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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1041970, member: 19463&quot;]I find this most interesting and a common opinion.&nbsp; Te &#039;sand&#039; patina is something people seem to love or to hate.&nbsp; I know some otherwise reasonable folks that simply refuse to have any coins like this while others of us like the contrast.&nbsp; Maybe that is why they have a million of these things for sale.&nbsp; I mentioned that the two coins cost within 50 cents of each other.&nbsp; I&#039;ll now add a third coin but this one cost $2 more than the others (up to $19.58 postpaid on eBay).&nbsp; This one is large like the Gallus above and also has the more scarce seated horsemen but is rated common by RIC.&nbsp; It has the more common ruler Constantius II but is from the Lugdunum mint (Lyons) which is a mite more popular.&nbsp; The coin is in pretty good condition but has been fully stripped of any patina and retoned to look like a 70 year old penny rather than a 1700 year old ancient.&nbsp; All ancients have been cleaned to some degree and this one has not been raped in the process but I&#039;d have to know what it looked like before to say what I wish had been done.&nbsp; The style is very nice with higher relief and what appears to be a displaced belt with possible stirrups on the rear of the horse.&nbsp; I love coins that show stirrups but that is another post altogether.&nbsp; Behind the horse is what some people call a palm but I believe was intended to be the horse&#039;s tail.&nbsp; I have never seen a cap on a horseman quite that hooked but Lugdunum had a distinctive style and that might be why some collectors prefer its coins.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I apologize for making the same point over and over but beginners need not rush out and buy just any old coin.&nbsp; These three falling horsemen all sold this month on eBay for within $2 of each other.&nbsp; They were not the only choices.&nbsp; You can pick and choose what you want.&nbsp; Of the three, I like this last one best despite the excessive cleaning.&nbsp; You can differ.&nbsp; What you can&#039;t have is these three coins.&nbsp; No problem, I&#039;ll bet the next few weeks will bring to market a dozen more including a few as nice or nicer than these.&nbsp; That is the beauty of collecting &#039;common&#039; ancients.&nbsp; Of course there will be more 1909S VDB cents sold next month than all falling horsemen versions (but none for $20) so &#039;common&#039; is a relative term.&nbsp; Enjoy the hobby.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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