I needed an Otho to get one step closer to completing the 12 Caesars, and as luck would have it, @Mat upgraded his, and auctioned his old one. Well, it's mine now. Fantastic coin at an amazing price. I almost paid $400 for an Otho 3 months ago which was only marginally better than this one. So glad now that I didn't. And just for fun, here are my other Ex. Mat coins.
Thank you all. For those of you not privy to JA's auctions, here are his pictures of this coin. I had some credit with him from previous consignments, so the cost was $120 when all was said and done. Not bad at all. Here is an update as to my 12 Caesars progress: 1) Julius Caesar 2) Augustus 3) Tiberius 4) Caligula (STILL MISSING) 5) Claudius 6) Nero (STILL MISSING) 7) Galba (STILL MISSING) 8) Otho 9) Vitellius (STILL MISSING) 10) Vespasian 11) Titus 12) Domitian Out of the ones remaining, probably the hardest to get will be Galba. Vitellius shouldn't be too terribly expensive (probably $300 for a F to VF for one of his "common" denarius). Caligula will probably be pricey at $400 to $600 for one of his more "common" bronze imperials in F to VF condition, and Nero should not be too bad, as there are some nice common As of his for around $300, and some of his more common denarii in F to VF condition will run for $200 to $400.
My Otho Replacement: Otho (69 A.D.) AR Denarius O: IMP M OTHO CAESAR AVG TRP - Bare head right. R: SECVRITAS PR - Securitas standing left, holding wreath and scepter Rome Mint, Feb- Mar. 69 A.D. 18mm 2.9g RIC 8, BMC 18, S 2162, C 17 Nice set so far. Don't discount Tetradrachms or even some provincials. I got my Galba Syrian tet for much less then his Denarii go for. And Caligula provincials can mant times be had for under $200 with decent portraits. Mine was $81 several years ago.
I was just thinking that it had been awhile since a thread started by @Sallent hit the forum. Lo and Behold! This popped up about 10 minutes later. Great coin and although it wasn't a coin that I was considering, it did surprise me that there wasn't a bidding war.
I've been busy with work and family priorities. This year is going to be a slower year for me as far as coins. My main goals are to work on 12 Caesars, Republican era coinage, and continue expanding on the collection of coins from the 3rd Century Secessionist Empires.
Gallienus (253 - 268 A.D.) AR Antoninianus O: GALLIENVS PF AVG, Radiate and cuirassed bust of Gallienus facing right. R: GERMANICVS MAX V, Two captives seated at foot of trophy. Lyons Mint 258-259 A.D. 22mm 3.64g RIC V-I, 17.
Most of last year sucked for me as far as new coins - only bought 20! Lots of big life changes...this year is getting better but I feel like it's going to tank again. Nothing bad just life interrupting collecting. I lack your strategy, I'm just trying to score interesting coins as they became apparent.
