I got a genuine piece of Roman Republic plastic denarii in the mail today

Look at what I finally got in the mail today, my very own piece of Roman Republic plastic. I wonder where the NGC mint was located, Capitoline hill?

Ok, all joking aside...this is my first Ancient mistake as I purchased it before learning anything about ancient coins, thus buying this "generously graded" piece of Roman Republic history.

So what to do with it? Suggestions are welcomed. I can re-sell it, live with it, or get the hammer and free it from the plastic and stick it in my collection album as a memento of my first foray into ancients. Not to mention that plastic aside, it is still a decently attractive Republican denarii.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I vote "remove it". There have been arguments made about reselling it and buying a raw coin, but in my opinion a nice Republican denarius like that should be cracked out if you like it so you can enjoy it.

 

I like it the way it is.

 

have now been collecting ancient coins for 4 days; So far I have a Trajan Mars denarii on it's way, got this Republican denarii, got the Alexander III tetradrachm, purchased a (sensored) for my secret santa, and purchased a 4rth century Rome 1,100 anniversary denarii and an Elagabalus denarii from JA's sale thread "Roman Baker's Dozen." Not a bad start.

I'm probably going to slow down a little from here on...I think one ancient coin a week is reasonable.

 

Do you like the coin from what you see and, if so, do you plan to keep it? If you are, then break it out; if you are looking for something better/different, leave it ion it's tomb for resale. Seems simple enough to me. Personally, I like it, but, then again, I like all RR coins. The good, the bad and the ugly.

 

Bing, I think I'll keep it entombed then. I'm pretty sure I could find a nicer example of it if I looked, and I can always sell this one on Ebay to a modern coin collector who is afraid of non-slabed coins.

 

Nice purchase

 

Congrats on your sweet new AR-RR (it's gorgeous) ...

... but sadly, you already seem a bit unhappy with your new coin and you're already thinking of flipping it (gawd, we are "not" related)

I buy my coins and then they relax at home and we all watch videos, play board games and talk about our daily events (they become members of my family)

Sallent, you're poor group-home environment is not a healthy coin setting and perhaps you should think a bit more before uprooting a coin and subjecting it to a life of stress and uncertainty?!!

 

My advice is this and please don't let me sound like I'm coming off rude.

Sell it. If you don't love it from the start, rarely do you learn to love it later.

I agree with you, it's over graded and I see that far more often than under grading with NGC. With ancients, more than anything, you must buy the coin and not the slab. I've really screwed myself over the years trusting the slab and telling myself it will look better in hand. It rarely does. I'm done buying slabbed coins unless I view it in hand first, and even then, I run the risk of an edge cut that is covered.

A coin should captivate you from the start. It should speak to you in a language only you understand. When you learn to listen to your coin, you will NEVER regret owning it. This coin doesn't speak to you so get rid of it to someone it does. Lots of people will love it even if you don't.

And when you do buy a slabbed coin that you love, break it out and hold it as it has been meant to be enjoyed for millennia.

 

I rarely agree more with a post but might suggest that there is no rush to sell unless you need the cash for the replacement. There will be new collectors, we hope, for another 2000 years. In the beginning we tend to be happy with any coin that comes our way. Later we move to a way of collecting that fits our personalities and situations. I like coins that I can read and identify but I am not overly impressed by Mint State over VF. I am not wealthy and prefer my yearly budget be broken into 100 coins rather than a single. I am strongly of the opinion that the most interesting coins are not the most expensive but, as Carthago so eloquently said, a coin "should speak to you in a language only you understand." I wish more people would appreciate my favorites but the important thing about them is I appreciate them whether they were priced with one digit or four. It will not take long to discover which coins speak to you. Whether you must buy a coin or two to find your preferences or whether you buy a thousand before you see a pattern emerging remains to be seen. After 50 years I still have trouble telling a new dealer at a show what I am seeking. In many cases the coin I like best is the one I did not know I wanted until seconds before it was mine. It spoke to me.

I do find that some coins grow more precious to me in time while others fade. At the last show I attended, I bought five coins believing one was heads and shoulders above the rest. Now, 8 days later, three are rising in my esteem while two are 'also rans'. Selling them would be a mistake this soon but who knows what 2016 or 2026 will bring. Part of the hobby for me is seeing where these journeys of whim will lead.

For the record, 'most improved' in the 8 days is the Aspendos I posted last weekend. There is something about the gut puncher and countermarks that makes me glad. Others can never hear the words it spoke to me. (Aspendos fans, please post your gut punchers and trippers.)


Die duplicate always adds a bit of interest to me):
http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=865561