furryfrog02 went to Baltimore on Saturday. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/first-4-from-baltimore.326063/ I went on Friday. He took his sone who has school on Friday; I went with a bunch old old guys (in a vanpool) who wanted to go on Friday. I really wanted to meet the frog family but we were both controlled by circumstances. As a result, I visited the dealer ff02 mentioned but saw the coins before they did. I wonder, if the dates would have been reversed, if I would have seen the three coins below. Would they have appealed to a pair of frogs? The dealer in question has been a friend of mine for thirty years. He never sells ugly or cheap coins but somehow at this time he had a small collection beneath his usual standards. In other words, he had coins I could afford. Long ago, I learned a good place to buy lower value coins is from a dealer who wants to be rid of such things. The dealer did not understand why anyone, especially anyone who has collected long enough to know better. I selected three coins and paid the asking price of $13 for the bunch. I know these are not great condition coins but each has something that makes them a step above the average piece of junk. One of them would be my entry if the contest were still going. The other two .... should I be embarassed? Most of you would be. The first is just a low eye appeal, poorly cleaned antoninianus of Gallienus with victory reverse which in that grade would be worth no more than what I paid except for the additional detail on the reverse of two captives seated back to back with a globe between them. Notice the globe even shows astrolabe like bands. The legend is VICT GERMANICA. Yes, it is at best a $5 Gallienus unless you like little details. I hope to upgrade it someday. Maybe I can get one twice as good for four times the price??? The second coin is a campgate of Licinius I from the Rome mint. It has rough surfaces again from poor cleaning or burial in unfortunate soil conditions. I would not have paid the $5 for it except it is the variety with VIRTVS AVGG reverse legend and I did not have one of those for Licinius. Maybe I can upgrade that one, too. For now, I am happy with the coin. Don't pay $100 for this sort of coin but I'll enjoy having it even if condition collectors would not. For the record, the dealer identified three coins in the group that were fake. The original owner had marked the envelopes NG for 'no good'. They were both correct. The rest of the group were good IMHO. Last and lowest price of the three is an Alexandrian tetradrachm of Carinus with eagle reverse. While it has good detail, it is only lightly toned after overly exuberant cleaning. It will look better when I have passed away but I did not find it as offensive as the seller did. I wonder if he noticed that it is the type with additional reverse legend ΛΕΓ Β ΤΡΑΙ honoring Legion II Traiana? I always wanted one of these and I don't care what color it is. I feel a little guilty taking these before the frogs got to see them but I won't be sending these to them this week. Another time guys. Check your mail for substitutes. I hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did.
That legionary tet of Carinus is a nice-looking coin, @dougsmit . It's well-centered, well-struck, and depicts the emperor with a neck beard that will make @TIF go "Eeeew!" It's an uncommon coin and I think it's more than the price you paid for the whole lot.
If the roles were reversed, you definitely would've seen them @dougsmit ... In a thread here on CT Albeit with pictures that aren't as good as yours. They are beautiful coins and I would have been more than happy to add them to our collection. The dealer in question had some beautiful stuff that was way out of our price range but I'm really glad that he had some that were friendly to our wallet. I feel the same about modern coins as well, "ugly" coins need love too. I would rather have a less than perfect specimen that has a story to tell. He had quite a few more in that box that we didn't get to look at. But everything he pulled out to show us, came home with us. Hopefully he will still have a few left over when we go to the Annapolis show. I was looking forward to meeting up Friday but things worked out well with my son's cub scout camping trip being cancelled. He had a great time at the show and I know he'd be pretty bummed if he wouldn't have been able to go. Perhaps we will be able to make the trek down to a show your way in the spring/summer.
I'm offended by the low price of that Carinus! I feel it is worth far more than the $13 you paid for the whole lot. It is beautiful and the "exuberant cleaning" doesn't look bad to me. It is well struck, well centered, and has clear legends. I bet on Vcoins that coin would list for $50-100, maybe more. I would have bought it in a heartbeat.
Three winners, and for a total price that often doesn’t even buy one! My leftie example. More expensive than yours by a factor of 6, but even at your price, I may not advise playing it in the contest. But perhaps it was the Carinus you were thinking of, that one is a whole different story. What an excellent coin! It’s funny how a dealer’s bias can lead to a great bargain for the buyer. In an auction setting, all bets would be off!
https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=298596 https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2781960 https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3175008 I doubt you will find a better one for $13.
