How I Went Medieval On Siliqua

Time and time again I hear calls for Siliqua. A type I did not own until now. Siliqua, a small late Roman silver coin. Yes. In most cases but not in this case. I scored (most of ) a fraction of one of a Siliqua.

@ValiantKnight has a great write up on the type and @Magnus Maximus can tell you everything you need to know about Siliqua.

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/aww-yeah-got-me-some-barbarian-silver.256510/

I spotted this uber rare coin being sold on Vcoins along with a half dozen others. When I saw it the listing was fresh, now all but 2 are sold. Wew!... glad I didn't think before I bought it.

Looking around the internet appears that a hoard of these has come to the market. I can find several "gem" examples coming up for sale later this month and next month I am sure the "Sharks" smell blood in the water.

I have a feeling once these are gone, they will be gone forever, limited edition, never to made again collector coins. Your going to want to buy one of these in order to avoid feelings of future regret.

Sirmium,Serbia
Ostrogoths (Gepids)
Theodoric in the name of Anastasius (AD 491-518)
AR Fractional Siliqua
16 mm x 0.64 grams
Obverse: Diademed draped bust right. - DNANASTASIVSPAV
Reverse: Monogram of Theodoric ♰ ROMANI*VINVICTA
Ref: Wroth 74
Note: Full legend, sharp details, clipped (common for type), Uber Rare!

 

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Excellent post AN! Very interesting. Is vcoin a good place to be looking at for buying coins?

 

Well yes. I think so. You can see wide variety of coins from a wide variety dealers in one convenient location. Some of the best deals are buried there. Others are shipwrecked in the E'bay.

 

Gosh, I just captured a Siliqua too! Why? Just becuz... But, LOL, I really felt they were cheater coins...kinda remind me of the top foil over the cork of a wine bottle! And you have a FRACTIONAL Siliqua! LOL, ULTIMATE Cheater Coin to the public!
@Ancientnoob GREAT SCORE on das Uber-Rare Fractional Siliqua. Congrats BUDDY!!!

I really like this one!

Roman Empire
Arcadius (395-408 AD)
AR Siliqua
16mm, 1.1g, 12h
Obv: DN ARCADIVS PF AVG, Pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust r
Rev: VIRTVS RO MANORVM, Roma seated L on cuirass, holding victory on globe and reversed spear.
Rare.
Ref: Doug Smith #2829

 

Thanks!

 

Great provenance on that coin. I'd bet that increased its value a few dollars.

 

I know it will... Buuuuut... I won't sell it!

 

Don't bet the farm on that. Who can show a cheaper siliqua? I wish I knew what collection painted the 16? in the reverse field. That might be a provenance worth knowing. I got the coin from a vCoins dealer but where it was before that, I do not know.

 

I liked your coin so much I went out and bought one of the remaining examples. Not as nice as yours but I'm excited for it:

Ostrogoths, Gepids. Theodoric, in the name of Anastasius. AR 1/4 Siliqua, 491-518 A.D. DN ANASTASIVS PF AVG, Diademed bust right / ♰ROMANI VINVICTA, Monogram of Theodoric. Wroth 74

 

I have seen these being offered for years now, why do you think they might disappear from the market?

 

Really. VK and I where looking at these a year or two ago and there was only 2 broken pieces for sale. There generally are a few on the market at all times for $300+ for less than perfect broken examples, with perfect examples going for 1000+. Why do I think they will disappear? Well they were minted for only a few years and in limited quantity. With a relatively short emission all from a single mint (?) They are really very rare. It seems the bunch of affordable "mid level" examples on ebay and vcoins are being bought up rather quickly.

 

Lanz for instance has them regularly in different states of conservation. They are not really my focus but their distinctive design is eye-catching so I notice them and sometimes follow some.
Pecunem also has been auctioning these which mostly sold under the estimation or did not sell at all: http://www.coinarchives.com/a/results.php?results=100&search=Gepid

 

All of these coins are still several hundred dollars....there are a few nice ones coming up in the near future. The dollar is weak against the GBP. The exchange against the Euro is better now. You also have to figure all these numbers you are seeing include a buyers fee and for US buyers secured international shipping. So now that we have seen all of the ones available on the market. I am even happier to have paid what I paid for my example, and I will happy to see people bay 500 Euro in coming months. Anything is available if you have unlimited funds and patients. Wait a few years and watch it dry up. I wonder if I can find just as many P. Niger denari?
http://www.coinarchives.com/a/results.php?search=niger+denari&s=0&upcoming=0&results=100

those are very rare yet oddly available do <$500 collector examples exist, if they do they get bought up immediately, or they are too low a condition to sell at a fine European auction house.

 

ebay turned around one example I would not go near and the one Spork bought.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro....TRC2.A0.H0.Xgepids.TRS0&_nkw=gepids&_sacat=0

Vcoins shows 5 silvers and 3 bronzes with only one whole silver coin available. ($476+s/h from Europe)

http://www.vcoins.com/en/Search.asp...cords=100&SearchOnSale=False&Unassigned=False

 

Hm. I see that we are talking about different things while using the word "rarity". You refer to price and overall appeal that drives prices up, I refer to number of specimens known and frequency with which the type is readily available on the market.

Your coin is still nice although chipped and my comment was in no way demeaning to your purchase

 

I think we are talking about the same thing but with the added point of appeal that drives the price up. These coins are not common by any means and what I am saying is that a relatively large amount of the have come to market recently. I wouldn't say these appear frequently at all. Yet high grade examples have come up and are coming up. Most of these are in auctions that I don't take part in and don't seem to advertise too much in my circles. I dont know about the number of surviving examples but the emission period seems rather short and issuing authority held out for only a century. Maybe you know better than I? I wish @ValiantKnight would make comment, he's the man when it comes the Germanic Kingdoms and availability of types.

I never found your correspondence to be demeaning at all, although a bit derailing I certainly appreciate your opinion.

I would hope that if I was ever ill informed or misguided in someway, someone would tell me and not just say, neat coin. Its the only way to continue to advance in this hobby.

 

Could you define "uber-rare"? Usually when I use a superlative like that, I mean something with only a few known pieces. However, you seem to be indicating that these are fairly available - just a bit expensive. I think we might have significantly different ideas of what "rare" means.

 

If only a small number of coins exist from a Germanic tribe that had a short lived kingdom and small hoard comes to market the coin is still rare. I define rare as the number of existing examples of the type available on the market in my collecting lifetime. (unless otherwise specified, my an exact number of units)

 

Super new pickup, Noob (congrats) ....

Sadly, I don't have one of those cool examples (wish-list)

 

that's a fantastic coin, details sharp as a tack...very nice coin of the type.