Having trouble identifying these

Well stated.

 

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Will definitely have to add those to my library. Thank you

 

You may include me along with you on that - in addition to preferring to give folks hints which might help them in their learning process rather than just blurting out RIC numbers, I (and many) feel it's tantamount to bad manners to ask for help if you have no interest in learning about the field and are just asking for free cataloging services.

Some dealers pay people to help them with cataloging and ID'ing their coins if they have more work than they can handle.
Someone helping a collector get over the original learning curve is in a different situation and (s)he (or I) and find ourselves more likely to want to help you learn than to provide free services.

 

This one is not an Imperial coin - it is a Roman Provincial issue inscribed in Greek as these typically are. You're correct that it's Commodus and could probably read that despite the Greek Δ standing in for "D" and C for "S" in the obverse legend.
The legend on the reverse will most likely tell you which of the somewhere in the vicinity of 600 different non-Imperial coin-issuing locations or entities may be responsible for its existence. This, too, will be in Greek. It behooves you to learn the Greek equivalents for the Latin capital letters where they differ. Most are the same, however. If you do become familiar with them, then the legend becomes as easy to read as if it were rendered in Latin.

 

I identified a couple coins today and they offered me a bottle a liquor afterwards lol

 

People are free to post in my threads or not. I am a life-long coin collector as well as a seller(also a metal detectorist). I also buy coins from other members on THIS SITE!!! Continue to throw scorn, insults, threats, etc. It doesn't faze me. If you don't like me, ignore my threads. If you want to attack me, sorry I have a new baby and no time for that BS. My time is better spent watching auctions and listing on Ebay.

A middleman? Isn't that precisely what Harlan J. Berk and all of your LCS are? I don't think they are digging up any coins out of the ground!! They all had to start somewhere. Where is the disdain and hatred for these profiteers of your sacred coins?

Also, I might add, I am sure some, if not many, of you are probably nearing retirement age and as you come to the point of considering liquidating parts or all of your collection, someone such as myself will be willing to purchase much more than an individual collector would. Virtually everyone on this site sells coins. Send them a PM and ask them. Get over yourselves people. And when/if you need a bulk buyer. Let me know

 

The difference with a dealer like HJB is experience. Most of these dealers were collectors of ancients for years or even decades before they became dealers. They've invested considerable time and money building out their knowledge. To suggest that there's no difference between you and other major dealers suggests extreme arrogance on your part and also shows that you don't understand the ancient coin market and why people spend their money where they do at all.

 

I am not saying there is no difference. I am pointing out the ridiculous contradiction of hurling insults and BLIND HATRED at me(You have no idea what I collect, for how long I collected, and what books I have or haven't read) for doing the same thing your LCS does ie, selling your sacred coins and making a profit.

To hide behind some subjective, vague education requirement to try to conceal the fact that this is ignorant blind hatred is weak, wrong, and nonsensical. Tell me exactly how many books and years must I retreat to the monastery of the coin church and study the canon before I am sanctified to sell in people like yours eyes.

If you say I am unfit to sell, by all means include your requirements. All of them. Both time and reading wise.
Then, once you post them, realize how unrealistic and CRAZY those requirements most likely are. And if those are YOUR SUBJECTIVE requirements, to go around yelling and insulting people because they do not meet them is actually quite...I will let you choose an adjective. People are free to sell things with any level of knowledge as far as I know. If you do not want to buy from them that is your choice. But if you think you have a right to insult and take your rage out on me think again.
You sir and your lack of civility tell me why you would never be able to be a coin dealer. You do not treat people with basic respect and civility.
Allow me to give you all kinds of arbitrary demands on how you should and shouldn't do things in your life and see what how you feel.
You don't want to buy from me. That's fine. You don't like me because I'm also a seller. That's fine. But I'm not messing with you on your threads, telling you what you should/shouldn't do LEGALLY with your collection, and hurling insults at you, so why are you here taking [edited] on me??? Have I done anything wrong??? As far as I can tell I'm trying to do everything right even though I'm getting [edited] by crazy coin codgers who need a life.
I could just give the emperor's name and dump these coins. I could just sell them as a lot without ID. I could just guess or make it up!!!
But I'm here trying to learn and do my best and find the truest fairest value and accurately id the coins.

What exactly is people's problem with that?????????????????????????????

 

Excerpt of HJB interview with Coinweek.


CW: You are known amongst collectors of ancient coins as being an extremely knowledgeable and honest dealer - but of also driving the hard bargain. Is it part of your nature to not get beat on a deal, or are you always willing to sell a coin for the right price?

HJB: Things always slip through the cracks. This is only my 52nd year in business. But there are people out there that know more about Roman coins than I do...

Funny story - not about Ancient coins, but about letting something slip through. When I got started, a doctor friend of mine would buy U.S. coins from me. I called him when I got a 1955 doubled die cent. “I got one, already,” he said, “you sold it to me!” “I did?” I asked, somewhat surprised. “Yeah, you sold me a leftover collection and there was one in there.”

So, it happens.

The truth is, there are a lot of people who know more than I do. The truly dedicated specialized collector should always have the edge over the dealer.



CW: In that light, there really isn’t anything resembling complete knowledge on where these coins come from, is there?

HJB: One of the dumbest statements I ever made... I was talking to Martin Price of the British Museum and I said to him, “I guess we know everything there is to know about Greek coins.” And there’s constantly new things being written. New books. Cathy Lorber is publishing a book on Egyptian coins under the Ptolemaic kings. The question for ancient coins is is it listed or not listed? So many coins were minted and for some issues so few survive. So there are rare varieties and we are always finding new varieties.

And sometimes even the experts get it wrong.

 

That's a nice interview excerpt. It has no relevance whatsoever your most recent comments (other than it involves HJB), but it's a nice interview. Thanks for posting it.

Wow. Just... wow.

That's just silly hyperbole.

Sell what you want, to whomever you want. Isn't that what eBay is all about? Many of us simply objected to you popping in here asking basics like "what is it" and "what's it worth", like we're here to offer free support to your business. Utilize the resources recommended to you in these threads, or else just put the coins on eBay and see what you get.

IdesOfMarch01 already put it into words. Your subsequent responses are a bit over the top. Maybe with your new baby you're sleep deprived and therefore quick to anger? It can be hard to function on little sleep. Whatever the reason, I will certainly stop participating in your threads now. Maybe at a later date you will understand how we were trying to help you.

 

Delete

 

You should get your keyboard fixed. Apart from that, quite a few members (and I am not specifically referring to the ancients board) do not like the idea of being "used". Of course there is no strict dividing line between people who throw a bunch of images at us* and add, "how much is this worth?", and others (and you seem to be in that second "group") who have a few questions and add helpful information themselves. But when you wrote right in the first post that you need the info for pricing purposes, that hit a nerve with some. Seems you felt attacked and then wrote some comments that others will consider to be offensive. And then, and then, etc. Calm down everyone. At least over here the weather is way too nice for such a spat.

Christian

(* I do not collect ancients myself, am basically a "world" guy and happen to be a mod too. But such posts one comes across in many forums.)

 

Thank you. Thank you in many ways. I will look at my behavior and try to do better. I understand better thanks to your post.

 

If you find "insults" and "blind hatred" and feel you're being "attacked" in my initial post (above), you have completely and profoundly misunderstood the substance of my post.

Let me reiterate: it's entirely within your rights to buy and resell anything -- ancient coins, antiques, toilet paper, car tires -- without having any knowledge or understanding of the items you're reselling, especially on EBay.

It appeared to me, however, that you wanted to add value to the coins you resell (i.e., you didn't want to "simply be a middleman" -- note the adjective "simply") by collecting and providing more information about the coins along with their sale. This a good instinct -- I personally would always prefer to purchase from someone who provides more than just a resale service and has a genuine interest in the items he/she is reselling.

My point was that nobody -- not you, I, nor other collectors on this site -- likes to feel they're being used to provide free information or services to someone who is only out to make a quick sale and doesn't care about the hobby.

I most assuredly did not write nor imply that I think you're that kind of person (there's no way I could know this and, to the contrary, your posts seem to indicate that you have a nascent interest in ancients), but my point was that your posts could easily be interpreted that way. So my suggestion was to become more knowledgeable on your own, and rely on help from this site only when you're stumped. We're collectors here, and the dealers among us have a personal and abiding interest in ancient coins independent of their commercial interests.

It's unfortunate (but not uncommon) that individuals reflexively take offense at any response or advice that's not exactly what they wanted to hear, even though those responses were intended (mostly) to be helpful. As I read through all the responses to your posts in this thread, I think you'll find that 90%+ of them are both intended to be (and actually) helpful if you're able to consider them thoughtfully.

 

Good luck, Merlin

 

As a small thank you, I would like to share some of my favorite videos about Roman history, as even more than the coins, it is the history that fascinates me and enriches my life.

Great youtube channel about the strategy of famous battles
Caesar's battle of Alesia here


Nice little video of Roman emperors on their coins


Doc about Vespasian


Marcus Aurelius


Trajan


Caligula
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEECzApPQ_E&list=FLJODFphBIHpBTOrnvOU9bwg&index=105

Byzatium
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhI0iCLNJfg&list=FLJODFphBIHpBTOrnvOU9bwg&index=143

And the cherry on top- Eugen Weber's The Western Tradition videos on Rome

The Rise of Rome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiKL3hxzyro&index=9&list=PLYbocufkwRFAS80nLFShkXSblfcFTXwRH

The Roman Empire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trI8WF9djwk&index=10&list=PLYbocufkwRFAS80nLFShkXSblfcFTXwRH