March's Ancient Coin Haul - Hangin' Out at the Junk Bin!

Augustus & Agrippa AE Dupondius. Nemausus Mint, 20-10 BC. 11.2g, 26mm

OBV: IMP DIVI F, Back-to-back heads of Agrippa, wearing rostral crown, & Augustus, laureate head.

REV: COL-NEM, crocodile chained to palm, wreath with long ties trailing above.

REF: RIC 155, Cohen 7, RPC 523, Sear (RCV 2000) 1730

The two coins I just ordered arrived yesterday and so these are my photos and attributions. Some of you guys know these coins better than I do so I'm wondering if you could double check the coin for me. Thank you.

I am making this thread because if and when I get more coins this month, they will be going here. I have two more really low grade coins that I might be getting this month.

 

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Mariniana AE Antoninianus 253-257 AD. 1.9g, 18mm

OBV: DIVAE MARINIANAE, Veiled & draped bust right on crescent.

REV: CONSECRATIO, Peacock flying right, carrying Mariniana, veiled, with raised hand & sceptre.

REF: RIC 6, RSC 16

This coin did not turn out well in the scanner. It's really worn even in hand, but the reverse looks even more worn in this scanner photo.

 

I believe I see a trace of laurel wreath ties behind Augustus' head which would make the coin Sear 1730 rather than 1729. The head itself is a bit flatly struck so I can't say I see any of the laurel but there would not be ties if there were not a wreath.

On Mariniana, the ID seems fine but I don't see much wear on the coin. I believe the condition is a function of corrosion. We see an outline of the ear and hair details on the high points that would not be there on a coin with good old honest circulation wear. I imagine the coin is a field find from a metal detectorist that suffered greatly from the burial directly in the ground rather than in a pot protected by other coins. Reverses on coins of the third century often are weak in the middle of the reverse due to the flans being too thin to have enough metal to fill both obverse and reverse details. This may explain the lack of detail in the bird.

 

I'd be happy to own both those coins. I particularly like the Nemausus - it's got great detail. It would appear that the seller's pics were juiced quite a bit, but are your pics scans? Because I don't think they're conveying the true nature of the coins. I think they're probably much, much better in hand.

 

Nice haul.:thumb::thumb:

 

Wow Gil, Awesome pickup, love the Nemausus...:thumb::thumb:..I want one.....

 

I'm impressed with the detail on the Nemausus for the price - I think you got a real bargain there. You can even see links in the chain. :thumb:

 

@Dougsmit:

I believe you're right about that. I was confused by some listings saying laurels or oak wreath crown.

Yes, the Mariniana coin is definitely corroded and I think some silver might be drained out of it as well. It's rather light even for the size at 1.9g.

 

@John Anthony:

Almost all of my coins are better in-hand. It is something about scanning coins that make the details look odd or "mushy" looking. I've tried so many times trying to adjust the settings and it doesn't seem to do much good making them look better. I could probably afford a somewhat cheap camera but I keep purchasing coins. lol

 

Yeah, Eng. I didn't think I would have one either until I found this one at a decent price. Not long after I found this one, saw one on Ebay for about $150 in some ways in lower grade. lol

 

Great lookin' pick-ups Gil-galad (Daryl) ... a crocodile and a peacock!!

=> two very nice animal coins!! (well played)

:high5:

 

I figured you'd like those animal coins, Steve. lol

Thanks a lot, coin brother.

 

It's possible that I may not be getting any more coins this month because I'm saving my money for next month. So far I have about $60 and who knows, I might get more today. Assuming I meet my goals of obtaining money, I will be getting a literal metric ton of coins. At least for my budget anyways. I'm estimating about twenty coins. That's all I'm going to say right now. Keeping you guys in suspense. If I don't get the needed money, I'll still probably get more coins than usual.

 

Looking forward to seeing them!

 

Interesting ... a "metric" ton, eh? (a tonne) ... well then, since you guys in the States are still using empirical units, I'm assuming that you'll be getting this coin-score from outside of the USA (wow, that's gonna be a lot for shipping costs!!) ...

"Excuse me Miss ... how much will it cost for me to ship one tonne of coins to Ohio?"

"It depends ... will they all fit into this bubble-envelope?"

 

Haha, Steve!

Just so that no one gets confused. When I say a "metric ton", I mean a lot of coins for my usual budget.

I'm getting one lot (silver) of coins from the UK. Any coins I manage to get after that will more than likely be from other shops, perhaps.

I won't update much about getting more money, but I just earned $20 more today, making a total of $80. It's looking good so far and it's just a little past the middle of the month. I'm really loaded this month, so far. lol

 

You know, I don't look down my nose at the junk bin anymore. I'm gradually learning to exercise some patience and really search out bargains, and I've managed to find a few good dealers that have provided me with a handful of coins at astonishingly low prices compared to most of vcoins and eBay.

I've also discovered that in terms of numismatic satisfaction, I'm not the least bit disappointed with heavily-worn ancients. They're ancient, after all!

 

Finding bargains is a big part of the fun to me, I also think old coins should look 'old' :thumb:

 

I'm a total fan of comfy, old lookin' coins ... like a nice, big, soft Dupondius, Sestertius, or a big As (but it's gotta still have at least a hint of what the coin is all about) ...

Ummm, but I am not a super fan of the smaller, common coins, that basically look quite nasty (but I do understand buying one of these if it's intention is to merely fill-a-hole in a big scheme collection ... however, a coin has to possess at least a bit of "animal magnetism" to become one of my coins ... I am quite shallow when it comes to my coin collection => only babes are allowed to swim in the pool!!)

 

"Babes" are in the eye of the beholder, my friend.