Constantine UNC , sorry about no reverse. Coin is vaulted up.

These are good, solid coins. Perhaps you should stick around and join in some of the conversations. We always enjoy having new blood.

 

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Ok. I have a good question now? Why are Caligula's coins so expensive. Is it because of their scarce nature, or his mainstream popularity?

 

Popularity and mainly because his and Claudius silver coinage were melted down by Nero due to their higher silver content and used for Nero's coinage with slightly lower silver content.

 

You can find a nice Caligula with vesta reverse for a decent price. These are common. His denarii are another story altogether. While there is much speculation there does not seem to be a definite explanation for this scarcity. The one I hear most often is that when Nero debased the coinage he recalled the denarii from rulers including Claudius and Caligula which had a higher silver content. The denarii of Claudius and Caligula were therefore melted down for new coins. The denarii for both of these rulers are therefore both scarce and expensive.
I am currently looking for a denarius of Caligula and know I will have to search for a while and be prepared to pay a lot for it once I find it.

(You just beat me to it Mat)

 

Agreed, nice stuff but common. Most could be found for $50-$100 raw, maybe less, and in higher condition maybe too!

 

All that and his notoriety. There are a few rulers that most everyone have heard about. Nero is one. Sooo, most collectors and non-collectors want one. Ask anyone on the street to name just one Roman ruler. I'll wager Nero's name pops up often.

 

Ok, I ve heard they tried to get rid of his coins, but I didn't know if it was true or not. That s pretty interesting.

 

Really?, I would think it would be Magnentius!

 

Yes, there was a damnatio against him, so the state said you should destroy or deface anything with his likeness. I have seen Gaius', (his real name), coins with deep ancient scratches across his face.

 

I'm gonna purchase a nice Alexander slater coin sometime in my life. The high quality ones really amaze me.

 

Did I hear Nero?

 

Someone said Nero!

 

I was going thru a box of morgans and look what I found.

 

View attachment 433828

 

I get an error when I try this link. Is this the reverse? The obverse you show looks par for many surviving Nero coins, but it's still hard to see. The image is blurry as you can see. Any chance at a better image of obverse and reverse?

 

I didn't hit the post button right, no wonder, duh. God I'm so stupid sometimes.

 

I won this on a auction on eBay last winter for about 170$ I believe. Did I do ok?

 

Common enough As. One thing to look for on these is the "SPQR" imprinted on the globe. I don't see it on yours much like I don't have it on mine. But there are many posters on CT who have this coin with the SPQR. I think $170 might be too high. Take a look on Vcoins.com to see what an equivalent coin is selling for keeping in mind these sellers are asking retail prices.

Here is one of mine($61):


NERO
AE As
OBVERSE: NERO CAESAR AVG GERM IMP - Laureate head right
REVERSE: No legend - Victory advancing left, holding shield
Struck at Rome, 65AD
8.5g, 26mm
RIC 312, BMC 241, S 1976

 

That Vcoins site is very interesting. Wow, I didn't know there were so many Nero coins. In AU shape my coin was 325$. Which, mine wasn't. I would guess 140 to 150$ in its current shape, but dunno for sure.