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 Replies: 13 / Views: 3,703 |
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
I got this on auction, though I am not sure if it is authentic due to its exceptional condition. Maybe one of you can help with this one. I think if it is real than it was not a buried find, possibly in some container that was buried or something similar.   note: the coin looks better in hand. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Quote:
note: the coin looks better in hand. They almost always do. I have no reason to doubt this coin. Do you have the weight and measurement? It is a nice looking coin. Have you attributed it and if not would you like some assistance? |
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Valued Member
United States
209 Posts |
I am not an expert, but I agree that nothing jumps out at me - other than it being overcleaned in my opinion. I posted about Licinius coins a few weeks ago wondering why his coins seem to be so much nicer than other coins for the price. If I remember right the theory is so many of his coins survived in good shape; they are just common enough to be comparitively cheap. Nice coin, I like it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
I don't think this coin has been over-cleaned. The patina seems intact from the images. The detail is striking on this particular coin. I looked up other examples of this RIC number, and the images posted were no where near as nice or detailed.
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New Member
 United States
6 Posts |
It has the same diameter as a US nickel as for the weight I can't say for sure but it is heavier than a penny.
I have many coins I'd like to have attributed, or graded if that is same thing(I am a bit new only collecting for about 1 year now), unfortunately the closest Numismatics place to me is in Seattle and it's hours are during my work times. So I'd love some help
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
Yep - its real, and as you say in very nice shape.
I suspect it was out of the ground and cleaned a long, long time ago. In truth it was probably over-cleaned (not a huge issue in this case and not the problem it is with modern coins) as it has no patina but has had time to naturally tone and I think it looks good.
Edited by bobbyhelmet
08/27/2012 7:32 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
With Ancients, the grading is much different than with modern coins. Attributing is tying the coin to a particular example. Most people attribute using RIC numbers as a reference. In this case your coin attributes as: Licinius I AE Follis 313 AD, RIC VI Heraclea 73. IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate head right / IOVI CONS-ERVATORI AVGG, Jupiter standing facing, head left, chlamys hanging from left shoulder, holding Victory on globe and sceptre; eagle with a wreath in its beak at foot left. A in right field. Mintmark SMHT. Below is a link to the wildwinds web page with a like coin: http://wildwinds.com/coins/ric/lici...VI_073_2.jpg |
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Valued Member
United States
209 Posts |
On my work computer, not a good monitor for vivid colors I admit, the coloration very closely resembles what happens when I have previously scrubbed too hard or too much and went down too far in the high areas of a coin. I could be wrong, that is just what it looks like too me. God knows I have ruined enough coins to be cautious about cleaning.
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Valued Member
United States
209 Posts |
Not to imply it is ruined, I think it is very nice. Patina doesn't matter as much to me as it does to most collectors, but it matters a heck of a lot to some.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Keeping the patina intact is enormously important. Matthew, if you decide to buy uncleaned coins, try your best not to clean down to bare metal. It can be tempting because some of the encrustations can be so hard to deal with. But for the protection of the coin and it's numismatic value, patina IS very important.
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
thank you jwharper you are a big help. What mint is SMHT I usually use http://www.tesorillo.com/aes/home.htm to I.D. my things but they are only from 317A.D. to 489A.D. and they didn't have this particular coin because it is a few years earlier I guess. Are there any other sites with a similar I.D. technique for earlier coins? I have a few B.C. coins from Greece that I'd like to I.D. |
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
Nothus, patina was something I was unfamiliar with when I started and I way over cleaned many before I realized that, now they are only worth something to me. I mean I actually used electrolysis(shameful) on a bunch, I'll never do that again, now I soak in Olive oil or Distilled water and I only scrub with brass(before I see patina) and nylon(after I get the gunk off) brush. Once I have enough posts to get a gallery you'll see what I mean.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Try looking at wildwinds.com. That is a good starting point. Also some other sites like helvetica is a very useful tool. The SMHT is the mintmark. It stands fir Sacred Money HERACLEA. It might be useful fornyou to get a couple of books on reading Roman coins.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
On line you can look through the following:
1. wildwinds.com
2. acsearch.info
3. dirtyoldcoins.com
4. helvetica's ID help page at catbikes.ch/coinstuff/coins-ric.htm
5. Terms you should know by Doug Smith at forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/glosshead.html
These should get you started. There are a lot more out there that will help you understand and attribute Ancients. One more place that has a ton of information is Forumancientcoins.com. They not only have another discussion board similar to this, but they have many articles to help collectors, especially new collectors.
I hope this helps.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 3,703 |
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Posted 08/27/2012 7:18 pm
