Finally had a moment today to sit down and take a quick sift through a lot of "floor sweepings" (100/$100 pieces of absolute garbage with one good coin thrown in as a bone) from a couple of Roma auctions ago. I didn't see this one when placing the bid, but immediately recognized the portrait At 8.6g it is definitely not a sestertius, but I believe it is his CONCORDIA MILIT dupondius, like: Did the usual due diligence and I think based on the shape of the portrait (smaller nose, longer, pointier beard angled forward) and lack of middle bronzes for Lucius Verus featuring Concordia, this is enough for a positive ID - what say ye?
Certainly cannot see L.V in this portrait!.....Can you make out any of the legend in front of the portrait?......Great snag!
I agree with the ID but mine was only 50 cents as a single back in the 60's. When I sold ~150 coins in 1974, I got less than what I paid by quite a bit. All I have now is a foil pressing.
Thanks @Spaniard! @dougsmit, I remember seeing those before, but I had missed that there was ever a time that Julianus was that cheap! Were other emperors significantly cheaper, or did the dealer just not realize the significance?
The Didius and a Manlia (same day) came from a 50 cent pickout pot of very worn/awful bronzes - mostly 'good emperors' - at a coin shop up a few flights in downtown Indianapolis sometime in the early 1960's. I did not ask the owner if he knew but, then at least, a Didius that bad was not worth any premium. Didn't know or didn't bother....I don't know which. As I remember the seller, he would be at least 130 now so I can't ask him. Then as today, dealers had a minimum 'nuisance' price for coins. Many today never have anything under $50 or $100 but there are some 10x those numbers and some less. Fifty cents was the minimum price in that shop and covered that coin's share of the overhead not to mention attracting kids like me to the hobby so we might buy things from the $5 dish or even the coins that were IDed. The most I spent for a coin before I got out of high school was $13.50 and I thought that was extravagant and foolish. If that man and a couple others of his era had told me to go away and not waste his time unless I had a twenty dollars for a gold coin, I would have taken up another hobby. They were not in the business solely for the purpose of extorting money from millionaire beginners (then a millionaire was considered to be wealthy). At any given moment there would be someone in the shop talking about their coins. Today I'm not sure how much you have to be 'worth' to be 'wealthy'.
My Didius Julianus Sestertius along with my Pertinax Sestertius were free. I found them both metal detecting when I lived in Spain. I sure do wish I still had them but fell on some hard times and sold a bunch of my coins.
@bcuda I'm sorry to hear about that! Did you ever take pictures of them between finding and selling them? And were they separate finds, or together (that would he super cool!) @ominus1 - I actually feel like that'd be a fun theory to put to the test - "Every lot with at least X coins send not sold by eBay grifters will have at least one good keeper in it" So far that has been my experience - I've bought lots from ebay that have been literally nothing but culls, but I think every lot I've purchased from a major auction house where all the coins aren't fully laid out and visible has had at least one good surprise in there.
..well, i quit gambling & started collecting coins...it still sounds like a set up to me...but if you enjoy it, its entertainment expense.. + that one coin is prolly worth at least $100 bucks(maybe)..
