general, the longer a 3rd or 4th century emperor reigned, the more likely you are to find one of his coins. Expect to find a lot of coins from Constantine I ("the Great"), Constantius II, Constantine II, (usually as Caesar, or second in command, rather than Augustus), Valentinian I, Valens, along with Constans, Arcadius, Gallienus, Probus and Theodosius I in smaller quantities.

You mentioned books. Most members here will recommend "Roman Coins and Their Values" by David Sear. It's a good place to begin, but I also like the "Handbook of Roman Imperial Coins" by David van Meter, because it describes the deities and reverse types in more detail. The problem with van Meter is that it's out of print and can be very expensive, but if you're persistent you can usually find a reasonably-priced copy online. I checked bookfinder.com and found this copy:

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sh...-59145-_-212653&ref=imprad59145&afn_sr=impact

 

Welcome to the cuckoo's nest and the dark side. I look forward to seeing your collection grow. That Trajan a really decent start to your collection.

TRAJAN AR Denarius
OBVERSE: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC, laureate draped bust right
REVERSE: P M TR P COS VI P P SPQR, Virtus standing right holding spear & parazonium, foot on helmet
Struck at Rome, 99-100 AD
2.8g, 19mm
RIC 355v, C 274c anecdotal

 

That's a lovely coin for your first denarius. What I love about this hobby is you will always learn new things. Congrats!

 

Welcome to CT Clavdivs! Nice Trajan!

 

Welcome, @Clavdivs ! That is a lovely denarius! Frank is a great coin dealer and his auctions usually have something for any collector, no matter the budget. His photos, however, usually don't do the coins justice. I'm quite sure your coin is even lovelier in hand than in Frank's photo.

You can't go wrong with Trajan! He's an important historical figure and his coinage is plentiful but varied. One could spend a lifetime specializing in his imperial denarii alone. I particularly like the Mars types on his denarii. I fell in love with this one and had to make it mine. It is the same coin as yours, so the catalog numbers I cite are those you can use, too:


Trajan, AD 98-117
Roman AR denarius; 2.92 gm, 20.1 mm, 7 h
Rome, AD 114-117
Obv: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC, laureate and draped bust, right
Rev: P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R, Mars walking right with spear and trophy
Refs: RIC 337; BMCRE 536; Cohen 270; RCV --; Woytek 520v; Strack 230; BN 819.

 

Welcome. You will find the group here on Coin Talk is quite varied in every way. Some live for the site; others visit it when they can. Some have thousands of coins in their collection; others are thinking about buying their first. Some rarely spend under $1000 for a coin; others can not imagine spending $100 all in one place.

A major decision for a beginner but one that can be changed at any time is just what do you collect. Your first coin was a Roman Imperial denarius of the adoptive emperor Trajan. That does not mean that your next coins must be any, let alone all, of those things. In my slightly over 50 years in the hobby, I adjusted my path in collecting several times. I started with Romans as most do but wished I could aford more Greeks. I overlooked the fact that there are some lower priced Greeks. Until the 1990's I rarely looked at any coin that was not Greek or Roman but then 'discovered' Indian, Parthian, Sasanian and other non-Classical (not Greek or Roman) civilizations. I suggest you keep an open mind to possibilities that may or may not appeal as the chances appear. You undoubtedly got Frank Robinson's new list where he is selling many Indian coins. Some will be thrilled; many will be bored.

I love my books but only have a few (hundred). They are not cheap. I suggest making use of the Internet resources available for free in addition to paper and ink books. For beginners, I like my series of pages on the Vocabulary of Ancient Coins in the belief that there are many terms you need to know to correspond with others in a meaningful manner. Coin Talk is a good place to 'talk'. Do visit my pages.
www.forumancientcoins.com\dougsmith\voc.html
At this instant it appears they are down. I hope that is temporary.

 

Welcome to the board

 

You picked a great forum @Clavdivs to begin your journey. I’m new as well and have been collecting ancients for about 9 months. Lots of knowledge here and members willing to help.

 

Welcome @Claudius

That is a very nice first ancient coin. There are plenty of helpful people here. Do not be afraid to ask questions.

 

Nice Trajan Mars. Not a bad way to get started. Anyway, I'll just leave my only Trajan denarius here.....