My first Roman coin! Diocletian

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by savitale, Feb 13, 2021.

  1. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    Sorry, but you can pay too much for anything, even a famous rarity. I know that from first hand experience.
     
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  3. Fugio1

    Fugio1 Well-Known Member

    @johnmilton Ok I concede that there are a lot of coins for sale out there that are priced pretty high comparatively. I have several coins in my collection that fall in the first 1-3 lines in ACSearch when the search is sorted by hammer price descending. I may not be able to resell these coins for anywhere near what I paid in the near future, but that's less important to me than to have these beautiful treasures in my collection.
     
  4. Terence Cheesman

    Terence Cheesman Well-Known Member

    That is a very nice Argenteus savitale, and it is a good start to a collection of ancient coins. I have one that is similar. Diocletian Ar argenteus Siscia mint 294-295 AD Obv Head right laureate Rv Four princes sacrificing at an altar in front of a fortified enclosure. RIC 43a 3.46 grms 18 mm dioc10.JPG Welcome to the club savitale however should make a note. More of a cautionary tale. When I started collecting the tetrarchic argenteus was a very rare and desirable coin. I used to see them in old NFA Auction Catalogues (For some reason even though I was working minimum wage I kept getting these things.) these coins getting real high prices. Now they are much more reasonable. A number of massive hoards brought down those prices.
     
  5. savitale

    savitale Well-Known Member

    Yeah, I'm thinking Mint State might be somewhat liberally applied by NGC for ancients. There seems to be some contention between NGC grading and traditional grading. I think the same coin out of the holder would be Choice Extremely Fine on the CNG grading scale.
     
  6. savitale

    savitale Well-Known Member

    Definitely no deep pockets here, at least how I would define it. But I do follow the philosophy of "less is more". If I could pickup a handful of these a year I would be happy.
     
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  7. savitale

    savitale Well-Known Member

    Beautiful coin! I love the toning and the extremely well-struck reverse.
     
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  8. savitale

    savitale Well-Known Member

    So many great other examples! Thanks for sharing them all.
     
  9. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    Excellent addition. I wish I had such an eye when I first started to collect ancient

    Here's my Nicomedia mint example

    0560-210.jpg
    Nicomedia mint, 3rd officina, AD 295-296
    DIOCLETI ANVS AVG, Laureate head of Diocletian right
    VICTORIAE SARMATICAE, The tetrarchs sacrifying before a campgate. SMNΓat exergue
    3.3 gr
    Ref : RCV # 12615 (1000), Cohen #491 var,

    Q
     
  10. panzerman

    panzerman Well-Known Member

    That is a beautifull coin! A keeper for life:D I have one from him too...
    Probably one of the ten best Emperors. John IMG_0021.JPG IMG_0023.JPG
     
  11. Spargrodan

    Spargrodan Well-Known Member

    I think it's a keeper, great version and it's well struck!
    It's also an intereting and important piece with the new coin reform made by Diocletian and the introduction of the argentum.
     
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  12. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    Here is my Diocletian Argus. Like I said, not as nice as the OP.

    Diocletian argus All.jpg

    And here is Maximinus I who was Diocletian's co-emperor of the western empire. I actually like this coin more, despite the planchet crack, because it's sharper and it's raw. I know I could crack out the Diocletian, but after you have spent the money on the certified coin, you get antsy.

    Maximinus I All.jpg
     
  13. Raymond Houser

    Raymond Houser Active Member

    Since all of the tetrarchs issued essentially the same reverse, it would make a fun and interesting quest to find the other three in an equal condition. Good hunting.
     
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  14. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member


    A truly beautiful coin. Of course it's a keeper! I would love to have a coin showing all the tetrarchs, or an argenteus. I've been actively collecting ancient coins for the last 3 1/2 years, and own about 240 of them at last count -- a very tiny collection compared to many here! -- but have neither of those.
     
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  15. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    And expensive. I thought about doing that, but ended up buying the folis instead. It can be done. I ran across the coins, but didn't want to spend the money.

    Constantius I Follis

    Constantius I Follis All.jpg

    Galerius Follis

    Galerius Follis All.jpg

    Looking at these coins, I must say that the artwork really slipped during this period. These portraits look more caricatures than people.
     
  16. Romancollector

    Romancollector Well-Known Member

    @savitale Wow! That is a terrific first Roman coin! My first Roman coin was either a ratty as of Caligula, a Constantinian AE or a Gordian III antoninianus...I cannot remember which came first, but I bought all them when I was 10 years old...You're off to a very good start!

    Unfortunately, I do not have an argenteus to share. :(
     
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  17. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Great first ancient, @savitale .

    upload_2021-2-14_20-43-41.png
    RI Diocletian 284-305 CE AE Radiate Fraction VOT XX
     
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