The cheapest vcoins coin

I bought this Nabatean beauty on vcoins for $2 plus $4 shipping. It arrived today. Have you ever seen a reasonable fixed-price coin on-line cheaper?


Aretas IV, 9 BC - AD 40.
14 mm. 1.67 grams. The denomination is called a "quadrans" in Huth's new book on "Coins of the Caravan Kingdoms."
This one is almost as good as the ones illustrated in books.

 

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If I found it in the sands of the old world it would be a super thrill - not having to go abroad - deal with extremists - or the heat not bad for a few bucks

 

And it's a very respectable example of the type. There are a seemingly endless number of varieties among these minute bronzes of Aretas IV. It would appear that, as long as the coins had a bust and double cornucopias, the engravers were given free reign otherwise...

Line between cornucopias, heth between, o below.



X between. X is the numeral 4 in Nabataean. It is not known whether this number signifies a date, or something else.



Dot / Heth.



Ligature of heth and resh, for Haratat (Aretas).



Flowering pomegranate between cornucopias.



o between.



To name a few. Meshorer and Schmitt-Korte catalog around 50 varieties. These are some of the few I've been able to hunt down.

 

I've never seen anything that inexpensive on vcoins! Occasionally I see some in the $10 range. Definitely worth the price paid.

 

That's an amazingly inexpensive purchase ... congrats!!

Geeesh, my Ritzy-example is not exactly the same coin-type, but it cost me a frivolous $40, delivered!!

NABATAEAN,
ARETAS IV & SHUQAILAT, AE17
9BC – 40 AD
Diameter: 17 mm
Weight: 4.11 grams
Obverse: jugate busts of Aretas IV & Shuqailat
Reverse: Crossed Cornucopias, Petra
Reference: SNG Part 6 #1438



Wow, that's twice in one week that I've been able to air-out my Nabatean sweetie!!

 

It's amazing that a genuine (and perfectly decent) ancient coin from Petra can be bought for that price. How much more would a trashy tourist token cost?

 

Steve's coin comes much later in Aretas IV's output. The OP coin and the six I posted are dated to the early part of his reign. The series began around 9 BC, with the archaic, stylized bust of Obodas II. The letter shin on this coin denotes his powerful vizier, Sylleaus. These types are rare, and difficult to find in this condition. In the two years that I've been collecting Nabataean coins, this is the finest example I've come across...



At the same time, coins were being minted with a different bust altogether. This bust is considered to be an early portrayal of Aretas IV, since it appears on other coins of his after the deaths of Obodas and Sylleaus...



The letters heth and shin are found on these coins, denoting Aretas and Sylleaus. Obodas was an old man at this point and had no heir. Sylleaus had designs on the throne but was not of the royal family. Aretas eventually took power - it is conjectured that he was a nephew of the earlier king Malichus I.

On some of these coins you find the ligature of Sylleaus, shin+lamedh, yodh (Nabataean is read right-to-left.)



I bought the above coin because the off-center strike presented a very clear example of the monogram. Shin in red, lamedh in blue, yodh in yellow...



None of my coins cost as little as $6 dollars, but apart from the coin with the archaic bust of Obodas, all of them were quite inexpensive. A wealth of history, numismatics, and collecting satisfaction does not require a huge outlay of money.

 

I'm sorry to be so verbose, but if you post a Nabataean, you're going to get a lecture, as this is one of my major collecting pursuits.

I'm not on board with calling these coins quadrans. The Nabataean monetary system made one concession to the Romans: Aretas IV minted sela (drachms) that were heavier than denarii but less fine. The idea was to have a substantial bit of specie that Nabataeans would consider valuable, while equalizing it in silver content to the denarius for the sake of trade.

As far as I know, the bronze coinage was used intra-nationally as small change, and bore no relationship to Roman denominations. And, it's unlikely that the Nabataeans called their coins by Roman names. I prefer the generic classification Denomination C for these coins. There are different types in an even smaller denomination, D, coming in around 1 gram.

 

I need a Nabataean!!!! Ahhh!!

 

Nice score Val!

You know you're getting a good deal on a coin, when the cost of shipping is double what you paid for the coin.

 

That is a great deal and nope, never saw a coin that cheap on VC. Probably wont again.

 

Is there a theory on the relationship of C to D or between any other denominations? Were several sizes/denominations issued together or do the sizes represent changes in standards of a single unit? Are the bronzes bronze or do they carry low amounts of silver as did the Roman coins of the 3rd and 4th centuries? Lecture on.

 

The bronze does not carry any silver. I have not completed a metrology of the coins of Aretas IV yet. The different sizes were minted at the same time, and do indeed represent denominations. Some are even marked "whole," "half," and "quarter." It's possible that the X on one of my coins denotes not 4, but 1/4.

I have sketched-out a metrology of the bronzes of Malichus I, which you can find here. This didn't take long, since there are so few recorded pieces. But these denominations, A, B, and C, apply to the coins of this king only. Weights went down during Aretas IV's early reign. Then the coinage was reformed and they went up again, then they continued a diminution through the end of the empire.

So any reasonable metrology has to be specific to a particular period, as with any coinage. The denominations A, B, and C of Malichus I and Obodas II will be different than those of Aretas IV, Malichus II and Rabbel II.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but where DOES one buy ancients for reasonable prices (cheap)?

 

That question depends on a lot of variables. What is cheap to you? It can mean different things to different people. How versed are you in the coins you are interested? If not so much, shop from verified dealers with proven track records in providing genuine coins (Vcoins Shops). Of course, this means you will pay extra for that peace of mind. If you are comfortable, buy on Ebay from sellers with good feedback and offer 100% lifetime guarantees. This will be the cheapest way to go, but the one fraught with the most pitfalls. If you decide to shop Ebay, you can always ask on this forum for opinions before you make your offer to buy. Forum also maintains the Notorious Fake Sellers List, a thread for the ID of intentional fake sellers on Ebay. Also double check the fake databases to give yourself a running chance of picking up something you will cherish.

 

6 bucks? you lucky i didn't see it!

it seems like vcoins prices, for some items, has been competitive with ebay auction prices on similar items lately. at least for the stuff i've been looking at.

it's it a statistical fluke, just me looking at a small number of coins...or has anyone else noticed it as well?

 

It's not just you. I have the impression that a bubble at vcoins has been deflating since January. Quite a few coins that I've looked at for years were significantly reduced, and I've taken advantage of it in the largest spending spree of my collecting career. Many more items have gone on sale than in the past, or at least seemingly so - I have no way to prove it. AND I've stumbled on a number of lovely coins at eBay auction prices.

You can only raise prices on us low-end (<$500 per coin) collectors so much before we simply stop shopping. During the second half of 2014, I found myself passing up a lot of coins because of the prices, and many of my offers were refused. So I transitioned to more research, enjoying what I already had, and vicariously enjoying others CT members' acquisitions.

Bubbles come and go, but I intend to take advantage of this bear market while it lasts.

 

A number of the better eBay sellers also have a vCoins shop which should be cheaper since the eBay fees are considerable. Unfortunately, I have had several problems with vCoins sellers not paying attention to their business. Twice in the last year I bought and paid for a coin but it was not sent because the seller failed to check if he had any sales or just forgot. Three weeks ago I sent a message to a seller I have dealt with before asking if he would take what I considered a reasonable amount less for a group of four very ordinary coins. I still have no reply yes or no. eBay has a 48 hour required reply for Best Offer deals. vCoins has nothing. Easily half of the vCoins dealers and eBay listings are not serious about their business with prices way over anything reasonable for such low end coins. I know one vCoins dealer that says there just is not enough time to keep up removing the coins that sold at a show last weekend and post new purchases. I fail to see how one person can run a private website, a vCoins store, do a show every weekend and list coins on eBay all at the same time using the same stock. Where do they find time to buy coins?

 

I've only dealt with one seller on vcions that's either a flake, or lazy, or who knows what, and it happens to the seller Warren and Steve bought their coins from - I recognize the pics. I had to hound him with emails and phone calls. I'm happy to hear Steve and Warren received their coins. I'm still out $40 but it's long past time I can do anything about it.

 

BTW, the last time I checked, rent at vcoins was around $80 a month, so you would have to sell $800 worth of merchandise per month to equalize with eBay's 10% fees. Selling less than that makes vcoins more expensive than eBay.