My most expensive coin so far

A couple of weeks ago I bought my most expensive ancient coin so far. It's a Caligula denarius. I have had a few chances to buy one cheaper, but didn't dare to take the risk cause I know there are quite a few fakes out there. This one I bought from a reputable house.

I'm one of those guys who is after the 12 caesars in silver and now I'm only one coin away (Otho) from completing my mission

For me it's a bonus that Germanicus is on the reverse of this coin. There is some minor porosity with an (old) line on Germanicus' forehead, but it's still a detailed portrait of Caligula and I love it !

I know this hobby is all about the history and beauty of ancient coins, but I can't help it but wonder what is the Roman coin you paid most for so far ?



Caligula, denarius.
37-8 AD, Lugdunum.
3.62g.
Obv: C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT / laureate head of Caligula right.
Rev. GERMANICVS CAES P C CAES AVG GERM / bare head of Germanicus right.
RIC 18.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

That is a really nice coin, great addition. What is your Claudius in silver? That's of the 12 another one that is quite a challenge to collect without deep pockets. But so is of course a portrait of caesar and a decent one of otho (good luck with that!). I hope to be able to get a caligula and claudius in silver one day. Guess its also about being able to save up your budget, and strike when the right one comes up (and a bit of luck too i guess).

This one is my most expensive one so far:

 

I inherited a little money when my grandmother died. I used it to buy a set of RIC and this coin below, by far the most expensive coin I've ever bought:

Julius Caesar
Silver Denarius
Rome mint, 44 B.C.
Obv: DICT PERPETVO - CAESAR - Veiled head of Julius Caesar
Rev: P SEPVLLIVS MACER - Venus holding Victory and scepter; shield at base
RSC 39; S362
18 x 20mm, 3.2g.

 

Very nice, @Marsman! I'd love to have a Caligula someday-- something other than a bronze Vesta.

@Limes, that's an unusually nice COL NEM .

@gsimonel-- an iconic coin and one that will surely bring fond memories of your grandmother.

My most costly Roman so far is a provincial:


EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian
Regnal year 10, CE 90/91
Æ diobol (25mm, 10.86 g, 12h)
Obv: AVT KAICAP ΔΟ ΜΙΤ CEB ΓΕΡΜ, laureate head right
Rev: Agathodaemon serpent, wearing the skhent crown (emblematic of upper and lower Egypt), on horseback galloping left; L I (date) below
Ref: Köln –; Dattari (Savio) –; K&G 24.109; RPC II 2585; SNG Copenhagen 214; Emmett 277.10 (R5).
Provenance:
Ex Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection
Ex West Coast/Lloyd Beauchaine Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 41, 19 March 1997), lot 1110
Ex Classical Numismatic Review Vol. XVI, No. 1 (January 1991), lot 31
Ex Numismatic Fine Arts Fall Mail Bid Sale (18 October 1990), lot 2365
Appearances:
Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis 39 (this coin)
Emmett, Alexandrian Coins; obverse illustrated as the header for the Domitian section, p. 24 (this coin) and fully illustrated on p. 26 as a featured (this coin)
Sear, Roman Coins and Their Values, Vol. I, #2868, p. 511 (this coin)
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/so-these-exist-snake-cowboys.314032/



If you mean Imperial Roman, then this Nero sestertius is my most costly:


Nero
struck in Rome, CE 63
Orichalcum sestertius, 34 mm, 26.7 gm
Obv: NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR P IMP PP; laureate head right, wearing aegis
Rev: ANNONA AVGVSTI CERES; Ceres, veiled and draped, seated left, holding corn ears and torch, her feet on stool, facing Annona standing right, holding cornucopia; between them, modius on garlanded altar; in background, stern of ship
Ref: RIC 98. Cohen 24

 

I think its only fair to name the price of your most "expensive" coin, when you set price as a criteria.

 

What does fair have to do with Marsman's request for us to post our most expensive coins? This isn't a contest to see who owns the most expensive coin (which would be in very bad taste)-- it's only relative to the individual's collection. Many people prefer not to say what they paid for coins or anything. If you really want to know the prices there are abundant resources where you can often find such information, particularly for higher end coins.

 

My most expensive Roman:


Gaius Caligula, AD 37-41
Æ As, 29mm, 11.5g, 6h; Rome mint, AD 37-8
Obv.: C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, bare head left.
Rev.: VESTA above, S C across field, Vesta, veiled and draped, seated left on ornamental throne, holding patera and long transverse scepter.

I don't think these count, but the below coin was more expensive:


Postumus, AD 260-269
Ӕ Sestertius, 31x29mm, 19.2g, 12h; Lugdunum mint, AD 261
Obv.: IMP C POSTVMVS PF AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev.: VIRTVS AVG, Mars standing right holding spear and leaning on shield.

 

I do not want to know the prices of coins.
Just dont be two faced hypocrites.
Its one thing to say the coin I value most and the other thing "my most expensive coin."
In second instance you ought to name the price. Period.

 

A wonderful coin. Congrats on landing this one. I saw this one when it was first unveiled for sale and I almost bought it. However, I am quite content with my 3 Caligula denarii for now.

Enjoy this lovely coin and good luck with the Otho. If you would settle for a RIC 8 Securitas reverse, they come up for sale quite often. A nice PONT MAX reverse comes up every once in a while as well. The PAX ORBIS TERRERRUM is also available. However, some of his reverses are very difficult to find.

 

I think the intention of the OP should be taken into account
I had absolutely not the intention to turn this thread into something of a ‘price contest’.
TIF has said it just right Thanks TIF !

 

That is a nice Caligula, Marsman! Caligula in silver is always nice.
I am still waiting for a Caligula denarius with reverse Wreath/SPQR that I can afford.
(and that my wife will agree to...)

On the subject of 'afford', this Claudius aureus was the most I have ever paid for a Roman coin, about 17 years ago, and only because I was so happy to actually get a tax rebate back from the german tax man for once that I lost self-control. (That, I mean a tax rebate, does not happen often).

Anyway, here is the coin:

 

Very nice coins, that sestertius is really amazing. And your animation is hilarious, have not seen it before. Looked up the post mentioned in your coin info, good to read and now I understand why the flowers come out of the horse....like that!

 

Curiosity about a coin's price is understandable, but this thread isn't about a coin's price, but rather its relative expense within your personal collection. Since collections vary so much from individual to individual, it would be inappropriate to include a coin's cost because this thread would just degenerate to "whose coins are more expensive than mine" which really isn't very interesting from a numismatic perspective.

You might have a legitimate reason for wanting to know a coin's price -- e.g., you might be looking for a similar type for your own collection and want to know what a fair or competitive price might be -- but if this is the case, you can always contact the individual collector in private regarding the price he/she paid for the coin.

 

Great coin @Marsman . The double portrait is a plus.
My most expensive is a recent purchase, a cast As.


Roman Republican AE Cast As, Roma/Wheel series, Rome, c. 265-242 BC.
Obv - Head of Roma right, wearing Phrygian helmet with pinnate crest; behind, mark of value I, set horizontally.
Rev - Six-spoked wheel; between two spokes, I.
Cr, RRC 24/3 265 to 242 BC; wt std = 270 grams
Vecchi ICC 66 230 BC; Rome; wt std 270 grams
204.48 grams; 66.0 mm; 12 H

 

My most expensive Roman coin.

Jovinus, Western Roman Empire
AR siliqua
Obv: D N IOVIN-VS P F AVG, Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Rev: VICTOR-IA AVGG, Roma seated left on stylized cuirass, holding Victory on globe and reversed spear
Mint: Lugdunum
Mintmark: SMLDV
Date: 411-413 AD
Ref: RIC X 1717



My most expensive coin overall. It’s technically not “Roman” but obviously the style is (and its in RIC).

Odoacer, Kingdom of Italy
AE nummus
Obv: OD[O-VAC], bare-headed, draped, cuirassed bust right
Rev: Odoacer's monogram (letters ODOVA) within wreath
Mint: Ravenna
Date: 476-493 AD
Ref: RIC X 3502

 

Congrats on your new Caligula!! It looks great!!

This one, my #1 in 2018, was my most expensive coin so far:

Augustus, AR Denarius,
Struck 19-18 AD, Uncertain mint in Spain, possibly Colonia Caesaraugusta.
Obverse: CAESAR AVGVSTVS, bare head right.
Reverse: OB CIVIS / SERVATOS, oak wreath with ties upward.
References: RIC I 40a
Size: 17mm, 3.68g
Ex: AMCC Auction 1, lot #166 (12-1-2018);
Ex: Severus Alexander collection
Notes: Banker’s mark (“F”) in left field of obverse,traces of gilding and mount (12 o’clock on obverse).
The reverse depicts the oak wreath, the Corona Civica, awarded to Augustus by the Senate for having saved the Republic. (Somewhat ironic!) At the time of issue, Augustus was pursuing vigorous military policy in Spain; in 19 BCE the Cantabrians, from the northernmost coast, were brought under Roman control. 18 BCE saw the first of Augustus’s infamous moral laws, the Leges Iuliae.

 

What a fantastic denarius! I agree it's great to have Germanicus on the reverse.

I'm not actually sure what is the most I've paid for a Roman coin, but I know that many years ago when I bought this one it was by far the most I had ever paid at the time, around $400, a figure I've rarely exceeded since. As it's a Caligula I figure it's the coin for this thread!

 

I don’t have a most expensive as several fall into that area. However, ALL of my coins are very valuable to me.

Here are several of my more expensive coins...


Marsic denarius 89 BCE Bovianum-Asernia-Samnia HN Italy 407 Sear 230 SCARCE


Marsic Confederation denarius 89 BCE Italia-Italia seated shields vict Corfinium Campana retro B 105 HN Italy 412a Sear 228 RARE


Carthage Zeugitana 310-270 BCE EL Dekadrachm-Stater 18.5mm 7.27g Tanit Horse 3 pellets in ex MAA 12 SNG COP 136


RR Anon AR Didrachm 280-275 Mars-Horse FIRST AR Coin of Rome


RR Anon 265-242 BCE Didrachm Roma-Victory Crawford 22-1 Sear 25


RR Anon 265-242 BCE Didrachm Roma-Victory Crawford 22-1 Sear 25


Etruria Populonia AR 5 Asses 3rd C BCE 2.0g Young Hd L V behind HN 173 Vecchi Rasna III 52 Vecchi Etruscan 91.6 ex NAC 29 No 9 RARE


Julius Caesar and P. Sepullius Macer. Ar Denarius Jan. - March 44 BC, 19 mm. 4.1 gm. Obv: CAESAR – DICT PERPETVO Veiled and wreathed head of Caesar r. Rev: P·SEPVLLIVS – MACER Venus standing l., holding Victory and sceptre resting on star. B. Julia 50 and Sepullia 5. C. 39. Sydenham 1074a. Sear Imperators 107e. Crawford, 480/14.


PERSIA Achaemenid Daris I-Xerxes II 485-420 BC AV Daric 14mm 8.3g LydoMilesian Sardes king wearing kidaris kandys quiver spear bow Incuse Carr Type IIIb Group A-B pl XIII 27

 

My Balbinus and Pupienus sestertii...so far









They are sort of a matched set. It would be a shame to have one and not the other.

 

I'm super jealous of that set.