Bought Some New Romans...opinions Requested

I went on a coin buying spree yesterday at my favorite show of the year (Colorado Springs at the time of the ANA Summer Session). I bought three different coins, one follis and 2 denarii.

I'll explain the rationale for buying these and the opinions of one of my friends who at one time specialized in ancients. Please do not let my opinions or his opinions sway yours...give it to me straight.

I bought the Constantine follis on a whim because I thought it looked like a great bronze for a popular ruler (I already have a different Constantine that's in a lower grade but very nice still). It appeared to be a fairly high grade (XF?) with what almost appears to be luster on the surfaces and really sharp devices. I paid $50 for the coin.

My friend thought I overpaid by about $40 (he thought it was worth no more than about $8) and didn't care for the follis since the obverse appeared to be in poor shape and harshly cleaned.

I always wanted to own a denarius and I talked with an ancient coin dealer I've spoken with several times before (and purchased from previously) who is always willing and enthusastic to show and talk about his material. I took a swing for the fences and decided on 2 denarii that struck me as nice and of relatively decent value. Tell me how I did on these.

I told the dealer that I wanted to stay around the $75 area (but as you'll see I strayed a bit from that). He pulled out quite a few coins and the ones I decided upon are below. My understanding of the denarii market is that they were perhaps much cheaper just a few years ago, but they are getting increasingly harder to buy at under $75 unless they're a problem. True?

The Caracalla caught my attention due to what I thought was a great obverse and large sized flan. The price was $90. I admit that the reverse is a bit weak and when comparing on the Net it was much weaker than any other examples I saw. Perhaps I should have let this one go?

My friend thought the Caracalla was not a good purchase and worth no more than $40. He didn't care for the reverse and thought its was just a common denarius.

Finally, I bought the Vespasian because I wanted an older denarius and I really liked the fact that it sort of fits in with the rest of my Judaean collection as he was the emperor during the fall of the 2nd Temple. I thought for a somewhat worn coin it still had nice detail and was well centered.

My friend thought I hit a homerun with the Vespasian. He really liked it and thought that it's a very popular coin, nice patina, and well worth the $110 I spent for it. He noted that the reverse was one of the rarer ones and adds to the value.

I tried to attribute them via pictures/descriptions from various sites on the Internet. Are the attributions correct?


RIC 34 - Constantine I w/ Camp Gate and SMKA in exurgue



Sear 6819 - Caracalla



Sear 2291 - Vespasian w/ Clasped Hands