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 Replies: 11 / Views: 988 |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
Okay, so maybe I lied a bit. Its really nice in hand but you have to turn it over to see very much. This looks very early - I dont htink an experienced celator did this. EWhat I mean is that its a nice carausius design. Heres the picture, I doubt ill get more detail out of it but its staying in the oil. Any ideasas to what it is? With it in hand I have a much better view of it and I've found nothing that matches it - perhaps SALVS AVG and the dotted thing is a cornucopia etched at the wrong angle. I think it miiiight be ADVENTVS which would be great. The legend is very long though (the highlight picture shows position of letters, imnot sure of the actual letters.     |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4973 Posts |
gosh....i have no idea, sorry ben.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
Looks way too gone for me to help out with, sorry.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
Are you sure it isn't an of centered galley reverse ?
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Pillar of the Community
 United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
FR I think you may be right! If you are then I am one very lucky person - the galley appears very very rarely on Carausius coins and they are only seen on the very first issues of bronze coins - that would give it the RSR mint mark (The Golden Times are Back).
Ill be looking into it anyway. I've found that nowhere really has a good gallery of carausius coins - wildwinds is woefully incomplete listing hardly any reverse types.
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Valued Member
United States
325 Posts |
Not enough detail to help sorry...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
Jeeze Ben, I know why you like cleaning. and you have done a marvelous job on some. Forgive me- I know someone is going to freak when I say this, but I honestly think you are wasting your money and your time on these coins. The value is near zero and the details are few and far between. I am sure that for the price of all these crusty lots you could have a decent handful of silver denarii in F- VF. Your attempt is admirable but these late lots are not really worth it. Lets say you spend $100 you get 500 coins. 400 are unidentifiable slugs, 50 have some details but are in fair at best. 30 are VG common bronzes, 15 are completely attributable and the 5 remaining VF coins (if any) are really not worth the price of the lot. You know there is nothing on the subject I can tell you that you don't already know. I think you have the advanced numismatic skills to pick out individual rarities and nice items for cheap. I hope I didn't step over a line. Largely these lots are worthless and the people who sell them know it and laugh all the way to the bank.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
AN - I fully understand where you are coming from, and I do agree - the end product usually isn't worth the money I put in. But I'm not particularly bothered by it - I get my money's worth in the entertainment I get from cleaning the coins and I get free knowledge tryign to ID them. Poking about all the hundreds of carausius variations has been really interesting. A coin type I intend to purchase some day issued by Phillip commemorates romes millenium - Carausius copied coins - his workers would use older coins to formulate the new dies. One of the coins they copied was a SAECVLARES issue - so 40 years after the celebrations, the coin was reissued.
Were it not for this (near) worthless, corroded old thing, I wouldnt know a whole lot of the things I now know about the Britannic Empire.
And I am looking into acquiring coin types which are rare and I havent a hope in heck of finding in my cleaning adventures - I'm also looking into higher quality uncleaned lots with the intention of selling the excess coinage. But, being young and not yet in work, I cant really afford to buy a denarius which would sit and be nice to look at - I can justify getting 20 hours of distraction ending up with a large pile of coins.
And nice coins do come out - I have got some nice coins, some rare coins and some valuable coins.
Oh, and I've spent nearly £160 on roman stuff (thats including Ren Wax) and I've been through over 300 coins. Whether or not the end products are worth that much is irrelevant (recent lots have been worth less than previous lots) - I value the activity, intellectual and historical value above £160.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
A strong and sound argument BB.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
I do believe the days of good lots are long past. I haven't bought uncleaned coins in about 3 years and even then it was very slim pickings. Keep your eyes peeled.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
I reckon the days of good stuff from uncleaned coins arent gone yet. Its got a long way to fall. however, the glory days are done - the big spew after the fall of the Iron Curtain would have been great to catch.
All my nice finds have come from two uncleaned lots from christmas from detectorists which I got cheap - ended at a silly time on a silly day, bad pictures. Found my nicest coin, a Constantine II in consular robes, in that lot - it was hidden in the pile. Thats the kind of lot I need.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4973 Posts |
if you're trying to save money, the uncleaned lots are probably a bad idea. as far as the uncleaned lot coins that have made it into my collection, I've been lucky, all in all I've probably broke even or done a bit better than I would have just buying coins fo the same quality. it is a fun hobby however, which is why I do it really.  |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 988 |
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Posted 04/29/2013 01:21 am
