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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 3204068, member: 56859&quot;]...you think it has sold and feel very sad that you didn&#039;t buy it, only to find that it hadn&#039;t really sold.&nbsp; Sweet relief!&nbsp; Second chances!</p><p><br /></p><p>Such was the case with this eBay purchase, a delightful denarius of Julia Domna showing Venus in the classical &quot;from behind&quot; pose with graceful garment draped beguilingly low.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]829904[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Julia Domna</b></p><p>Augusta, CE 193-217</p><p>AR denarius, 17 x 19 mm, 2.72 gm</p><p>Rome mint; struck under Septimius Severus, circa AD 193-196</p><p>Obv:&nbsp; IVLIA DOMNA AVG; draped bust right</p><p>Rev:&nbsp; VENERI VICTR; Venus standing right, back facing, leaning upon column to left, holding palm frond and apple</p><p>Ref:&nbsp; RIC IV 536 (Septimius Severus); RSC 194</p><p>Formerly slabbed; NGC net grade XF</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve wanted one of these Venus-from-behind denarii for a while and preferred to have one of Julia Domna.&nbsp; I never saw a Domna/Venus that appealed to me as much as this one.&nbsp; Yes, the flan is ragged.&nbsp; Yes, the legends are indistinct.&nbsp; But... the youthful and sweet portrait!&nbsp; The perfectly proportioned Venus!&nbsp; It&#039;s so hard to find one which is pleasing on both sides.</p><p><br /></p><p>I dithered about making an offer-- the price was higher than I wanted to go but there was no &quot;make an offer&quot; button.&nbsp; I looked at <b>every</b> example of this coin in ACsearch and in current for-sale venues.&nbsp; Twice.&nbsp; I found none I liked better.&nbsp; Yes, some were higher grade or had full legends but I find the style of both sides of this coin superior.&nbsp; I&#039;m surprised it didn&#039;t get a &quot;fine style&quot; nod from NGC.&nbsp; Perhaps remarks on style aren&#039;t given in this &quot;economy&quot; grading tier.</p><p><br /></p><p>After confirming that I liked this coin better than any I&#039;ve seen, I went back to eBay but couldn&#039;t find the coin.&nbsp; I thought it had sold.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie3" alt=":(" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; I was truly sad and regretted not acting on it sooner.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was still there, of course... I had somehow overlooked it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Yet I still dithered.&nbsp; I hate dickering but felt the asking price of $250 was too high.</p><p><br /></p><p>The listing ended without an offer and it was relisted, as expected.&nbsp; Soon after I wrote the seller and made a reasonable and perhaps generous offer of $200.&nbsp; He took it without further discussion.&nbsp; Perhaps I should have made a lower offer.&nbsp; Regardless, I&#039;m very pleased to have the coin and it arrived today <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p>Truly-- you may not think much of the coin due to the irregular flan and indistinct and partly off flan legends but I challenge you to find one of better style.</p><p><br /></p><p>...</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;d like to hear your stories of coins that spoke to you, whether inexpensive or once-in-a-lifetime purchases.&nbsp; How do <i>you</i> know when you should go for a coin?&nbsp; Or, how do you know when you should back off a coin?&nbsp; I&#039;m as interested in learning why people like what they like as I am in the coins themselves.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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