Q Antonius Balbus Denarius

I have a non serrated example, and as such, quite rare. I'm waiting for Volodya to sell me his serrated example from his time machine expeditions.

 

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My example, surprised I couldn't find it posted in older threads.


Q. Antonius Balbus (83 - 82 B.C.)
AR Serrate Denarius
O: Laureate head of Jupiter right; S·C behind
R:Victory driving quadrgia right, holding reins, palm frond, and wreath; E below horses.
Rome Mint
3.7g
18mm
Crawford 364/1d; Sydenham 742b; Antonia 1

 

Wonderful posts!!

The OP is just gorgeous and I also agree the slabbed grade may be a bit optimistic but it is still a stunning coin !!

And I'm also beginning to think @Volodya has a time machine....Hmmm, I wonder if that is how AJ gets his coins???

 

Very cool @physics-fan3.14

I don't think you'll really find a focus until after you buy a few different types of coins.

 

I like mine, but you-guys make me jealous...

 

Those are some nice examples, guys! Thanks for showing me.

Comparing my coin to the coin you posted, I think my coin is obviously a higher grade (I don't have that coin in hand to compare, I only have the images). The reverse of mine has nearly zero wear, as opposed to this coin which has widespread flattening of the high points, especially on the reverse. The obverse is a bit trickier, but there is more flattening on the "VF" coin, coupled with a different die and striking characteristics. However, the most obvious difference is the presence of significant luster on my coin - there does not appear to be any on the VF coin. I know that ancients and US coins are graded differently, but the basic science is the same: on a high grade struck coin, there will be luster. As it wears down, the luster is erased. My coin exhibits luster, and is thus deserving of a higher grade. It may be treated differently in the ancient realm, but I can't believe that they are that significantly different.

Thank you!

Just to clarify, because I'm not entirely sure I understand (or maybe you didn't say): based on the pictures you see, what would you grade my coin?

We apparently have different approaches to collecting. You're not wrong, I'm not right - we just like and value different things. My approach to collecting will always be the highest quality I can afford, with the strongest eye appeal I can find. If that means I can only buy one or two coins every few months, I'm ok with that trade-off. Different strokes for different folks.

 

Thanks!

I need to buy a couple of Greeks now, and see where that leads me. I know the Athenian Owl is popular, but I want one (as does everyone else). I'll get a couple of other designs that intrigue me, and see what happens next.

 

@red_spork In a recent thread, I asked about serrates. You mentioned that they weren't "half and half" as I said (I told you: noob alert), but there are some types that have examples of each. Such as this. Is there any reason that this one is not serrated, but most of the others of this type are?

Just trying to learn! Thanks

 

Ancient coin grading to my mind is more akin to the way U.S. coins use to be graded, and still are by people like EACers. AU coins are almost entirely free of wear with 90%+ mint luster. So, most TPG MS63 are really high grade AU. XF coins should show pretty much all detail with just the highest points showing wear, while retaining significant luster. The difference in ancients is there are almost no mint state coins, and everything else of high grade is generally considered xf. Your coin is vf, there is plenty of wear in the hair and checks on the obv, and wear on the horse on the reverse.

Volodya's is xf in my opinion. I would want to see full reins on all the horses for xf as this is the high point on the reverse. If that's worn down it's not xf.

 

I remember reading that and almost posted this coin to give Red a hard time. To my knowledge, the Sporkmiester is absolutely correct. I think my coin was an ancient mint error. There is one of these in the British Museum and I believe at least another one published, but it's definitely not a mixed issue serrate/non serrate.

Here's the BM example.

 

Now with that said, there is one issue that comes to mind that is mixed, and that is the issues of Hosidius Geta. The style of the coins, to my knowledge though I haven't studied it closely, is separated definitively between the serrated and non serrated coins. For example, notice the style of the busts of Diana and the legend placement.

 

Note though that there are a handful of serrate examples known of Crawford 407/2, the top coin in your examples. Here's one from Gemini II:



Almost certainly, this is a mint error, the flip-side of your Q. Antonius Balbus non-serrate piece. Crawford was aware of one such piece, from Leu 2. I briefly commented in the Gemini catalogue: This is a rare serrate variety of Cr-407/2, a few examples of which have appeared in trade. The existence of these "error" coins conclusively rules out Sydenham's suggested attribution of the serrate and non-serrate coins of C. Hosidius Geta to separate mints.

I've always wanted one of these; I was the underbidder in Gemini and on at least one other occasion. Next time...

 

That OP coin ROCKS! Congrats on a great coin with awesome eye appeal!

 

I really like the Hosidius denarius... I only have the non-serrated example...

RR C Hosidius C F Geta 68 BCE Diana bow quiver Boar Hound spear Sear 346 Craw 407-2 Obv-Rev.jpg

I always feel like I need to get out and clean my Ruger Super Redhawk...

 

Kinda interesting, Carthago/Volodya/Gandalf ... nice Hosidius Geta examples



All I know is that I have the serrated version with Geta behind Diana's neck and the version with the big dog, rather than the skinny whippet

... my example also has Diana sporting a fancy banker's mark necklace

 

Sorry for my delayed response. I usually pay more attention to CoinTalk but have been traveling for work recently and have not had a great deal of free time the past few days.

I would not consider this a mixed issue but two separate issues of the same moneyer. To me the differences in style, legend placement and serrations suggest these were two separate issues during the year this guy served as moneyer.

The handful of examples of either coins missing serrations that are usually there or coins with serrations that usually don't have them I think are just examples of mint errors that happened to slip through QC. In each case these were relatively large issues, so I think the existence of these is no big surprise and wouldn't be surprised to see similar examples of other large issues come to market.

 

Sporky: You need to step-up your QC to QA! Control is nice, ASSURANCE is what the market DEMANDS...

 

Actually of the two places I've worked in my professional(I.e. post-degree) career, we have had QA and QE(Quality Engineering) but never QC. Maybe the Romans needed QA