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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1145398, member: 19463&quot;]... 23 of them to be exact. I rode the charter bus up with the group from the Richmond Coin Club ($50) and bought coins between $5 and $30 each (most beginners have more interest in more expensive coins but I&#039;m happy with my junk). I have not got all of them cataloged and photographed yet but I&#039;ll show here the most expensive (Wima Kadphises Kushan $30) and ugliest (Constantius Gallus at $15 retaining most of its original silver but that is not as pretty as many other surface conditions - just rare).</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The Wima has the best looking obverse (standing king) that I have seen in person even though the head is flat struck. It is rare to find these with this much legend. The Siva and bull on the reverse are not as nice (again, Siva&#039;s head is faulty) but still better than average for these often worn out coins. The Gallus is really very unusual with this much retained silver wash but is only a half decent strike. The show had many much worse coins at higher prices but just because some dealer is asking too much for a coin does not mean you have to buy it - shop around. I frequently pay too much for coins I really want but if you are just starting and don&#039;t already have all the common stuff you can usually find &#039;deals&#039; worth considering. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>My five $5 finds were all from a pick out pot of about 500 medieval Kashmir bronzes. 95% of them were of two common rulers but I found a couple less common ones that upgraded what I previously had and one that I have not yet IDed. Of course, 99.9% of collectors could care less what ruler issued a coin they don&#039;t collect and most dealers could not read the legends required to ID the coin. This added to the things being common as dirt makes unidentified junky examples a glut on the market at $5 even though they are from 1200 AD. The third coin attached is the one I have not yet IDed (help appreciated). It is the worst condition of the five I bought but was the only one like it in the box. Edit: Abhimanyugupta 958-972 AD.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>My observation is that each Baltimore show I attend shows an ever widening gap between the dealers who sell high end coins for fair prices and those who sell &#039;fair&#039; (not quite good) coins for high end prices. Perfect coins should sell for higher prices but the number of dealers selling faulty coins for equally high prices is becoming disturbing. Shop around.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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