Freed some Friends! (1) EMPIRE

I just freed a few of my Friends from their slabs... Listening to everyone here convinced me that it was the Humane thing to do! Thank you, I have repented, and will forever eschew my Evil Ways! (Only about slabbing, tho).

This is a 1st Thread of 3 varieties from Rome: Empire, Imperatorial, and Res Publica!

EMPIRE:
I may need a LITTLE help from @vespasian70 on my version and attributes. (Man, an IMPRESSIVE collection that I espied the other day! Wow, had no IDEA the variety of Vespasianus!)


Vespasianus 69-79 AD
AR Denarius
18.4mm x 20.2mm (bit oblong), 2.08 thick, 3.37g
Obv: Vespasian
Rev: Jupiter sacrificing
NGC listed

 

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Excellent!! I love coins with toning in the crevices

Which release method did you use?

 

Thats a beauty, Brian.

This was in a ICG slab as XF, lol.

 

Beautiful denarius! Yeah, it's a little easier to get a good pic once they're out of the slammer, huh?

 

Yeah! My Ptolemy Tet yesterday was MUCH better out of Slab..both pic and just LOOKING at it! gives me more confidence: a) HOLD the coin and really see the detail and b) I still keep the NGC reference...

 

Can finally breath Nice denarius.

 

Ditto on the toning. Nice coin. Is this a RIC 849?

 

Thank you!. On this one, I ended up putting it on my Vice, and using a screwdriver...cheated with a few taps of a 2 lb. sledge...


On another, I used the opposing Vise-Grips method...had in a towel, but pieces flew EVERYWHERE...nope...

 

Ahhhh...RIC 849... Hmmmm...dunno... Hopin' for some help, my friends!

 

I'm fairly certain on the RIC number.

 

THANK YOU!!! Perfect! 'preciate that!

 

That's a lovely coin, congrats!

 

What a really nice example of the Jupiter type. I'm glad it's now breathing free!

Bing is correct, it's RIC 849, one of the more common types struck for Vespasian.

So, Rome Mint, 76 AD
RIC 849 (C3), BMC 276, RSC 222

 

Gentlemen: THANK you for your kind help! I wanted expert opinions before I went rampaging through the RIC Databases and make myself into a fool (again) posting some wrong Attributes. I am being careful now to make sure they are correct, as well as making sure they are not FAKES (still burnt over that RR this summer). Best to you!

 

Nice!! => congrats on the successful coin-jailbreak!!

 

I don't collect a lot of ancients (although there are many that I think are really cool - and intend to add eventually). I mostly collect US coinage.... where everything is slabbed. Because of that, I like my ancients slabbed as well.

 

@physics-fan3.14 Thank you for your thoughts. I used to think like you regarding slabbing. I can see why mint states and proofs needed slabbing. However, I take a historian's view (albeit amateur) on coins in that they represent place-markers in history. Every Ancient coin has been handled for 1000 to approx 2500 years. Most have been dug out of the ground, dirty, crusted, or in good shape. Coin collecting is the Hobby of Kings, being handled, shared, and viewed. However, slabbing is only a very recent process from just the last few decades. Coins were and presently are used for trade and commerce. I enjoy coins worn or touched, as they show the wear of being transacted by people in many cases over 2000 years ago. That is why decided to remove them from today's marketing ploy of sealing them up and not letting others touch history.

 

Jupiter himself seems happy to breathe again
Good job and excellent coin

Q

 

The next Hollywood block buster! "ORIENS"

 

We can never all agree on the matter of slabbing, handling or selecting coins. Some of us like coins in perfect condition protected from fingers while others of us prefer coins with interesting points not related to their grade. This is no problem because there are so many coins and so few collectors. The problem I see is when a new collector is told that a $10 coin is worth $50 because it is in a slab. It may be easier for him to sell to someone else who chooses to pay rather than study. Is the hobby as a whole better off because coins are packaged in a way that they can be sold by flea market operators rather than by dealers who can provide full service for less than the price of plastic? If you think so, buy slabs.