I went to the Baltimore Whitman Spring Expo Friday. Took the day off work. Had a great time. I haven't been to a lot of such things & it was insightful, for me anyway, to simply walk around & see so many awesome coins in person, instead of in a not-so-great pic in RIC or on the interwebs or wherever. Plus, I got to hear the correct pronunciation for some words I'd only read. So, for all that, I'd like to thank all the vendors I bothered for being so accommodating & for offering their expertise up for free (especially to me. Gotta be honest, I don't look like someone to whom you should just hand valuables to look at). If any of you are on here, thanks for a wonderful (much needed-) day (-off work). I was hoping to find a tremissis of one of my favorite late Roman Rulers (Theo. I or II, Arcadius, Honorius or Val. III) for a decent price relative to the ruler, any condition. Probably not a realistic goal, but, yeah. I was kind of suprised to find that there were only a few gold coins of any denomination from the era anywhere; a few for Theo. I & II. & an Honorius or 2. Though I did find a nice Marcian that I almost settled for. Still had fun seeing what was there. Anyway, gave up & hit the pick-bins. There, I did have a little luck. Got a nice Leo I, Emp. W/cross & Barb, Constantinople.; a Sasanian drachm (something I've been wanting an ex of but back-burnering for a while) that I know very little about; & a reasonably nice Nero As w/Vict. holding SPQR Wr. The Nero is actually pretty good in-hand, though it is a bit...let's call it zealously cleaned (tooled/smoothed?). The color difference btw Ob/Re is there in-hand too. Still, near-full, clear enough Ob Leg (doesn't show in pics well, but it's nice in real light) good-enough portrait w/nice relief, Re rough (whoever only started cleaning that side), but devices are all discernible, clear S-C & SPQR. I'll take it for the price. $10 for the Leo, $20 each the other two. Plus some US coins; they're not great, but everything is there & legable with clear dates, so plenty good for the likes of me! And cheap. Ancients came from Harlan J Berk's stand. Anybody else go? Find anything good? Nero RIC I (2nd ed.)-312 10.8 g Sasanian drachm ??? 3.9g 30 mm X 29mm I don't really know much about this coin. From looking at Beast's site, I think it's Kavad I? If anyone can help me out with any info about it, please share. Thanks in advance.
The Sasanian drachm is Kavad I. Mintmark starts with either B or G (or Y, but Kavad I isn't listed as using Yazd, the only known Y mint) but the rest is too hard to read (for me) and I can't hazard a guess. Year looks like 25. A bit rough, but for $20 I'd say you got a good deal. Thanks for the write-up, I enjoy hearing people's experiences at shows.
I'm not surprised at the paucity of Late Late Roman stuff. I can tell you as a dealer that the demand for those coins is so low, it doesn't make any sense to invest much of your capital in them. The only time I carry those coins is if they came in a consignment or a group lot. Glad you had a good experience!
