I really like this set. Great portraits all around with great variety. However, even with the gold, that Claudius Sestertious sitting front and center in that box might be the most attractive of the 12 in my opinion.
That does seem to consistently be the crowd pleaser, though the two gold coins were of course much more expensive. The Titus aureus, struck for the opening of the Colosseum in 80 AD, is the most valuable in the set, and, up until last summer, was my second most valuable coin. I imagine it's still in my top five. Despite the modest grade, it's kinda hard to beat a Roman gold aureus with an elephant on it, tied to such a historic event. I made the obverse pic of the Claudius sestertius into a custom mouse pad, since I needed a new one for my desk. Oh- it's also the only star ★ rated NGC coin I own. Usually the NGC "stars" are seen on AU and MS coins. It's kind of unusual (for me, at least) to see one on a VF coin.
Fantastic collection. I'm more curious as to how long you will be keeping it, since you tend to flip your completed sets rather quickly.
That was back when I was broke, dude. I had to sell stuff in order to buy more stuff! Finished up one challenge, then it was on to the next thing. That's been less of a thing over the last three years.
What a great set and as @Evan8 said, great variety! The Claudius is a real show stopper. I thought I had a show stopper once but it turned out to be a Paduan. It could have gone back but I reached a compromise over the price. Great case too , the presentation is handsome.
The OCD in me wants to know how you decided who got placed in the upper deck and who was relegated to the lower one?
Rob, as you're aware, I don't know diddly about ancients, Romans, or Emperors. However, I do recognize quality, condition and presentation. Your 12 Caesars, from the untrained eye, look beautiful. I've seen ancients that I can barely discern they're even coins. Every one of your 12 dudes are fantastic. The presentation case lends so much class to the collection. It elevates it to another level. VERY nicely done. Did you custom design the case? I ask because all of your slabs are obviously NGC. If you had a mix of differing slabs I'd think the inserts would need to be tailored to those shapes. Very impressive 12 Caesars. Thanks for sharing it with us.
That's a fantastic set. I really like the reverse on that Vespasian (and the Domitian). Any other sets you might pursue now or will you focus on individual coins?
Simple. The upper tier is coins 1-6, in chronological order. The lower tier is 7-12. The box is a standard Lighthouse brand 12-slab case, which is designed to fit any of the popular slab types (PCGS, NGC, etc.) This 12-slot case worked out perfectly for a Twelve Caesars collection. Had there been thirteen Caesars, or seven, or whatever, I would not have had such an ideal off-the-shelf option. I then customized the box with the addition of that brass nameplate, which cost five bucks plus shipping on Amazon. All very easy. Thanks. This is really a subset of my Ancient & Medieval collection, though it got its own box and online gallery. My other Romans (the non-12 Caesars material) are kept with the rest of the ancients. Here are the rest of my collections, which are constantly evolving.