I Spent $50 on "Random" Romans So You Don't Have To

Ever wonder what you get when you find that one ebay seller who sells "random" Roman coins at different price points? Wonder no longer, as I bought one coin of each price point: $2.95, $4.95, $8.95, $12.95, and $24.95.

Treasure or beginner's trap?

LETS FIND OUT!

1. $2.95 price point.
Advetised as "these coins are intended to be ancient artifacts, not fully identifiable ancient numismatics"

16 x 22 mm




Not fully identifiable is right. I couldn't really figure out how and where to start with this one. I'm sure there's enough to go off of for someone who's in the know, but that someone isn't me.

Worth it?
Yes. For $3 I think this is a great gift for a budding collector, or as a pocket conversation piece.

2. $4.95 price point.
Advertised as "fully identifiable"

17 mm



This one was pretty tough. I was unable to tease out any letters on the obverse or the reverse. It's obviously a VOT XX reverse, but beyond that I have no idea.
The portrait is definitely a post-Constantinian fathead, but I couldn't make any progress here.

Worth it?
No. I would rather pay $3 for the previous one than $5 for this one. Although it's technically a more identifiable coin, I prefer the look of the previous

3. $8.95 price point. This is getting expensive.
Advertised as "fully identifiable with sharp details and good color"

15 mm



Sharp details and good color is RIGHT! I'm pretty confident I can ID this one:
Constantius II RIC 189
This is smaller than the wildwinds listing for a RIC 189 AE3 (19mm), but all the other details seems to match up.
http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/constantius_II/i.html

Worth it?
Yes. I had fun identifying this one (assuming I even got it right). The details are good, color is nice, and although it's obviously polished, it has great eye appeal.

4. $12.95 price point. This is starting to reach my hourly wage.
Advertised as "large, fully identifiable with sharp details and good color. Sizes range from quarter to half dollar"

22 mm x 20 mm



I was unable to confidently ID this one. It looks very similar to the previous in many respects, so I will tentatively say this is another Constantius II.
The legends are mostly cut off, so I had little to go off of.

Worth it?
No. Although the portrait looks significantly better, I didn't like having nowhere to go to ID it. If I had a bit more legend it would have been nice. When you're spending this much, you really need to be able to confidently ID it. Also, I was hoping for something larger. The listing showed some large sestertius-sized coins, but this was a bit smaller.

5. $24.95 price point. This can buy you a reasonable steak dinner at Outback.
Advertised as "fully identifiable with good details and color"

18 mm




This is an attractive coin! Good details with some minor, relatively pleasing toning on the obverse. The portarit is a bit mushy on the high parts, but the eyes are pretty striking.
I was unable to identify this despite my best efforts. The obverse legend was simply too mushy. The reverse is great, but I was unable to match the legend and image to the obverse.
I suspect it's Septimius Severus, but only due to the beard style.

Worth it?
Close, but no. I think for $25 you can find a specific denarius you want, potentially in better condition, and you don't have to worry about getting a duplicate or something you don't like. For example, I bought a lot of 3 Postumus antoninianii for $12 each, and each is very attractive, fully identifiable, and generally of a more pleasing nature.


Final verdict:
This is a good way to get started in Roman collecting. For $50 you could do worse. You could spend $50 on uncleans, spend weeks or months cleaning them, and end up with worse coins and worse value than you did here.

Recommended for:
Newbies just getting started who want a decent introduction to identification.
Fun gift idea for a fellow collector

Not recommended for:
Anyone who knows what they're doing. Unless you love the thrill of surprise, I would spend the same amount of money on one or two much better coins that you will actively enjoy as a participant in your collection.

 

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I agree with this, as I will think you would be more satisfied with a coin or two that has slightly better detail (but still honest ware) then you can clearly see see the message the coin (celator) was trying to convey.

 

Hello @hotwheelsearl What a thoroughly written post.
We all decide at what level it is worth buying old coins, and I’m glad you are in “positive” terrain. I still think you could have gotten better value for your money, though. If I was to give you a recommendation, I would say get off ebay. I see that some collectors still make some good deals there, but they are few and far between. Buying directly from a collector who appreciates his/her honor over making money on shenanigans, you could get a nice silver coin in VF or even gVF for fifty bucks. At auction houses, you can get a lot of coins in VF to EF for 25 each. I’m not criticizing your deal making here, because your post is well balanced. I’m criticizing eBay for what it has become. They used to have deals, now they just have lots of shenanigans.

 

Thanks for biting the bullet and sharing your results. I'd agree that for collectors, it's not recommended. It's nice to see and know what you're buying.

#1 is Claudius II possibly with Salus reverse.
#2 I think I see GAL VAL, maybe Galerius? Someone would need to cross reference the VOT XX to see who was possible to issue them. Edit: I want to say I see IMP C MA MAXIMINVS AVG instead... Some rabbit holes for you to explore down
#5 is Lucius Verus VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX(???), Aequitas reverse, TR P VIII IMP V COS III

 

Thank you for sharing this - I have wondered about those sellers, but have never gone for it.

As Justin notes, No. 5 is a Lucius Verus - not exactly the most common emperor of that era (compared to Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Faustina I/II, Commodus) - and it has a rather nice portrait despite the nose blemish. Not a great bargain, but not a rip-off either, in my bottom-feeding opinion.

 

Out of curiosity, did the prices include shipping?

 

Very interesting - several "almost" culls but a decent Verus.

 

yes, they were all free shipping

 

Great post! I had sometimes wondered about some of those listings on ebay.

As someone with a bit more experience bottom feeding on eBay, most of the first coins can be found for about $1-2 each, usually in lots because of the costs associated with shipping and fees. $25 is about right for the Lucius Verus, although from my experience, the sweet spot for Nerva-Antonine denarii is in the VF-XF range, which usually won't cost more than $50-100, depending on emperor and type.

For common Roman bronzes (260-285 AD and 317-360), you can with patience get an XF coin of most common emperors and types for $10-25. I've bought and sold hundreds of such coins, and it is rare that a common type will go for more than about $30, regardless of how nice it is.

I'll echo what others have said - never buy a coin sight unseen from an eBay seller!

 

Thanks for all the replies, especially the ID help! I'll start there and try to confidently ID the mystery ones now

 

Group lots like this raise a similar question for new collectors. Would you be interested in sending an amount of money to a trusted dealer and allow that person to select coins for you based on parameters you would set (like your preferences for acceptable faults and things you hate)? I would have trouble doing this because I would be likely to get duplicates of coins I have but those who do not know what exists might be quite happy with the coins that are available at a fair price whatever they were. I suppose it would be better to ask for a group snapshot of the bunch and a dealer would more likely be able to do this sort of thing for $200 than $20. The late Don Zauche always had at his show table a box marked 'half price'. I usually found a few things there that struck me as something I wanted for $100 that had no appeal at $200 even though I did not go to the show with that coin in mind. What a coin had to do to get moved to the half price box I do not know but I assume failing to sell for a few shows would make a dealer more interested in turning over stock. Do beginners see any interest in this sort of thing or do you prefer the type of shopping that fills specific holes in a want list? Certainly there is a lot of trust involved here and being new might make that a problem. I know who I would trust and who might know what I need to see. Some dealers will say, "I thought of you when I got this one." One I knew like this has retired and Don passed away. My hobby has changed. I have no answers; just questions.

 

Positive ID on the $2.95 one:

Claudius II AE antoninianus 268-270AD (RIC 98)
16x22mm
OBV: IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG. Draped radiate bust right
REV: SALVS AVG. Salus standing left with snake and sceptre

 

I want to tentatively ID this one as a Licinius I AE3, but there's a bunch of VOT XX reverses and it's tough to tell exactly which one it is.
possibly:
Licinius I AE3, 321 AD (RIC VII 67)
OBV: IMP LICINIVS AVG. Laureate head right.
REV: DOMINI N LICINI AVG. VOT XX, asterisk under inside wreath.

 

Confident ID on the LV:

Lucius Verus AR Denarius. Dec 167-Feb 168 (RIC595)
OBV: L VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX. Laureate head right.
REV: TR P VIII IMP V COS III. Aequitas seated left, with scales and cornocopia.