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 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,090 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
I am really enjoying reading about the emperors that are on these coins. Again I am curious in the information on the holders they came in are correct. Should I look up certain information to put with each coin? I am not really sure what denomination each coin is. I am guessing some are bronze .. some copper. Trajan 10.7 grams     |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Another nice coin, if you only paid $3.00 that's a great deal.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
Judging from the rusted staples and the battered coin holder I am guessing this coin was priced ........
About 50 years ago ?
For 3 dollars you would be hard pressed to find a better deal anywhere on earth !
I'll give you twenty !
The best thing about this one is it is a relatively uncommon type with a military theme. Trajan was a lifelong military man who had the respect of the legions (which is why Nerva adopted him as heir)
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
11951 Posts |
The prices are from the previous owner. The wife that brought them in said these
we're bought 30 to 50 years ago.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
Well you have done well for your first dive into the 'deep end'. The coins you have posted are of the less common types and all have something to make them worthy of your attention.
My advice though is to 'digest' these for a bit before you pull the trigger again. The 1st & 2nd century Roman coins tend to be the most artistic and pleasing to the eye. But they can also be expensive ! Take some time and do some window shopping. While my wife is watching some never ending saga on HBO I enjoy scrolling through the thousands of coins for sale on line. By spending the time looking at what people are offering the many different types will become familiar to you. For handy reference you might look for an old copy of David Sear Roman Coins & Their Values. The prices are out of date but you can get relative values from them. For instance if the copper as of Trajan with the military trophy reverse is valued at 50 and the type with Annona reverse is 25 you can assume it to be 'twice' as desirable.
I always advise some caution to beginner collectors. There are tens of thousands of coins for sale and thousands more come up for sale every week. Every collector makes a few mistakes ..... By exercising some caution you can keep the mistakes to a minimum.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
FR .. some very good recommendations. I am always buying coins, but I run in cycles. Three weeks ago I was buying Canadian coins last week Morgan dollars looks like this week is Ancients. I am trying not to buy any expensive ancient coins to avoid any costly mistakes. I really enjoy the history of these coins and hope to learn more. Also thanks for the suggestion on the book. I hope I picked the right one, I just bought this one on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/22149090300....m1497.l2649I am worried about coin condition, I am hoping the book will have a section on grading. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
I love the coins of Trajan. One of my favorites came from the collection of our own FR. Trajan / SPQR  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
Mssr 'Noob' has provided us with an example of the type I am usually on the lookout for ..... and indeed purchased and owned for twenty years before sending it off to a worthy new owner !
It has the aesthetic qualities of full legends, well centered, minimal wear on the high spots, relatively good surfaces, good artistic style and of course it has been cleaned to a reasonable state maintaining that "venerable" look. It is perhaps the single most common variety of Trajan As but I don't care much when it has such good things going for it. And of course the price was right !
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4981 Posts |
nice trajan gr8 Quote:I am always buying coins, but I run in cycles. Three weeks ago I was buying Canadian coins last week Morgan dollars looks like this week is Ancients. i also suffer from "coin ADHD"...i can't stay focused on any one type for to long. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
I forgot to mention that yes you did get the right edition. For the money you paid you did quite well too !
I am afraid it won't help much for grading things though. Ancients do not grade the same as modern coins. There are just too many variables to deal with. You could have two wildly dissimilar coins of the same variety that could both (by consensus) be graded VF or XF. One might be green and heavily patinated and the other almost any color you like (except purple). Bronze coins tend to get more leeway than gold and silver. Finding top notch bronze is difficult as they were made to be used. Silver and gold often were "rat holed" away soon after minting and you will see many many XF examples. Add to this that many (esp later) bronzes were rather hastily produced and sometimes have much lower artistic standards and you can see the difficulties. I have seen later Roman bronzes that look like something found by the roadside graded as XF ! It all depends on what is considered to be typical for a specific type of coin.
The Sear is great for carrying when out shopping. It won't have all the varieties but will give you some help with the common types you are likely to encounter when bargain hunting. Plus he has some good chapters and charts dealing with dating coins and identifying various mints. You will enjoy perusing it. Later when the "fever" becomes too much you can splurge a few hundred dollars for the newer "Millenial" editions (I II III & IV) which give a much more comprehensive listing up through Constantine. The period following that has yet to be updated.
Edited by FVRIVS RVFVS
07/25/2014 11:25 am
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Replies: 9 / Views: 1,090 |
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Posted 07/24/2014 7:14 pm
