I'm loving your new coin!! It's fantastic! Congrats. I read somewhere: Janus and the Dioscuri can be distinguished on coins by their ages. The Dioscuri are always depicted youthfully without beards, whereas Janus always has a full, thick beard.
A beautiful coin @IdesOfMarch01 and other impressive coins in the thread as well. Clearly a few were sitting somewhere well protected over the last 2200+ years. Here’s my imperfect example - a favorite from the pre-denarius world. Roman Republican Didrachm or Quadrigatus 225-212 BC 6.4g, 22mm Obv: Laureate head of Janus. Rev: Jupiter, holding sceptre and thunderbolt, in quadriga driven by Victory; incuse ROMA on raised rectangle.
Here is one with ROMA raised, not incuse. 23 mm. 6.40 grams. Crawford 29/3. Struck 215-212 BC. Sear 32.
Fantastic OP coin. The best example of the issue I suspect. A lot of other nice coins in this thread. John
Idesofmarch; If you do not mind sharing, where did you acquire such a fine coin. I am new to the ancient coin hobby and I am finding it difficult to locate higher grade specimens. If you cannot share the name on the forum could you PM me? I would love to find another source other than ebay and the large auction houses.
I'm not OP but this coin was from CNG Triton XXII. Triton is their big yearly auction that coincides with NYINC but they have other printed auctions throughout the year as well as e-auctions. Their website is CNGCoins.com
The BEST place to look for high grade coin/ including ancients are... CNG/ Triton Roma Kunker Gorny&Mosch Ars Classica Morton & Eden Maison Palombo Heritage Chris Rudd (Celtic Coins) John
red_spork is correct -- my quadrigatus was acquired at the Triton XXII auction in New York earlier this month. It hammered for slightly under my maximum bid; my bidding is always handled by my dealer or his direct agent(s). Most of my coins have been acquired at the following auctions: NAC, Triton, Roma Numismatics, Goldberg, Gorny & Mosch, Heritage, and recently Numismatica Genevensis. Around 30% of my collection I purchased through my dealer from his stock or from private collectors with my dealer as the agent. Two of my coins are from retail dealers -- CNG and Tradart. If you have more specific questions regarding auction houses, dealers, or some of my coins in general please contact me privately via this website and I'll answer them as appropriately as I can.
I also want to thank everyone who replied and posted their examples. This is a coin type to which I've alway been attracted, and I enjoy seeing examples from other collectors.
Ides, Thanks for all the auction sites. I scored some nice pieces at the Heritage signature auction on Jan 7 including the one in my avatar and a few others below: Just looking for some other sources.
I missed the Lyismachus I wanted. I was second high bidder. If you know who purchased the coin below, please let me know. I would be interested in purchasing the coin.
Nice coins you got from Heritage Auctions, beauty+quality =hard to beat. I picked up four from Heritage all where post 1500AD 1719 Salzburg AV 1/4 Dukat MS-65 Franz Anton Von Harrach 1709 Mecklenburg-Schwerin AV 2 Thaler MS-63 Friedrich I GrosHerzog 1796 Portugal AV 1/2 Escudo MS-63 Maria I ND/ Crusader States/ Chios AV Zecchino MS-65 struck circa 1381-1400 John
Congratulations on some nice coins. I would advise to take your time and wait for the right pieces - I watched the auction and that Lysimachos stater was too expensive based on its condition and a recent group coming to the market over the last year or so. I tried to send you a private message but I think it's blocked, let me know if you have any questions or if you'd like any further feedback.