Who are the confirmed bottom feeders here?

Our esteemed fellow collector @Deacon Ray recently made this cool members card for the 'Bottom Feeders Club'.



So in gratitude to Deacon Ray, I'm calling on every member who is a bottom feeder (ie. has some bargain basement coins you love) to share one of them here and claim your membership card.

Here's my entry. Don't get any more budget than this ragged but beautiful Tetricus II. But who said cheap bargains couldn't be beautiful?

 

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Put me down. I won't turn down an Arcadius for a couple bucks.

 

Haha, why not. Haven't been part of a message board clique since I was posting on wrestling forums in the 2000s.

Fun times.

A $20 Clodius, doesn't get much cheaper/bottom fed then that.

Clodius Albinus (193 - 195 A.D.)
AR Denarius
O: D CL SEPT ALBIN CAES, bare head right.
R: PROVID AVG COS, Providentia standing left holding wand over globe and sceptre.
Rome Mint
2.95g
19mm
RIC IV 1(c), BMCRE V 42, Cohen III 55, SRCV II

 

Here's a fairly rare piece of Constantine that came from an uncleaned hoard. 250 coins for $450, so less than $2 a pop - in the same hoard a Valentinian II coin, too.









Not the best coins but pretty interesting. I've been a bottom feeder for the last couple of years but since I've found this forum I've been focusing on single purchases of higher grade coins.

 

One of my best bottom-feeder scores. Unattributed by the seller, I scored this rare King Baduila (penultimate Ostrogothic king who nearly ended the Roman reconquest of Italy in the 540s AD) 2.5 nummus in a three-coin lot. Ended up paying ~$8 for it after dividing the total price.

Baduila, Ostrogothic Kingdom
AE 2.5 nummi
Obv: Pearl-diademed, draped bust of Anastasius right
Rev: Monogram of Baduila
Mint: Ticinum
Date: 541-552 AD
Ref: MIB 87; Kraus 69; Metlich 94





From a previous thread of mine:

"At the time of his ascension to the throne in 541 AD, Totila (whose original name was Baduila) had been the garrison commander of Treviso and had inherited a war-weary kingdom fighting for its life. The Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy had been invaded in 535 AD by Byzantine forces led by the famed general Belisarius, in an attempt to bring Italy back under direct Roman control. In the early years the Byzantines had had much success, mainly the capture of Rome, and the conquest of the Italian capital of Ravenna and the capture of Ostrogothic king Witiges. The Byzantine armies then had the Ostrogoths cornered in the north of Italy.

Marching out of the north with the small Ostrogoth army, Totila came upon a larger Roman force at Faventia and destroyed it, enabling him to move further south. As part of his strategy, Totila skipped over the fortified cities and took control of the countryside, and soon had nearly the whole of the peninsula back in Gothic hands. Totila's successes and the lack of cooperation between the emperor and Belisarius, and among the other Byzantine generals helped to extend the conflict for another decade. He even managed to take Rome twice, the second time holding it for two years from 550-552 AD.

By this point, Justinian had had enough, and sent a great force of 35,000 under the general Narses to Italy. The main Ostrogothic army was soon defeated, and Totila killed. His successor Teia died in battle not long afterwards, and Justinian was left as the new master of the old Roman heartland."

 

Sallent, do I correctly gather from your use of the logo that membership in the AFBFC only requires purposeful purchasing of one or a few inexpensive or low quality coins, regardless of the quality and cost of the rest of one's collection? If so, I'm a member too


EGYPT, Alexandria. Octavian
80 drachmai (diobol); 26 mm, 14.2 gm
First series, struck circa 30-28 BCE
Obv: bare head right
Rev: eagle standing left on thunderbolt; cornucopia to left, Π to right
Ref: Emmett 1; RPC I 5001

I won't bore everyone with several dozen Alexandrian tets of unremarkable quality, but I love 'em all

 

$1.50 for this baby (barbarous copy of posthumous Claudius II). Sign me up!

 

Everyone knows I feed right on the bottom

GALLIENUS
Antoninianus
OBVERSE: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right
REVERSE: DIANAE CONS AVG, antelope walking left
Struck at Rome, Sole Reign, 267-268 AD
2.6g, 19.5mm
RIC 181
Shipping was more than the coin

 

I have no qualms about doing that. I do not believe in buying coins because they are poor but I do believe in overlooking condition issues when a coin has positive factors that outweigh the problems. I have no use for buying coins just because they are mint state but will accept one that is horrid until I can do better, at least. Often, by that time, I realize that no one will want the thing so I end up keeping it.

This Alexandria tet of Volusian had a fight with bronze disease and BD won. It was $10 but still my best/only of his coins from Alexandria. On the good side, there is a nice portrait and clear name. The reverse has a clear date (year 3 but all known Volusian coins of Alexandria are year 3). Emmett 3686 says it is R5. I do not know if it is the one he saw or not. There is an outside chance this is 'best known'??? Otherwise, yuck! If this does turn out to be the best known, does that mean I can't be in the club? I have others.

 

I've got one of those too @Bing - kind of an interesting reverse type. Mine's not as nice as yours though.

 

Well, I supose I fall in this category to some extent.
My lowliest coin I can think of is this $2 Tetricus II coin I bought a couple of years ago. It to had a case of BD but that isn't why it's the bottom feeder coin. I still can't locate a reverse pic but it is a Fides and not a Spec as I posted in a previous thread.

Sign me up @Sallent

 

Bottom Feeder... not completely sure how to interpret the meaning. My approach to collecting is that I love capturing placemarkers in history. There are several areas in Ancient History that I really enjoy, and I spend my time and some money capturing coins (and sometimes Artifacts), that represent those cool critical junctures. However, some areas of History I really enjoy much more than others. And some areas of Coin Collecting that are very difficult to capture below some Dollar/Pound/Euro/Yuan/ Etc. amount. Barrier of entry for many cool areas are not the same as the more common areas of collecting. HOWEVER, due to some of those high barriers of entry for those collecting areas I enjoy, I may be considered a Bottom Feeder because I am not spending "Moon Money" to capture them, but enough that I can enter that area of cool History Collecting...

I have many of the Roman Rulers (I believe approaching 150+ now), that I collect for my Grandkids. They are in chronological Albums so that we can march through History and talk about this great, and-not-so-great, Human Timeline. Cool. It is really not an area of strong interest for me, as my collecting passions are elsewhere. MANY of those Rulers were purchased under USD $10, $20, many under $50, then to $100, $500, and $1,000, (and, yes, I have paid much higher), pricing levels. However, at several of those $Levels, I could had been considered a "Bottom Feeder" as that would have probably been the ENTRY point to capture that coin. I also try to capture reasonably recognizable coins for the "Bottom Feeder" Landed Cost, just because I want to ensure it truly represents that piece of History I want to hold. I do not have "rules or restrictions" that my coins need be F, XF, etc. for collecting.

Here is a SILIQUA, and Bargain Emperor of Arcadius that I absconded from @John Anthony / @dougsmit for an incredible deal (for me), at $25USD. I love it because I hold an unusual denomination, and have a wonderful Historical Placemarker in my Roman Ruler collection for my Grandkids to enjoy!

Arcadius, AD 395-408
AR Siliqua, 16mm, 1.1g, 12h.
Obv.: DN ARCADI-VS PF AVG; Pearl diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
Rev.: VIRTVS RO-MANORVM; Roma seated left on cuirass, holding Victory on globe and reversed spear. Mint mart unclear to me - you figure it out.
From the Doug Smith Collection, #2829

Selfishly, I captured another Roman Ruler that may be considered a Bottom Feeder for this issue as it is scratched up, and not the premium grade. However, from some of my research, this issue was minted in the last two-weeks of his Dictatorship prior to his Assassination... It has some scratches (I like to think from Brutus sympathizers), slightly off-center, etc. It may not be the "right coin" for the serious collector. I was a "bottom feeder" for this one, but, man, I really am a holder and steward of some really cool history!


Roman Imperatorial
Julius Caesar Lifetime
P Sepullius Macer
AR Denarius, minted 1st 2 weeks-Mar 44 BCE 4.03g.
Obv: CAESAR – DICT PERPETVO Veiled (Pontifex Maximus)
Rev: Venus Victory sceptre star at base
Sydenham 1074a; Sear Imperators 107e; Crawford 480/14 Rare

My real passions for collecting are for Roman Republic coinage, PRE-Denarii Roman coinage, Italia coinage, Etruria, Carthage, and other cool areas (yeah Quinarii, Capua, Mercenary War, Punic War issues, Marsic Confederation, etc. etc. are so cool). In most cases, I like B.C.E. dated coinage. Unfortunately, their nature makes their Landed Costs more than "bottom feeder" status. However, to HOLD some of this cool history, I may spend at "bottom feeder" status to capture these coins!

 

As far as I see it, if you bottom fed once, that's good enough. Some people have never once bottom fed.

But you know, bottom feeding doesn't just have to be well worn coins or coins with issues....I say getting two XF ants for $35 each (including shipping) is definitely bottom feeding at its best. I see these coins on sale on Vcoins all the time for $75 to $100 a piece, and at an auction you'll have to bid $50 for these (not including bidders fees and shipping). Paying less than 50% of retail is good bottom feeding behavior.

 

Two XF GIII ants for $35 is an excellent catch!

 

And bottom feeding

 

When it was mine, the Arcadius had extra interest to me for the 33 inked in the reverse field. I assume it was part of a recorded hoard or old collection when writing on coins was acceptable. I got the coin as part of a package from VCoins dealer Connie Robertson (Connie's Coins) when she lived near me and before she developed such an interest in World Coins over ancients (she has both now but does not usually have such junky coins anymore). I was hoping the mintmark was MDPS but never could convince myself.

 

Where can I get these humble, beautiful inexpensive coins?


Thanks,
Jacob

 

There are several places to look, but a couple for starters check these out.
Nathan at Holding History (HHC) he's a CT member and can also be found on ebay. He has some nice and not so nice coins and is open to offers, usually.
Others can be found on FORVM members auctions. Like with anything have patience it usually pays off.

 

The best place to get them is face to face with other collectors who live near you or from small time dealers like our own John Anthony at the show he posted doing yesterday. One reason for this is the cost of postage. Many sellers (rightly!) expect to be compensated for their packaging and travel to the post office and postage is not cheap in itself. One way to avoid this is to buy small lots of coins together since you can put several late Roman tiny coins in an envelope together and not increase the postage over the cost of one. I recently sent John Anthony 74 coins on consignment. The nice ones sold without trouble. After lesser ones failed to sell on their own we tried grouping them together and, I am told, people complained they did not want all the coins in the lot so they did not bid. We ended up giving some of the untouchables to YN's and one got repatriated into my collection where it will remain now. One reason I like coin shows is that there are sometimes small dealers or even collectors buying tables whose main interest is moving along things they simply do not want. Dealers, large and small, generally have a minimum charge for handling the sale of a coin on consignment. If that number is $5, it might allow selling coins worth $10 but not so much those worth $5. $50 is a more common number for medium dealers and I know several dealers who simply do not bother with coins under $200 or more. When we consider they pay $200 to $2000 for tables at a show but 95% of the people attending only collect US, it is not hard to understand why so few have $2 junk boxes. Coin clubs with other people interested in ancients or coins shows are the best answer if and only if there are other bottom feeders in attendance.

Does anyone know a dealer that welcomes business from new collectors who want to buy low end, unidentified but identifiable, cleaned coins grabbed at random from a larger group that really are not worth writing up, not worth being photographed, offered with minimal service and without return privileges? "Here is my $100, send me ten/twenty coins I might like." Would anyone buy them? Years ago dealers often sent out approvals. Thirty years ago a dealer sent me 194 denarii on approval after calling my home and talking to my teen daughter who thought they meant coins made in 194 AD (my specialty from the Emesa mint). They were dates all over the place. I bought two but the return postage today would cost as much as the coins. It was close then. Does anyone still do this sort of thing? I doubt it.

 

I love me some cheap coins!
Here's a Prutah from the second year of The Jewish Revolt. 5 bucks. (Seller's pics )