Here is my worn RR denarius Silver denarius, MN Cordius Rufus, Fair, graffiti, banker's marks, 3.572g, 19.8mm, 45o, Rome mint, c. 46 B.C.; obverse RVFVS III VIR, conjoined heads of Dioscuri right, wearing laureate pilei surmounted by stars; reverse MN CORDIVS, Venus standing left, scales in right and scepter in left, Cupid at shoulder; SRCV I 440, Sydenham 976, Crawford 463/1a, RSC I Cordia 2a. Ex: Forvm Ancient Coins And here is my worn Caligula. Worn, but still attractive Caligula and Agrippina AR Denarius, aF, toned, bumps and marks, 2.680g, 17.8mm, 180o, Lugdunum (Lyon, France) mint, end of 37 - early 38 A.D.; Obv: C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT (counterclockwise), laureate head of Gaius right; Rev: AGRIPPINA MAT C CAES AVG GERM (counterclockwise), draped bust of Agrippina Senior (his mother), her hair in a queue behind, one curly lock falls loose on the side of her neck, RIC I 14 (Rome), RSC II 2; BMCRE I 15 (Rome), BnF II 24, Hunter I 7 (Rome), SRCV I 1825 Ex: the Jyrki Muona Collection, Ex: Forvm Ancient Coins.
I love this coin since it depicts Julia on the reverse, Augustus' only natural child and the daughter of his second wife Scribonia. Julia was born the same day that Octavian divorced Scribonia to marry Livia. It is well worn, but scarce, and it fits in nicely with my "Family Members of the 12-Caesars" collection. It was issued before Julia's disgrace in 2 BC. Livia and Julia, 10-2 BC Pergamon mint AE 3.957gm - 18.7mm Obv: ΛΙΒΙΑΝ ΗΡΑΝ ΨΑΡΙΝΟΣ, draped bust of Livia right (as Hera) Rx: ΙΟYΛΙΑΝ ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗΝ, draped bust of Julia right (as Aphrodite) Ref: RPC I 2359
This coin has been upgraded but since I haven't yet sold it, it certainly qualifies for this thread: AUGUSTUS AE Sestertius (25.72 g.) Lugdunum circa 9 - 14 A.D. RIC 231a CAESAR AVGVTVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE Laureate head of Augustus r. Rev. ROM ET AVG Altar of Lugdunum.
Fulvia, 3rd wife of Marc Antony. Died 40 BCE L. Mussidius Longus AR Denarius, Rome mint, 42 BCE. (17 mm, 3.5 g) Obv: Draped bust of Fulvia as Victory, r. Rev: L. MVSSIDIVS / LONGVS, Victory in biga r., holding reins. Sear 1517; RRC 494/40; BMCRR 4229; Sydenham 1095; RSC Mussidia 4.
This is what I have listed in my catalog: Octavian AE Dupondius OBVERSE: CAESAR DIVI F, bare head of Octavian right REVERSE: DIVOS IVLIVS, wreathed head of Julius Caesar right Gallic or Italian mint 38 BC 30mm; 17.90 g CR535/v1, RPC620v
I was looking at two of these at the show. Both were weakly struck on the Caesar side and better for Octavian. I guess I'd rather have it the other way around but I did not buy one in any event. The style on the ones I saw was considerably different making me wonder if there is more than one mint or if some are barbarous. I guess I did not feel like I knew enough about them to pay the price. A problem with being a general collector is there is a lot of study required if you are going to keep up.
My definition of 'honest' wear is a coin that has smooth surfaces with detail lost to handling but not to corrosion whether roughness or even just porosity. Honest wear occurred in antiquity before the coin was hoarded and has nothing to do with the effects of cleaning. Honestly worn coins were not weakly struck losing detail from the start but lost their detail gradually with every hand that touched them. Agree? My Claudius as below is a rather honest coin. Often we see the term used following 'Just' to mean that the coin is really nice and clear for a coin worn to fine or below. The question is whether you would rather have an honest Good Claudius portrait like the above (this reverse is past hope but still a pretty honest Poor) or a rough VF detailed coin like the Caligula below. Neither of these got accessioned into my collection but neither got thrown out either. Which bothers me more changes from time to time.
