Coins that you'd buy if you win a lottery?!

Sestertii of Plautilla, Annia Faustina, and Tranquilina plus bronze Medallions of Valerian II, Saloninus, Claudius Gothicus, Carus and Carinus. Sigh.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

hey @JayAg47 wow, great question. for me it would be the 1909S VDB Lincoln penny. this is an example of the coin graded MS66 by pcgs. super nice! good luck to you sir............

 

That is a very pretty colored coin. I do admit that it mystifies me that most of the people who are posting on this thread would rather have it than a Boscoreale gold aureus that survived the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 (a mere 1830 years earlier) especially considering that there are estimated to be 50,000 of these cents still around compared a handful* (see note below) of the aurei. I also wonder if the people who frequent the US section of Coin Talk would enjoy seeing this thread. Perhaps you should copy it over there for their benefit.

Those new to posting in the Ancient Section of Coin Talk may have been confused by a few posts referring to the collection of our member Ancient Joe or my mention of Boscoreale. If interested, they might enjoy the thread below where such an aureus is shown as his second favorite coin of that year.
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/my-top-10-purchases-of-2014.257303/#post-2049017

If I were to win the billion, I'd buy the services of someone to handle my filthy old coins for me and to study them so my head would not hurt trying to figure out which one to buy next. Washing my hands after handling my coins is such a chore. Prime candidate might be a young person whose education through PhD I could fund and who might gain better understanding of not only the coins but the history and economics of the coin market. As soon as you hear of my billion winnings actually happening, be sure to apply by digging up this old thread and making formal application for the position. Don't jump the gun and apply now. My not buying lottery tickets makes my winning the billion a bit unlikely.

Looking for a smiley face on the above? There is none. I'm dead serious. If I won the billion, I'd buy people (in the currently acceptable manner including scholarships, salaries, funding research etc. of course).

* I stand corrected. The 1895 Boscoreale hoard is said to have included a thousand gold coins as listed in, by coincidence, 1909. The treasures found with the bag of coins made them of so little interest to scholars that no formal study was done so we don't really know much about them. I do wonder how many were cleaned of their toning or melted down to make watch fobs.

 

Interesting question with obvious answers to be given. But however, I do wonder if a billion dollars (I'd rather have euro's) really fullfill my enjoyment of collecting coins? At this moment, my low level coins can easily be displayed in my house, without any worries and within handsreach so I can take 'em out, hold them, look at them closely. Having high quality coins locked away in vault somewhere is not quite my understanding of enjoying the hobby. So would a billion dollars make me a happier collector? Not quite sure....

 

I totally agree.

Now that I think about it, I'd rather start my own or buy a coin grading company. Then I can enforce conditions that would make grading fair and simple. Plenty of time would be given to ensure the grading process is definitive and thorough. Before and after pictures would be taken to verify the coin received is the coin being sent back. The price of submitting one coin or ten will be the same as long as you're a member of my organization.

My money, my rules, right?

 

I mean if I'm a billionaire, I'd build a multi-million dollar bond villain type mansion with a separate museum with all the coins and artifacts!

 

If I had a billion, I would buy the rarest coins and play with them because I’m a billionaire, why not?

 

And where are you going to keep them so they're safe? Or are you going to live in a vault?

 

With a billion, yes, I’d basically live in a vault.

 

My daughter and I would find period clothing for whatever coins we’re playing with.

 

1. A nice Athena tetradrachm, with an attractive portrait of Athena, no test cuts, almost no wear, and well centered. With a white luster, or a dark gray tone, or a black tone.
2. A nice aes grave Janus 1 as, with a dark green patina, with a well documented provenance dating back to 2011 or earlier.
3. A nice Lydia electrum 1/3 stater, with a lion's head profile on the obverse, with a high gold content.
4. A nice Spanish pillars and waves 8 reales silver coin, Potosi mint, preferably minted between 1652 and 1689, with a well documented shipwreck provenance.
5. A nice U.S. 1793 chain cent, with a dark brown patina, or a black patina.
6. A nice U.S. bar cent, with a dark brown patina, or a black patina.
7. A nice U.S. Gobrecht dollar, with stars on the reverse, either shiny, or with a black tone.
Of course, it would be nice, if each of the above coins, had a well documented provenance, or a COA from a well respected expert.

 

I went into coin collecting because it was an affordable and portable hobby for someone who travelled a lot for work, and you can lock all your coins in a small box in a vault. Easy.

Were I more well off, I'd probably collect really high end books and dump the coins. Incunabulae, illuminated MS and such like.

Or perhaps I'd extend my harem and have more kids. That's what the richest of the rich tend to do

 

I would buy a 1943 Copper cent and a 1955 DDO!!! I love my Wheaties!!!! LOL

 

Carthagenian Gold.

 

Titus Ilius Proculus AE antoninianus

 

For heavens sake, Restitutor, what makes you think you can post an ancient coin here where it is obviously a Modern thread? What? You must think this is in the Ancient section? Mine was $29 in 2013. MS 5/5, 5/5 would be expensive.


Once again I am made the fool posting to a thread back from the dead. I do wish threads over a certain number of days inactive would warn us that they were oldies. That said, Proculus is a decent answer. I'd rather have an aureus of Pescennius Niger but, not being in line to become a billionaire makes this a moot point.

 

This isn't lottery material, but more of a "one that got away". This one went in a recent auction, and I was so tempted because I think the portrait is absolutely stunning...one of the best I've ever seen of Vespasian. I just couldn't bring myself to spend what it was going for (which I can't remember now).

 

An aureus of Pertinax would be a nice consolation.

 

The neat thing about the mathematics of lottery jackpots is that your chances of winning are about the same whether you play or not.