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 Replies: 21 / Views: 2,230 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
842 Posts |
JW really impressed me with his completion of the 12 Caesar Denarius set, so I decided that I would like to start down that road, too. I have several coins of the 12 Caesars (Augustus and Claudius), but none so far are Denarii. This coin caught my attention and I immediately fell in love with it. The obverse legend is almost entirely ledgible and the reverse is beautiful, IMO. Not only that, but the price tag was also beautiful  $49.95 not including shipping. Still, this is a huge purchase for me as I am still in college and only work about 6 hours a week. It is by far the most I have ever spent on a single coin. I hope you like it as much as I do!  Thanks so much for the motivation, JW! One down, 11 more to go!  Edited by ancientcoinguy
01/10/2012 12:37 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
Thats a really nice reverse. Good find.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2044 Posts |
I agree, that's a nice coin for the grade and a great price. Looks like a Vespasian to me. Although, Titus also says Vespasian on the legends, often enough.
I never spent that much on a coin either. Perhaps one day.
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Pillar of the Community
Bulgaria
843 Posts |
Nice coin.I have 15 caesar denarius but from 6 emperors
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
842 Posts |
These are the sellers specs on the coin. They seem to check out.
VESPASIANVS AV-IMP CAESAR - Bust right
TR P COS V PON MAX - Winged caduceus
Mint: Rome (69-79 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.20g / 19mm / -
Rarity: Scarce
References: C362, RIC 75, RCV 2299, BMC 138
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
ACG: That's a nice Vespasian. I don't have the "winged caduceus" reverse and I too like this coin. I think the amount you spent is on target for this coin. Have you attributed it yet? I won't spoil it for you if you haven't.
I am also sorry I inspired you to this collection. It IS an awesome collection, but many of the coins will set you back a lot more than this coin. Still, it is a worthy strategy, as is attested by the number of collectors attempting to collect all 12. Perhaps you will find a Claudius or Caligula at better prices then I did. One can only hope, right? For me, a subset of this category was to make sure all the denarii are portrait coins, but yours doesn't have to be. Anyway, good luck and keep us updated on your progress.
Regards,
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Nice coin and price for one of the twelve.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
I neglected to mention that the reason so many collectors use this strategy, is because of a book written by Suetonius (under Trajan) called The Lives of the Caesars. These are biographies of the first 12 Caesars and the book is just referred to as The Twelve Caesars. Suetonius's principal contribution in this piece of work was his relatively high degree of objectively. It's a written history as seen through the eyes of someone who was there for at least part of the time and close enough for the rest. (Suetonius was born A.D. 70). I have a copy of this book and I believe it is readily available. I highly recommend it.
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
It's available on Google Books as a free download.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
Thats a good goal, my favorites are Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius and I like most of the later empire coins. I am currently working on zoo animals and chi-rho coins.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Quote:
...because of a book written by Suetonius (under Trajan) called The Lives of the Caesars. I've read that book, specifically on the chapter devoted to Caligula--pretty eye-opening.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
842 Posts |
Quote:
I am also sorry I inspired you to this collection. It IS an awesome collection, but many of the coins will set you back a lot more than this coin. Don't worry. It is money well spent. I am starting to realize that when I started collecting ancients not long ago that I should have saved my money and bought nice examples of a few coins, rather than large amounts of cheaper, lesser grade coins that I had to clean myself. While cleaning coins is fun, it is very tough and I always feel terrible if I happen to damage one. I think I will shift my collecting technique and go after single coins or small lots (2-3 coins) that are high grade. It will be more expensive, but I think it will pay off in the end. However, I will still buy uncleaned lots every once-in-a-while just for fun.  You never know what you may find! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
Nice coin! My first (and only) denarius is a Vespasian as well. Quote:
I think I will shift my collecting technique and go after single coins
or small lots (2-3 coins) that are high grade. I follow this same strategy, and it has worked great for me. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
Just curious: when collecting the Twelve Caesar denarii, do coins of them as Caesar (or struck under another emperor) count, or does it have to be when they are officially emperor?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Quote:
do coins of them as Caesar (or struck under another emperor) count, or does it have to be when they are officially emperor? That was a later practice. In the first century the only person with the title "Caesar" was the emperor himself. Of course, there were the actual family and adopted names such as Nero and Drusus Caesars. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
What about if it was struck under another emperor, like a Domitian struck under Titus for example? Would that coin count towards a Twelve Caesar set?
Edited by VisigothKing
01/11/2012 11:09 am
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Replies: 21 / Views: 2,230 |
Posted 01/10/2012 12:35 pm
