I was fortunate enough to have been able to pick a cheap copy of the BMC for Greek coins when I first stated collecting back in the seventies. Today I was looking up a new coin I just picked up coin off of eBay, Antoninus Thrace, Philippopolis AE 19 and found the below clipping, placed in there by a previous owner. $12.50 for a Julius Caesar!!!!! Look at the prices for 1st and 2nd Jewish revolt bronzes!! They weren't that cheap when I starting collecting. There is no date to be seen on the clipping but I'm guessing the fifties. They weren't that cheap when I starting collecting.
According to this calculator, $12.50 in 1950 would be about $140 in 2020. That's still less than I paid for this Julius Caesar elephant denarius, but not too much less: Roman Republic, Imperatorial Coinage, Julius Caesar, AR denarius, 49–48 BC, military mint moving with Caesar. Obv: [CA]ESAR; elephant walking r., trampling snake. Rev: priestly implements: culullus, aspergillum, axe, apex. 20mm, 3.70g. Ref: RRC 443/1.
The $6 price of an Alexander Janneus in "G-VG" is about half the cost of an elephant CAESAR. I have two widow's mites (in better than G-VG) I'll trade for an elephant CAESAR. Any takers?
I calculate a roughly 30x increase in prices since 1950. That would place the solidus at $750 in 2020 dollars (maybe a tad low). Just to compare, I know my parents paid $80 a month for their first one bedroom apartment in 1961. Today the going rate around here is about $2,400 per month for a one bedroom apartment, so again, a 30-fold increase. But on the Caesar I don't think a nice elephant type is available at around $400 these days...
Hi All, I recently thought of buying a similar Byzantine solidus for about US$1500. I finally decided against it because there is still some debate on wether these are from Jerusalem or Alexandria. (I’m only interested in Alexandria). That would make it about a 60x increase. But for $25.00 .......... - Broucheion
