My first few ancient coins

Good evening. I posted earlier in someone else's "First New Ancient" thread, and realized I was hijacking it, so thought I would post in another thread.

I ran into these at the Willimantic Coin Show this past Sunday. I must qualify that I really know nothing about ancients, but I sat there and went through the dealers boxes, and picked out 4 denarius and one antoninianus that I liked....most likely common, I don't know, these just had some allure to me.

These are also my first coin pictures, taken with my cell phone and a desk lamp, also my first foray into digital picture manipulation!



Caracalla



Commodus



Julia Domna



Lucilla



Marcus Aurelius

I am finding this new ancient thing pretty interesting, to be honest...….

 

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Those are all fantastic first coins. I really like the Domna best.

Congrats.

 

Great coins there. You made very wise choices. Antoniniani of Caracalla aren't all that common. Here's mine:

 

Welcome to the Dark Side. Those are some beautiful coins to start off your collection!

 

Your Marcus is awesome. Full legend, great details all around; but especially on Mars, and interesting die break at the base of Marcus' bust. Welcome to Ancients; you're off to a better start than most.

 

Yes, a very good start. I love the Marcus Aurelius.

 

First

Welcome to CT. Beautiful coins, wondrous storeys of history and helpful opinions abound.
Smoking selection right there
I've been collecting for several years and I couldn't best a single one with my current best...

Denarius

Again, different denomination but not to bad:







Glad to have you aboard

 

The coins are far better Each of those coins has something to recommend it but I am sure not everyone would agree with my definitions of what makes them special. The Caracalla is a special date. The Commodus has legend loss that obscures what I consider to be a better than average type. The Domna is a fine example from a branch mint. The Aurelius is more clear than many of that period. I see the Lucilla as mostly of interest just from being a Lucilla but that is something in itself.

The photos are OK but the lighting is harsh. The Caracalla is overexposed. I might try bouncing the light off of a wall/white card rather than sending it directly just to see if the softer light smooths things out to good advantage. Digital photos allow 256 levels of brightness from dark to light in each of three colors. Level 256 (brightest) is best reserved for specular highlights and avoided over large patches which look blank. Criticisms aside, your images make it clear that the coins are what they are and are a very fine beginning for a collection. Thank you for joining the CT Ancients family.

 

great first ancients with two lovely ladies, very nice start..

 

Excellent, and more than acceptable photography. What photo program do you use?

 

Excellent start to your collection! Each of your coins features something interesting and noteworthy.

1. Caracalla antoninianus -- Caracalla was the emperor who introduced this denomination, valued at 2 denarii even though it weighed only 50-60% more than a denarius. Caracalla is a nickname; his real name is on the inscription: ANTONINVS. We don't know what the Romans called this denomination, but coin collectors call it an antoninianus because it was introduced by Antoninus (Caracalla).

2. The Commodus is a typical example of a denarius of that period. Its reverse features Concordia, the personification of harmony and accord. The reverse design of yours is therefore similar to this one of mine, though the reverse inscription is completely different:



3. That Julia Domna is very desirable. It's well-struck and well-preserved. As @dougsmit noted above, it's from a branch mint in Syria. The older references say it was minted in Laodicea, but modern scholarship has called that into question and the most intellectually honest thing is to say "unknown Syrian mint." How do we know it's from this mint? Because it has a mint-mark of sorts, unique to coins of Julia Domna -- the loop on the drapery of her shoulder coming up along the side of her neck. Here's one from the Rome mint for comparison:



4. That's an astonishingly nice portrait of Lucilla! Mine, for example, is of a less fine style and depicts the empress with a different hairstyle.



5. The Marcus Aurelius is a very nice example, with good centering, full legends, nice toning and a desirable reverse type (Mars).

 

Nice group of Roman silver to kick of your ancients collection @KeviniswhoIam !

For your first coin pictures, those are really pretty good also! May want to considering giving natural sunlight as shot sometime as well. Here's a JD I recenlty picked up from @Mat .


Julia Domna, AR Denarius, 194-217 AD.

O: IVLIA AVGVSTA, bust r.; R: MATER DEVM, Cybele between lions, holding branch and scepter, arm on drum. Rome mint. Rome 205. 19 mm, 3.0 g.

 

Thank you all for the info and kind words....

Yes, I realize the pictures need work......I can rework them somewhat in my Corel Paintshop Pro, but wanted to get them up here.....yes, they hurt my eyes when comparing to the other pictures on this page!

Im older and didn't mean to ignore the bronzes, but man, I had a very hard time seeing the bronzes at the show! So, if I couldn't see details well, they didn't interest me all that much.

I will be sure to hit up another show when I can....I often work weekends, so that can be somewhat trying.

 

Very nice! I especially like the pretty Domna and the Marcus Aurelius. Congrats on the excellent selection, and welcome to the party.

 

I am more and more of the opinion that taking your own light to a show is a good idea. I have tried more than one type but have not found a great answer for easy of use, even lighting and not bothering other people when in use. We carry a magnifier and, especially as we get older, a light is a good idea. Fortunately modern LED mini lights are making this easier and easier.

Bronzes are harder to find in nice condition so collecting them will require more tolerance of faults, more patience or a lot more money.
Caracalla


Commodus


Domna


I have no Lucilla bronze.

Aurelius


Another region to explore is that of Provincial coins issued for local use in certain regions. They can be silver or bronze.

Caracalla, Antioch


Commodus, Alexandria


Domna, Sardis


Again, I have no Lucilla Provincial.

Aurelius, Hadrianopolis


This thread has been restricted to Romans but there are Greeks, Asians, Medievals, Byzantines and civilizations of which most people have never heard. You will never run out of new (to you) and different ancients.

 

So nice to see a new collector whose first coins are not common fakes from eBay!

Great selections all and a good effort on the photos. Many new people post tiny coin images surrounded by lots of blank space.

Welcome to cointalk ancients.

John

 

Excellent first ancients

 

Great coins!

 

A really great start- I love the Domna from "Laodicea ad Mare" mint, and also the lovely Lucilla!

 

Welcome to ancient coin collecting. Your Lucilla is very nice!
I think you made some good choices, both in coins and starting with a coin show dealer. I find most dealers are willing to give their thoughts on what is a good buy in their stock, if you wait until they are not too busy.