My first group lot (CNG)- 7 Roman provincial tetradrachms from Antioch

I won a nice group lot of 7 Roman Provincial tets from Antioch at the last CNG auction, and it just arrived in the mail much faster than expected. This is the first group lot I’ve ever bought, definitely a gamble, but a lot of fun...I’m very happy with how it turned it out.

There are 7 tets in the group: 2 of Philip I, 2 of Philip II, 1 of Trajan Decius, 1 Gordian III, and 1 Caracalla.

Here is the CNG auction photo, which really doesn’t show much....only three of them had the obverse side up. But I liked the price, so I went ahead and took the risk.



It was much harder than I thought to get a good picture of the group (my photography skills are bad enough with just one coin, let alone 7), but here are my best group shots.



The 4 coins at the top of the photos are definitely keepers. I LOVE the portraits on the left-facing Decius and the Philip I, the Gordy 3 has a nice portrait on a huge flan, and I really like the toning on the Philip II. I would have gladly paid what I did for just these 4 coins, so the other 3 are really just a bonus. I’ll probably end up selling those to offset the cost, but I think these 4 are a pretty good haul.


Overall, a pretty cool experience and ended up being a good value...I think I’ll definitely try out some more group lots in the future.

Interested to see which of these you like the best. And of course, please post your provincial tets of any of these emperors, your favorite group lots, or anything else relevant.

 

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It's a wonderful group of coins, I like all of them. Congrats.

 

Oh man. That is soooo cool! I love that Trajan Decius! I love them all!
FFIVN and I don't have any Tets so we will just sit back and enjoy others' posts.
Congrats on a great lot!

 

I almost bid on this but I saw something else that caught my eye. Nice pick up.

 

I like that Gordian with the big melon! Very nice, shiney lot!!

 

Nice group! I like the Decius left-facer. I notice the bust sports a balteus (sword-belt), which doesn’t seem like a very common feature on these.

 

Drooling again over the pictures....Is the bottom right a Carcalla? He looks like a total bad-a**.

 

Nice lot!! Very attractive coins!

My only provincial tet from Antioch:


Otacilia Severa, 244-249.
Roman provincial AR tetradrachm, 12.23 g, 25.1 mm, 7 h.
Syria, Seleucis & Pieria, Antioch ad Orontem, AD 245.
Obv: ΜΑΡ ΟΤΑΚΙΛ CΕΟΥΗΡΑ CΕΒ, diademed and draped bust, right.
Rev: ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞΟΥCΙΑC ΥΠΑΤΟ Α, eagle on palm, left, tail right, SC in exergue.
Refs: McAlee 1088; Prieur 341; BMC 541.

 

They are all extremely good quality, you can never go wrong with CNG. I have noticed that their grading system is ultra strict/ thus always look great in hand.

 

I've never looked at their auctions but I did after this post. They have some really great stuff. Out of my collecting range but dang....

 

That is an super group! Congrats!

 

One thing I will give CNG credit for is that they don't "salt" their group lots. That is, they don't place one or two really nice coins atop a pile of mediocre ones. Their photos are pretty representative of what you will receive.

Also, if they describe the condition as F-VF, you won't get just one VF coin and 9 F; you usually get a reasonable mix.

In the neo-Gilded Age business climate of today, a climate that seems to reward scamming and hucksterism more than honesty and integrity, it's good to know that there are still companies like CNG out there.

I only wish that I could afford more of their coins.

 

Here's a tet of Elagabalus: need to re-photograph the obverse as you can see it is a bit blurry.

Elagabalus, 218-222 A.D., Antioch, Seleucis and Pieria
AR Tetradrachm, struck 218-220 A.D., 25mm 12.02 grams

Obverse: Laureate head of Elagabalus right
AVT K M A ANTONEINOC CEB

Reverse: Eagle standing left, wreath in beak, star between legs, delta epsilon in field
DH MARC EX UPATOC TO B

Reference: Prieur 249A; McAlee 760

 

..wow!..outstanding, quality group!..

 

Great capture, @Shea19 ... beautiful clutch of coins!

 

Great coins - nice haul @Shea19 !

 

Interesting lot with some good portraits. I like the in hand pic.
I bought two Roman lots last week, but will probably wait a bit longer than you. They are from Italy. I chatted with the dealer after buying the lot. He said:

I am not a “stay home boy” so this situation is frustrating, but we must stay home.​

I was drawn in by the one dot coin that looks a bit like a cast uncia. I like inexpensive cut coins to pass around to let folks hold 2000 year old coins.


My wife keeps asking me if I have enough of those old coins.

 

Thanks for the nice comments everyone! I appreciate it.

Yes, I agree, it's good to know that they can be trusted. I was a little nervous as this was my first group lot...I was afraid that some of the face-down coins might have some problems, but I'm happy that all of them turned out to be nice.

I've gotta say, the consignor ought to be a little annoyed though, if they had taken a better photo which showed more of the coins, I think this lot probably would have sold for a lot more than it did.

 

That's a very nice bulk lot. Quite often bulk lots provide opportunities to obtain really nice coins at a reasonable price.

 

Wow, great eye Zumbly, thanks! I really liked the detail in the drapery, but I did not know what a balteus was...that's pretty cool. I'm always learning new things here.

The description of the obverse in the RPC online is "Radiate and cuirassed bust of Decius, l., with balteus (and, often, side of drapery), seen from front; below bust". (RPC IX 1628, Prieur 513).