Okay so recently I bought 15 roman coins. Most were covered in hardened dirt, corosion, ect. I cleaned them up (even though people said not to) and they came out perfect. Some of the backs of them are still not visible, but worth seeing the front. I don't know a single thing about any of them. So here is about.. 11 of the 15 coins. Any information about the coins would be amazing. And I am naming each coin by a number. e.g. Coin: 1,2,3,4,5 Since the picture uploader still doesn't like me, I have the links below: Coin 1: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos001-2.jpg Coin 1: Back: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos002-3.jpg Coin 2: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos003.jpg Coin 2: Back: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos004-1.jpg Coin 3: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos005-1.jpg Coin 3: Back: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos006-1.jpg Coin 4: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos007.jpg Coin 4: Back: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos008-1.jpg Coin 5: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos009-1.jpg Coin 5: Back: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos010.jpg Coin 6: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos011.jpg Coin 6: Back: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos012.jpg Coin 7: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos013.jpg Coin 7: Back: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos014.jpg Coin 8: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos015.jpg Coin 8: Back: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos016.jpg Coin 9: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos017.jpg Coin 9: Back: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos018.jpg Coin 10: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos019.jpg Coin 10: Back: No back. Coin 11: Front: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos020.jpg Coin 11: Back: http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l612/Justin_Broughton/CoinPhotos021.jpg Thanks in advance. )
Just a reminder, any and all things stated about not cleaning coins by modern coin collectors do not apply to ancients, especially uncleaned ancients. Baseline it is assumed all ancients are cleaned. Uncleaned coins are simply thought to be common, low value coins not worth investing the money to clean them basically. Yes, better coins get by, but those guys are pretty darned good at going through their coins and sorting them out. I am sure you will get lots of help here sorting these out.
I'll start off! 1: Front: Aurelian-270-275 AD: IMP AVRELIANVS AVG 1: Back: Hard to tell exactly but I believe it could be Woman (Oriens) presenting wreath to Aurelian standing left, extending arm and holding spear. 2. Front: Constantine The Great: IMP CONSTANTINVS PF AVG 2. Back: SOLI INV I CTO COMITI, Sol standing left, radiate, nude but with drapery over shoulder, raising right, globe left hand, R F at sides. 3. Front: Constantius II-337-361 AD: D N CONSTAN TIVS P F AVG 3. Back: FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Constantius left on galley, holding labarum and phoenix on globe, Victory seated in stern steering ship, TESA in exerge.
Rather than waiting for others to act, consider trying to ID them yourself. Here is a hint: Start with the reverses. Warren Esty has a good site that shows the reverses of the later late Roman coins. After you find your reverse on his list you can see which rulers issued that reverse and narrow it down from there. We need a similar site with the Earlier Constantinian coins (you have some from both periods) but look over this for a start: http://esty.ancients.info/ricix/ While I know it does not sound friendly, we need to remember that coins in poor condition are harder to ID than better ones. You will learn more at the start by buying 3 coins for $5 each than 15 at $1. With experience you will be able to read these lesser grade coins but it is not the place to start. Who disagrees with any of the IDs provided so far? 3 looks like Constans; 5 Valentinian I to me. You?
Justin: As you can tell, there are many Ancient experts on this site (and I'm NOT one of them.) That said, one can learn a lot more by availing himself of the many resources, some on the internet, than by being a passive collector. (Although I don't collect coins, I do use numismatic evidence to enhance my understanding of Ancient Rome.) We are fortunate to have many real expert Ancient numismatists on this site who are willing to share their knowledge. Ancient Doug who replied earlier to your post, for example, has written many excellent articles about Ancient coins on the internet. Anyway, I hope you join the world of Ancients. And remember to read and research. That's the only way to learn about Ancients. By learning more, those inexpensive coins will become exciting pieces of history that will give you a bridge to a mysterious and rich Ancient World. guy BTW, even though I don't have the expertise to vouch for the link below, I have found it helpful to identify later Roman bronze coins: http://www.tesorillo.com/aes/home.htm
Been trying to identify these coins due to the images the sites you gave me supply. Not much luck. Looking from the detail on the coin to the coin detail on the website is hard for me because I am blind in one eye. I can read, write, ect. but looking back and forth from picture to coin that is so small is difficult..
My best advice, then, would be to buy already attributed coins from reputable sites: http://stores.ebay.com/FORVM-ANCIENT-COINS?_trksid=p4340.l2563 Some really nice coins go for just a few dollars but can give you hours of research and learning material. Look for coins whose inscriptions (writing) and portraits are intact. These are nice keys to researching a coin's origen and significance. Don't have money? Just look at the auctions and try to read the inscription yourself and guess the emperor depicted. Then, compare your results with the sellers' description. This is a great learning exercise. There are plenty of excellent (and free) tools on the internet. guy
Thanks for the advice Bart9349. . I will definitely do that after I find out what the 11 coins I have now are.
