For the purposes of this thread, that means coins that cost $25 or less. I've done quite well over the last two months. The most expensive coin in this tray cost $24, the least, $10, and they average out to $16.50 apiece. It still amazes me that with patience, a collector can acquire important bits of ancient history on a very tight budget. I may have forgotten a couple, but I'll throw them in if I remember. What are your miserly scores over the last two months? 25 bucks or less.
Great coins and pics as always, Mat. Oh, and I've been looking for Hoover's handbook of Coins of the Southern Levant, hoping I could get it for less than the 60 bucks CNG is asking, and today I found one on eBay for $35.
I wish I could participate in this one but I have shown my cheap coins along the way in my last two coin show reports and plan to bore you when I come back from the Baltimore show November 1. We here on CT have quite a variety of coin collecting styles. Given $1000 to spend on coins, some of us would buy 40 $25 coins while others would save the thousand in the hope that they could add it to a few more like it an buy something "worth having". Most of you here have been given the opportunity to read my 2001 coin show report when I used a $100 budget and showed three ways of spending it. At that date, I rarely bought a coin over $100 but the denarius/dollar exchange rate is not what it used to be. If I were to write that page again today, I might feel the need to use a higher number since going 3 hours away to a show and only spending $100 seems less appealing than it did in 2001. Those who have not read my pages on buying at a coin show are invited to check them out now: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/acmshow.html The thoughts still hold but the $6 coins shown are probably at least $16.
My nine year old daughter grabbed this Constantinian Camp-gate from the $10 bargain bin at a coin show a couple of weeks back. Maybe a Constantius II? I really haven't had the time to attribute it yet.
Yeah, if I had a cushy job telling people where to dig holes, like you, I probably wouldn't have any $25 coins either.
It would be easier to show the coins I have purchased this year over rather than below $30. Of the 33 coins I have purchased this calendar year, 10 have cost more than $30 while 23 were on $30.
Help your daughter ID her coin by teaching her the trick of working backwards. ID the reverse first. Then, see who issued that reverse type and, in this case, when in their career they issued that type. This reverse was used by the men of the houses of Constantine and Licinius in the mid 320's but had been retired well before Constantine died and the boys became Augusti. Therefore any coin of this reverse with legend ending in AVG can only be one of the fathers while any coin ending CAES or NOBC will belong to a son. Separating Constantine from Licinius should be no problem but this coin has a heavy sand patina making the first letters of the right side legend harder to read. Are they TI for Constantius or N for Constantine? The title that follows will tell you. Another answer would be to wear away at the letter in that area to see what is under the sand. The title at the end could use a little selective cleaning as well but you should be able to see enough to say AVG or CAES (the choices). If the coin were completely missing the end of the right legend, you also get a clue on the reverse since coins of the two Augusti that issued the type end in AVGG while the coins of the kids end in CAESS. This coin is clear on the reverse and would be with a little selective wear on the obverse right side to remove the excess sand. This could be done with fingers or a pencil eraser (not too much pressure). I think your daughter did a fine job selecting this coin. Perhaps you should consult her for advice on future selections.
I understand that the price of nickel has gone up so much that our 5 cent nickels are worth more than face value. Perhaps we are paying people too much to tell us where to did holes? For many of us 'precious' metals are gold and silver but I suspect there is no metal more 'precious' than the one that pays or bills and funds our purchases of expensive ancients.
I've got a few of barrel scrapers coming in now! here are some recent ones, I've posted.. and some I haven't...
These are just some of the less than $30 coins since May of this year. THESSALIAN LEAGUE MARONEIA, THRACE C NORBANUS L.CORNELIUS LENTULUE & C.CLAUDIUS MARCELLUS FAUSTINA MINOR MAXIMINUS I PHILIP II DIOCLETIAN MAXIMIANUS
Great stuff, everyone. Thanks for sharing! I've discovered that Canadian dealers tend to have higher quality coins in their "junk" bins than dealers in the US and Europe. It can't be just the exchange rate because the disparity isn't that great. Maybe it's that politeness thing Canadians have going on.
Don't think I have any coins 25 dollars or under. Either I can't remember or I need to keep better records of my purchases.