Picked up my first ancient...Gordian III Antoninianus

Thanks for all of the help on my other thread for "ancient shopping". I still plan to pick up a few more. This was a "target of opportunity" at my local coin shop. His "ancient aisle" was actually about half a tray of denarii and antoninianii (? guessing on the plural here). This was the low end ($25) and it ran up to one that was AU or even Uncirc. ($120). I have been having trouble getting good lighting on my coin pics. This photo has had the brightness and contrast adjusted to bring out as much detail as I could, but it still looks MUCH better in person. I've looked at photos of a LOT of Gordian III coins since bringing this home Friday and I've not seen this exact reverse. It appears to be a figure in toga with right hand holding a grounded spear and the left a cornucopia maybe. Any help as to what the legends SHOULD read would be appreciated.




Any and all comments are welcome!

Rob

 

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Welcome to the world of ancients.

Obv: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III facing right.
Rev: FELICIT TEMP, Felicitas standing left holding a long caduceus and a cornucopia.
Silver Antoninianus, Rome mint, 243-4 AD
RIC IViii 140, RSC 71, S8607, VM 7

 

Hey Rob, Gordian III ants are a great choice. I hate to throw cold water on your purchase, but if I don't say it, someone else will. Many Gordian III ant types are extremely common in higher grades for much less than your LCS is charging. Offer him $50 for the AU examples and you stand a good chance of getting them, unless he overpaid himself. Here are four of mine, none of which cost more than $50 apiece, one cost $35, and another $19.

The question is: do you want to spend $25 on a lower-grade coin when a few dollars more will easily get you examples in EF? Only the very scarce varieties should get up over $100.

 

=> Welcome to the chilly dark-side, brother (don't forget to have some fun!!)

 

I agree with JA. The problem with your LCS is that, in all probability, he does not deal in Ancients and perhaps does not realize that these Gordian III coins are in abundance so do not demand high prices in lower grades. Do some homework on any of his coins he has for sale, then make him offer's based on your research. I use www.acsearch.info to get a lot of the information about past sales. BTW, welcome to a whole different side of coin collecting.

 

Congratulations on your first ancient purchase!

 

Congrats, these are mine.

 

Thanks for the thoughts so far. It really does look better in hand and my photography sucks. But also this dealer is NOT an ancients specialist...of the 20 or so Roman coins on display, maybe 1/3 were Gordians (and not the most expensive one). He commented about Gordians being very common due to a large cache being found. I thought the price and condition were not far off what I'd been looking at online and I like to give him business so he'll be around! And no shipping charges.

Rob

 

Here are a couple of mine. The first cost me $30, while the second coin set me back a whooping 17.50. Both prices include shipping.

GORDIAN III AR Antoninianus
OBVERSE: IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG - Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
REVERSE: IOVI CONSERVATORI - Jupiter standing left, holding thunderbolt and scepter; Gordian III to lower left
Struck at Rome, 238-239 AD
4.6g, 21mm
RIC 2, C 105


GORDIAN III AR Antoninianus
OBVERSE: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right
REVERSE: LIBERALITAS AVG III, Liberalitas standing left with abacus & cornucopia
Struck at Rome, 240AD
4.6g, 21mm
RIC 67

 

Congrat on your first Here's my first Gordian.

 

Gordian III AR Antoninianus. Antioch, AD 242-244. 4.2g, 22.26mm

OBV: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, Radiate bust right, cuirassed.

REV: SAECVLI FELICITAS, Gordian standing right, holding a spear diagonally & globe.

REF: RIC 216, RSC 319.

This is my very first silver coin, first Gordian III as well.

 

welcome to ancients! here's my 25 buck Gordian iii ant, I picked mine up in person as well...

 

Gordian III was the cheapest silver when I started in the hobby 50 years ago so it is not based on one recent find. While there are a few scarce reverses and more popular styles, they are mostly low priced in average grade. The OP coin is far below average. Bing's pair strike me as correctly priced. A problem or blessing with the LCS as a source is that the owners may be wholly ignorant of the difference between premium coins and common ones. Some charge high prices for everything while others buy cheap and sell all for a small markup. Until you advance enough that you can protect yourself from overcharges and fakes (your dealer would not know the difference, most likely), I would suggest buying by mail or from specialist dealers. Flea markets and coin stores that specialize in bullion silver are rarely good places for ancients.

 

I took some new pictures today which I think show my coin better as it shows "in hand". What do you think?



Rob

 

Teddydogno => sounds like you're liking your new coin, so congrats, brother ...

I have a couple of Gordian III examples ...

AR Denarius



SYRIA, Decapolis. Gadara. Gordian III AE26
238-244 A.D.
Dated CY 303 (AD 239/40)
Diameter: 26 mm
Weight: 13.34 grams
Obverse: Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Reverse: Galley left with captain, seven oarsmen, and steersman on deck; ΓT (date) below



=> keep-on collecting, teddy (welcome aboard)

 

Your images are much much better.

 

Oh my god... these Gordians are beautiful! I only really collect US coins, but I'm thinking I need some of these in my collection.

 

I think you may be surprised at the relative low cost of these Gordian III coins. We will be looking forward to seeing your finds. Good luck.

 

Welcome to the dark side!

I switched from US coins to ancients 18 mos ago and haven't looked back.

Sure...you coulda' bought a Gordian Ant in that condition for less. But $25 is an inexpensive first lesson. And look at it this way, now you have a coin that circulated almost 2000 years ago. Now that's cool. You've jumped in!

I also found out my LCS didn't really know up from down when it came to ancients. But that can also lead to opportunities!

Half the fun is in the journey. Post your coins here. The collectors in this Ancient forum won't steer you wrong. They can also give you tips on everything from how to take clear, well defined photos to identifying coins and attribution to grade and value. You've come to the right place.

Good luck!

 

Race has the answer. We all pay too much for some coins and too little for others. It is possible to buy what comes along at low prices or to have exactly what we want at high prices but it is hard to have the best of both worlds. I'm sure many of us here have reasonably priced ancients that you would love to have but we have no way of knowing which they are and most of us are too lazy to write up our trade stock and post sales or afraid of dealing with whoever ends up as high bidder if we put them to auction.

I do suggest taking it slow and reading posts here to become familiar with choices before you start spending wildly. That might even make your entry in the hobby more acceptable to the wife (if you have one) so we will be spared your post next year about how you can't buy coins until she cools down. The coins have been around for 2000 years and should be available as you learn what you want and what you want to pay. Most important, I suggest you not buy something because I (or anyone else) told you it was a good idea unless you understand why and agree that it is a good idea FOR YOU.

Below I show four coins that may all seem quite similar. If all were offered for the same price, which would you buy? Hang around here and such questions will seem simple.