Gold Ancients

Ahh I was half expecting you to post some relics Sap, I wouldnt expect any ancient to be found for anything close to bullion value anymore than I would expect silver ancients to sell for melt prices. Anything worth having costs money...its how you make priorities that matters, I paid £500 for a pair of sunglasses when I was 21, I figured I would never need to buy another pair of sunglasses for the rest of my life. I was earning £1200 a month at the time so maybe people think that this crazy but I still have them and have only left them on a restaurant table one time and I am sure I will never buy another pair for the rest of my life.

Steve your coins are nice even though they weren't what I wanted to see.

I have a few gold coins despite having to sell some to get out of difficulty a few years back. I remember when I was 14 I saw a set of soveriegns in "coin monthly" they had tudor roses on the back and there was a four coin set... I always wanted though but at the time I couldnt buy them...and they are not cheap now, worth considerably more than their bullion I believe.

This one I bought about 8 years ago...



I also have a small 1/10 Brittania, 4-5 full soverigns and 2-3 half soveriegns (Bullion coins in mint packaging, I bought the full and half when they released the anniversary shield back one about ten years ago as I didn't want to miss out like I did with those first tudor rose coins)

I also have 1/4 Krugarand cufflinks which I bought for melt when gold was really low, the coins are held in sturdy mounts which do a good job of protecting the coins since they have high bezels around them, I really like those.

At this time I wouldn't even consider buying gold coins, they simply don't offer enough bang for the buck. It would be different if I had an extensive collection where there was nothing left that was really interesting me but I have the whole field of ancients left to discover still...

If I did have one though I would post it here and tell the story how I came to own it...

Here is RIC Volume I, Augustus 206b, 7.8 gm:




I bought this about twenty five years ago for $1000. I wanted it to cap off a nice set of Denarii of this Augustus PRINCIPI IVENTVTIS series, which are fairly common. As you can see, it is not an exceptional coin at all - it grades probably no better than very good (I am not very adept at assessing Roman Imperial coin condition) but it is quite rare and Julio-Claudian Aurei have always been expensive -- I was offered the same coin in very fine condition for $8000 -- too much for me. Note the Bankers test mark under the chin of Augustus.

James

Mine is not in the same league Doug as the following two...

The first is low grade but not unattractive, the basic elements of the coin survive, it is round and it iss nicely central. I agree with your theory about melt price, not that I know but common sense dictates that your view should be a natural pressumtion.

Jamesicus, your coin looks considerably lower gold content (it is the colour of 9 or 14ct if the photo doesn't distort it) but it looks a good coin to treasure as part of your collection :) the $1000 probably hurt back then but I am bet you are glad you have it now that prices are so much higher.





This is on Vcoins for $1300, it sounds less in £ :) but it is a Theodosius II





This one is a Constans II, with Constantine IV, Heraclius, and Tiberius. 641-668. Gold Solidus for $635.

Really for what these are I can't say that it is an extortionate amount of money but in this time of frugality who has it to throw around? Despite gold being high I can't think they would be such a bad investment except that coins are rarely an investment to me as I would never buy anything with the intention of selling them again.

That is a great coin, when was it bought and how much did you pay for it? Tell us the story of the other coins, did you reduce the number that you own because you think the money is better spent on non-gold or because of the financial climate?

This thread is not so much to gloat about money (really sometimes in my life I had some and other times I had nothing) but I am interested in how people feel about making these big purchases and whether long term they felt they did the right thing, more so if they had to make sacrifices to afford the piece. There is a battle between the head and the heart maybe, or maybe no battle at all if people look on these coins as investment. Also I understand sometimes things have to be sold, some people are good with that and others like me always regret if they have to part with something they liked.

To make a long story short; since 2004 I was looking to add a gold Aureus of Antoninus Pius to my collection. I already owned a number of denarius and other bronzes, but I did not own an Aureus. After about 5 years of searching auctions and websites such as Vcoins, I came across this coin. At the time I was doing well financially an I had been saving up enough money to buy one. Almost every Pius Aureus was well over $5,000.00 and one day in 2009 I found this one for $3,800.00. It is the crown jewel of my collection and nothing I own compares to it.

Unfortunately, since my divorce this year, I was forced to sell a number of coins. Some of these included three Byzantine Solidus, a badly worn Tiberius Aureus that was purchased for about fifty dollars over spot. (I gave it to my brother as a birthday gift), one Honorus Solidus, and a really nice Septimius Severus Aureus (this one alone was worth far more than my Pius Aureus, but I wasn't really attached to it anyway so I have no regrets. In addition to the Pius Aureus, I kept a Valens Solidus that was holed, and a Justinian Solidus since it was the first gold ancient coin I ever purchased and it is very common.

I don't think I will ever purchase another Aureus or Roman Solidus, these are now far outside of my budget. I may in the future get another Byzantine Solidus. I am glad I was able to purchase the Pius Aureus when I did. I always felt if I keep putting off purchasing the Aureus, it might someday be way out of my budget.

Theodosius II and Valentinian III gold coins can be had for relatively reasonable prices.

Here are a couple of mine. These are incredible coins - I can't imagine how they still exist after 2,200 years, considering their weight of nearly an ounce of gold. I've been primarily a collector of US coins but upon learning about these pieces, I couldn't resist.

The diameter of each is a little over 27mm, about the size of a US $10 Indian.

246-211BC - Ptolematic Posthumous issue of Ptolemy IV from the Alexandria mint. 27.71g



253-246 BC - Arisone II, Wife of Ptolemy II Philadelphos (struck under Ptolemy II). 27.74g



Here's another aureus which is interesting as the obverse is concave - they flipped the die over accidentally:



This is smaller (a Roman Aureus) but still incredible as when you hold it on an angle, you can literally see Antoninus' face looking at you.



I like Antoninus Pius and have a second aureus from him as well, with a "fine style":



Those are all that I have images for at the moment, but I hope you enjoy them :)

*jaw hits floor...I guess anyone who has to ask the price can't afford those.

Words aren't enough, they really are things of beauty...they have it all, age, condition, design and large gold content. No explaination is required to see how they seduced you.