What should one budget for a 12 Caesars set?

I've had idle thoughts of putting together a 12 Caesars set. (This thread may end up talking me out of it, lol.) I'd like to stick to imperial silver, and VF or better. I'm aware that Caligula, Claudius, and a portrait JC will hurt my wallet, and a nice Tiberius would probably put a decent dent in it as well. Any ideas how much it would take to put together a nice set of all 12? I'm not necessarily looking for rare types, but I definitely want nice examples: nice surfaces, well centered, readable legends, good detail on both sides.

 

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Based on your criteria, I would think between $7-8k at minimum. My off the top of the head figures for a VF portrait denarius of each of the Caesars are below. I may be off on some, but I'm sure other members more focused on collecting this set can correct me .

Julius Caesar - $1500
Augustus - $300
Tiberius - $400
Caligula - $2000
Claudius - $1200
Nero - $300
Galba - $350
Otho - $600
Vitellius - $200
Vespasian - $150
Titus - $250
Domitian - $150

You'll probably take some time actually finding the Caligula and Claudius that fits your critieria... they're not exactly common, certainly not the more decent examples.

CNG sale records are a good place to do research on prices :
http://cngcoins.com/Coins_sold.aspx

I never put together an all-silver 12 Caesars, or even set out to do a set, but this one eventually formed for me...

 

You might be able to do it a lot cheaper if you included provincial portraits.

 

I bought a couple of Otho Alexedrian Tets with great portraits for under 300AUD each.

 

@zumbly has a great collection of the 12

Like most of us who wanted at least one portrait each of the 12 Caesars, I have a mixture of silver and bronze, Imperial and provincial--- Not to mention a variety of grades.....my budget settled that issue for me LOL

 

The prices Z presented seem about right. You may pay more or less by a little, but it's fairly close. Mine are not exactly museum quality, but they do the trick for me. I'm too lazy to take a new picture, but I have replaced the fake of Tiburius and am using a different Titus.

 

I also think the prices are close. Perhaps a bit low on the Claudius and Caligula. I would also add that I have found that almost any Galba in VF or better is tough to find and expensive. The Otho will be tough in VF for 600.00, but a lesser example can be had for this price or perhaps just a bit lower. The rest of the prices seem reasonable to me and I am always on the lookout for twelve Caesars coins.

Collecting these is a lot of fun. It is also an important time in history and a formative period for the Roman empire. Here are my 12 in silver. Most but not all in VF.

 

I have a Seutonius Twelve. Ain't the purdiest, and I was not going after them specifically. They kinda fell into place as I was building my Roman Rulers...

I do not feel that I must get a specific denomination to satisfy a set. Rather, I approach from an Historical perspective. I enjoy my coins being worn as proof that they circulated by folks of that time period... I feel that I am actually TOUCHING the history of all those people that used the coins in their everyday lives (as coinage/money is INTENDED to be used.)


You could spend $500,000 or even DOUBLE that for your set. But, you can shop around and get some great deals to what @zumbly , @Bing , and @Orfew , and several others have suggested for pricing. Suggest: Research, shopping, talk to friends, scan CT, etc. Mine came in way lower than $500k...

 

I like all of the sets others have posted. They each have their own charms. I really believe there is no correct way to assemble these coins. Each collector will have his/her own approach and this adds interest and variety to the pursuit. I encourage the OP to follow his own path in building the set. Most of all...have fun!

 

Close, but I think you should budget $10k for the project. BUT, that is to my mind and standards. I have seen many people who showed me coins I would call "VG" that they feel are "VF", so each person will have their own standards. I dont think anyone will go wrong with such a set. Especially, in true good VF, when you sell they will frequently be offered at auction as a set and realize big money.

 

Having a 12 Caesars set in one denomination is pretty impressive -- note Orfew's and Bing's sets -- but don't rule out using other denominations, especially sestertii or asses. Small and large bronzes are a lot of fun just to hold in your hand.

There's a very entertaining article in the April 2004 issue of The Celator magazine about one collector's quest for the 12 Caesars, titled "Twelve Caesars, Nine Years and 856 Dollars" by Robert Boston. It's a fun and interesting read:

https://community.vcoins.com/wp-content/uploads/thecelator/18-4/index.html

 

Certainly, for a collector with modest budget, collecting Roman provincial portraits of the twelve Caesars is an interesting alternative. Some portraits may be of good quality. Often bronze portraits come out better than Roman silver ones.

 

You might also check out these sets that were auctioned on CNG's website:

Denarii: http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=275271

Aurei: http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=27912

Note that the Caligula in the denarii set is known and labeled as a forgery.

 

That silver set is nice for the price, even with the fake Caligula.

 

I agree. You could have purchased this set, replaced the Caligula and maybe the Nero and Vitellius, and still paid well under $10K.

BTW, if you do move forward on pursuing the 12 Caesars, you can always get private advice from the other 12 Caesars collectors here (Bing, Orfew, me, et al.) on any individual coin you may be considering.

 

Absolutely, I would be glad to be of any help I could provide.

 

Haha, yeah... you can spend nearly unlimited money in any aspect of numismatics. I was thinking something a little more... modest. It looks like $8-12k is a good target range for a set in imperial silver, and that seems totally doable, even if it might be a multi-year project.

Of course, the fact that it might be a multi-year project is one thing that attracts me to ancients. For the most part, you can't just be like "I want a nice Caligula. Here is some money, Mr. Dealer," like you can with, say, an 09-SVDB cent.

 

Photographed this at the Met a couple years ago. You could wear the collection.

 

I hope those are replicas! Or are the entire jewelry pieces ancient?

 

I've entertained the idea of putting a set together.
If I do it will be along the same quidelines as Alegandron stated. They would have to come at random & kinda just fall in place. A mixed assortment & collect as I see them. It would take me years to accomplish.
Good luck!!!