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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;IdesOfMarch01, post: 1765228, member: 39084&quot;]I&#039;m pretty sure we don&#039;t disagree by much on this topic.&nbsp; While I wouldn&#039;t use the adjective &quot;noble&quot; in the context of collectibles, I do agree that no coin is &quot;special&quot; <i>just because</i> it&#039;s one of the 12 Caesars.&nbsp; Those dealers who, either explicitly or implicitly, emphasize the 12 Caesars pedigree of a coin are doing so mostly to justify the price they&#039;re asking.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Personally, 12 Caesars coins are special to me since that&#039;s the focus of my current collecting activities.&nbsp; But I wouldn&#039;t impose that viewpoint on a collector whose focus is elsewhere.&nbsp; <i>De gustibus non est disputandum.</i></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This is <i>soooooo</i> true for many, if not most, collectors (including me).&nbsp; While it&#039;s not at all the reason that I collect ancient coins in general, or the 12 Caesars in particular, once a collector realizes there&#039;s a theme to his (or her) collection, he/she finds himself wanting to complete the collection.&nbsp; I certainly share that impulse for completion.&nbsp; It&#039;s part of the fun of collecting, for most of us.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Finally, a more on-topic comment: I think the Roman <i>as</i> is under-appreciated as a collectible bronze.&nbsp; According to the coin histories I&#039;ve read, the <i>as</i> was the smallest denomination coin in general commercial usage.&nbsp; It was the workhorse of daily commerce, and I&#039;ve often held one and imagined its being passed from consumer to merchant and back, ad infinitum, facilitating the daily financial activities of the empire.&nbsp; While most asses aren&#039;t particularly artistic or distinctive, their constant usage for payment and making small change gives them a special place in Roman coinage.&nbsp; I currently have four asses plus a couple of dupondii, as representatives of small bronzes during the 12 Caesars period (shown below).</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>[ATTACH=full]279909[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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