How did I do? My first ancient

Hey everyone,

I have never been on this part of the forum but was looking at Ebay listings ending soon and saw this and really liked the design so I bought it. I don't know the first thing about ancient coins but really liked this design and the price, $54. That price didn't seem bad compared to other ancients listed, although I couldn't find a comparable one. It is slabbed NGC CH XF All I know about it is:
Roman Empire Philip I AD244-249 BI Tetradrachm NGC Ancient Silver CH XF, an exceptional, genuine, and certified Tetradrachm silver coin from the reign of Philip I - struck between 244 and 249 AD.
Here are some photos.

 

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Very nice! You picked up a good coin for an amazing price!

 

@MMiller750 Welcome to the dark side. Now just break it out of it's plastic tomb

 

Nice coin, especially for a first!

 

Thanks everyone! After getting it in hand I really like it, more than a lot of my U.S. coins I now find myself looking at them quite a bit on Ebay, and tracking all the true auctions. I don't know if I could ever collect them by set or ruler, not really sure how they do that as I don't know any ancient collectors (in Iowa).
I like it in the slab! Makes for easier storage

 

that's a nice lookin' tet, i'd say you did very well!

 

Don't let anyone tell you how to store your coins. Many will. However, I will say that one of the things that drew me into ancients was the fact I could hold a 2000 year old coin in my hand and wonder who's hands it may have passed.

 

Ebay can be a minefield as there are so many fakes out there. Stick around here, you will make lots of friends. If you are not sure about something on ebay, post a picture here for advice. Don't post a link, lurkers might buy it out from under you.

 

Lovely coin. I would love to own it. Terrible storage method, though .

 

I am a fellow graded ancient collector. Don't let these people talk you out of graded

 

Slabbing can be a hot topic

 

Nice first purchase. If it were mine, that slab would have a brief meeting with my hammer. I enjoy actually holding my ancient coins.

 

Consider the possibility of buying coins you like at prices you can afford until you get enough that you can figure ut if there is a pattern forming. There is no right or wrong answer but I might suggest trying to make coin #2 substantially different from #1 until you decide that you are going to specialize in Syrian tetradrachms of Philip or not. Your coin is correctly identified and worth the price. You will be fortunate to do as well with the next thousand you buy.
Philip I


Philip II

 

Get something you can hold. If you like slabs for storage, you can buy your own and slab them yourself. You can hold the coin when you want and you don't pay silly prices for someone else doing it for you.

 

I don't know about that. Being cool is pretty important, and if you insist on slabs you will be several varieties of uncool. It's your call.

 

Also all of that. It sounds like you're willing to do some learning anyway, and once you do that the slabs serve no purpose whatsoever.

 

I see no reason to remove the coin. Just because I find slabs unappealing does not mean you should but I might suggest you buy a raw coin of similar size next just so you get the experience of touching it. Do not worry about being cool in this crowd. Seriously the cool folks do not collect ancient coins. Most of us go out of our way to be able to do things 'our way' and have little use for cool things. Collecting coins was more cool when I started in the 50's but I think things have changed a mite since then. I'm not sure any collecting hobby is cool these days unless it is having a million Facebook friends or more music files on your phone than you can listen too in the normal lifetime of a phone (or person?).

 

Welcome MMiller750,

Nice coin & nice price. IMHO everyone has provided good advice.

Let me add that you might find it fun to read-up on the coin you just purchased. If you want some suggestions about books, this is the place to ask questions. Also, your coin has nice sharp legends. If it were my coin, I might write down the letters as best I could & then translate & look-up the coin. You might find your coin on this page http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/philip_I/i.html

Also, FWIW, I've decided that (in general) if I buy a coin in a slab, then it might as well stay in the slab & if I buy a raw coin, it might as well remain raw. I've found ways to collect, store, & enjoy both raw & slabbed.

 

Welcome to CoinTalk Ancients @MMiller750! You scored a great coin for your first ancient.

 

Brad Pitt played Achilles. Achilles appears on this ancient coin:

That puts us only two-coin degrees away from Brad Pitt. Coolness is at our fingertips. I can taste it.