Personal First Ancient: Claudius II Roman

Saw a sale going on for this, was offered an additional discount on top of the sale price, I feel like I came out a winner, paid less than 90 bucks for it.

 

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As long as you are happy with it; but you could get much nicer examples for a lot less. You paid the "slab" tax.

 

Yeah I'm happy with it, but noted. I've dealt way more into US coinage than world, but I liked the history on this one

 

For a price comparison, I screen-shotted some Claudius II coins that I have sold-- ignore the two Aurelians

 

One of us, one of us...

 

What platform/website have you sold them through? I'd definitely buy more/different Roman or general ancients if it means being saved from the Slab Tax.

 

check out Vcoins...at the top of the page is a search bar and you can browse listings from dozens of stores.

https://www.vcoins.com/en/Default.aspx

 

Yes, and I can also add that Victor's service is very good. I enjoyed my purchase.

I agree that the price was a bit high, but it's nice enough and if it gets you interested in ancients, well it's worth it.

You could also check out the youtube channels 'Classical Numismatics' and Aaron Berk's Ancient coins 'podcast' on there.

Oh, and the actual podcasts Totalus Rankium are a really fun, informative way to learn about the emperors. My mother listened to them all, as did I.

 

Though I’ve had a habit of buying US coins most often, I do love historical artifacts as well, whether it be coins, books, I even have a coffee cup from the dining room of the USS United States.
But in terms of emperors:
I remember reading a discussion on a forum some time ago debating whether or not Rome wouldve been better off if Cesar had never been assassinated.
I think it was based off the Ides Of March coin that appeared on Pawn Stars.
I’ll definitely look into that podcast

 

Here is my Claudius Gothicus,

 

I love the detail on that!

 

Here is one of mine

 

Classical Numismatics on youtube also has several videos geared towards beginners; definitely a must-see.

Perhaps AlHenry92 could post what the reverse is. We should be able to put a reference number on it, as the slab leaves off most of the most important information; diameter, weight, reference number.

It's certainly better than my first coin. The first coin of my 'real' collection was a corroded Trebonianus Gallus Antioch Antoninianus from an unusually classy dealer at a decrepit flea market.

 

I did see they have silver counterparts, though I've been seeing them asking for 150.00+. At that point I'd buy either more capped busts, VOC artifacts/coinage or find something else like Spanish colonial silver.
@nerosmyfavorite68 I'll definitely post the reverse when I get it, wasn't included in the listing. HOWEVER: the listing did include the diameter and weight which I've copied and pasted from it below:
Size: 17-21 mm
Weight/Dimensions: 44.38

 

Is that another silver struck?

 

that the weight of the coin and the slab

 

Congrats. Pretty cool. We're in the same boat. Started collecting these about a year ago and have quite a few now. I like purchasing them slabbed and unslabbed. Usually you will pay more slabbed. It can cost $55 a slab to get them graded now with an expanded description.
Most of them don't have the expanded description label because it costs more but it's nice because they actually add the weight of the coin and say what god or character is portrayed on the reverse and what they're doing. If you see those labels, it cost more to get them graded for the info. I keep the slabs in a Lighthouse album in chronological order.
Most ancient collectors don't like slabs but I do for the ID, even though I know what they are. I think the labels add some attractiveness to them. The Totalus Rankium podcast has been great. I've listened through 50 episodes. Very interesting. Some fluff for fun. They did their best. Really brings these portraits to life for you and gives you a feel for what kind of human beings they were. Prepare for the Good the Bad and the Ugly.

 

GET ONE when you have the confidence in collecting Ancients…
This is mine:


FORUM COINS:
"The coin that killed ."Caesar The obverse legend declares Caesar is "Dictator for Life" and he wears the veil, symbolic of his life-term position as Pontifex Maximus. Caesar would be both the dictator and high priest of Rome for the remainder of his life, but his life would end only a few weeks after this coin was struck. For Caesar to put his image on coins and in effect declare himself king was too much for Brutus and his republican allies. On the Ides of March (15 March) 44 B.C. Caesar was stabbed to death by as many as 60 conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius. According to Plutarch, a seer had warned that harm would come to Caesar no later than the Ides of March. On his way to the Theater of Pompey, where he would be assassinated, Caesar passed the seer and joked, "The ides of March have come," meaning to say that the prophecy had not been fulfilled, to which the seer replied "Aye, Caesar; but not gone." This meeting is famously dramatized in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, when Caesar is warned by the soothsayer to "beware the Ides of March."

Minted for Caesar's planned Parthian war, this type was often carelessly struck indicating the mint was working under great pressure.

Mine:



Roman Imperiatorial
Julius Caesar Lifetime
P Sepullius Macer
AR Denarius, 1st 2 weeks-Mar 44 BCE, 19 mm, 4.03g.
Obv: CAESAR – DICT PERPETVO Veiled and wreathed head of Caesar R.
Rev: P·SEPVLLIVS – MACER Venus standing l., holding Victory and sceptre resting on star.
Ref: Syd 1074a Sear Imperators 107e Crawford 480-14 Rare

- minted in last two weeks of his reign, or two weeks before he was assassinated.
- veiled, as he held the offce of Pontifex Maximus for several years, and that office was very important to him personally.
- wreathed... just short of being king... big no-no
- DICT PERPETVO - yeah, he was a king... so Roman Republic inherently and culturally hated kings.
- fairly difficult to capture with the star on reverse
- reasonably centered with most/all devices and legends (this is not as important to me cuz its numismatic vs the intrinsic Historical impact.)

Alföldi arranges Crawford 480 series coins in (44 BC) month order as follows:

RRC 480/1, Buca - January
RRC 480/2, DICT QVART - early February
RRC 480/3/4/5, CAESAR IMP - late February
RRC 480/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14, DICT PERPETVO - early to mid March
RRC 480/17/18, CAESAR IMPER - late March
RRC 480/19/20, PARENS PATRIAE - April
RRC 480/15/16, MARIDIANVS - April
RRC 480/21/22, CLEMENTIAE CAESARIS and Mark Antony - April

 

Yeah you paid more than you could have but honestly… view the $90 as entry fee to an amazing hobby. I spent hundreds ($5 or $10 a piece) on really crappy coins when I started out and I don’t regret it. Those early coins taught me a lot about ancient coins, references and resources, photography and online places to discuss my new treasures. I still have all of those coins and love em still… even if they are ugly. They’re pieces of history… and they aren’t making any more of them so why not. Anyway, Claudius II was a badass. I have lots of his coins that form one of my favorite sub collections. Your coin looks like a Milan mint coin. I have many… most need redone photography because the lighting is not great… but here some are anyway.





Just stay away from the Antioch coins… those are for me.