Alexander the Great

I paid US $45 for mine. I say you did okay.

 

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Grain ear? Do you mean the club?

At a quick glance, it looks like whatever is covering the obverse can be picked off with a sharpened brass rod, the kind you can usually get at a good hardware store or hobby shop. Hard to say for sure from the photo, but the portrait might be in really nice shape once it's cleaned up.

 

I believe that's the grain ear.

 

Nice coin @1913nickel . I hope this is the start of many ancient coins for you.
I do not see any corn ears on your coin???
I do see some interesting double struck letters on the reverse.

http://www.natefakescartoons.com/photo_details-2/?wpps_search=1&gallery_id=13&image_id=568

 

Jtw708 circled it on the comment above yours. Is the doubled letters make it worth any more?

 

I saw the corn ear. I agree that is what it is. Excuse the sophomoric humor.

Unfortunately, the doubling probably does not add value. Ancient coins were hand struck. I think they were formed with two (or more) hammer strikes. If the die moved a bit -> doubling occurred. The best you can get for an ancient coin is one that is well struck from new dies, centered on a flan large enough to hold the entire design and produced with "good" metal. After that you look at how the coin was treated after it was removed from circulation and then wear in ancient times. Your reverse has most of that going for it. The obverse looks like it had some environmental damage in the millennia it was buried.

The coin below has signs of double striking, after flipping over. That did not add value to the coin. I was the only bidder and got it for the minimum bid.

 

@dougsmit I agree with you in that I think there are a lot of buyers out there that have more money than time (or patience, or some combination thereof) who would prefer to buy all of their coins from known auction houses and pay the premiums attached simply for peace of mind. Even on the lower end of the spectrum, I think that I think the same way. I, for example, specialize a lot in billion issues of Probus. Most of these coins can be had for about $10. If I find a rarer issue that will cost above $50, I much prefer to buy that particular coin from a trusted dealer or auction house where there usually is a guarantee of authenticity with recourse if the coin turns out bad down the road. I think to a more subtle degree, all of us find people that we both trust and like to work with and tend to stick with them even if they may have higher prices. Maybe we are paying for their expertise in a certain issue/ruler/series/etc., maybe we are just comfortable, maybe we have become friends. I personally like to shop for value as much as possible. But that doesn't mean I want to throw even $10 in the garbage by buying some coin from a seller I have ever heard of in Bulgaria.

Of course, when you have been searching for a coin for years and one finally comes up, then sure, all bets are typically off if there is a reasonable chance you could buy it. Two collectors like that for the same coin are an auctioneer's dream I believe.

 

@1913nickel Also, I concur in that I think you did okay for your C$48. I have a few Alex III bronzes and even in Roman Imperial bronze which is my main area, it has taken me a few years of always looking and buying to get a feel for prices for certain rulers, series, issues. Some folks will always be much pricier than others, sometimes you find a person who has a lot of coins that they do not have the time or inclination to really research because it is not worth their hourly rate to deal with them. Like @dougsmit mentioned, he bought a whole lot of coins for one coin within that lot. You may find yourself buying coins from people in that situation who have duplicates or no interest in the remainder of the lot and are just trying to recoup some of their initial outlay for the whole lot. You can find many deals offered to you in those situations. Helpful advice from people here is good too in that you can get pointed in the direction of other collectors who can help you with your interest and dealers who can help and sell you things to develop your collection. Good luck on future ancients!