A true natural Roman Sestercius - please add more to this post

Well if we're not just limited to Septimius Severus, I've got a nice sestertius of Nero which seems to be original or at least minimally molested


Nero, CE 54-68
struck in Rome, CE 63
Orichalcum sestertius, 34 mm, 26.7 gm
Obv: NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR P IMP PP; laureate head right, wearing aegis
Rev: ANNONA AVGVSTI CERES; Ceres, veiled and draped, seated left, holding corn ears and torch, her feet on stool, facing Annona standing right, holding cornucopia; between them, modius on garlanded altar; in background, stern of ship
Ref: RIC 98. Cohen 24
Heritage, CICF World and Ancient Coin Signature Auction, Apr 2014
It was in an NGC holder. I forgot to note the cert # and grade but I probably have the tag in the flip (hopefully).

 

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yummy => that's a very sweet coin, my dear (have we seen that baby before?)


... I can't even recall what I had for breakfast

 

Thanks, Steve-O. You've seen it before, posted here.

Oh, I recorded the NGC holder grade in that thread. Choice XF, 5/5, 3/5.

 

Love that coin, TIF.

 

I propose a new add-on to grades on slabs. Let us now see Choice XF 5/5 3/5 MM.

Question: If one tools an honest 3/5 into a 5/5 appearance does it become a 1/5 or a 5/5?

 

Doug, do you feel this coin has been significantly tooled?

 

No. I just like the term that describes the situation better than 'lightly smoothed'.

 

Me too

 

Are we all certain that a "for profit" dealer would note smoothing at all?

 

There are two kinds of 'for profit' dealers. One wants you to be a customer of his and of his heirs; the other wants what he can get now and may or may not be around next week. We pick which kind we prefer and spend accordingly.

 

Have a look at a premier ancient dealership in Harlan Berk. Most coins are graded MS. He probably had the grandfather, son and grandson as clients. Prices are very high. Huge selection with very nice coins. I would have a problem dropping thousands of dollars on a single coin without validation. I say the same about an expensive world coin.

I know we have gone in circles on this issue and will not likely converge. I say its a matter of how much you pay for a single coin. If you buy a coin for $30 the margin of error is nominal. When spending multiples of that, there needs to be validation, pedigree whether Vagi, Sear or a Museum curator.

 

Love that Nero, TIF! Real nice and hardly no molestation at all!
Seriously, it is sooooo beautiful!

 

well, if TIF is gonna play the ol' Nero-card, then I'm all-in!!




... ahhhhhhh, it feels good to let the ol' Nero hang out!!

 

For museum curator I would put a * beside with the note of specific museums such as the British Museum, or maybe the coin area of the British Museum of Fine Arts.

Despite having a decent collection of Roman antiquities I would never go to our museum for authentication of a coin. They are hidden away and only brought out for specific classes offered at the university. I would wager that they have very limited knowledge regarding Roman antiquities let alone coins.

 

I was referring to a non-for-profit (in the coin) entity. Pick the one you trust - a collector/grading expert, other dealer. I see a lot of theory here, yet will anyone buy a raw $5,000 coin from a dealer based and trust the grading? I wouldn't even if he was a great person. There is a threshold of economics where validation is needed, and I am not referring to slabbing as a sole alternative.

 

Oh, I definitely agree. If I were to ever have that amount of money to spend on a single coin I would be making definite sure everything is shiny.

Until then I am just going to drool over the coins of everyone else!