WTB: A Rarity Marcinus Sestertius Platform scene - Does it Deserve an R3?

Macrinus sestertius - RIC 194 (R3)
Weight: 23.48 grams, Size: 31mm
Obverse inscription: IMP CAES M OPEL SEV MACRINUS AVG
Reverse inscription: LIBERALITAS AUGUSTI

Let me add that I did address this in a prior post but was not able to put up a decent photograph of the coin.

Over the years my thinking on collecting ancient coins has gradually progressed from mindlessly seeking better condition coins, (that were affordable - and that took LOTS of searching), to seeking coins that are interesting more or less regardless of condition.

My interest has remained with imperial sestertii of the family of Septimius Severus (also the travel coins of Hadrian). Of course as years go on there seem to be less and less available in any condition and sometimes I am not quick enough to make a desired purchase, but, as a friend from Seattle has said after beating me out on the purchase of a coin, another one will come along - sooner or later.

This was an ebay purchase, from a reputable dealer ($350) about three years ago. At one time I would have turned up my nose at a coin in this condition - especially since I have another sestertius of Macrinus, and his coins are not directly in my decided upon specialty. But the coin is INTERESTING - it refers to an event, a distribution to the citizens of Rome, and it is the one and only sestertius of Macrinus that is noted in RIC as R3. And, yes I know that the rarity designations of RIC are a bit suspect, but this would be one of only a few R3 coins in my collection.

Plus it is a platform scene and I do not have many. As a collector of sestertii with somewhat limited means - this was more than I typically spend - I find that there are just so many coins with reverses of Fortuna, Pax, Roma, Victory, Fides, Providentia and especially Felicitas that I can own in any condition - I say that tongue in cheek, but not completely.

There is not that much to add - the coin is heavily smoothed, but whoever did it did a decent job - the reverse is in terrible condition but it is not tooled, which means a great deal in this time when more and more sestertii are being sold with obvious tooling that ruins the coin.

Let me add this - and I will address condition v. rarity in a forthcoming post - I do think that focusing more on rare or interesting reverses made me a better collector of ancient coins. As I am about out of time I will address that as well in a forthcoming post. It would be nice to be able to afford both, but I find that I have less and less tolerance for the view that a collection should only only have coins in top grades. I also know that how to collect is a deeply personal choice, and there is no "right" way to do it.

But I am interested in hearing more about this issue from other people.

 

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I will reply first, although my experience (with ancient coins) is limited.
Being a collector is a personal choice by all means. We collect coins because we like them, we fell that tingle when we add a new coin or we study it after waiting for 3 or 5 or 20 days for the mail to arrive. A non-collector will not understand this.
I don't usually tell my family or friends how much did a coin cost. But when I do, they find them very expensive (even if they are not).
I have a friend who loves fishing, he spends a lot of money (in my point of view) for fishing equipment. I don't like fishing, last time I went fishing was in 2000, but I understand his hobby.

Now for condition vs rarity - all I want is for me to like the coin I buy. It needs to add something to my album - to be from an emperor/period I am interested in, to have a nice, symbolic, if possible unique reverse (I totally agree with this part "I find that there are just so many coins with reverses of Fortuna, Pax, Roma, Victory, Fides, Providentia and especially Felicitas")

It's all about personal tastes and how much you're willing to spend and/or wait for a coin in, let's say, XF condition, to appear (I don't want to think how much would the Sestertius in the OP cost in XF).

About a year ago I bought a banknote I like (I also collect banknotes). It is one of the rarer notes in my area, quite expensive, I found one at a fair price and bought it. Although it's one of the top 5 banknotes in my collection, I felt something strange when I got it, something like "well... good note, but I think 30% of my salary could have been spent better". I didn't like that feeling and I don't want to have that thought again.

Since I don't buy coins for profit I always ask myself some questions when I see a coin:
1. is it in my area of interest? would it add value in my collection? (an emperor in my wish list, an interesting reverse............................)
2. is the condition good enough? I made some mistakes in the past and realized a poorly conserved coin will not satisfy me even if it's interesting (as a type) and it was cheap. When I say poor, I don't mean this the example in this thread. I mean ones that are barely attributable (and without being sure), extremely worn...
3. is the price fair for me? I always look for a balance between what I spend and the satisfaction I get when checking it in the album.

As a joke (unfortunately for me ), I don't think I will ever own a Divus Titus Sestertius - Colosseum in, let's say, Fine condition. Conditions 1 and 2 would be fully met, condition 3 will never be.

 

Terrific thoughtful response and I agree completely- many collectors have said they buy an ancient coin because it “talks” to them - there is something about the coin that strikes a chord - it is completely subjective but, nevertheless most collectors of ancients can see the same coin and understand it.

I posted what I said about common reverses on purpose as an introduction to my next article which discusses a coin with a common reverse - the point is that it is nearly impossible to make a blanket statement about collecting preferences- it is up to each collector to decide what he or she finds interesting. And with ancient coins it is an enormously wide field.

 

RIC IV (1934) does not explain it´s rarity scale, but I know a total of 5 specimens of RIC 194. Apart from your Sestertius those are:

Same pair of dies as yours:
1) in the KHM Vienna (RÖ 15918)
2) pictured in Banti (Nr.17, ex Gnecchi collection)
3) ex CGB.fr

Another specimen from a different pair of dies:
4) British Museum (1993,0401.223, ex Waldeck and Clay collections)

The next RIC volume to specify it´s rarity scale was RIC VII (1966), where "R3" meant "4-6 coins known". So this would make your coin indeed "R3"!

According to Sear´s price rating, this is in fact the most desirable Sestertius type of Macrinus. Congratulations!

 

Thanks - this adds another dimension to the coin, and goes in my loose leaf book next to its photograph - it is great to be able to do more than simply get a coin, admire it, then put it away - better to know about the coin, its history, its rarity, if it is rare, and of course the history behind the person under whom it was struck, and if possible the significance of the reverse. Thanks again for providing this interesting information -