Yesterday I bought a bargain mixed lot that was advertized as including 11 low grade Sestertii. When I picked it up I realized that what I had bought was in fact four middle bronzes, five Sestertii, and two coins that look like cast fakes to me. The Auction house asked if I wanted them anyway so I got them for half of my maximum bid, which is less than what I usually pay for a single bronze coin. I don´t really need any of these coins since I aim for a one-coin-per-individual collection and have far better coins of each of those rulers, but as the Sestertii missing in my collection will cost more than 1000 USD each, I liked the idea of having something new to play with while I am saving for that Vitellius Sestertius. Here is what was in the box - most came with old tags of Deutsche Münzhandeslsgesellschaft mbH, Braunschweig, or hand written collectors tickets that indicate they were bought at Vienna or Zurich between 1983 and 1989 (which dealers would that be from?): 1) Tiberius As 2) Drusus Caesar As 3) Titus As 4) Trajan As 5) Antoninus Pius Sestertius 6) Marcus Aurelius Sestertius 7) another Marcus Aurelius Sestertius 8) Severus Alexander Sestertius 9) another Severus Alexander Sestertius 10) Aemilianus Sestertius, must be a cast 11) Trebonianus Gallus Sestertius, certainly a cast (no picture) Please let me know how I did for 18 USD per coin and if you see any keepers here! Also I would be interested in your experience with group lots...
At $18 per coin, this is a pretty great deal, I think. I know I'd be happy with them. Lots really appeal to me - but I am sort of a quantity over quality collector. Here is a lot of sesterti (and a stray Provincial for Trebonianus Gallus) I got a couple years ago for $45 total ($7.50 each). I was happier than a hog in slops (and some might say these coins are the numismatic equivalent of slops!):
I'd say you got a great deal. Several of those coins are probably worth multiples of what you paid for them. I'm curious which coins you think might be fakes. From the photos, I'm a little concerned about the Tiberius--something seems just a little bit off; is it tooled?--but all the others look good.
@Julius Germanicus At $18 a coin, I'd be happy to put any of those into my collection. I particularly like the Titus and Severus Alexandar with Victory on the reverse. @Marsyas Mike that is a great deal you got there! I love my coins to be a) affordable and b) look like they were used in daily transactions. Yours meet both those criteria. Good stuff.
I didn't know Aemilian even struck sestertii. Hope it's real. I can't tell whether or not it is a cast.
Here is last coin: 11) Trebonianus Gallus This is certainly a cast as is evident from the little "bubbles". I am convinced the seller that the Aemilianus is also a cast, hence the discount. The Aemilianus alone would justify the lot´s price in any grade due to it´s rarity as a Sestertius. Here are the collector´s tickets for both: I am not quite sure what to make out of those. They seem to be written in ink and the Aemilian has a date of VI, 1982 and a price of 150 M (German Mark, I guess, which would be a lot for a forgery) written on it. But what does the "Wien (2)514" stand for? A sale catalogue number maybe?
Interesting indeed. 2 different hand writings on one note: one old ink from a fountain pen and one from a newer biro pen (?). But both notes The TB note says Zurich XI 87? Perhaps 1987? And also Wien. Before the euro, Austria had the austria shilling. So that makes the 150 M strange. Perhaps the previous owner paid 150 M for both (similair older writing on both notes) and in Austria they probably accepted 150 M?
A member of the German forum indicated that the first collector of those two coins (the one who used the ink pen and the pencil) was likely living in former East Germany, hence the "M" - West Germans would have written "DM" (for Deutsche Mark), and that he would have likely bought these two coins in Bulgaria. He may have noted the catalogue or auction (?) data from Vienna and Zürich just for reference to similar pieces because he did not have access to RIC, Cohen, Sear or Kankelfitz (German pre-Kampmann catalogue) behind the iron curtain. The second owner added Kampmann reference numbers with a biro pen, so he was likely collecting after 1989. His hand writing is also on the tickets that came with the genuine other nine coins in the lot, so it was probably him or his heirs that gave his amateur collection to the auction house. Meanwhile I decided to only keep Tiberius, Titus, the second Severus Alexander, and the two casts, so I took the other five out to the local flea market on Sunday with some other surplus bronzes and my mom´s German silver coins (a neat alternative to eBay - everything sold in a couple of hours without the hassle of writing, packaging and the mail). They made nice conversation pieces and help a hand full of people new to the hobby and roman history to enter the "dark side" now .
