Coins from my collection

I thought I might post pictures of selected coins from my collection, along with my thoughts on the coins when I purchased them as well as my current reflections on those coins. Inasmuch as my collection is limited in scope and size, this may get a bit boring after a while and I'll be happy to cut it short when it does.

Some of the first coins I acquired before my collection had a specific theme (i.e., 12 Caesars) were the following two:



BRUTUS 85- 42 B.C.
AR Denarius (3.85 gm.) Tyrannicide, d. 42 B.C. Smyrna (?) early 42 B.C.
Axe, Simpulum, knife / Jug & Lituus. Moneyer P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther
Sydenham 1310 Crawford 500/7





CASSIUS
AR Denarius (3.85 gm.) Tyrannicide, d. 42 B.C. Smyrna (?) early 42 B.C.
Tripod / Jug & Lituus. Moneyer P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther
Sydenham 1308 Crawford 500/1


These two silver denarii were so well struck and shiny that they appeared to still have their original mint luster. Being new to collecting ancient coins, I was stunned to see coins that seemed this well preserved, especially silver coins that are prone to tarnishing. Even as my collection evolved its theme, I retained these two coins due to their beauty and quality, as well as their historical significance.

For a while, I was of the opinion that silver coins with "toning" were of lesser appeal, although the dealer through whom I acquire my coins informed me that toned silver coins were equally desirable to collectors and such coins did not have their value lessened solely due to toning.

As some of my later postings will show, I have added toned silver coins to my collection that are, indeed, very attractive in part due to their toning, rather than in spite of it.

Interestingly, having had these two coins for over four years, they are actually showing signs of toning and are less lustrous than when I first acquired them.

 

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I prefer toned coins but toned or not, these are an awesome pair of coins!

 

welcome to CoinTalk

I want to say welcome to you & your threads & your excellent coin photos! :welcome:

 

I like ARs whether they are toned or not. Nice toning can give the coin some character but I dont think its worth paying extra to have that character.

Also believe it or not I have never seen these two coins before. Ive never seen the type for sale nor in any collections since I started over 3 years ago. Interesting.

Look forward to seeing others

 

That's odd. CNG has been running one or two of the second type every couple of esales.

 

One of the first toned coins I acquired was the following:



CLAUDIUS 10 B.C. - 54 A.D.
AR Denarius (3.63 gm.) Rome 50 - 51 A.D.
Laureate head of Claudius 4. / SPQR OB CS in oak wreath.
RIC 54

At first I wasn't so sure that I liked the toning, especially since I had the Brutus and Cassius denarii and was still amazed at the luster those two coins exhibited. However, the style of Claudius' portrait was very nice and I also liked the oak wreath reverse, so overall I was fairly pleased with the coin.

Gradually, I became more and more enamored of the toning and today I think it probably looks better toned than it would if it had the luster of the Cassius and Brutus coins. I'm curious about how the other collectors of ancient coins feel about toned vs. un-toned AR coins in their collections.

 

A wonderful Denarius! I'm very curious to see what bronze you might post.

 

Stunning!

@Ardatirion, CNG is too rich for me, as is Harlen and several others.

 

Welcome to CT, very nice looking coins you have. And amazing, already a star with the photos too, nice quality!

 

It never hurts to look - and you learn so much!

 

I only started adding AE coins to my collection around 18 months ago. While I feel very comfortable evaluating AV and AR Roman coins, my understanding and ability to evaluate AE coins is pretty much nonexistent. For AE coins, the patina is essentially part of the surface (due to the corrosion of almost all brass coins) and removal of the patina is considered alteration of the coin. Although some smoothing is typical and usually acceptable, too much smoothing, and especially any alteration of the "devices" are considered tooling and greatly decrease the value of the coin. In fact, I've seen a number of coins go unsold at international auctions due to the fact that they have been tooled even when such tooling is minor.

So I have relied 100% on my dealer to evaluate my AE coin acquisitions. One of my first AE coins was the following Nero sestertius:



NERO
AE Sestertius (26.56 g.) Lugdunum circa 65 A.D.
NERO CLAVD CAESAR AVG GER P M TR P IMP P P Laureate head of Nero left. Rev. PORT AVG Port of Ostia, river Tiber reclining below
RIC 441

I find that I'm attracted to distinctive reverse types, in addition to high-quality obverse portraits, and this coin filled both criteria. Plus, the patina is attractive, and I like the size and weight of AES coins as compared to AR and AV coins.

 

That bronze as a very cool reverse. Excellent portrait also.

 

Thats a very cool type! Thanks for sharing

 

One of my favorite bronze coins is this as of Claudius that I acquired last year:



CLAUDIUS 41 - 54 A.D.
AE As (9.41 g.) Rome 50 - 54 A.D.
TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P Bare head l. Rev. LIBERTAS - AVGVSTA S - C Libertas draped, standing facing, head r., holding pileus and extending l. hand.
RIC 113

I like the level of detail in both the obverse and reverse, and the portrait style of Claudius is very good. While not a rare type, it's nevertheless a good example of one of my favorite 12 Caesars.

 

An excellent piece. Really lovely details on the folds of Libertas.

 

Very nice! My favorite of yours so far

 

And I can only agree. These are all beautiful coins.

 

When I started collecting 12 Caesars' AES, I noticed that the sestertii of Caligula had two very interesting reverse types: (1) his three sisters (Drusilla, Agrippina, and Julia Livilla), and (2) the "ad locutio" of Caligula addressing (haranguing?) the troops. I was fortunate enough to find one of the latter a few months later:



GAIUS (CALIGULA) 37 - 41 A.D.
AE Sestertius (28.88 g.) Rome c. 37 - 38 A.D.
C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT Laureate head l. Rev. ADLOCVT Gaius, bare headed and togate, standing l. on platform, r. hand extended to five soldiers with shields and parazonia, rearmost pair carrying an aquila; in exergue, COH.
RIC 32

This is possibly my favorite AES in my collection so far. The portrait of Caligula makes him look just a little mad...

 

Another beautiful coin. Nice to see a different reverse then the one with his three sisters. I can see why it is your favorite. Even the faces of the troops stand out.

 

Heck, nice to see any Gaius without the ubiquitous Vesta reverse. That is the only Caligula I own.