Forgive me if this is in the wrong section or wasting your time. I went to an estate sale today and gathered a bunch of coins and these two stumped me. Are these Ancient coins or even real for that matter. Thanks for your help
They are both genuine ancient coins. On the left is a coin of Roman emperor Aurelian, 270-275. It is a tetradrachm from Alexandria, Egypt. On the right is a coin of Roman emperor Constantine the Great, 307-337, from the mint of Rome. The reverse legend is VIRTVS AVGG.
The Aurelian Alexandrian Tet is great! Aurelian Potin Tetradrachm Alexandria Year 4 = 272/3 AD Obverse: A K Λ ΔOM AVΡHΛIANOC CEB; laureate and cuirassed bust right Reverse: Eagle flying right, wreath in its talons. LΔ to right.
Both are far better than the usual we see shown here are things found at an estate sale. I would be very surprised if those were the only two ancient coins in that estate. Did you get others?
I got them for 12 cents apiece. It was in a bunch of other world coins and the cashiers said take them all for $50...
I'm going back tomorrow for another run. Thanks for the info. You guys are fast! Lol Are these worth grading? At least to have them authenticate.
Don't bother. They are inexpensive, common and genuine. Slabbing them would cost more than they are worth.
They are a great buy for 12 cents! That being said, they aren't worth paying the money to authenticate them. They are genuine.
12 cents is about as good as you can possible get. Those two coins are lovely and if you like them, you could start a little collection too!
Hearty second to @Roman Collector. And everyone else. Of all the collecting of Roman coins I ever did, the vast majority was at this level. As a collector, that represents a few decades. And no one bothers to fake this stuff. ...Why? Because of the price range, which, in turn, is thanks largely to the fact that when normal people like you see stuff like this for the first time, all you can think is, 'Is this genuine?' ...Keeps the price down. For the inherent historical value, you Won Big.
No. The people who require slabbed coins are not likely to understand what it is about these that is special. They are not expensive as much as interesting. Boring coins in high grade do better in slabs. I'm sure some of the coins were overpriced at 12 cents. If not, you did well even if these are only $12. If you want to sell them, I'd offer them to a dealer who knows late Roman and would see what is there rather than guessing.
Looks just like the silver 8 reales and gold 8 escudos cob coinage that Spain plundered from Central America. Most likely a modern fake or token in copper. Strong copper smell might be from it being that new
