From A Collectible Standpoint, Which Julius Caser Is Better Buy?

The upper coin is being sold at VCoins. The dealer's pic reveals it has what appears to be cleaning scratches and, maybe, some horn silver:



The broken coin may have crystallization. In any event the chip reduces its value, obviously.

Tough call if investment is the goal. Given the flaws, I would personally exercise patience and vigilance and simply keep my eyes open. Curious to see what the Roman collectors will say...

to the community

I don't like either of them, but if I had to make a choice I would buy the first one. Broken coins never have appealed to me.

Sorry, but I would buy neither of those coins. I too would wait for a better example.

If you are in the hobby for investment you might want to reconsider. Most coins make terrible investments.

Last year I sold off my American collection that I had put together as a kid in the 1970s. Most of the coins were silver, low-mid grade commons and the like. Nothing exceptionally rare. I found that I was lucky to get what I paid for them in the 1970s, and most of the time I got less. Meanwhile inflation meant that a dollar I spent on a coin in 1978 was worth 4x as much today, so I would have done much, much better had I just socked the money I spent in coins in a savings account. But my mom encouraged my hobby anyway, believing the enjoyment I got from collecting was worth it.

That said, if your primary interest in the hobby is the joy of handling something that was handled by long-dead hands and the history that comes with it, and you are just trying to make the best choices, then I would recommend you wait for a better coin that more eye appeal. These coins are in auctions all the time, and you should be able to find a better example for the same price as these.

The key points are to find a coin that looks nice, with a clear CAESAR and well-drawn elephant (although sometimes a really badly rendered elephant may be fine as it suggests the artist had never seen one). Be patient, follow auctions from established dealers, and you'll likely get a coin you will be happy with.

to FVRIVS point, Interestingly yesterday I had a Sassanian shapur I coin and while I was pressuring what seemed to be a cracked edge and suddenly the edge broke and revealed a crystalline edge which is good and bad. Good since I was suspicious of coin authenticity but now I know being crystalline inside it means authentic. Bad because now I have a damaged coin but luckily the chip was small on the edge and I used glue to attach it back.