Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2904186, member: 19463&quot;]Sorry I missed this thread while it was fresh.&nbsp; I see several levels of lovable, damaged coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>First are coins we collect because they are cheap compared to the better ones.&nbsp; We would rather have a nice one but some of us are on a bit more of a budget than others.&nbsp; This class is exemplified by Bing&#039;s hippo.&nbsp; Someone just bought the X6 specimen of this coin but they paid more than some of us (I, anyway) were comfortable paying.&nbsp; I&#039;m not always proud of these coins in my collection but I love them anyway.&nbsp; From my collection, this class is represented by this ugly fourree denarius with Caesar and Octavian facing each other and reverse inscribed M AGRIPPA COS / DESIG.&nbsp; Triton XIX sold a nice one for only $25000 + fees.&nbsp; I did not bid. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]700133[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Second are rare coins that do exist better but come up rarely so we may not find one for a while.&nbsp; My Divus Caracalla sestertius below with four tiered pyre was the only one I saw for two decades.&nbsp; A better one showed up in a fixed price sale a couple years ago but I decided I did not need to specialize in them so I did not go for it.&nbsp;&nbsp; I guess that turned this #2 into just another #1.&nbsp; Bronze disease survivors need love, too. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]700114[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Third are coins that survived antiquity in very small numbers.&nbsp; When that number is one, we call the coin unique.&nbsp; Some unique coins are mint state; some are not.&nbsp; All the money in the world will not buy a better specimen that does not exist.&nbsp; The problem with &#039;unique&#039; coins is that another might turn up making the first one &#039;best&#039; or &#039;worst&#039; of two.&nbsp; If yours is still best, no problem.&nbsp; If the other is better, yours becomes a class 2 above.&nbsp;&nbsp; My example here is an Alexandria mint denarius of Septimius Severus with INVICTO IMP trophy of arms reverse.&nbsp; These are common from the Syrian mint known as &#039;Emesa&#039; but otherwise not seen for Alexandria.&nbsp; I would love for another one to turn up but meanwhile am happy to have this one. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]700129[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Fourth are coins that actually benefit from their fault and have added interest because of, not in spite of, the problem.&nbsp; There is always room for opinion on what faults fall into this category but I&#039;ll show a Stratonicaea AE31 of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna that once had a countermark between their busts.&nbsp; Exactly how and why it was removed is not fully clear but the coin, like most <i>Damnatio Memoriae</i> coins, gained some interest when it departed.&nbsp; I do have a matching coin with the c/m in place but I like this one better. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]700147[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>That is four types.&nbsp; Are there more?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in