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Message:: [QUOTE="dougsmit, post: 1207209, member: 19463"] My earlier post of Republican denarii I got at the Baltimore show threatened a follow up of more 'ordinary' coins so here are a few. My collection is intended to bore people who value coins for how much they cost and often includes coins selected to show some point or just to further my education.  My first two coins are very similar in some ways and very different in others.  Both are Licinius I.  Both are a bit on the small side to be called AE2 and large for AE3 at 20-21mm depending on which angle you measure.  Both are from mints in the east where Lininius was most active.  [ATTACH]127511.vB[/ATTACH]First is a c. 316 AD coin from Nicomedia showing Jupiter.  The portrait style reminds me of the formality made popular under Diocletian.  The obverse legend uses the long form of the emperor's name VAL LICIN LICINIUS.  The coin has no patina having been stripped of the sticky greasy muck that covered it in the dealers stock.  I have been seeing more coins recently with this gummy surface and I only bought this one to see if I could get it off.  I do not know if it is natural or the result of the bulk processing of new-found coins.  I believe (hope) the coin is genuine but I'll not be filling my collection with coins that look like this one did when I first saw it.  I regret not taking a photo as the cleaning progressed.  [ATTACH]127512.vB[/ATTACH]The second is slightly earlier (c.312) and from Antioch.  It uses the earlier spelling LICINNIUS and the very stylized portrait style common to Antioch of this period.  The reverse features a rather nice rendition of the head of Serapis being held by Sol.  The green patinated surfaces have a sandy overlay which is a situation loved or hated by many collectors.  I like it when it is even and hate it when it gets any more blotchy than this one.  I do however like it better than the stripped coin above despite the fact some detail is more clear on the naked coin. The next three are coins of Constantine I (Licinius' arch rival): [ATTACH]127514.vB[/ATTACH]First is a coin similar the the first above except that the ruler is Constantine and the mint is Heraclea.  I did not clean this one but whoever did left several clumps here and there that make it a bit spotty.  I bought it because I liked the sideburn curl.  This coin is an example of one issued for the ruler not in control of the mint but for the co-ruler.  Sometimes that makes them more rare but RIC rates all of these R3 which is really not all that rare after all.  [ATTACH]127513.vB[/ATTACH]Next is coin of Constantine from his mint at Trier (313-315 AD) again showing Sol.  I bought it because it has decent, clean surfaces and was cheap.  I already had a similar coin lacking the IMP at the start of the legend so you know I am a coin addict because I bought this one even though Constantine is not one of my specialties.  RIC calls it an R4 which is getting pretty rare but I think a lot of that is because they divided the type into too many minor variations according to the draping of the chlamys worn by Sol and various bust types.  Don't pay extra for R4 coins unless you know why they are rare and it is important to you. [ATTACH]127515.vB[/ATTACH]Last is a very ordinary example of the AE4 Constantine death issue showing him being welcomed to Heaven by the hand of God.  I bought it because I did not have an example from this mint (Heraclea) but I really didn't know I was trying to complete that set.  The off center obverse losing legend and partial (and not skillful) cleaning make it worthy of the junk box where I found it.  Still it is better than half of these I see offered for sale so maybe I shouldn't be so hard on it.  After all, I did not have it and now I do.  Why did I show these five coins?  The total cost of the five was almost exactly the same as the cheapest of the three Republican denarii I showed in that earlier post of Baltimore coins.  The Republicans were decent mid-grade examples of a popular series while these are also mid-grade from the late Roman issues that are available in large quantities.  I am on the fence as to which kind of collector I am to be.  I know I will not go for the super grade prefect coins that cost ten times as much but I have trouble turning down decent looking ancients that I don't have in the $7 to $22 range (as here).  I could have left these and bought one more Republican (the guy had several but none struck me as much as the ones I showed).  That is a decision we all must make.  I'm not into coins to make a profit (that would tilt the decision in favor of the higher demand items) but to have fun and study them.  I'll probably continue flopping back and forth according to what is available at the next show.  You?[/QUOTE]

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