Ancients That Blew Your Budget

And of course :


ROMAN IMPERATORS, Sextus Pompeius and Q. Nasidius, Denarius
Mint moving with Sextus Pompeius, Sicily, 42-39 BC
NEPTVNI, head of Pompey the great right, trident before head, dolphin below
Q.NASIDIVS at exergue, galley sailing right, star in upper field
3.92 gr
Ref : HCRI # 235, RCV # 1390, Crawford # 483/2, Sydenham # 1350, Cohen # 20
Ex Freeman & Sear, Ex Barry Feirstein collection
Ex Roma Numismatics

Q

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Some nice coins there chaps. This question seems relative to whether you experienced buyers remorse or not. I have made regrettable purchases on very cheap coins and then also on expensive examples. Some coins though I blew the budget Ive been very pleased with the coin so do not regret it all. Others I spent too much on something substandard and that I consider blowing the budget i.e. wasting money!

 

That's a very good distinction, and one that mirrors my own experience. I've felt no buyer's remorse over my higher-end purchases, but I have been disappointed with a few small, cheap acquisitions.

 

Haven't blown the budget yet. But I most likely will around April next year. Does it even count as blowing the budget if I will be saving up for blowing the budget?

 

A coin I just tried to acquire at CNG would have blown my budget for that coin, and I already had a very high bid planned. It went for a pretty incredible sum for what it is (a coin of great style but with significant reverse damage).

 

Of the coins I shared, I think the Nerva was a buy that was bought with impatience. It was far from my most expensive buy, that belongs to Orbiana, but if I waited longer I could have gotten a Nerva coin much cheaper.

But I loved the dark/untouched tone as well as some golden toning scattered about. Plus it seemed like a nice coin overall and its still in my top 10 favorites.

As JA said though, ive made some cheap buys I have some regrets getting.

 

My most expensive coins are not currently on my list of favorites which might be why I hesitate to spend a large amount on a coin just because it is 'valuable'. To participate in this thread, I'll change the rules a bit and post the first coin I ever bought that was over $100. Actually it was $180 and twice what I had spent on a single coin up to that date. Now it is not on my list of favorites, not my favorite 'pony' and not my most expensive of that series. It was however big stuff to me in 1987 when I cataloged my collection for the first time keeping track of when I bought a coin instead of just from whom and the price. I believe this was one of my most recent purchases when I did the cataloging but memory can fail after a few years. All I know is I paid more than I wanted to but it was a pretty coin.

Leucas, AR stater, 4th century BC

 

I blew my wadd on the big 3...

Alexandrine Dishekel Babylon mint. Alexander Lifetime. Struck 331-325 BC.


Roman Republic First Meris of Macedonia. Amphipolis mint. Tetradrachm 167-149 BC


Kidarite Kingdom, Kidara AR Drachm Kabul mint. Struck 360AD

 

Beautiful coins Cu, Doug, & AN!

Almost bought a nice First Meris of Macedonia for $120 when I was just starting out with ancients but couldnt do it. A regret I still have.

 

For the sake of truth, I have to confess having blown my budget in some other occasions ...


Pertinax, Denarius
Rome mint, AD 193
IMP CAES P HELV PERTIN AVG, laureate head right
VOT DECEN TR P COS II, emperor sacrificing left, with patera held over tripod altar
2.98 gr, 17 mm
Ref : RIC # 13a, Cohen # 56, RCV # 6048
Ex Harlan J. Berk

Q

 

Maximus, Sestertius
Sestertius struck in Rome in 236-238 AD
MAXIMVS CAES GERM, Draped bust of Maximus right
PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS, Maximus standing left with two standards behind him, SC in field
18.64 gr
Ref : RCV #8411, Cohen #14

Q

 

Domitius Domitianus, Octadrachm, Emmet plate coin
Alexandria mint, AD 296-297
DOMITI ANOCCEB, Radiate bust of Domitius right
No legend, Serapis going right, LB in field (regnal year 2)
12.79 gr
Ref : Emmet, Alexandrian coins #4241/2, this example illustrated, Dattari # 10830, RCV # 12982 (2000), Sear # 4801 var (It's actually an hexadrachm in Sear)

Q

 

Top shelve coins there Cuc.

 

ROMAN EMPIRE, CONSTANTIUS II, Light miliarense RIC 252, Ferrando II plate coin
Arles mint (Arelate), 3d officina
DN CONSTAN TIVS PF AVG, Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Constantius right
VIRTVS EXERCITVS, Constantius (soldier) facing holding spear and shield. TCON at exergue
4,54 gr ; 22,6 mm
Ref : RIC VII # 252, Ferrando II # 1026 (this coin), Cohen #326, RC #3993v

Q

 

No Sh**, nice stuff

 

Ummm, these 3 beauties busted the ol' budget!!


Sicily, Syracuse. Hieron I AR Tetradrachm
478-466 BC
Struck circa 478-475 BC
Diameter: 24 mm
Weight: 16.90 grams
Obverse: Charioteer driving quadriga right; above, Nike flying right, crowning horses
Reverse: Diademed head of Arethusa right; four dolphins around
Reference: Boehringer series IXa, 190 (V86/R130); SNG ANS –; Randazzo 356 (same dies)
Other: 2h, Near VF, toned, test cut on reverse
From the Robert and Julius Diez Collection, Ex Gustav Philipsen Collection (Part I, J. Hirsch XV, 28 May 1906), lot 1132






CALABRIA, Tarentum, AR Nomos
Circa 315-302 BC
Diameter: 20 mm
Weight: 7.98 grams
Obverse: Warrior, preparing to cast spear, holding two others and shield, on horse rearing right; ΣA below
Reverse: Phalanthos, holding kantharos and trident, astride dolphin left; AP monogram to left; below, small dolphin left
Reference: Fischer-Bossert Group 70, 846 (V336/R657); Vlasto 601 (same obv. die); HN Italy 937; Gulbenkian 35 (same dies); Jameson 156 (same dies)
Other: 11h … EF, toned. Excellent metal, exceptional obverse from fresh dies
From the JMG Collection






Otacilia Severa. Augusta, Æ Sestertius
AD 244-249
Secular Games issue., 4th officina. 9th emission of Philip I, AD 248
Rome mint
Diameter: 28 mm
Weight: 15.99 grams
Obverse: Draped bust right, wearing stephane
Reverse: Hippopotamus standing right
Reference: RIC IV 200a (Philip I); Banti 13
Other:12h … Good VF, dark brown patina, with some red.
Ex Robert O. Ebert Collection

 

All nice but I really like that well centered Syracuse.

 

Steve is that you riding the dolphin? He doesn't look too happy...

 

Thanks Doug => yah, and it has such a nice heavy feelin' to it, ya know? (plus, having that nice ol' pedigree kinda makes me smile) ... I love that coin!!

non_cents => after that infamous ride, my dolphin buddy requested that I wear shorts the next time that we go for a ride around the ocean!!

 

I haven't bought a budget buster yet but am about to do so... rather, I'm about to try win a coin that is likely to hammer higher than estimate, and higher than I want to pay. I'm willing to go pretty high though because it tops my current want list.

This time I'm going to submit an absentee bid because too often I have power outages or internet disruptions and I don't want to miss the bidding.