I have a new coin, now waiting for the post How rare is it DIADUMENIAN – SESTERTIUS – ROME – PRINC – RARE – Fine! Diadumenian. As Caesar, AD 217-218. Æ Sestertius (19,03g). Rome mint. 2nd emission of Macrinus, AD 217-218. Bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Diadumenian standing right, holding signum and scepter; two signa to right. RIC IV 211 var. (type of signa); Szaivert 9-10; Banti 4.Fine R2
Cool coin. I would just check the coin when it arrives. I hope that crack does not run due to stress of the mail. I have had a couple of coins with smaller cracks come broken due to getting stressed in the mail.
Very nice looking Sestertius even with the crack. Like Med-man said, however, careful with the coin. I also have had a couple to arrive broken and one which broke when I dropped it on carpet. I have a denarius which could be a companion. It's in really rough shape though: DIADUMENIAN AR Denarius OBVERSE: M OPEL ANT DIADVMENIAN CAES, draped & cuirassed bust right REVERSE: PRINC IVVENTVTIS, Diadumenian standing right, holding standard & baton, two more standards to right Struck at Rome, 218 AD 1.4g, 18mm RIC 102
That's a very sweet coin, ro (congrats) ... it's a nice big fatty @ 19 grams!! (yummy) I only have one Diadumenian example ... Diadumenian, AE19 Antioch, Syria 217-218 AD Diameter: 19.4 mm Weight: 3.2 grams Obv: KAI O DIA ANTWNINOS, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev: Large SC within wreath, star over delta-epsilon above, eagle below
Thanks all, i gona ask the vendor about the cracks This one has cracks to, and is stil not broken hehe
that's a cool coin, ro => I love the gold & brown patina (sweet eye appeal) Yah, although I realize that cracks are imperfections and that they reduce the overall value, man, sometimes they add to the coin's overall fabric and make them look even more sweet!! Hey, that's actually a pretty cool thread-idea, my friend => coins with cracks!! Yah, I can just see Bing & Doug smiling and wanting to post their Julia Domna crack-reverses!!
I doubt the vendor can tell you much. He does not know if the package will be bent in exactly the wrong spot during shipment. Maybe just ask him for extra packaging materials to try to prevent it. The best thing I would say would be to have it shipped in a box, not a letter. Letters get bent for some reason, boxes do not.
A person with a background in physics might understand better than I the conditions that produced some of these things.
I was just browsing the dealer's inventory this morning and noticed that one. Does it also look a bit tooled or is just honest wear, especially around the bust and over Dia's head? I was a step away from buying it myself for that price but the uncertainty about it being tooled or not got the best of me
@Dougsmit, I believe the correlation of cracks with missing metal on the flan is pretty straightforward. When the coin is struck, there is a radiate force on the metal from the centerpoint of the strike outward. We all see the flow lines. However, if there is a gap in the metal, these forces are allowed to spread open the flan instead of radiate outward evenly. This spread puts pressure on the metal in a straight line towards the center of the force. Short of PMD, missing metal on the edge of the flan is the main cause of cracks I ever see. If a coin has a partial crack without a visible gap in the metal, in my experience with a glass you will be able to see the metal flaw in most cases.
I believe he is referring to the pic where it appears there is a trough outlining the head on top. It could just be the lighting, but you would know better with the coin in hand.
