Otho Denarii Don't Come Cheap....... Do They!!!

I was given advice by one of the members on CT to look at coins from the famous Caesars as a good start for my Ancients collection. I had some coins from Julius Caesar, Octavian and Trajan and although I was looking to buy some moderns at today's auction, I found myself looking at coins from Galba and Otho.

Many were far too pricey and would have upset my budget but I bid on an Otho denarius and was lucky enough to get it. Yes it has some planchet flaws but I thought the portrait was nice and I liked the blue-gray toning. Not cheap, but as it is a very rare offering, one that I would like to hang on to for a while

 

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That's a beauty. Nice pick up

 

Very nice

 

I think that is the nicest Otho Denarius I have seen on CT!

 

Wonderful score! The portrait is quite nice.

 

Certainly a very nice Otho.

 

coveted...

 

It's a very nice example and the price was reasonable, probably because it lacked the "magic letters" on the NGC slab. I think you were smart to go for one without those letters since the style and centering can be just as good (or even better, in some instances) and the less-than-AU graded coins are often skipped over by people whose purchase decisions are driven more by TPC's opinion of grade rather than their own eyeballs.

The relatively high price of Otho denarii is always surprising since they aren't rare. I guess it is because of all the collectors seeking the Suetonius Twelve Caesars set.

Anyway, nice job nabbing a wonderful example . Did NGC take pictures of it before it was slabbed so you could see what the prongs have since covered?

 

Lovely coin and nicer than the example in the British Museum!

 

Guys thank you all for your very nice and supportive comments. From what you all are saying I think I got a pretty good bargain and even happier I didn't pass up on it.

No TIF, I don't have pictures before NGC 'imprisoned' the coin but the flan looks very round and the edges look undamaged to me.

RC....better than the British Museum....WOW you made my day!!

 

That's a well detailed Otho @1934 Wreath Crown; better than many we see on this board. And much better than mine. Congratulations

 

I missed where it was mentioned what the coin was graded or how it was slabbed but it remains nice coin despite the damage. The "relatively high price" most certainly is due to the 12 Caesars inclusion of the otherwise inconsequential ruler. I have never understood the desire of new collectors to start with such coins but I am glad you have included Trajan who might possibly be considered the most consequential Roman who was not boosted by being in the Twelve.

The question now is where to go from here. The obvious 'good' answers would be Vespasian or Nero who were in the Twelve and appeared in more than the footnotes of history. I might suggest a Roman Republican or even something not Roman at all (antiquity was a very big place). The answers more will want because of their popular demand and higher price would be Caligula or Galba. Do show us when it arrives.

 

Very nice! Beautiful tone and great surfaces in spite of minor imperfections.
Congratulations.

I agree with previous comments that Otho denarii are not rare, or even scarce, but almost everybody wants one....

This is interesting, if you consider that:

''In the emperor Otho, ....one can find little to admire. .......(he) grew up as a pampered playboy with a taste for the finer things in life.
.....Otho was the first to openly attain office through the murder of his predecessor.
......(his) reign was as brief, chaotic, and desperate as it was degrading''.


In spite of this, I also succumbed to the desire to add an Otho to my collection:

 

Any Otho that shows decent detail in that sweet wig of his is a winner.

 

That is a really decent portrait on your coin!

After dawdling for about 30 years gradually building a 12 caesars set, last year I decided to bite the bullet. I needed three, one of which was Otho. One came along at auction with your reverse which I got for a decent price, but not a bargain:

Wouldn't you know that a couple of months later another came along with a different reverse that WAS a bargain (about half of what I paid for number 1):


The first is a better coin, but I really think the second was a better deal. And that's how it seems to go on these coins. One really could use a crystal ball unless the situation turns into something obvious.

 

Great coins all. I don't have an Otho yet, in fact I have only two of the 12 Caesars so far (Augustus and Domitian) whereas I had all 12 in my old collection that I sold many years ago.

 

Congrats @1934 Wreath Crown

My Otho is an Egyptian Tet, probly before they knew what he looked like... LOL, by the time the Cellator got a good bust-likeness, he was probly gone.


RI Otho 69 CE BI AR Tet 23mm Egypt Helmeted Roma Emmet 186

 

A very cool coin you added there @1934 Wreath Crown

Here's mine, that I bought a few decades ago


Otho, Denarius Rome mint, AD 69
IMP M OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P, Bare head of Otho right
SECURITAS PR, Securitas standing left
3.50 gr
Ref : RIC # 8, RCV #2162, Cohen #17

Q

 

I have only owned three Othos in my 50 years of collecting. The first was a fourree which I later sold. Then I was told that there was no such thing as a fourree Otho but I have seen at least five. My second was another fourree but not the same as my first.


Third was a tetradrachm of Antioch which is a huge hunk of silver but not at all popular because people prefer the denarii with that wiggy portrait. I agree the portraits on the tetradrachms are a bit boring.