As I'm planning out my Imperial Roman collection, I'm struggling with the mid-third century ones from Philip I (r. 244-249 CE) to Carinus (r. 283-285 CE). The antoninianii appear to be just dismal coinage for the most part. Aureii seem to be five-figure coins and I can't afford that. So what's a person to do?
I just try and get the best antoniniani I can! That is my collecting field though, so I don't really have any other option... Some of the earlier emperors minted sestertii, so you could try getting some of them?
It depends on your collecting goals. If your goal is simply one of each emperor and the members of his family, exceptionally well-preserved antoniniani are the way to go. If you're trying to go into depth, acquiring an extensive collection of Postumus, for example, then you'll have to settle for ugly if you desire any sense of completeness. These things aren't Morgan dollars; they were produced hastily by slave labor when the empire was under extreme economic distress. The coins simply range from the eyesore to the barely collectable.
Maybe we have different definitions of "dismal" but you can find plenty of these Emperors in great condition and the added bonus is that they can be super affordable. A few of Philip-- are these "dismal"?
Some are not dismal, including the examples you showed. I believe early on (like your Philip I examples) the coins were made mostly of silver and with some quality of workmanship but they rapidly degraded from there. Maybe there are excellent examples from all the emperors and I just haven't found them yet. Doesn't seem promising in some cases though.
Actually the "Gallic Empire" coinage are beautifull/ just cannot afford them Philip and Family struck really nice material. Some of the Aurei are affordable too, as this one I got from Leu.
I know what you mean. Many of those ants are undersized, underweight, ugly, or otherwise "dismal," like you said. However, one just gotta make do. Here are two Claudius II that are on the high end for quality. They have small, undersized flans but you gotta make do. Sometimes, for emperors like Gallienus, the coins run the gamut from very conventionally attractive: And sometimes you just gotta appreciate the ugly:
Here's a pretty nice looking and nice metal Postumus... And @JayAg47 just posted a rather nice Gallienus. I believe there are nice quality coins of those emperors you seek out there, but you might have to hunt a bit for them, pouring through ones that you don't fancy.
Gallic emperors tended to have rather dismal coins, but for these I like to either appreciate the lovely rendering of the obverses: Or admire the abstractness of the reverses too:
Beautifull coin! I would rate the Aurei from Postumus/ Victorinus/ Laelinus way nicer then Imperial Roman of same era.
Here's an aureus of Gallienus..."Peace everywhere" reverse, exact opposite of what was happening at the time. Vocative case as well.(not in my collection)
Nice antoninianii of the Crisis emperors are tough to find, but they are out there- just be prepared to either fork out a lot of money, or troll through thousands of coins in large lots. All of these came from large lots from major auction houses
Also don't forget that every emperor up until Gallienus issued sestertii, which are mostly common, often better executed than the silver, and don't seem to have been hit -too- hard by the price mania
Also provincials are pretty cheap and nice looking, and often rather large. 27mm and cost like $4 in a group lot.
The Gallic emperors form a fun little set, and have interesting history. Postumus got it started. From what I've read, his coins had more gold or silver in them that the pieces the empire was issuing at the time. Marius was the black smith who hit the big time for a few days or a couple of months depending on whose history you believe. This coin is on the tough side. One story says he was killed with one of the swords he made, but that's probably just a spiced up version of the truth. Victorinus may have been egged on by his mother. He was great general, but he had a weakness for the ladies. He hit on the wrong woman, and her jealous husband killed him. I bought this piece for obverse. The reverse came along for the ride. Tetricus I was one of those rare birds who manged to live after his empire crumbled. He may have made a deal with Aurelian. He put up with same days of humiliation and then he and his son got to live out their days in peace ... with a state job no less. This coin has a funky shape, but the wording is readable.
philip i and philip ii have nice provincials. this is one of mine i got this year Obv: AVTOK K M IOVΛI ΦΙΛΙΠΠOC CЄB. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev: ΔIOC KATЄBATOV / KVPHCTΩN. Hexastyle temple, containing Zeus Kataibates seated facing, holding thunderbolt and sceptre, eagle to left; above, ram leaping right. RPC 7844; Butcher 21c.