Or is this guy just showing off a piece he doesn't intend to part with? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ancient-Byz...471?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec566353f
I'm guessing the later.... You can get some ancient gold for ~$400, if not less. V-Coins is a better place to shop for beginners like us (dealer site)
I'm not planning on buying any ancient gold in the near future - going to hold off on higher end purchases until I've done some homework. I was just browsing. But it seems to me that ancient coins cross over into the realm of antiquities, and I know those can get very pricey. However, 21 million seems a bit much. I would expect to pay 21 mil for Tutankhamun's sarcophagus, but one little gold coin???
Yea... That's just way, way overpriced! As I said ~$400 can get you some nice coins, with the most being $5,000 or less for MS examples.
Yes and no. $400 really is the bottom of the price structure nowadays, for common byzantine gold. Roman starts around $1000. $5000 is really not unusual, with tons of pieces not MS bringing those prices. This is not even talkijg about rarities, just the more common pieces. Not cheap, but that coin is a laugher.
This has to be a joke, right? $21 mil? What does this guy think he has? medoraman is right about pricing. But I would ask the group, what would you buy if you had $5k available to you? One gold coin? 10 rare(ish) silver coins? 50-100 well struck and not so rare coins? 200-500 common or worn coins? There was a time not so long ago I would have fallen in the last category. Maybe because of inflation, income or some other reason, I think now I fall into the third category.
I think I would go with a handful of common gold Byzantines - I like the very medieval look of the devices. I don't think I'd be psychologically satisfied as a collector with either one expensive coin, or a hundred common ones.
Must be, or a mis-type - $2500 would seem more its value judging by the couple on wildwinds that sold for around that mark, one below: ATM probably 50-100 well struck and not so rare coins.
I started in group 4, have been in group 3 and two lately, but could see myself in group 1 for the right coin. Actually, there is one coin in mind, (silver), I would be in group 1 for if I found one I liked and could actually get it for 5k.
What coin might that be so we can keep an eye out for one? At this moment in time, I cannot see myself spending 5K on a coin no matter it's rarity. Now, in the future when 5K doesn't mean what it does today, maybe (example: my first home in 1973 cost me $23,500 with a payment of $150 per month. I was horrified that I might not be able to make those payments in the future).
The coin would be the Antony and Cleopatra silver Tet from "Eastern Mint", (probably Antioch). To me, its one of the most important coins in history. I can buy one for 5K, but not a nice enough one I would want.
For most people the top end budget coin of choice is the EID MAR denarius Brutus issued to commemorate his killing Caesar. They break $100,000 in nice condition and $250,000 in great. There are several Provincial coins that have a reverse showing Noah and his wife in a box (ark) but the name Noah is on the highest part of the design so one with all three letters clear is a pricey item. It is probably my coin of choice but will never be. Harlan Berk has a nice coffee table book entitled 100 Greatest Ancient Coins. He shows a Noah nameless example suggesting $10-15k as a fair price but does not put a number on the nice ones ("many times those prices"). He rates it as #90 but I don't agree with many of his ratings. EID MAR is #1. It still is a nice book you should own just for the fact that you can be proud when you get a coin that is in it. http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Anci...8&qid=1359729637&sr=8-1&keywords=berk+ancient
I read somewhere that there are experts who believe the Brutus EID MAR denarius is not real, but I've seen NGC Certified copies.
Yeah, I got this book for like $8 on Ebay. Its a decent picture book but of course the "place in line" would be debated endlessly. IDK about Eide Mar being #1. It would be my #1 Roman no doubt, but not overall my #1. I think I would go for a signed Syracuse Tet by one of the masters or an octodrachm from Athens. Heck, a babylon city issue in gold might be right up there for me as well, considering the historical importance of this once great city.
I have read the same hooey. Problem is, the Eide Mar denarius is one of the few coins in antiquity actually commented about in historical documents. Kind of hard to say they are all fakes when Roman writers of the period were talking about the coins..... Respected numismatists all accept Eide Mar to be a legitimate coin issue. There are FAKES of them, but some of our examples today have been in collector hands for centuries.
I've seen all sorts of rubbish certified by them This is an interesting read about the 'possible' two gold EID MAR coins, would love to know what price these have been changing hands for privately, contender for the most valuable ancient? http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/mar/14/julius-caesar-coin-british-museum
Now, the Eide Mar in GOLD is very debatable. I had read cogent arguments both ways on these. Personally, I am leaning towards them being not an official issue, but may have been restruck in antiquity. That is just a personal opinion though. Maybe someone else has the "official" opinion as of today on these.
