Hadrian Denarius, VF ?

Hi
Here is a Hadrian, nothing special about it, Question is what condition would it be. Flip says almost VF.

Question 2, I paid 39 dollars. Was that about right or not.

Just bored sitting here wondering if I should start wearing a mask or not and cataloging some coins. My photography is an ipad, reverse side of a tablet for background, coffee cup to stabilize I Pad..Cheap but working. FrameMagic is free program for photos and lettering.

Rich, The Mammothtooth

 

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Cited condition and price are correct, in my opinion.

 

I tend to grade on the conservative side, I'd grade it a solid Fine+. (The difference between "Fine+" and "almost VF" is left as an exercise for the reader.) $39 is a reasonable price, slightly on the low side even. Not a rare coin, but a very reasonable "bread-and-butter" coin.

 

Thanks, I am happy now….

 

Nice Hadrian Aequitas, congrats.

Also struck in copper:

 

Grades are subjective. Sure, if the high points were a little more crisp it might grade VF, but it's close enough to call it aVF in my book.

Your coin has some wear and may have been cleaned slightly harsh, but it is well centered, has complete legends(minus the minor edge chip).

I'd say that coin could fetch $50-$75 on a good day. You got a fair deal IMO.

 

AVF and the price you paid is right on point.

 

..fine deal on a fine coin i'd reckon

 

I see no reason to put a grade on an ancient coin at all.
The pictures tell it all, either you like or you don't is how I see it.

 

I agree with @bcuda about grades for ancient coins.

I will say that judging by the photos I think you got a good deal on the coin.

Here is my favorite Hadrian denarius.

 

I agree with those who approve of the price BUT the photo needs another try IMO. Yes, I realize the coin is a brightly shined mirror but you still need to photograph it with a color other than stark and detail free white and black shadows. Digital photos like we use here allow 256 shades of each of the three primary colors Red, Green and Blue. Most of your photo is level 256 brightness. The problem is that the camera record no difference between a tone that is full white and one with twice or ten times as much light so you can not just take this file and darken it down in software. I would suggest shooting the coin again using softer, less glaring light so you have a little more progression from gray to white. Blast white and pitch black coins are harder to photograph than those in the middle but your could do with a bit less brightness and contrast. In time, this coin might tone down and be quite pretty. Of course I do prefer black backgrounds but that is just a matter of choice.
light (VF)


a bit more toned (VF)


Yes, it really is red (aVF)

 

A solid denarius for $39!
I agree with @dougsmit , a little change in the lighting could really make the details pop.

 

I'm leaning more toward the side of @Parthicus; a little too much wear to warrant a VF; I'd go more toward Fine+ than VF-.
(One liberating thing about mostly collecting medieval is that you can effectively throw grading out the window. Yeah, it's all subjective, but when it's as much about the strike as the wear, a line is crossed from 'subective' to 'chaotic /on the level of magical thinking.') But as such, it's even wear, which is a major plus (have to envy you ancients folks for that). From here, given the current difficulties of the text, $39 is sounding like a very good price.
...Since it's been decades since I did ancients on a regular basis, I hope folks will indulge me to this extent. The first two denarii I ever got, as a kid, in a coin shop in Grand Central Station (I was 11, on a one-time summer vacation from the opposite coast), were a Republican one of Cipius, and a Hadrian, more worn than this, with Salus on the reverse. They were each --1973, y'all-- $6.50. Between that and a magnificent penny of Edward III, I blew most of my available funds before we ever got on the plane to Europe.
[Edit:] While hammering away at this, @bcuda put it much more concisely (and cogently) than I could.

 

I agree with the stated grade of VF. You got it for a great price too!

Here is my Hadrian denarius. I’m pretty sure it’s been clipped but it’s still AU.

 

How you gonna post that and not show the reverse??? o_0

 

Interesting that we will pay extra to have a coin 'graded' but not trust them to detect 'clipped' and put it on the label.

 

Hey now...Let's not say "We"...I most definitely wouldn't pay to have a coin graded

 

Lol here is the reverse xD

 

Meh no one is perfect.

My guess is if I broke it out of the slab and sent it in again they would label it clipped.

Perhaps whoever graded it the first time was still training or missed the fact it’s obscenely underweight for a denarius of Hadrian.

Hadrian’s denarii are supposed to weigh 3.2-3.4g taking imperfections into account. Some were lighter at 3.2 and some were heavier at 3.4. Very rarely a 3.1 or 3.5g would slip by.

But 2.89? No way. It’s just too low to be accidental imperfections during the minting process.

Sometimes wear & tear can take some weight off a coin but this one is still AU so there’s no way it lost that much weight. If it was VF I’d say “yeah it’s probably wear” but not this one.

The only two remaining possibilities are clipping (sweating would cause wear so it wasn’t sweated) or its a counterfeit.

I’m just assuming the first since the second is even worse.

 

...Something for people on the medieval side of life to remember: clipping has a very long (--venerable? not so much) history. Right, the Republican serrated ones.