I need your thoughts please!

I'm still quite new at this and appreciate the wealth of knowledge on this site. I'm looking at a coin of Helena Augusta on eBay from a company called House of Ceasars. They're not on the fake coin list but they have less than 300 positive feedbacks. What I'm not sure of is they say their coins are certified genuine and it certainly looks that way. But they say this coin is "certified" by them but not by a company that does that like PCGS or NGC. Would that bring up a red flag to anyone else and does this coin look like a $165 coin? I've lloked at a lot of similar coins on reputable sites and they run the gambit price wise. Opinions please and if you could explain why. Thanks so very much all of you amazing folks.

 

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The coin looks fine in the photos. I see no reason from the photos to suspect it is not genuine. As for the cost/price… I’m a deal hunter. If you want to buy a Helena today, you’ll likely pay closer to retail ($165 is high though, I’d look through Vcoins). If you don’t need a Helena today and you wait and watch, you can many times score something similar for 1/3 of the price.

 

Thank you Ornage Julius, I was wondering if they over inflte prices to send you what seems to be a great deal.

 

It is a nice coin and you may be able to get them to accept a lower offer. Looking at vcoins… yeah prices are all over from crazy high to ugly and cheap.

 

Coin is RIC VII 28 SMKA mintmark (first officina). Rarity in RIC is r3 but I don't think this is extremely relevant at least in this case
Here is one I quickly found from officina 3, same degreee of rarity in RIC.
https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/...h-cyzicus-mint-3rd-officina-struck-ad-324-325

My personal opinion is that $90 + premium is also a high price.


In the end the price of a coin is exactly the price that was paid or that someone is willing to pay for it. I am not willing to pay that sum or even close to that. A collector who is more specialized on LRBs or a Helena specialist might have another opinion, but I doubt it.

I was discussing with a modern coins dealer who has prohibitive prices, he usually requests 200%. I asked him why. His answer was "if I can find somebody to pay this, why not? and if I find someone interested, we'll bargain and I'll grant him a 10-20% discount, I will still gain profit".

 

From the pictures the price seems high, even though the coin looks legit.
But over all, I would want to make sure the sand patina wasn't applied yesterday to enhance devices on the coin. I sincerely doubt it's original

Q

 

I do not have a Cyzicus

That is the situation. It all depends on who is selling and how anxious the buyer is. It is considered a good business practice to ask a high price and hope someone bites. Mine were $50 and $35 but from other mints and from dealers who did not try for top dollar on every coin. Style from mint to mint varies a lot on these.
Siscia (ex. a dealer on CT)


Antioch (ex. local show dealer)


Of course a bit 'lesser' coin (less wear, more sand) in JAZ sale 186 (lot 15) on CT brought $20 (less seller's fee of $5) on only one bid when I decided I had too many Helena's. I got it at a show in 2012 for $15. It was worth more IMO but people don't like 'lesser' coins. I wonder if the new owner cleaned it. Perhaps I should have???
https://www.cointalk.com/conversations/jaz-numismatics-auction-186.234832/
Alexandria


Coins are 'worth' what the bring where and when they sell. Dealers provide differing degrees of service and ask differing degrees of compensation.

Personally, I would prefer the three above and $60 change but doing that would require a lot of patient looking, going to a lot of shows and an amount of luck. $165 gets a coin and gets it now.

 

Currently at VCoins auction (Pars Coins):

Lot 266 ROMAN EMPIRE. Helena, AD. 325-326. Æ Follis

ROMAN EMPIRE. Helena, AD. 325-326. Æ Follis (2.82 gm; 20 mm). Alexandria, diademed and draped bust right / Securitas standing left. Cf. RIC 38; LRBC 1406. Lovely strike on a nice full flan. Choice Superb.

Opening bid of $60 and a better example than the one shown in the OP.

 

I picked up my one and only Helena for ~$5. She has some blemishes but for the price, I can overlook them.


With the coin OP posted, I would be wary of it having the sand patina applied vs being natural. Even if the patina is natural, $165 is over priced IMO.

 

Genuine coin. Probably fake desert patina. Way overpriced. Look elsewhere.

 

$30-40 coin IMO. Take your business elsewhere.

 

Note that the furryfrog02 Helena at $5 would probably third party/slab grade higher than many since the coin has no wear and the 'problems with the coin are mostly surface. Compare it to the Antioch I posted above that does show wear so would grade lower using conventional and current grading that are based on wear. I am not a professional grader but I would not be surprised to see this coin come back EF 4/5 for strike and 1/5 or 2/5 for surface. (Correct me if I am off base.) The $5 price strikes me as good but not a great bargain because the coin has red encrustations that I strongly suspect would not come off without considerable damage to the coin making it as ugly as sin. Obviously, the coin is not worth paying the price to have it slabbed but I have seen worse coins in plastic because there is a market out there for $10 coins in a $50 box selling for $100. Placed in one of the bargain slabs that do not rate surfaces, the coin would be sold easily to those who buy labels and not coins. I do hope this one stays in the collection of a young lady who will appreciate it for what it is and not want to put lipstick on that pig.

 

Just so you know, one of our esteemed posters, @Valentinian has a nice Helena for sale for $57 plus shipping and many of us regularly buy off of him.

It's still for sale as I type this. Much cheaper & worry free.

http://augustuscoins.com/

 

I second this. Great coins. Great seller.

 

Thank you so very much for the detailed thoughts, I have a lot to learn and one thing I don't seem to have is patience! I must take a deep breathe, another beautiful coin is just around the corner I'm sure.

 

Hi Mat, that is a really nice looking coin and a great price Thanks!

 

Hi Dougsmit, Thanks for your reply, I like the way you describe the process at which some sellers do to the cost of coins. It's nice to find a slabbed coined with the 5/5-2/5, but I'm more interested in the appearance of the coin. I'm willing to look the other way too, I'm not the person to buy a perfect coin, too much money, but I like a good looking coin, it just has to appeal to me. Like someone else said, the prices are all over the place and what I think a coin might go for doesn't mean the sellers are in agreement. Take care. thanks again. More research, less impulsive purchases!

 

This cost like $0.80, though in this condition may as well be $0. But hey, there's about 2% remaining silvering, which can't be said for most of these.

 

Here is my 15 EUR (+ auction taxes) Helena from Antioch mint.
Obverse has some minuses but overall I'm content with it. There were others in the same price range and better, but this was the first in the list so I just wanted to add an empress that was not in my collection and make sure I get it.
I don't consider this a great deal!


On the same auction there were other coins from Helena, different mints, different hairstyles, and the most expensive one (also Cyzicus) was 44 EUR.

That is the best advice you can give yourself
You're on a good path - you searched yourself to see if the price is correct and you also asked here. It's much better than buying first and researching later.

I am an impulse collector, usually when I decide to participate in an auction, I choose 2-3 coins as main targets, 4-5 as secondary, to grab if the prices are OK. Most often I can't get all the "prepared" coins so if something catches my attention, live, I try to get it but only at a very convenient price.

 

Thanks again, I talked to Warren and that $57 coin is mine. Thank you again. Mike.