Insights on collecting ancients, after Newest Acquired Roman Empire pieces

Trajan Decius 249-251 A.D.

(beginner mistakes ) I thought I was buying a coin called a Decius for Trajan, the emperor before Hadrian, but it turned out that it was a whole different emperor.




Antonius Pious 138-161 A. D.



I couldn't find any info on the second coin's reverse after my first search attempt. So if anyone knows anything without having to look please let me know.

So far its not been that bad of a learning curve, but here's what I've learned about collecting ancients so far....

My own Insights on collecting ancients:
1. You have to be careful about names of Emperors.
2. Beware of time correct reproductions made by the locals in a given province. (Although this could be a lucky mistake if you are in this for investment purposes, as some ancient productions are worth more than their Roman counterparts.
3. There are lots of modern copies of these coins so it pays to know how to spot them.
4. If you could grade modern coins before you got interested in ancients get ready for a whole new ball game. (It's really not bad once you get the hang of it.)
5. These coins are surprisingly affordable! I was really surprised at the price of some of these coins. I thought they'd all be over a hundred dollars, because these are ancient artifacts, after all! You can easily own something two thousand years old for under 50 bucks!

 

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The reverse of the AP denarius is Vesta. She holds a simpulum and palladium.

 

Thank you for the info.

 

I agree with point#1 but the other three strike me as overstated or less important than other things you might have listed. #2 mystifies me; I have no idea what you mean here. #3 is true but largely can be avoided by only dealing with honest and knowledgeable sellers. You do not have to go out of your way to seek out 'bargains' at flea markets. #4 ignores the fact that grading means little because prices and demand are controlled by many other factors. Many sellers no longer bother to tack on a VF or whatever now that photos are available for most coins and wear is only one factor contributing to grades. It will be interesting to see how you feel about these matters after you have been collecting a few years.

Antoninus Pius

 

With #2, I think he is talking about unofficial coinage, or "barbaric imitations," though generally speaking these typically do not command the same market value as the coins they imitate.

However, I do enjoy seeing newcomers' impressions of the hobby. I look forward to reading more trials and triumphs from Valpo!

 

My thoughts on your thoughts...

1 - Yes.

2 - Worry more about modern fakes, ancient ones are collectible in their own right.

3 - Meh. Lots of fake Morgans too. Buy from reputable dealers and you'll have less to worry about.

4 - Yes grading is different and less important. What Doug said.

5- There are beautiful coins for bargain prices!

 

#1 - Yes. Especially Antoninus. Marcus and Aurelius also appear frequently, but are easier to figure out. But the easiest to mix up are Maximian and Galerius.

Here's a coin of Galerius, yet his name doesn't even appear in the inscription:


Galerius (Maximian)
Caesar, A.D. 293-305
Augustus, A.D. 305-311
Bronze Nummus
Ticinum mint, A.D. 295-296
Obv: MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES
Rev: GEONI POPV-LI ROMANI - Genius, modius on head, naked but for chlamys hanging from shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae
ST in exergue
RIC 30b
28mm, 9.9g.

 

I really like that Trajan Decius antoninianus, even if it was mistaken for a Trajan (no "Decius"). Trajan Decius interesting emperor, even if he didn't rule as long or accomplish as much as his namesake - he was the first emperor killed in battle, has a nasty Christian persecution to give him villain appeal, and, if nothing else an antoninianus is bigger than a denarius. Furthermore, your example has a pretty decent reverse, not always the case with these.

I found an article about Trajan Decius and his coins found in the Balkans after his defeat by the Goths. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/cu...decius-battle-of-abritus.303345/#post-2860858

There is a great website on coins of this era called "249-253 AD: Four Bad Years" here: http://sonic.net/~marius1/mysite/index.htm

As far as ancient coin "mistakes" go, I think you made a good one.

 

Marsyas Mike did a fine job pointing out why you can survive this error. If you decide to 'correct' it, the other Trajan also used a horse type (as did several other emperors). I wonder how many of these show a full size equestrian statue rather than being original coin types.

 

Check out acsearch.com and cngcoins.com (research menu) to research ancient coins. There is a mass of information online.

 

Yes this is what I meant..