Oops, I doubled up by accident...

there are certainly worse mistake to make than than. the last time i went to a coin show, i came home with two i already had! but they were modern coin, i pay less attention to those.

both nice, i like the new one best...but dig the color of the old. keep 'em both, cool example of the difference between the same coin with ancients.

 

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This is certainly one of those situations in which personal preferences come in. Should you keep both? I vote yes. Nobody ever regretted keeping a coin, but they frequently regret selling them! The new for me has a better style, and nicely toned.

 

I don't collect RR, but I agree that they are both beautiful coins.
I love older pedigrees and I also have a coin which, as your "new" specimen, was sold in the Count Allessandro Magnaguti collection in Rome in 1949:


Velia, Lucania, AR stater, c 365-340 BC.
Ex: Fritz Rudolf Kunker GmbH, Auction 216, October 8, 2012, Lot 95.
Ex: Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 27, May 12, 2004, Lot 51.
Ex: Dr. Athos D. Moretti (1907-1993) Collection.
Ex: Conte Alessandro Magnaguti collection, Santamaria, Rome, October 14, 1949, Lot 229.

Your reference to that sale includes "P.&P." Do you know what this references? perhaps the auction house which held the sale?

It's interesting that your RR denarius was lot 90 in that sale and sold BEFORE my Velia stater, which was lot 229. I guess in Rome in 1949, Roman coins took priority over Greek coins!

 

P&P Santamaria is the name of the auction house for the Magnaguti sale.

 

I don't collect ancients (yet) but would keep them both. Look at it as the very first mint error!

 

At one point, I bought two of the same coin by Octavian (triumphal quadriga / Victory on prow), but did so knowingly, because the styles and aspects were different enough ... and the toning on both so beautiful ... that I couldn't resist. I was glad to have both of them every time I looked at them. The top one was ex Malter auction, ca. 1991, the other ex Tom McKenna FPL. Clearly, the artistry on the top one is exception, but the other is also a good, solid example, and was a sharp strike from fresh dies before it got out into the world... So, I vote "Keep Both". You probably won't regret it.

 

That is an interesting observation. I'll have to check out my library and see if this holds for all Sanataria sales. I've noticed that some sales are organized differently than we normally expect with Greek first. Sometimes it's even organized by metal with gold first, naturally.

On thing of interest to note in early 20th century auction catalogues is that the very early Roman Republican issues - pre denarius coinage - were sometimes lumped in with the early Greek as were the Social War issues up at the front of the catalogue.

Beautiful Magnaguti stater, btw!

 

If you can remember your coins without a list, you are better than me. I do not have many duplicates, but a few times I shopped without an up to date list:
stopped by a local coin shop after a trip to town
#1 was on purpose, #2 was going to a coin show without an up to date list about 2 years later, #3 was for the plumb bob
The first cast coin I bought did not look good so I bought another that did not look much better. Here displayed with a bronze shell and knuckle bones (silver and bronze).
I like both of your coins. I would keep the most recent for all of the reasons above. I will take a different tack than others. If you have a limited collection of high quality coins and spending your budget here will keep you from buying another treasure, sell this one and look for your next treasure.

 

I'm very an know little about ancients. Would someone please explain the right and left facing "Victory" to a collector of US coins?

 

*edit*

 

Each coin has Victory driving the bigas and each Victory is facing in different directions.

 

Thanks @Bing, that's exactly what I thought. Now, if "Victory" is driving the bigas (chariot?), it sure looks like her nose is pointing to the right on both coins. Please, what am I still missing?

 

I'm confused too. In the two OP coins, Victory is facing right.

 

Hey don't blame me. I was trying to explain it myself. However, if you look at the two coins you can imagine each victory facing front with the heads facing left or right. Hey, it's kinda like looking at clouds. Did you see the cloud today that looked like the taj mahal (neither did I). BTW ask @Mikey Zee. He started this whole thing.

@Insider I made a mistake calling it a biga. A biga is a two horse chariot. I should have referred to it as quadriga or four horse chariot.

 

Cool, you taught me something! Biga made me think of something funny about a popular celebrity wife that I could not post.

 

@Mikey Zee[/USER]. The faces go in the same direction right?

 

Yes, I think they are both the same direction.

 

LOL Well, they kinda look like they are facing in different directions LOL

Of course, they were both meant to be right facing with a 'bun' and not a 'nose' facing left LOL