Ancient coin pocket piece....a controversial use for a coin? Lucius Verus Denarius RIC 463 Lucius Verus bare head, facing right / IMP L AVREL VERVS AVG Providentia standing, head left, holding globe and cornucopiae / PROV DEOR TR P COS II This coin is a worn denarius of Lucius Verus. I bought it for $19 which seemed fair based on condition. The coin was dug up and harshly cleaned at some point but has retoned since...This isn't rare nor is it in nice shape. It is just the kind of coin I would point to and say is perfect as a pocket piece. I can carry an ancient coin around with me and show if the topic ever comes up. It serves as fun fidget item and potentially interesting conversation starter. It cant really get worse condition wise and there are probably thousands or even hundreds of thousands of these in existence so I don't feel guilty using it as a pocket piece...I view the collector as the temporary guardian of his or her coins and so take care of the pieces fate has entrusted to me...yet I think allowing a pocket coin is not only fine but fun...an otherwise somewhat undesirable coin becomes special. Thoughts? Do you all have ancient coin pocket pieces? Share them below if so!
I used to carry a very worn Flavian sestertius as a pocket piece. It was so worn that an exact ruler was not even certain -- let alone a specific attribution number. However... somehow... I lost it. WAAAHHHHH!!!!! It was only a relative small loss monetarily, but it was enough to dissuade me from any desire to carry an ancient coin around. (I'd like to have seen whoever found it try to figure out what it was.) ;-)
My same thought; anyways the coin is yours, and it was minted to be carried in pocket (maybe bag). The romans used to write OB CIVES SERVATOS on them, so if the best way your coin can serve you is to be showed and start a nice conversation, why not...
I sometimes carry around a cheapo ancient with me, but I don’t literally have it in my pocket. I have a spot in my wallet that I place them in that minimizes moving/shifting around. They are ~2000 years old; I think they deserve a rest from any more wear and tear
This Galba was never in my pocket but I always believed it was used as a pocket piece a century or two ago.
@The Trachy Enjoyer I actually have one and pretty much for the same reasons as you. Of course I make sure that it doesn't get scratched by having it in the wallet within a mylar saflip with a collector's ticket and all. It cost me very little and it was in a worse state when I got it. I cleaned it a bit. As you can see it is a Byzantine Follis from the anonymous series, and it is a class D from the reign of Constantine IX (1042 -1055 AD). Unfortunately with Covid and all, it doesn't get out of the wallet much pretty much because I don't get out of the house much! Pre-covid I used to hang around for hours in queues waiting for metal gigs to start. Hopefully in the future it will prove to be an interesting conversation piece and maybe I will discover a fellow metal-head numismatist. Yeap, God willing, this Jesus is going to mosh!
I always carry a piece of antique jade as a pocket piece . The Chinese white jade Bixie from the 17th-18th century pictured below is one of my favorites, it measures 2 1/4 in. long.
I carry this bronze... a chunky sestertius with poor Antonius Pius slowly fading away... I carry it loose in my pocket. Its comforting and a good conversation piece whenever I pull it out with change. Like most I have photos of my nicer coins on my phone in case anyone wants to see some nicer examples. My friends always ask me to pull it out if there is a reason to flip a coin (fun sports bets, or at golf, etc).. With a coin in this condition I see nothing wrong with it..
I carry around a follis of Michael the Amorian, with his portrait along with Theophilus'. Since my name is Michael, it makes sense. It's also a good conversation starter given that I can tell folks the coin is 1200 years old, at which they ooh and ahh.
For years I've carried around various pocket pieces, usually world crowns. But I cannot bring myself to carrying around an ancient - I am always afraid of wounding the AEs and the silvers are so small that I'm afraid I'd lose them. I will take new ancients to work (in a flip) so I am look at them while I am at my desk. But always in a flip.