First roman coin purchases, and a few questions

I've been slowly educating myself on ancient coins, and made my first purchase of roman coins recently.

First is a roman republic denarius from 126BCE from T. Quinctius Flamininus. I loved the design on the reverse with the warriors on horses and the text ROMA.




For the reverse, is the greenish shade at parts natural toning, or is that any damage due to PVC or the like?

Are the more shiny sections semi-recent rub?

 

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Looks somewhat like PVC. Toss in 100% acetone. It won’t damage the coin and will remove most organic compounds including plants pvc

 

Nice RR @dbc99

 

Next is a billon tetradrachm of Nero (64AD) from Alexandria. I liked the history and notoriety of this emperor. It's also cool to see how much larger and heavier these coins are as compared to a denarius, while having the same amount of silver content, from what I understand. The eagle on the reverse is pretty striking as well.

 

Lastly, I bought this bronze follis of Constantine 1 (322AD), from the Trier mint. These late roman coins are much more affordable than I had initially thought.

 

An admirably solid start! Welcome to The Dark Side.

 

You're off to a great start. Congratulations on your new hobby.

 

All three of those are a great start to a great hobby.

 

Welcome to Ancients collecting, welcome to the Ancients Forum of CT, and very nice coins, @dbc99 . Congrats on your finds!

Here is my Republic Denarius like yours. The reverse commemorates the defeat of Makedon by the Moneyer's ancestor. The Dioscuri are riding / trampling a Makedonwn shield. The device behind Roam's head is an Apex, or headwear worn by the Flamen Dialis, who was the High Priest of Jupiter (highest Roman God). The Moneyer's Grandfather defeated Makedon, rendering the Greek Phalanx obsolete to the Roman Legion means of battle. This is a Wiki article on his Grandfather of the same namesake (yeah, welcome to Roman names...)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_Quinctius_Flamininus


Roman Republic
T Quinctius Flamininus
126 BC
AR Denarius
Roma
Diosc gallpng T-Q Macedon Shield
Sear 143, Crawford 267-1

 

For me, it is fun to see the many other coins that CT Members post. I learn a lot from that.

I have the Nero BI Tet from Alexandria that features one of his wives:


RI Poppea-Nero BI tetradrachm of Alexandria LI yr10 63-64 CE Milne 217 RPC 5275


As well as one with an Eagle from Antioch:


RI Nero AR Tetradrachm 54-68 CE Eagle, Antioch

 

Here is one of mine of Constantine I.


RI Constantine I CE 306-337 Æ Follis 19mm 3.2g Siscia CE 326-7 AVG Laureate R - PROVIDENTIAE AVGG Camp gate 2 turrets no door star RIC 200

 

The seller says it's natural toning. Should I just move it to a mylar flip and leave it as is?

 

Here's the info of the attribution I've noted down from an online search for my coins, as I see people share this info to be comprehensive -

- T. Quinctius Flamininus Denarius, Rome Mint, 126BCE, Sydenham-505,Crawford-267/1 / Helmeted head of Roma to right; behind, apex; before, value mark (X), border of dots / Dioscuri to right; below, T Q to left and right of Macedonian shield, in exergue ROMA; line border

- Nero Billon Tetradrachm, Alexandria Mint 64/65 AD, Emmett.118.11, Milne 228 / NEΡΩ KΛAY KAIΣ ΣEB ΓEΡ, radiate bust right, wearing aegis / AYTOKΡA, eagle walking left with palm branch behind, LIA (date) to left

- Constantine I Bronze Follis Trier Mint 322/323 AD, RIC.VII.369 / CONSTANTINVS AVG, laureate, mantled bust right holding eagle tipped sceptre / BEATA TRANQVILLITAS, globe set on altar inscribed VO-TIS-XX

 

I don't think you will hurt the coin either way. If you can live with it as it is, then live with it (and enjoy it). If not, try acetone.

 

If it were mine, I wouldn't do anything with it - I think it looks great the way it is. A lot of Roman Republican denarii are "white" - yours has a pleasant tone, which is why I'd hesitate to change anything.

 

Yeah, those were my thoughts as well, I was hesitant to change the natural tone the coin has.
I ordered some Sa-flips, into them these go!

 

I've got some Nero tets, here's one. Notoriously they have noodly hair:

Nero from Alexandria:

Type: Billon Tetradrachm, 25mm 12.73 grams

Obverse: NERW KLAY KAIS SEB GER, Radiate crowned head facing right.

Reverse: AVTO-KRA, Draped bust of Egyptian god Serapis facing right, wearing Kalathos (basket) on head, date LI (year 10)

Reference: Milne 222, Koln 160, RPC 5274, BMCGr 156: Sear 2001.

 

dcb99, thanks for this, but can you help (well, um,) me out with what Sa-flips are?

 

I love the look of that Republican coin, as is. Don't use anything on it until you know more. The tone is great. Don't risk changing it unless you are certain.