What’s better than a Julius Caesar aureus?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Barry Murphy, Apr 11, 2022.

  1. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I suppose each of the four would be considered the favorite for each viewer and most of the collectors out there would be happy to own any of the four BUT these do a good job illustrating a point I find interesting. I have no idea about the grades assigned to these coins and I have no idea if the reverses might change the 'pecking order' but, IMHO, the best is the last one added because I like the portrait style and it has a clear right legend including DICT compared to its dupe at the left. In most cases, I would have given top rank to the top coin since it is full legend. Am I dreaming or does that top coin show a trace of being overstruck with faint letters at the top left? If so, that one jumps to my #1. Just in case any of you was shopping for my Christmas present :angelic:, I'll as you not get me the bottom coin which I would expect to be less in both strike and surface.

    We may see these coins appear in some slab sale soon. It would be interesting to see how they compare to each other in terms of realizations. I will not be bidding on any of them (shocker!). This is a bit beyond that old saying, "If I had some lettuce, I could have a BLT, if I had some bacon." My situation is more basic: I have no bread. ;)
     
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  3. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Ok Doug. I won't get you that one.
     
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  4. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    Barry,

    I don't envy your job of authenticating ancient coins one bit in this day and age. ;)
     
  5. Gavin Richardson

    Gavin Richardson Well-Known Member

    Now that's more like it.
     
  6. Archeocultura

    Archeocultura Well-Known Member

    East and West coin are die-identical; would have been a relatively small issue.
    Beyond my league, though.

    Frans
     
  7. IdesOfMarch01

    IdesOfMarch01 Well-Known Member

    Using online resources I've attempted to catalog Julius Caesar/Octavian aurei and have found 32 examples in ACSEARCH and other resources. Of the four pictured below, three of them have records from previous auctions but one of them I've been unable to find:

    JC aureus.jpg

    1 - Last auction record CNG 05-21-2003 hammer price $21,000.
    2 - Last auction record CNG 05-18-2016 hammer price $35,000.
    3 - Last auction record CNG 01-16-2013 hammer price $27,000.
    4 - Unable to find any previous auction records.

    I also cannot find any previous auction records for jdmKY's example of this aureus. Adding these two aurei to my records turns up 34 examples of this aureus.
     
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  8. Libby007

    Libby007 Active Member

    Barry, Barry, Barry ... Here you go again causing us members to lavishly smack our lips and lick out chops! All said and done, your post always raises my passion a smidgen or more. Thanks, Fred
     
  9. AncientJoe

    AncientJoe Well-Known Member

    #4 has been off the market but is coming up at NAC and is ex. Munzahandlung Basel sale 6, 1936, lot 1521 (and the plate coin of Calico 52b) and jdmKY's is ex. Garrett.
     
  10. jdmKY

    jdmKY Well-Known Member

    As @AncientJoe has said, mine was ex-Garrett (NFA-Leu, May 17,1984, Lot #679). I bought it from NFA in 1987 for $11,000 + commission. The prior pedigree goes back to about 1915.
     
  11. I don't think I would mistake a JC Gold aureus: I remember the discussion was that it was minted just before the assassination. Would a denarius go for $4g? (Why is "denarius" coming up as 'misspelled')?
     
  12. Romancollector

    Romancollector Well-Known Member

    @Michael W. Bradley Nope! It definitely was a denarius that was featured in that episode. In today’s market, $4000 wouldn’t go very far for a decent portrait denarius. There’s simply no such thing as a lifetime portrait aureus of Julius Caesar. As others have already said in this thread, portrait aurei were minted posthumously by Octavian.
     
  13. Barry Murphy

    Barry Murphy Well-Known Member

  14. Barry Murphy

    Barry Murphy Well-Known Member

    Not all aurei have portraits. 3FF7D9AF-7C92-4478-A527-5F79717826E0.jpeg
     
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  15. IdesOfMarch01

    IdesOfMarch01 Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the additional information. I've added it to my spreadsheet tracking this coin and now have 34 examples of this type.
     
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  16. Barry Murphy

    Barry Murphy Well-Known Member

    FYI,

    Babelon recorded 35 specimens.
    C63A9968-A268-4E23-B7CC-E7FF23AEE663.jpeg
     
  17. IdesOfMarch01

    IdesOfMarch01 Well-Known Member

    I had read somewhere that there were 35 recorded specimens; the 34 that I've found myself all have pictures associated with them. It will be difficult to cross-correlate mine with the Babelon list without accompanying pictures, though, so the one (or possibly more) that I'm missing will remain elusive.
     
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