Emperor Trajan has arrived in South Florida :)

He's here, Emperor Trajan has arrived at long last. This is without a doubt the most beautiful and interesting coin I have owned to date. I am now officially hooked on ancients. I will probably be offloading all my collection of plastic American slabs over the next few months to focus exclusively on ancients. Putting my album and catalog together has made me realize what I loved so much about coin collecting when I started this hobby in the first place, handling and studying coins to learn everything about their art, their political/cultural/historical messages, and the way it makes me feel to hold a piece of history in my hands. Something I apparently forgot when I jumped into the world of trading US. slabbed commodities, which is what American coins have become.

Once you go Ancient, you never go back to slabs! I have officially joined the dark side.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

It's gorgeous!

 

That is one fabulous coin, congrats

 

Superb!

 

Thanks. The only thing that could make things sweeter would be if the Elagabalus and Rome 1,100 year Anniversary Phoenix coins I purchased from @John Anthony arrive. I've always had a soft spot for that terrible Emperor, Elagabalus, and since I want a Rome 1000 year anniversary coin, I figured a 1,100 year anniversary coin would also be neat to have.

 

It feels good to have that much excitement again for coins!

 

It certainly does. I feel like a baby in a candy shop with these ancient coins.

I also love the fact that the dealer who sold this coin included the tabs of the previous two owners who had this coin. Whomever gets this coin next, as we are all just mere temporary custodians of these treasures of antiquity, is going to have quite a bit of side history to go with this coin from the previous three custodians. It turns out one of the owners was an Argentinian, and I have the Spanish tag to go with this coin, as well as an Argentinian flag sticker on the other side of the tag.

 

That is a wonderful coin Sallent. In your catalog, make sure you note any provenance that comes with the coin. I remember when I got back into collecting and how exciting it was (and still is many ways). "Fun, fun, fun, till your daddy takes your Trajan away" (I couldn't help myself).

 

A great portrait on it for sure.

 

If you want a nice short set to collect, consider the Philip set for the 1000th anniversary. The legends read SAECVLARES AVG and there are nice animal types.

 

Gorgeous coin Sallent! Good pick-up

 

Beautiful coin! I'm glad to hear you'll be with us full-time. Welcome to the fold .

 

Outstanding coin, nice purchase!!

 

That it a gorgeous Traianus!!! Well done! Welcome to the Dark Side...



( LOL, I know... @Mat hates this... too bad! )

 

A superb coin in every way!!! I LOVE IT!!!

 

that is one SWEET Trajan denarius sallent....sharp details and a great style on that mars.

 

It is a stunning coin Sallent, big congrats on a sweet score my friend.

 

Sharp coin! A really awesome addition.

 

Oh wow! Killer coin.

 

Nice => that's a very sweet addition, Sallent ... wow, you're really accumulating a whole lotta great coins lately (well done)

=> I have a couple of these SAECVLARES babies that Doug is talking about ... yup, they're pretty cool ...

Philip I AR Antoninianus



Otacilia Severa AE Sestertius