Ancient Coin Pocket Pieces? My Example and Thoughts

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by The Trachy Enjoyer, Mar 27, 2021.

  1. The Trachy Enjoyer

    The Trachy Enjoyer Well-Known Member

    Ancient coin pocket piece....a controversial use for a coin?
    IMG_6447_scrubbed.png IMG_6448_scrubbed.png
    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!
     
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  3. philologus_1

    philologus_1 Supporter! Supporter

    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.) ;-)
     
  4. Scipio

    Scipio Well-Known Member

    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...
     
  5. ValiantKnight

    ValiantKnight Well-Known Member

    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 :)
     
  6. The Trachy Enjoyer

    The Trachy Enjoyer Well-Known Member

    Sorry, I should have specified. I keep mine in my wallet. It shouldn’t wear down there
     
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  7. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    This Galba was never in my pocket but I always believed it was used as a pocket piece a century or two ago.
    rb1160b00420alg.jpg
     
  8. Only a Poor Old Man

    Only a Poor Old Man Well-Known Member

    @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.

    pocketpc.jpg

    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!
     
  9. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    I always carry a piece of antique jade as a pocket piece :happy:. The Chinese white jade Bixie from the 17th-18th century pictured below is one of my favorites, it measures 2 1/4 in. long.

    IMG_0482.JPG
     
  10. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    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..

    upload_2021-3-27_18-59-53.png
     
  11. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    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.
     
  12. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    I carried an EID MAR around with me briefly, until I either lost it or accidentally spent it.

    EidMar.png
     
  13. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    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.
     
  14. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    I've had Fortuna Redux in my wallet for some years now... she hasn't let me down yet!

    Gordian III - Fortvna Redvx 1726.jpg
     
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