Mail Call - Big Beautiful Bronzes

@ancient coin hunter I love that Caracalla! Victory is my favorite reverse and yours is a great example!

 

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I agree. Coin shows are going the way of department stores, although I think the large venues, such as Long Beach, FUN, New York and ANA, will continue.

One major problem buying online is that images do not always represent faithfully the actual coin. Sometimes the "coin in hand" is better than the image, sometimes worse. Obviously this is not an issue when buying at a show or at a dealer's store.

 

I'm glad you mentioned the "images do not always represent the coin" Here are the two Byzantines I bought recently along with the seller's photos. I took a gamble on bad pictures and I think I did ok

 

Yeah. I like it was well as the bad boy is wearing scale armor, also the tiny figure being held by Victory...

 

How big is that coin? Just curious.

 

Big Batches of Bronzes are pretty much my favorite thing and I like seeing all the wonderful, if a bit off-grade, things everybody finds.

Here is a batch of Byzantine Folles I recently got, with a sestertius of Julia Mamaea. Sure, they ain't pretty, but at $16.05 for the lot (free shipping!), I'll put up with a lot of ugly.

 

Dang! I don't know where you are shopping but that is a great deal!

 

eBay, but it doesn't happen like that very often. Which is just as well - I'd probably bankrupt myself on uglies.

 

Hey now, uglies deserve love too. I know that FFIVN and I would be over the moon to win a lot like that. Granted, we are not financially well off enough to court the pretty ladies on the yachts. More like the Bertha's down by the dock. Either way, we love them all the same

 

Still digging through the boxes. I came across this old purchase from Harlan Berk, back in the 1980s as I recall.

Justinian I (527-565 CE)
Nicomedia Mint
Year 13 (539/40 CE)
AE Follis
Officina B
23.7 grams and approximately 40 mm in diameter.

This example is generally well struck, with the exception of slight weakness on the obverse, at around 7 o'clock and 3 o'clock on the reverse. Good patina.

 

That's a good looking one! FFIVN and I picked a few out of Harland J. Berk's "junk box" back at the last Baltimore Whitman show.

 

Gorgeous colors! The Hadrian is especially wonderful.