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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 8046520, member: 85693&quot;]Hoo ha!&nbsp; If I&#039;d seen that lot I would&#039;ve tried to out-bid you! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Seriously, I love to buy material like this at prices like you paid.&nbsp; Unattributed, these usually are a lot of fun to figure out.&nbsp; Furthermore, the photos usually make the coins look worse than they are in hand - in the case of this lot, those top two look to be really nice, worth the price of the whole lot.&nbsp; I&#039;ll sometimes buy an entire lot for one nice-looking coin.&nbsp; The other two are probably not so wonderful in terms of condition, but if you are able to attribute them, there is a lot of fun in that process alone, even if the coin isn&#039;t so pretty.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>So yep, I think you got a great deal there.&nbsp; I look forward to seeing attributions and better pics (especially of the top two).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Here are a couple of recent lots, with my effort to &quot;justify the junk&quot;:</p><p><br /></p><p>Since there is not a one of these that is decent, I was hesitant to pull the trigger on this lot - $11.00 ($3.50 shipping).&nbsp; However, I figured that the attribution process would be enjoyable (and in a fun-per-hour sense, a &quot;bargain&quot;).&nbsp; As it turns out, two of them, if ugly, were kind of interesting (attributions below - bottom row last 2):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1392741[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Lucius Verus&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Æ Sestertius</b></p><p><b>(163-164 A.D.)</b></p><p><b>Rome Mint</b></p><p>[L AVREL] VERVS AVG [ARMENIACVS], laureate head right / TR P IIII [IMP II COS II] S-C, Hercules, nude, wearing lion-skin, standing front, holding laurel-branch and club </p><p>RIC 1391 (var. - see notes).</p><p>(22.31 grams / 30 mm)</p><p>eBay Sep. 2021&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lot @ $2.20</p><p><b>Attribution Notes: </b> This example lacks drapery and cuirass; I could find only one auction example:</p><p>Numismatik Lanz München</p><p>Auct. 128; Lot 499; 22.05.2006</p><p>RIC - (vgl. 1391: mit Paludament und Panzer); C. - (vgl. 239); BMC 1107; MIR 77-16/13 (Büstenvariante unbelegt).</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Severus Alexander&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Æ 23</b></p><p><b>(c. 222-235 A.D.)</b></p><p><b>Bithynia, Nicomedia</b></p><p>[Μ ΑΥΡ] ϹƐΥ ΑΛƐΞΑΝΔΡ[ΟϹ ΑΥΓ], radiate, draped and cuir. bust r. / [(ΤΡΙϹ?) ΝƐΩΚΟΡΩΝ] ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔƐΩΝ, Tyche standing facing, looking left, holding rudder and cornucopia</p><p>RPC VI 3363 (temporary).</p><p>(7.90 grams / 23 mm)</p><p>eBay Sep. 2021&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lot @ $2.20</p><p><b>Countermark: </b>Δ in 7 mm circle. Howgego 788 (?). he delta countermark is somewhat common, but I could not find an example on a Nicomedia host. </p><p><b>Host:</b>&nbsp; NIKO... to right of legend rarely used for Nicomedia; RPC VI 3363 was the only one with standing Tyche I found. </p><p><br /></p><p>I had no hesitations buying this lot - $10.49 ($3.50 shipping) - the seller&#039;s photos were a bit dark, and nothing was attributed, so the bidding was tepid - my photos aren&#039;t great either, but that Maurice Tiberius follis from Antioch is a beauty: </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1392740[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>This lot I had to fight for - $26 ($3 shipping) but the Nerva and Hadrian middle bronzes I thought might look better in hand, and well worth the price.&nbsp; The other coin (first in the row) eludes me - I think it might be Antioch or Pontus?&nbsp; The reverse is blank, and the obverse bust is wildly double-struck.&nbsp; The Hadrian in particular looked much better in hand - it has an attractive black-green patina with brassy-bronze highlights.&nbsp; The Nerva is by far the best Nerva in my collection:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1392739[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>For sure this kind of material does not add up to a high-quality collection, but it is a lot of fun for me, and although I don&#039;t look at coins as an investment, I do like to think that I could probably get my money back at some point.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie67" alt=":nailbiting:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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