Coins & Info Regarding Philip I

As most Ancients collectors know, Philip the First, also Philip the Arab, was not one of the more well known or highly sought after Emperors. However, he has caught my fancy. Maybe it was the fact he reigned during Rome's millennial. Or that he was the first Arab ruler. I don't know. But I like him. And I want all of his coins.

I have been researching like a madman on the internet but keep finding the same information over and over. Is anyone aware of a webpage, books, anything, that would be able to go into more detail not just about his coins, but about his laws put into effect, details of his rule, battles, travels, etc? I would be most appreciative. One of the most frustrating things is once I think I have found the last reverse die variety, another one pops up. For example, the radiating head lion facing left. Only one of them exist so I won't hold my breath to get one of them. But I want to at least be able to secure photos of them all.

 

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You may already be aware of this site but it is one of the better resources on the topic:-

http://ettuantiquities.com/Philip_1/index.htm

Martin

 

Another site in French and English that is worth a visit (english link):-

http://marchal.thibaut.free.fr/e_index.htm

 

Wildwinds has a thorough overview of his coinage here. Philip I is in fact, very popular among collectors, and obviously many have contributed to this page.

Also check out Ancient Jim's site here.

 

Wow. Am I an amateur or what? I have not seen any of these yet. I will start scouring them for new details. Thank you gentlemen. KEEP EM COMING!

 

Oh, also, is there any sites that focus on or discuss even in a broad sense mintage figures? It doesn't have to necessarily be for Philip I, I am also trying to get an idea of the production capabilities of these ancient mints.

 

When it comes to ancient coins, mintage numbers can only be estimated, and those estimates are usually done by way of die studies. Even then, the experts can disagree by wide margins. The bottom line is, we don't know how many coins of any given type were minted, and likely never will.

Even when it comes to certain rarities, it's possible that they were minted by the millions and destroyed over time. This is particularly true of silver and gold coins, which were frequently melted down to strike new types when a new emperor took over.

You'll find that the idea of mintage numbers plays hardly any role in the valuation of ancient coins.

 

=> OldGoldGuy, I think that you're probably looking for something like this, my friend ...

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/rarity-rankings.256796/#post-2042002

.... it is a "Rarity List" based on several large coin samples ...

David Sear's books also give "an estimate" of ancient coin rarity rankings (money values) ... but the links in my link above should give you a pretty good start to your understanding of the relative rarities ....

Oh, but after I re-read your question, I'm not sure if there are any "numerical mintages values" ..... other than "lotsa"

 

Talk to me a little more about that last line in your post. I know that mintage numbers aren't everything even with US coins. Survival rates from mass melting plays a role as well, I get that.

Did none of the mints keep mintage figures in ancient times? I understand that just because they may have minted 250k of a particular coin does not mean there are a quarter million of them just waiting to be dug up, but I am curious if this form of data was even recorded back then and if so, where can I find it.

 

WOW! This is a fantastic link! Thanks man!

 

Mintage numbers may have been recorded, particularly by the Romans since they were so meticulous. However, the records are lost. I've never seen any ancient documents that record mintage numbers. Has anyone else?

 

Well, that is depressing.

 

Sorry about that, but it doesn't have to be. A great many things that are important in the collection of modern coins just don't apply to ancients. It's a completely different ballgame which can be appreciated for what it is.

When it comes to numbers, we focus on recorded examples, that is, individual coins of a particular type that are documented in numismatic analyses and auction catalogs. Any rare coin can become common overnight with the discovery of a new hoard, in which case the original mintage numbers, if you knew them, would be meaningless.

For instance, suppose a rare type had 100 recorded examples. Then suppose a hoard uncovered 20,000 new examples. The coin would go from being rare to scarce, and the value would drop (assuming the newly-found coins were put on the market - sometimes they get stashed away in museum closets). Whether the original mintage was fifty-thousand or a million wouldn't matter one bit. Everything exists in the here-and-now.

 

It is only important if your interest is in making money on the coins. Collectors and students are thrilled when a new hoard turns up a second specimen of a unique coin or enough of a rare one that they have a chance at one that never before existed.

 

Ok, I have another noob question. Rough estimates here, I am not holding anyone to these numbers. When I think of ancient coin hoards, I picture a big vase, that has a solid mass of coins all coagulated together. But how could a coin come out of there in AU or MS. Where do THOSE coins come from, the ones in fantastic shape? What percentage of coins in the Ancients market come from coagulated buried vases, and what percentage from (blank)?

 

I am preparing to make a considerable purchase in the very near future for some Philip I's coins. The information the members have posted here has been incredibly valuable. In my continuing OCD ways, anything further, more obscure, more in-depth anyone cares to link here would rock. It doesn't have to necessarily relate directly to Philip I; simply discussing facts and figures during the years of his reign would be great too. Thanks again to those helping me.

 

Coins that come from hoards are typically found in clay urns. They generally fare much better over time than coins found in the ground. Nevertheless, almost all ancient coins are cleaned in some fashion or another. The grades of the coins certainly depend on their strike and wear, as in moderns, but they also depend heavily on how well they were cleaned.

 

"Considerable purchase" – what do you consider considerable? The only Philip coins that I could consider considerable are gold aurei, or maybe some very high quality sestertii.

In any case, here's a link for you: http://ettuantiquities.com/Philip_1/Philip1-Bland-list.htm

 

The 'considerable' Philip IMHO is a denarius and most of them you see offered are fakes. The other considerable purchase in silver would be a quantity of better coins but even nice antoniniani of preferable types would require a bagful to be worth the word 'considerable'.
http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1275845

Philip is a poor choice for a spcialty if the goal is to impress others. He is a great choice for study but collectors with money tend to consider his antoniniani 'ordinary' even in high grade.

 

This is my least 'ordinary' Philip. If you are buying a collection, look for this type but it is generally worth only about 5X the others.