Hi everyone, One of my favorite coins is the Augustus denarius with the head of Augustus on the obverse and the "Sidus Iulium" on the reverse. Here is the latest addition to my collection. I purchased it from Incitatus Coins in Canada. The coin looks heavily worn and corroded with a flatness that looks like it was smashed at one time, but is still identifiable. I think worn and damaged coins like this show character. What do the rest of you think? Augustus Comet Denarius by JGGonzalez posted Jun 15, 2025 at 2:28 AM
I totally agree with you. IMHO there are two levels of collecting both of which I enjoy. Acquisition for historical context. In this instance a well worn Marc Antony Fleet denarius would attract me for type and potential authenticity as would a "sea effect" graded shipwreck coin. Acquisition for style and appearance and in this instance if I was looking for a coin with a head of medusa I would like to see the snakes!. Now I would buy the best coin I could afford to satisfy my own personal level of satisfaction. As I am not trying to create a Sheldon scale points based collection I can ignore TPG grades and focus on what I like. If I wanted an Augustus Comet denarius I would not have a problem with this. That's the beauty of Ancients and Medieval. I do however understand that collectors can fixate on owning the best possible and it makes them easier to sell but as I don't buy to invest that is not what I do. Sometimes I look at my coins and literally say "Why did I do that"!
