New to ancient coin collecting

I did go over the website people have been linking but I see why you guys can't assist until I get a look at the back detail: there are simply far too many coins associated with Claudius Gothicus. I may try and go through them all one by one anyway if I find the time, if he is the right emperor which I suspect he is.

Yes, $42.55 AUD, which works out to $28.58 USD.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Here are a couple of Claudius Gothicus antoniniani for comparison:





And here are my Alexander III Macedonian bronzes:

 

The Claudius Gothicus one is not the first one, he has a long slender neck which matches the second one. I should have had the image rotated 90 degrees from the start (I'm not convinced the ribbon thing at the end of the crown matches up):





I do have another in the lot that is visible without being cleaned, could be the same emperor but it's a different coin.

 

Also, thanks for showing me all these Alexander the Greats. It's nice to know I'm in company here with the beat up ones.

 

The last coin looks more like Gallienus, but the portraits can vary.

The only way to identify a coin like this, is to be able to make out the reverse properly. Often you also need to be able to read the reverse legend too, at leat partly.

 

That's right. It is Gallienus.

 

Not that I would ever do it, but do people ever round out the coins by trimming off the edges? I'd prefer it to have large chunks than to remove anything, but I'm wondering if some people don't do a little chiselling?

 

People do a lot of thoughtless things hoping to make money on coins.
It’s frowned upon in the colletor community:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/2020-raspberry-awards.354620/

 

Welcome to CT! We look forward to getting to know you

 

Thanks. Generally I'm not very sociable but I have tempted posting elsewhere on this forum.

 

As for the Islamic coin, I have been looking at Arakan (including India) coins which I believe are Islamic, and they give me the strongest impression personally of the coin I posted so I see why someone suggested it may be Indian. Many of the coins I have been looking at are from the 18th century. However, I have also seen alike Middle Ages Arabic coins. I have yet to see the stylized trident-like character, though, so I'm not sure but I'll keep looking. Before I suggested Islamic cultures didn't have history. I should say history I know about. If I find out what it is, research it and discover an interesting history I may keep it. But if it's just a relic of Islamism, I have little to no interest. Someone else might appreciate it more than me.

This page for instance:

https://www.lotsearch.de/lot/arakan...-44853155?page=18&orderBy=lot-title&order=ASC

This CoinTalk thread assisted me:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/help-w-ancient-islamic-coins.244520/

...I just saw a trident like symbol on his 4th image.

Going by condition (most of it being worn off) and suggested prices on that thread, it can't be worth too much. But I'd like to think someone might pay $2 AUD for it on an impulse. Maybe the other side will be better, but I also suspect the seller put the interesting coins on their interesting faces on top.

 

Welcome to CT and ancients in general.

Buying unidentified lots is one of my favorite things to do - I just posted one I bought this month for $4.99: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/od...tates-mystery-provincial.354876/#post-4103850

That being said, I do not care for the typical "uncleaned lot" that are so commonly sold - LRB (late Roman bronze) worn slick then crusted over do not seem to clean up very well - I base this on many posts here on Coin Talk by folks who have tried these. Such results can discourage a new collector. I avoid such lots.

As for specific coins:

The lot noted above came with a Claudius II Gothicus with a double-strike (cost: $0.83) - it takes a bit of work to attribute these - in this case, there a several "Annona" reverse types. The obverse legend (with a C before the C in CLAVDIVS) and the delta in the reverse field is what determined the ID.

When I first started out, this was a very intimidating, sometimes frustrating experience. But you'll get the hang of it - and I got a lot of help (and still do) from Coin Talk members, who are quite generous with their expertise and time:



Claudius II Æ Antoninianus
(268-270 A.D.)
Rome Mint
IMP C CLAVDIVS [AVG], radiate head right / A[NNON]A AVG, Annona standing left, foot on prow, holding corn ears and cornucopiae, Δ in right field.
RIC 18 radiate head
Note: doublestruck
(4.01 grams / 22 x 18 mm)

As for Crusty Macedonians (sounds like the name of an ironic coffee shop), here is one I paid $3 for (not from a lot) - these too can be tricky to attribute, there being many reverse symbols, arrangement of the bow/club, etc.:



Macedon Æ Half Unit
Alexander III
(c. 336-323 B.C.)
Uncertain Macedon Mint
Head of Herakles right, with lionskin head-dress /[AΛ]EΞ[AN]ΔΡOY, between quiver above and club below; Δ above, star below.
Price 277.
(6.58 grams / 17 mm)

Is it worth $3? It is to me - the obverse is nice and it's 2000 years old Greek art and I like colorful patina and I still get all excited about paying $3 for stuff like this. But that's just me - others would say it's nasty. Maybe I'll mature into a more discerning collector...but probably not. I'm about as mature as I'm going to get, I'm afraid. And I'm a cheapskate.

As for cleaning, both of the above coins could probably be improved by an expert. I am no expert, so I don't try anything beyond removing loose surface dirt. Beyond that, I am certain I'd just ruin these.

 

I personally think it's amazing you bought a 300 BC coin in that condition for $3! I tend to over spend when I start collecting stuff, figure out I blew too much money and then go into conservative mode. So I think some foolishness is almost an inevitable way to start, for me at least. I don't want to cheat people, but if they're looking for a quick buck for whatever reason it is either me or someone else and I'd rather it be me who finds the bargains.

Here is a picture of the lot I bought. Maybe I done poorly but it probably set me on the right path. If the coins are not very valuable, then that only emboldens me to learn about cleaning and experimenting with the various tactics, even trying electrolysis of varying durations. I notice the worst condition coins are underneath, like the seller laid it out intentionally that way.

 

Welcome @KDD , ancient coin collecting can be fun and educational. I like coins with an interesting story.
Cipius is one of the stories I like.


Grueber in Coins of the Roman Republic tells a story about Cipius, the Snorer (who might have been this moneyer). Cipius threw big parties and pretended to sleep so he would not see the goings-on at the party. When a slave served himself some of the good wine Cipius said: "non omnibus dormio" - I do not feign sleep for everyone.

 

I think that lot has some potential - to be sure there are a few of those crusty LRB's I mention above that will probably not clean up very well. But there is enough other stuff that I think it could be a lot of fun. $28 USD seems like a reasonable deal to me.

The over-spending aspect of collecting is indeed a pitfall - I've certainly done it too, and it is easy to do at first when you are starting out. Overpaying for a coin ruins it for me - this defies logic in a way, but who said collecting is logical?

Some collectors worry more about price than others - I am definitely on the "price sensitive" side. But collecting for quality - spending big to get the really, really nice stuff is certainly a good way to go (and probably, in the end, a better investment). I enjoy the posts on Coin Talk where folks share their latest Big Auction House wins - it is a vicarious enjoyment, but enjoyment nonetheless. But as for my own collection, I have no interest in heading in the high end direction.

The important thing is to have fun and collect (and spend) what you are comfortable with. It took me a fairly long time to get to a comfortable place...which is to say, don't be too hard on yourself!

Here's another recent lot - $16.05 (free shipping!). I knew when I bid on it that a couple of the coins were pretty hopeless, even by my standards. But there is a fairly decent Julia Mamaea sestertius (top left) and an interesting if over-cleaned Heraclius follis from Nicomedia (top right). The price was worth those two alone (worth it to me, anyway).

Which is to say a certain degree of triage is usually the case with lots - look for the gems, figure what they are worth to you, and put the others in your duplicate box.

 

$42 AUD ($28 USD) is what I spent on the Alexander the Great singularly. That bundle (not including the Macedonian) cost me $155 AUD (around $105 USD). But postage was steep also. I saw another bundle of 100 coins from the UK and the seller there was asking for $10 AUD postage. My lot cost me over $30 AUD (20 USD) in postage. And then everything was inflated because we have to pay 10% GST tax on any product (including second hand, which we don't have to do domestically) or service internationally and 4% currency exchange. I also overpaid: I nominated a value of $115 AUD, but decided to just 'make it happen' as I wanted to learn the craft of cleaning coins. I cursed myself afterwards, but am at peace with it now. It was my initial clumsy overspend.

I will be more patient in the future, but this... I just had to make it happen. I'm tired of everything, I've got to become skilled at everything I possibly can because I don't know what life is going to throw at me and the more weapons at my disposal the better off I think I will be.

 

My grandson's favorite t-shirt says, "I'm not antisocial, I'm selectively social." I have met some of his friends and believe he has the skill. I may get the shirt if he outgrows it.

The situation here on CT is, IMO, that we have some of the nicest people I have met and a few absolute jerks. There is a feature that allows you to place an 'ignore' on someone so their posts do not appear on your screen. There is also what I call 'soft ignore' which just means I don't bother reading things I don't want to read. I encourage people to use either of those techniques on me as well. None of us agree 100% on everything but I do enjoy seeing what people think is worth collecting (even if I think they are wrong).

 

The symbol on the probably Islamic coin appears to be the Trishula symbol: an Indian equivalent of the trident. I've seen a couple of coins with it referred to as the 'trishul' or 'trisul' symbol:

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=3151&pos=77

So I was right to assume trident, and it looks like the person who suggested it might be Indian is probably correct, IMO. The symbol is actual buddhist or Hindu, not Islamic, but I think it accompanies Islamic coins from India.

 

The second is Gallienus FOR SURE.

 

This stuff makes me very upset, so it is probably best to stay clear of opening this can of worms on this forum. I will just say I think equating unsocial with antisocial (for those who do, including the authors who contribute to Wikipedia) is in my opinion moronic. Antisocial is socially disruptive. It is being loud and obnoxious in a social setting, it is forming gangs and being antagonistic to social ideals and cooperation, it is not social withdrawal or inhibition: such people are not antogonising, they're just keeping to themselves and allowing you to go about doing your thing. I use unsocial to refer to such people. I understand to social people they may seem the same as they don't contribute 'anything good to society' (besides invention, scientific discoveries, etc) but they're in reality polar opposites and there is no way that word can encompass both groups of people except to simple minded people. So I always use unsocial and antisocial to refer to the two groups.