I, too, felt the same level of puzzlement when I viewed this collection of coins in their slightly enlarged picture. Why wouldn't the coins have...
I tend to agree with this assessment of this collection (it's really a mischaracterization to call it a "lot"), but there are a couple of basic...
To a large extent, it seems to me that ancient engravers regarded their depictions of the gods as works of art, and thus not necessarily subject...
My fundamental issue with tooled coins is: Where do you draw the line? At what point does the tooling become excessive and you decide the coin...
Bing raises an interesting issue about tooled coins -- namely, whether or not to collect them. The most glaring example of this is a Vespasian...
Regardless of where your interests lead you, this is some of the best advice you'll ever get: be patient -- don't just buy a coin because you have...
In addition to the overly sharp detail in the beard (notice how it's a different color from the neck), the giveaway that most indicates tooling...
Ah yes, Suetonius the ancient gossip... one of my favorite sources of innuendo and slightly crude factoids, such as this one contained in his...
I tend to think about this issue in terms of numbers / probability: specifically, what's the probability that a high-grade ancient coin of gold,...
Well, if no one has offered an Otho yet, I'll post a couple... (and not using Comic Sans font, either!): [ATTACH]
A winged thunderbolt being held by someone...
You're correct, it appears that it's also possibly (and maybe even likely) to be RIC 71 -- Tarraco. As far as I can determine, the only feature...
In my copy of RIC Volume I Revised, this appears to be RIC 460 ROME, not Tarraco. Here's the description: 14 Ga Libertas Publica s - c to l.and...
Here is the redacted text: "Heavily tooled on reverse..." Basically, the entire reverse is re-engraved to bring out the devices from the...
While browsing some of the upcoming auctions listed on Sixbid's website, I came upon this Vitellius sestertius: [ATTACH] What I found amazing...
While Greek coins are not my area of expertise/knowledge, I do know that for 12 Caesars Roman coins, lifetime issues command a premium over...
To my eye, the cleaned second coin is clearly an improvement over the first: [ATTACH] As Doug has observed, the uncleaned areas in this...
I stand by my earlier opinion that the coin is genuine. None of us here is an expert on fakes, but Doug has been collecting ancients longer than...
The attribution of RIC Nero 143 appears to be correct, at least in my copy of RIC. I do not believe that this is a fake. (1) The wear,...
I'm pretty sure most of the collectors here value your knowledgeable and objective comments on all aspects of ancient coins, including a coin's...
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