Ancient Coin Grading (Post Your Coins) - Page 4

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Author	Replies: 475 / Views: 52,825	Page: of 32

echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 3:06 pm This one has a very nice obverse strike but the reverse is weak. The fields are porous with some gouges on the reverse. It's a very nice coin the I would grade at Fine to Fine+ Report this Post to the Staff
FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3444 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 4:21 pm In general I am in agreement 'Ski'. But it is the intangibles that made me dive headfirst for this one. Collecting ancients is so very much like collecting art. The surface is slightly rough but it has a hard thick patina covering almost the entire surface (and my favorite color of green too !) The reverse is noticeably flat yet the legend is full and rather crisp. I think it is the proverbial 'weak strike' ie insufficient lbs. per square inch in the manufacture. So the reverse is actually less deteriorated from its mint state than it might first appear. Lastly it is the portrait style of the die engraver. It is not often that I see Claudius looking so young and debonair (good hair day). For these 3 reasons I put the desirability index at 'very high'. For me it kicks this one up a full notch into VF (although not VF+) Report this Post to the Staff
FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3444 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 4:36 pm Oh and 'Whiz' ..... save all those fivers you been collecting from paypal. Come January/February I will have another one of my crunch times coming. Bills bills and more bills ..... If you sell enough junk in the next month I will try and fix you up with something. Probably not a 'super awesome' but maybe we can come up with an 'awesome' at the very least ! Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 4:59 pm Some fascinating pieces to look at, and to grade. The Balbinus double struck: Fine+. If this piece were to be auctioned, it is essential that it be pictured. I think it would be the only way that fair and interested bids could be attracted for is quite a rare piece. Augustus As: VF, nicely patinated. Complete and well struck legends. It is essential that this coin should also be pictured, for the reasons mentioned above. A straight grade does not do justice to this piece. Claudius: Fine. Well centered, weak strike on the rev. I understand why this piece was acquired and you have said so to us; that is reason why it should be included in any auction description of it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ They would ALL sit very nicely in MY collection! You have comprehensively made the point that all potentially valuable ancient coins should be pictured. Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 6:05 pm Up for grade. Marc Anthony Denarius ANT AVG III VIR R P C LEG XIII SEAR RCVI 1479 This was a trade with Anoob and my first Marc Anthony. I have graded it as Fair maybe as high as aG. Still I love it. What grade would you all give? Report this Post to the Staff
TJsCoins Pillar of the Community United States 3229 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 6:22 pm I am following along. Cool thread! Here a cool description of how NGC grades ancients (ay least I think it is pretty cool:): http://www.ngccoin.com/ancients/grading.aspx Report this Post to the Staff
FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3444 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 6:30 pm Having been rather single minded about chasing after bronze for the past 25 years I really have a hard time judging silver (other than EF of course !) I do seem to recall though that Antony's coins were usually rather weakly struck. Which begs the question "If about F is the norm then does VF become XF" ? I have seen many Judean coins (which to me look like so much 'road kill') graded at VF or XF. Based on my limited recent experience with silver of this type I would put it as almost an F. Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 6:37 pm echizento: No wonder you are enamoured by this piece, so am I! I agree that you grade your own coins rather too harshly. Split grade. VG/F, weakly struck both sides. Report this Post to the Staff
FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3444 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 7:55 pm Commodus AE Sestertius Rv. Commodus in quadriga (out for a 'joyride') Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 8:15 pm I really like this coin, It has beautiful bust details and patina. The crack, chip and missing parts of the legend will effect the grade. The obverse fields look like they have been smoothed. The reverse details aren't as nice as the obverse but still have very good detail even though the field looks very rough. I hope I not too harsh because I think the bust of this coins is outstanding. Overall I would give it a grade of Fine+. Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 12/19/2013 8:36 pm with all of that but gradewise: VF. All of the above comments should go with the grading assessment. Report this Post to the Staff
FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3444 Posts	Posted 12/20/2013 06:10 am I am in general agreement. Some 'light' scraping is evident on the obverse fields. Fortunately it did not penetrate the patina except for a small area beneath the legend on the left side beneath letters COMMODVS. As a matter of personal preference I rather like flan cracks (although two might be one too many). What immediately drew me of course was the portrait. The fact that it shows such a minimal amount of wear and the general scarcity of the reverse type kicks it up a notch for me. Overall ..... VF+ (obv) F+ (rev) edited as I mistakenly referred to 'die' cracks when I intended to speak of 'flan' cracks. Although die cracks can be good too ! PS I think this an excellent thread although the participation is a bit weak. I hope we are not scaring off some collectors with our 'good stuff'. I am trying to find unusual examples we can differ on. Others should post things they are unsure about regardless of 'value' or scarcity. No ancient coin is without value to a real coin aficionado. I would much more enjoy viewing other peoples coins too ! I will post one more AE later today and then go on 'strike' until we get some results ! Edited by FVRIVS RVFVS 12/20/2013 08:29 am Report this Post to the Staff
FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3444 Posts	Posted 12/20/2013 11:17 am Okay ...... One last try to get a rise out of this 'tough' crowd. As I mentioned recently I discovered my favorite Caracalla with the dread 'BD' ! I had not taken it out to play with in about 6 months so the cancer had not spread too far. But this coin had some very unusual encrustations which I personally thought added some character. One of the beautiful things about ancients is something one person feels detracts another feels is just fine as is. The sudden appearance of growth in the green streaks through the reddish rust like growth on the surface forced my hand. It was sent out for the 'cure' and came back slightly different. (which is preferable to RIP !) Caracalla AE Sestertius Rv. Mars striding left (double struck reverse) Obverse Before After Before After It might have been easier if the photos had the same lighting but as a consequence of posting on this forum I notice my photographic skills seem to be improving ! (all while my eyesight seems to be failing too !) So the question of the day ..... Did the grade change and by how much ? I had hesitated to remove the 'stuff' before it became necessary as once done it cannot be undone. The coin is a good choice for me to show too because I would like to show the younger members of the audience that patience can and does pay off (eventually !). For the price of not too many LRB's a super portrait of someone 'infamous' can be obtained provided you are ready to be disappointed in more than a few auctions. The price I paid for Mssr. Caracalla ? Just under $100 The thrill of winning it ? Priceless .... Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 12/20/2013 1:23 pm I would have also been tempted to remove the deposits on the reverse. But would have settled on just stopping the BD had I'd known that it would have changed the appearance so much. I prefer the original coin. Now that the patina has been removed IMO the coin has been damaged. A coin that I would have graded as fine+ before the cleaning I would now grade as very good. I don't mean to be harsh, but if if was my coin I would give it that grade. Report this Post to the Staff
FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3444 Posts	Posted 12/20/2013 2:05 pm I do happen to agree about the coloration. It is much too clean looking. Originally it was very black. So dark that I needed the 'Blue Ribbon' oil to photograph the detail. The color also shifted ever so slightly in the new photograph becoming more golden than the pale brown it actually is. But with some patience I believe a little darkening can be achieved with some benign treatments. Once the color is more to 'our' liking (Chocolate) I will still be quite pleased with the acquistion ! Report this Post to the Staff
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