I haven't bought many coins recently, as prices have risen so much. I'm not a seller of my coins either, as I love each one of them and would be legitimately upset to part with any! However, I also collect baseball cards and am not nearly as attached to those (especially the modern ones). So with prices exploding in that market as well, I've taken advantage and sold three cards I bought for about $50 eight years ago (in total), collecting almost $3K if you can believe it. So I've got some free money to work with! Here's what I picked up today. Julius Caesar. Denarius. 47-46 BC. Galia. (Ffc-10). (Craw-458/1). (Cal-644). Anv.: Diademed head of Venus right. Rev.: CAESAR, Aeneas walking Ieft, carrying Anchises and palladium. Ag. 3,88 g. Effectively, I traded one nine-year old baseball card for a 2,000+ year old sharp coin minted by Julius Caesar. I don't understand how these things are equivalent in value, but I know what's worth more to me!
It is insane how prices have gone up on various collectibles. It's curbed my spending by leaps and bounds. And I have drifted into new areas lately that haven't seem to pick up steam yet & hopefully don't. Beautiful coin, nice clear Caesar and all. I had to part with some stuff to afford mine. Julius Caesar (February-March 44 B.C) AR Denarius Lifetime Issue O: Wreathed head of Caesar right; CAESAR downward to right, DICT PERPETVO upward to left. R: Venus Victrix standing left, holding Victory in outstretched right hand and vertical scepter in left; L • BVC[A] downwards to right. L. Aemilius Buca, moneyer. Rome Mint 3.92g 17mm Crawford 480/8; Alföldi Type XIV, 62–3, 67, and 69 (A13/R22); CRI 105; Sydenham 1061; RSC 23; RBW 1683.
Beautiful example! I picked up mine at the turn of the year.. I also had to sell some stuff to afford it.
No Caesar for me, at least not yet. Congratulations, exceptional coin. But being relatively new in ancients, I agree - prices are going way up. Waiting for my 50 EUR Nerva to arrive and I think this price would have been a bad joke 5 years ago, this is why I think I will take a break from new purchases for a while to see how the market goes.
Very nice OP coin, and it gives me an excuse to post my JC portrait coin again: Prices have definitely been heading up in the last few months, I've won very few coins at auction and none at what I'd consider bargain prices. Looks like this might be a good time for me to pause and appreciate what I've already got in my collection.
You are so right. When I was young Mickey Mantle was one of the most famous baseball players. Does that mean a mint state rookie card of him is worth $5,200,000? Well, recently one sold for that. However, I think in 50 years Julius Caesar will still be a famous Roman and many other outstanding sportsman will have come along to dilute the fame of Mickey. It is nice when a silver denarius of Julius Caesar says CAESAR nice and bold. Here is a less desirable, but interesting, Julius Caesar type. 31-28 mm. 1.96 grams. Dupondius. Struck 45 BC. CAESAR DIC TER Winged and draped bust of Victory right, star behind C CLOVI PRAEF Minerva advancing right, snake rearing before left at feet, holding trophy and shield. Crawford 476/1b. Sear I 1417, page 271. Sear HCRI 62, page 43. "Issue of aes at this time was a great novelty as regular production has ceased four decades earlier." "The first time this metal [orichalcum] had been used for currency in the west." "For distribution at Caesar's Spanish triumph." [Sear HCRI p. 43]
Congrats on your first IULIUS CAESAR! Very nice coin, well done, @Nathan P . RR Julius Caesar AR Denarius 49 BCE Traveling Mint Elephant trampling snake-Pontificates Sear 1399 Craw 443-1
My only Julius Caesar coin currently. I traded some coins(including one posted earlier in this thread) for it