What Your Budget Buys - $300 Edition

that Stephen is surprisingly quite nice. Most of them are awful. You also grabbed it for a very good price.

 

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250-350


PUBLIUS QUINCTILIUS VARUS RARE AE OF ANTIOCHEIA, SYRIA
RPC 4252, SNG Cop. 92, About Very Fine / Very Fine, 20.4mm, 8.03 grams, Dated year 27 = 5/4 B.C.E.
Obverse: Laureate head of Zeus to right
Reverse: Tyche of Antioch seated to right, holding palm branch; below, river-god Orontes swimming right, in right field, date ZK (year 27 = 5/4 B.C.E.)

This rare coin was struck during Varus' assignment as governor of Syria from 7 - 4 B.C.E. Varus guarded the borders from Parthia and violently quelled unrest in Judaea and Samaria. Josephus records an incident wherein after the death of Herod., Varus occupied Jerusalem and crucified 2,000 Jews.

Later Varus was transfered to the Northern front, where he met disaster fighting the Germanic tribes in the Teutoburg forest. Three legions under his command, legions XVII, XVIII and XIX were completely annihilated. This caused emperor Augustus great grief and he was said to have cried out on occasion "Quintili Vare, legiones redde!" or "Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions!"

This guy through his BOO-BOO, effectively STOPPED the expansion of the Roman Empire save for small acquisitions of Dacia by Trajan, parts of Parthia back-and-forth...

 

This could have been my best Sestertius obverse, if it were not for those pits. At least they do not spoil the high relief portrait...

L AELIVS CAESAR - Bare head of Aelius right
TR POT COS II SC - Spes advancing left, holding flower and lifting skirt
Sestertius, Rome 137
RIC 1055, BMCRE 1914, Cohen 56, Sear 3986

 

I only have two coins in this price range...


Gaius Caligula, AD 37-41
Æ As, 29mm, 11.5g, 6h; Rome mint, AD 37-8
Obv.: C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, bare head left.
Rev.: VESTA above, S C across field, Vesta, veiled and draped, seated left on ornamental throne, holding patera and long transverse scepter.
$325


Islands off Caria, Rhodes.
AR Didrachm, 21mm, 6.6 g, 12h; c. 305-275 BC
Obv.: Head of Helios facing slightly right.
Rev.: Rose with bud to right; E and grape bunch to left.
$355

 

Very good stuff folks, the price range is one where one can find some gems.

My buys in the 300ish range the last five years


Maxentius, Follis Ostia mint, 1st officina AD 309-312
IMP C MAXENTIVS PF AVG, Laureate head of Maxentius right
SAECVLI FELICITAS AVG N, She wolf left, suckling Romulus and Remus, MOSTP at exergue
Ref : RIC VI # 52, RCV # 15024, Cohen # 101 (12)



M. Aemilius Scaurus and P. Plautius Hypsaeus. Denarius Rome mint, 58 BC
M SCAVR AED CVR In two lines above camel, EX | SC, in exergue REX ARETAS, King Aretas of Nabataea, kneeling right beside a camel, holding an olive branch
P HVPSAEVS AED CVR in two lines, CAPTVM in the right field, C HVPSAE COS PREIVER in two lines, Jupiter driving a quadriga left, holding a thunderbolt
Ref : RCV #379



S. Pompeius Fostlus, Denarius Rome mint, 137 BC
Helmeted head of Roma right, X below chin, jug behind head
SEX PO [FOSTLVS] She wolf suckling Remus and Romulus, fig tree in background, the shepherd Faustulus behind. ROMA at exergue
3,73 gr
Ref : RCV # 112 var, RSC Pompeia # 1a, Crawford # 235/1c



Augustus, Antoninianus Rome mint AD 250/251
DIVO AVGVSTO radiate head right
CONSECRATIO Eagle facing with spred wings and head left
3.10 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 77, Cohen # 577, RCV # 9458
in qblay's catalog : AU27/A045
Ex Gemini XIII auction, #291

Q

 

Always really liked that LUPA!

I keep this one in my office.

 

realy 300 wow

 

Some great coins everyone, here is mine $330+
Alexander Tetradrachm Seleucid Issue XF Carrhae Mint

 

best buy for 300

 

View attachment 680543 [/QUOTE]

i would not buy it for 300

 

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300 oke

 

for 300 he did good buying

 

273 actually...

But I don´t regret it at all (I don´t bother about the reverses really)

 

Only a few in this price range. Pricey, not because they are beautiful, but because they are scarce:


Antony and Octavia cistophorus


Orbiana dupondius

Mariniana Antoninianus

 

That Cistophorous is a very nice buy for this price range. I like it very much.

 

Love the cistophorous!

 

That's lovely, and very nice for the price... a cistophorus is on my List and I'd love for it to be that type.

I wanted a decent example of an argenteus of the Tetrarchy, and managed to check that box off last year with this one of Galerius. $340 shipped.
GALERIUS
AR Argenteus. 3.36g, 18.4mm. Rome mint, circa AD 295-297. RIC 35b. O: MAXIMIANVS CAES, laureate head right. R: PROVIDENTIA AVGG, the four Tetrarchs sacrificing over tripod before city enclosure; gamma in exergue.

'Colts' of Corinth and its colonies are something of a sub-collection of mine, and if an interesting or attractive one comes along, I try to pick it up if my coin budget allows. This less common one from Thyrrheion was $300.
AKARNANIA, Thyrrheion
AR Stater. Rare. 8.45g, 18.9mm. Pegasi 1; BCD Akarnania 373.1 (this coin); HGC 4, 917. O: Pegasos left, jumping off an uneven ground line; Θ below. R: Helmeted head of Athena right.
Ex Estate of Thomas Bentley Cederlind; Ex BCD Collection (Münzen & Medaillen GMBH 23, 18 October 2007), lot 373.1; Ex Münzenhandlung FR Künker, Osnabrück 14 (1989), lot 5705

 

Your Orbiana Dupondius IS a beauty!

My Sestertius (one of my few patinated bronzes, by the way) came in the same price range:

SAL BARBIA ORBIANA AVG - Diademed and draped bust of Orbiana right
CONCORDIA AVGVSTORVM S C - Concordia enthroned left, holding patera and double cornucopiae
Sestertius, Rome 225
22,07 g / 31 mm
RIC 655, BMCRE 293, Cohen 4, Sear 8193