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 Replies: 23 / Views: 3,259 |
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Valued Member
 United States
206 Posts |
Thanks for the great info, everyone, especially yours, FVRIVS RVFVS. If you happen to have a picture of your Philip III, I'd love to see it so that I'd have a basis for comparison. I assume that with ancient coins, dies and strikes weren't nearly as consistent as with modern coinage. Thus two coins of the same type (e.g. two Philip III drachm) might exhibit a fair amount of variation. Is this correct?
Thanks again!
-Chris
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
Not the prettiest Philip III but it is the only one I have ever purchased ! Some light surface cracks detract slightly from the grade. As stated previously I paid $75 in 1979 but this was from a dealer who was liquidating his inventory. I offered $75 and he 'groaned' before accepting my offer. It can be difficult to gauge prices on time elapsed. Many a nice AE As of Emperor Claudius sold for $75-100 back then. They sell for only slightly more today on ebay ! Philip III Arrhidaeus AR Drachm Obv. Head of Herakles right Rv. Zeus enthroned left, 'S' before, 'A' with crescent above below throne Muller 79 3.98 grams 17-8mm   |
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
Hey, it looks better than any of us will look after two millennia!
Thanks for taking the time to post those pics, RVFVS. Yours, like many similar ancients I've seen online, seems to exhibit a more muted luster than what I remember seeing on the one I'm considering. Maybe it's just the way they are photographed, so I'm not sure whether or not this is cause for concern. I understand pretty much every ancient coin has probably been cleaned at some point, so is it reasonable to expect some degree of shine?
Thanks again,
-Chris
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
Honestly I have been shying away from ancient silver since the late 80's. I reached the point where I grew weary of much the same sentiment you are expressing. Many beautiful ancient silver coins (esp gold) have a brightness and lustre that makes one wonder if it really is what it purports to be ! This is of course explainable in that most silver and gold did not get carried about but being worth a great deal in ancient times would have been socked away or buried safely where the tax man would never find it. If the owner met a sudden end or fled in haste before the barbarian hordes outside the gates the treasure might have sat undisturbed for 2,000 years. Modern chemical cleaning techniques may return the coins to a 'mint like' state. Either way I long ago decided I preferred the patinated "venerable" look of ancient bronze. Besides bronze was the coin of everyday use and finding the gems amongst the junk was always a thrill.
I would not be surprised if your coin were of the 'bright' variety. This is apparently favored by many high end collectors. Being slabbed it was no doubt intended to be marketed to someone with a fat wallet. I regularly see $100 coins slabbed and priced at $500. Being of modest means I have but a few of the more dingy unslabbed type.
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
Well, I pulled the trigger. I had a heckuva time getting even these halfway decent images. The slab is really causing me problems; usually I can take a decent picture of an exposed coin. I think eventually it'll have to come out. Anyway, comments are welcome, good news or bad. Thanks, -Chris   |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
At first glance it looks a very nice coin, but difficult to tell really in the slab. Does it have a weight marked on it? I think a match for your coin is here http://wildwinds.com/coins/greece/m...p_III/t.htmlSee Price P46, P46.1 and P46.2. Macedon, Kings of. Philip III. 323-317 BC. AR Drachm (4.19 gm). Head of Herakles wearing lion's skin headdress / Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and sceptre; monogram in left field. Price P46; Müller 135. VF. 716078 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
A very nice coin and certainly an interesting choice for your first ancient. I think you did rather well from the ones I see offered for sale. Photographing slabbed coins is definitely a pain in the lower extremities. I use my digital SLR with a polarizing filter to cut down on glare but it still shows.
Nevertheless I would wait to free the coin. Being new to ancients you might carry it to a large show sometime and see something that 'floats your boat' and use it in trade. A dealer may be more agreeable to an offer with the coin as is. Either way now that you have taken the plunge you will probably want to keep an eye out for other coins to keep it from getting lonely. Philip II can be quite pricey in silver but Alexander III is plentiful both in lifetime issues and drachms minted after his death but still carrying his name. And of course you have the army of 'generallissimo's' who divided up Alexanders empire and 'ruled the world' for most of the next 3 centuries.
This could keep you very busy for quite some time !
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
pishpash: Thanks for the wildwinds refernces. I looked on that site and found plenty of Philip drachm, but not those, so it is nice to have an exact match. There is no weight marked on the slab, but I'm going to weigh it on our microbalance (one job perq!) at work after I free it. The slab does, however, mention the Colophon mint, just as P46 and P46.2 do. Incidentally, how is the mint identified? Is it the pi-alpha monogram on the left side of the reverse? That is the only thing that seems to vary on these coins.
RVFVS: Thanks for the advice, but the slab is pretty scratched and ugly, so I'd like to get it into a nicer hard 2x2. Additionally, I'd like to get a weight on the coin as well as some nicer pictures so that I can share them here. I rarely trade a coin I've spent this much on and I don't have much time to get to shows, which are rarer in my neck of the woods (which is why I like my LCS: he keeps an eye for things I'm searching for). I had never had the opportunity to purchase an ancient before, and the weight of history manifest in this specimen just spoke to me: I'm sure I'll have it for a long time (and possible a few more now)!
Thanks again, guys! I'll be back with more info soon.
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
Better Pics!   Still not a great photographer like many others around here, but I think this gives a pretty good idea of what it looks like in hand. Hope to be back tomorrow with a weight. Diameter is right around 18mm (it fits nicely in Guardhouse dime 2x2 with just a bit of daylight around the edges in some places). |
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
OK, one more newbie (to ancients) question. I notice my coin matches the three wildwinds coins (P46, P46.1, P46.2) in its general design but it is not identical. The biggest difference I see is that on my coin, the tip of the eagle's tail is in line with and nearly touches the top left corner of the monogram whereas none of the other coins look like this. Is this simply due to a wide variety of dies being in use at the same mint?
Thanks for the information!
-Chris
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
Pics are much nicer. I would suspect that slight variations might just be different dies? I can see why you were so set on getting this coin! I assume you have checked the edge and everything is ok.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
It is a great little drachm. Very nice quality and interesting style on the Zeus reverse.
There will always be some variations in the coins unless you find an actual die match. Wildwinds has a nice selection of variations but it is a work in progress and you will not see every variation.
A great start to your new collection.
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
I was pretty set on it! I've missed out on several nice coins at this shop because I wanted to think about it. Turns out that this time I just beat out another buyer who was also looking.
The weight is 4.26 grams which seems to be in line with the info I've seen (although there seems to be quite a bit of variation). As far as the edge goes it is smooth and rounded. I assume I should be looking for evidence of a casting like a seam?
Back to my US type set for now, but I'll still keep an eye out for an Alexander as was suggested (it would make a nice companion piece) especially if they are less expensive!
Thanks for spending some time with me here!
-Chris
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Nice coin with excellent details.
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
Thanks! I'm really happy with it. As I hold it in my hand, I still can't quite fathom that it was minted before the time of Christ!
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Replies: 23 / Views: 3,259 |
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First Page
Posted 04/13/2014 7:26 pm
