First Ancient - Gordian III - Ad 238-244 - AR Denarious

Thanks, I'll go check out the links.

Congratulations .
You are now formally 'infected'
You can now expect a range of typical symptoms
Ranging from mild fevers to anxiety
Particularly when waiting for the postman !

Interesting reverse type too
Denarius of Gordian III with VENVS VICTRIX reverse
Venus tends to be far less common subject than many others such as Fortuna or Concordia
Minted in Rome circa AD 241 under the reign of Gordian III
Gordian III was 'elevated' to the throne after the unsuccessful rebellion of his grandfather and uncle (Gordians I & II) against a particularly terrifying fellow named Maximinus
Said by some ancient sources to have been over 8 ft tall !

Many ancient collectors tend to dislike the NGC slabs as we often get our thrills by 'fondling' our prizes
But I do completely understand the desire to have someone independently give an opinion
In fact I am preparing to send out 30 or 40 pieces myself to leave for my heirs !

I do wish the NGC labels recorded a bit more relevant information
Like weight diameter year and attribution number
Your coin is RIC 131 by the way
You never forget your first one !
With some patience and a bit of luck you can expect to enjoy this new pastime for many years to come
Patience is an important element !
Just because some 'comedian' might ask for hundreds of dollars for a nice ancient coin doesn't mean it is worth your time looking or even making an offer

We all go into collecting ancients with some splendid ideas about what we want to acquire
With 'Roman's' that usually means buying a Julius Caesar an Augustus a Trajan a Marcus Aurelius etc
But reality often interferes with the best plans !
Roman gold can be quite pricey too .
But if it fits in your budget more power too you !
But Roman gold is often faked so you definitely want to be careful about where you buy

Bronze fakes are not unknown either !
But if you shop around you might find a decent Nero or Caligula in copper for under $100
The real 'nasty' emperors are always popular with collectors
And personally I feel the first century will always be number one !
But remember to always be patient
There are literally millions of coins available to collect

@fvrivis,

What about the Byzantine empire? Or earlier? I was checking out Byzantine gold and it's much less expensive compared to Roman? For the copper which do you recommend? I'm note a type collector so a nice looking copper coin is more important than a rare date one.

Yes Byzantine gold is much more affordable than earlier Roman gold
In fact I have only acquired one gold coin in nearly 50 years
(my brother 'infected' me back in 1976 !)
An AV solidus of emperor Justinian which I later sold off in a time of economic need
First century silver can also be a bit pricey
Nero reduced the purity to 90% which resulted in earlier silver getting recycled
For copper or bronze coins I find emperor Vespasian usually gives the best quality for the money
I have seen some fabulous portrait coins of Vespasian go for less than $100
Most folks want a Nero or Caligula but you do generally pay extra for the nasty guys

FVRIVS,

What about something like this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385858702068

or this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/134900072140

Or this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225883783694

Or should I get MS?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225883788439

Which one is a nicer purchase?

Connection made