In over 50 years of collecting I never had great enthusiasm for slabbing
In fact I often referred to it as 'entombing' !
But as circumstances change . so do opinions
Now as I contemplate my own mortality I hesitate to simply sell off my favorite collectibles
But will my "heirs" have the patience required to ?
This combined with the fact that the fraudsters are getting quite good in the arts of deception
Only recently did I realize that a beautiful "Livia" As I had long cherished was in fact a fake !
While searching on acsearch I spotted my coin
But how can that be ? I purchased it 40 years ago !
But there it was !
Well as I had another Livia (much nicer I might add !) I made up a group of favorites and coughed up the money to get them "entombed" !
Overall I guess I am satisfied although the results were at best "mixed"
One Caligula provincial AE came back with a note that said "altered" which surprised me as the coin was 'semi' cleaned by me
with a months long bath in distilled water !
If it was altered -and I'm quite certain it was not the alteration was done 2,000 years ago !
Another coin I sent was an Octavian AE
The online sources variously attribute it to Narbo or Vienne
Both situated in Gaul with dates of either 40 or 38 BC


NGC chooses to credit it to "Gaul ?"
The VG grade I find a bit insulting but the attribution as Augustus 27 BC - AD 14 is plain ignorant
The coin is Octavian not Augustus !
I might have just left this topic alone but yesterday I spotted a Nero As which fetched what I feel is an obscene dollar amount
Don't get me wrong
The coin is not without appeal but .
Well I encourage others to comment

The portrait is not without merits
But it has a certain 'cast like' appearance
I'm certain it is genuine !
But I'm not wild about the surface
I think it has a "river" patina
And the reverse ?
Well to me it looks like it was run over by an eighteen wheeler
What does NGC say ?
Seeing is believing

Choice XF !
Something ist rotten in the kingdom of Denmark !