It's the proper emperor with aequitas reverse. If you wonder it's value I wouldn't pay more then $70 for it.
All of the "roman coins and their values" books by Sear for one have all of the emperors names as they appear on coins. Its a great place to start on Roman coins.
I don't think you over paid that badly but I'm guessing you bought it as a buy it now? If you keep it for a while I'm sure it will increase in price.
That is high but not robbery like a slabbed version would probably be priced at. And yes, ancients are on the rise like all other coins. I think it's cause folks like you & I find out they are affordable so demand is up and so the cost goes up. They have jumped alot just in the few years I started. Still cheaper then boring u.s. coins
Its also a matter of shopping around a lot. I find ancients even more so than US coins its about the deal. The best part about that is knowledge is even more important. I have bought a ton of, "I don't know what this is" coins from people at good deals. Increase your knowledge, shop around, and I believe you will start getting better deals. They are out there, just not easy to get all of the time. I just 5 minutes ago bought a really nice VF Gordian III from a world coin dealer near my house. I educated him about them, told him I wouldn't pay as much as others most likely, but he still wanted me to buy it. $20 for a nice VF silver roman coin, not too bad. Yeah they are common but still worth $20 in my eyes.
Asking prices are on the rise. Coins that don't sell after a while get discounted. Dealers that give up easily sometimes sell for less than they paid just to free up cash to try to do better next time. Dealers who make this mistake too often go our of business. Dealers that never discount sell few coins. That does not lead to a long term place in the business either. When you pay the asking price, you are agreeing with the dealer. I see this coins as a bit less than you paid but more than Frank. Mat is closer to my opinion but when a beginner buys a coin at less than double what I would pay it says more about how bad he wanted the coin compared to how bad I wanted it than it does about the coin itself. This is a nice middle of the road Marcus Aurelius which will sell between $50 and $150 depending on who is selling and who is buying. You are OK. If all of the reverse legend were there, I'd say it was worth the $110.
Common= I have all of these I want and am tired of seeing them. Scarce= I could use another like this but I'm not paying retail. Rare= I have been searching desperately for this for a long time and have not seen any. This guide need refining but it points out how the same coin can be different things to different people on different days.
Well good news is I'm getting better at this. And willy you may be right but my first ancient was slabbed . Oh and I'd say 20 for a Gordian III is a good price. You could probably double your profit on eBay. When bid wars start there's no telling where it ends.
Very true, but what do you call a coin you don't "collect" but own 10 or so just from opportunistic buying?