How poor does a coin need to be before it's not good enough for you?

I have always wondered at the fact that Emperors seemed to tolerate defeated or disgraced predecessors as often as they did. There is a suggestion that Augustus did not tolerate EID MAR and Septimius did not allow Pescennius but those may not be totally factual. We know Antony legionaries circulated until slick and he was a loser.

I wish US coins were done this way. I would get a kick of checking my change for a rare Nixon as Caesar with the Checkers (the dog) reverse. It would be interesting to see what our politicians of the last 250 years would select for the coins if they were allowed to pick the designs. We do have some interesting Hard Times Tokens.


I suppose I should be a fan of the state quarters but those were driven into the ground when they ran out of states and went on to parks etc.

 

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Still glad i bought the coin without hestitation you dont see this one very often.But when its there..go for it!If the price is right.

 

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Matches perfect with my Nero Temple of Janus sestertius..wich i bougt on a fleamarket for a give away price.

 

Very late seeing this thread. There is a comment by Francesco Gnecchi in a translated book published by Spink 1903 captures my thinking on the subject of "how low":

"The first collectors did not lay much stress on the state of preservation of their specimens, to which in the present day, very great, and I might say excessive importance, is attached."

from Roman Coins, Elementary Manual by Francesco Gnecchi, translated by Alfred Watson Hands, Spink, 1903

Although I am always happy to have a very well struck, well preserved coin, I am also pleased to own a coin like this one, in any condition, for its history and connection to the rise of Octavian/Augustus and the days before the second triumvirate.

Mark Antony and M Aemelius Lepidus, 43 BC, AR Denarius
Mint: Military mint traveling with Antony and Lepidus in Cisalpine Gaul
Date: Crawford dates this issue between 30-May-43 and early 42
Obv: M ANTON [IMP], lituus, capis, and raven
Rev: M LEPID IMP, simpulum, aspergillum, securis, apex
Size: 3.71g, 18mm
Ref: Crawford 489/2; Sydenham 1156; RSC 2

or ugly coins like this barbarous one

Obv: IMP TETRICVS, crude radiate bust right.
Rev: P X AC, Pax standing left, holding branch and sceptre (or cornucopia?)
2.8 g, 19 mm

 

Depends.
If its just wear, but recognizable for what it is. Or, a very good coin that has been cleaned. Even a great coin that has been modestly damaged.
Both inherent and perceived value go a long way towards that decision.

 

A MAJOR portion of Ancients (upwards of 95%+) have been cleaned.

 

Yeah. I dont collect Ancients. Seems like too big and wide a field.
But, over the years, I have seen more than a few very nice cleaned coins. And you can get a discount too.

 

I am confused by your statement: "And, you can get a discount too."

Because they are cleaned?

I probably was being conservative that 95% of Ancients are cleaned. Some will say virtually ALL Ancients are cleaned. They are generally found in the ground, buried, in jars, etc. etc, so they must have 1500-2500 years of "stuff" removed from them.

Collecting Ancients is very different from the rules of collecting Moderns. And, you do not have to collect everything. Some people enjoy collecting a very narrow, focused area, and have outstanding collections. Big fun!

 

Try it...you'll like it.

 

I was not talking about ancients.
The rule is stricter with American stuff. But I have seen many nice looking coins that were cleaned and still looked good in a Type album.

 

Probably poorer than this:

 

..how poor of a coin will i accept in my collection?!?...

 

I collect coins with dates. The date has to be relatively clear. While the restof the coin is important, it is secondary.

 

I have collecting the 12 caesars. I need to be able to read the name on the piece. That has eliminated a lot of off-center strikes and pieces with too much wear. Generally VF seems to be my lowest grade. I am looking for a Caligula as. I know that I will have be less picky about that one.

 

I believe Caligula asses will retain full legends way below VF grade. They tend to be rather well centered and evenly struck so a Fine like the one below can be quite acceptable to my standards which prefer wear to corrosion.


I don't have a more worn Caligula but the standards of the period are demonstrated by this Claudius which was so evenly struck that the obverse is legible even when worn to VG/FR-slick.

 

Here is my example of a coin but it is a bit of an oxymoron. It is an example that comes close to “as Struck” but if it was not for the silvering it would not be in my collection.

Non attractive but it is a very rare example of an Alexius Constantinople tetarteron with its silver wash still intact.

Alexius SBCV-1923

Constantinople tetartera of the post Alexius coin reform I believe were coated with a thin silver, this way it was easy to differentiate it from the more common coins minted at Thessalonica and other mints. The Constantinople tetartera were all proven to have a silver content (Metcalf proved it in the 60’s and Hendy seconded the results in the 90’s). I have seen numerous examples with slight traces of silver but handling makes it wear off quickly, like the AE3’s of earlier Roman Times. I should note neither mentioned the silver wash, I have seen several fully silvered examples but this was the only one I have owned with this much silver, I have had numerous examples with traces of silvering so that is my only real basis for that theory. CLBC is the only catalog that mentions silvering but the authors believed it to be for ceremonial purposes only, I have seen too many examples to agree with them.

Here is the primary example in my collection, no silvering at all but much better strike and far more attractive.

 

Certainly poorer than this:

 

personally, I accept poor quality coins, if nothing better exists out there.
Case in point this Byzantine hyperpyron

 

I really have no set standards, or I suppose more accurately I have different standards depending on the coin in question. It comes down to whether I find it interesting and/or aesthetically pleasing.