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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 2762547, member: 85693&quot;]I consider it being akin to a gambling addiction, but one of my favorite way to purchase ancients is to cruise eBay looking for poorly described and/or poorly photographed lots.&nbsp; Recently I chanced upon this for $39.99 Buy-It-Now and I thought I&#039;d run it by the forum - for opinions and similar finds. </p><p><br /></p><p>To be sure, I have been burnt by such lots in the past - lots that are poorly photographed can harbor fakes, crusty dog biscuits and other undesirable things (and yeah, I&#039;ve bought a few).&nbsp; But for the most part, things have worked out okay, and help me keep within my very modest budget. </p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, the lot was described as &quot;4 old ancient coins as described below&quot; with a lot of black-and-white (!) photos, apparently taken with a phone; about half of them were out-of-focus.&nbsp; In no way do I want to criticize the seller - he packed them nicely and shipped promptly.&nbsp; But the listing could&#039;ve been a bit spiffier (but then I probably couldn&#039;t have afforded it).&nbsp; Here is a sample of one of the seller&#039;s photos:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]635219[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>So what did I get?&nbsp; In descending order, here are the coins:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]635213[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]635214[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Julia Domna denarius, FORTVNAE FELICI reverse.&nbsp; Except for a slight planchet crack/delamination, this is, in my opinion, a lovely coin, probably worth the entire bid.&nbsp; It is certainly the nicest Julia Domna in my collection.&nbsp; I haven&#039;t researched this yet - not sure about the mint, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]635209[/ATTACH]&nbsp; [ATTACH=full]635211[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Constantine II &quot;Two Standards&quot; small bronze from the Treveri (Trier, Germany) mint.&nbsp; Except for a bit of weakness in the legend, this too is a beauty in my opinion.&nbsp; It has a lovely jade green patina that was a real surprise (see seller&#039;s black and white photo above). </p><p>[ATTACH=full]635215[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]635216[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Great Britain Elizabeth I half groat (according to the paperwork that came with it - I don&#039;t know a lot about English hammered coins).&nbsp; No date, but apparently 1560-1561, crosslett mintmark (any attribution suggestions appreciated, as always).&nbsp; Not bad <i>except</i> two gargantuan bend marks.&nbsp; You could see one of Shakespeare&#039;s plays at The Globe <i>and</i> get a cushion for one of these!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]635217[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]635218[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Byzantine Follis - er, the paperwork says Phocas, but I have my doubts.&nbsp; The obverse is mostly crusted over, but it looks like two figures, which corresponds with some of the issues of Phocas, but the reverse looks wrong for him (wrong type of M).&nbsp; Heraclius?&nbsp; Any help would be appreciated.&nbsp; Pretty doggy, I admit. </p><p><br /></p><p>How&#039;d I do?&nbsp; Anybody else troll for lots like this?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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