i've always been curious about ancient coins but never started collecting, so thought i'd check it out. purchased these two off the bay for 9.99 each shipped free. any thoughts, comments or advice would be appreciated, thanks sellers pics an descriptions Constans as Augustus (337 - 350AD) rare Christian Roman coin AE 17-18mm. 1.92gm. Siscia mint. (Good VF) Genuine brown-green patina. Well centered not cleaned nice specimen. Struck - 334-335 AD. Obv./ FL CONSTANS PF AVG, laureate, cuirassed, draped bust right. Rev./ GLORIA EXERCITVS, two soldiers standing with spears and shields, two standards with "O" between, pellet ASIS pellet in ex. Constans as Augustus (337 - 350AD) rare Christian Roman coin AE 16mm. Siscia mint. (Good VF) Genuine olive-green patina. Well centered not cleaned superb specimen. Struck - 334-335 AD. Obv./CONSTAN-S PF AVG, rosette-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right. Rev./ GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS, two soldiers holding spears and shields with one standard between them, chi-rho on banner. Mintmark: BSIS crescent in ex. RIC VIII Siscia 99. oops sorry bout typo in title
Good choices. I was watching those auctions myself, but I've got a handful of Constans already, and I decided to hold off for other coins. Ten buck a piece is a great price - you did extremely well.
wow! the dark side??!! an "hooked forever"?? well, guess now what i need to know, is there a good book or website i need to help lead me down the dark path?
Good coins to start with, but I would like to see both sides of both coins. We've had many discussions of books and web pages. Let me see if I can dig up a couple. And, yeas, you are now going down the road to the dark side and welcome.
Here are a couple of discussions with good information: http://www.cointalk.com/threads/any...take-me-under-there-wing.235068/#post-1772237 http://www.cointalk.com/threads/need-advice-on-books-for-ancients.236247/page-2#post-1787200
The best advice that I always give to new-comers is: => post your coins here for our comments "before" you buy them!! ... that way the experts here can save you a lot of headaches and a lot of wasted cash (nuthin' takes the fun outta ancients faster than buying a fake and/or blowing your cash on a lousy coin) ... oh, and don't forget to have some fun while you're collecting!! Cheers
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/uncleaned.html You might find the above interesting. See #2 for your coin type. Your pair look quite nice and represent both the heavy and later light weight standards. Click on the links leading from that page for my other opinions on the hobby.