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12 Caesars newps
lordmarcovan
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A Tiberius denarius, the "Tribute Penny" of biblical fame.
A Vespasian denarius with the "Judaea Capta" commemorative reverse.
The most inexpensive so far has been this rather nice looking Domitian denarius, which I just couldn't pass up.
That's #3, #10, and #12 of the Twelve Caesars done, and since I bought back the Otho denarius from my old collection not long ago, there's #8 (and one of the more difficult ones) out of the way.
So that's four out of twelve. I actually have #1, Julius Caesar himself, in my sights. I want a lifetime issue with Caesar's portrait on the coin. Those are not cheap, but I've found a well-worn one for less than $500, which is sort of my self-mandated ceiling for this collection. (Never mind that I originally paid $575 for the Otho).
A Vespasian denarius with the "Judaea Capta" commemorative reverse.
The most inexpensive so far has been this rather nice looking Domitian denarius, which I just couldn't pass up.
That's #3, #10, and #12 of the Twelve Caesars done, and since I bought back the Otho denarius from my old collection not long ago, there's #8 (and one of the more difficult ones) out of the way.
So that's four out of twelve. I actually have #1, Julius Caesar himself, in my sights. I want a lifetime issue with Caesar's portrait on the coin. Those are not cheap, but I've found a well-worn one for less than $500, which is sort of my self-mandated ceiling for this collection. (Never mind that I originally paid $575 for the Otho).
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I think I know the Julius Caesar one you are thinking of, it is pretty worn. I'm not sure if it is a bankers mark or the shield on it, that is what distracts me, but the price is right on an historical coin.
Claudius and Caligula will be the tough ones in your price range, good luck!
<< <i>Claudius and Caligula will be the tough ones in your price range, good luck! >>
I'm not afraid of either one, since I can buy a decent copper as for either in the upper $200s, with some shopping. Now if I were limiting myself to silver denarii only, those would both be definite stoppers!
Nero holds no dread for me, either, although he's a bit more challenging. I can find acceptable Nero denarii starting in the upper-200s. Vitellius should be tougher than he actually is, considering his short reign- his denarii can also be had in the mid- to uppper-200s. He's far easier to get than Otho.
Julius Caesar is the toughest I've got left, and yes, I'll have to settle for a coin with a banker's mark or two, or heavy wear. I've actually got my eye on two portrait denarii of his; one is just below my $500 budget limit, the other is a fair stretch above it, but still under $1,000. Both are coins I wouldn't look at twice if they were from a more common emperor (meaning their eye appeal is slightly, though not totally, compromised).
I will say this, regarding relative scarcity and price of certain Roman coins: I'm glad I'm collecting them in the 21st century, with the computer, and sites like this, VCoins, and eBay as an aid. I'll bet it used to be much more difficult to find the harder-to-find pieces in the pre-Internet era!
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<< <i>Thanks. In comparison with others I've seen, the Judaea Capta (a rare eBay purchase from me, as I usually prefer VCoins) was a steal (I hope). I've seen others that didn't look as nice in the $450-ish range and was rather surprised to find my eBay Best Offer of $265 on that one accepted. >>
You did well on that one -- the ones I see usually go for twice as much.
Mine is a true budget example -- a worn but nice VG I got from Harlan J. Berk for $85.
I need to learn about these
This is something that I wanted to pursue as well. I just purchased a history of the Emperors to help me with the timeline and fill in some of the history I do not remember from college.
Are there any other significant groupings of Emperors during later parts of the Empire that could be a fun set as well?
Nick
<< <i>This is something that I wanted to pursue as well. I just purchased a history of the Emperors to help me with the timeline and fill in some of the history I do not remember from college. >>
That's a superb first step. I never had much of it in college, or elsewhere, so pretty much 95% of what I know about ancient Rome I learned in the course of collecting these- and that just in the last three years (Wikipedia has been a big help). Heck, I haven't even been to a big national show since I started collecting ancients. I think of all the times I was at FUN or an ANA show and looked at the ancients on the bourse floor, and thought, "man, I'm gonna learn more about those and collect 'em one day." Well, one day finally came and I just jumped right in. You don't have to learn that much before deciding to begin. Jump right in (cautiously, of course), and the learning just kind of accumulates. I still consider myself a novice in this arena.
And you know- the funny thing is, I have yet to buy a copy of the History of the Twelve Caesars, at least the orginal Suetonius work. All of my reading has been secondary sources. I wonder what the language is like in our modern English translations of Suetonius. Hmm.
<< <i>Are there any other significant groupings of Emperors during later parts of the Empire that could be a fun set as well? >>
Oh, absolutely. You've got the Adoptive Emperors, the Severan Dynasty, and so on. Some folks specialize in the later era of Constantine the Great, which is usually more budget-friendly. In my past "all-encompassing" set I enjoyed the first two centuries the most, but some of those later bronzes of Constantine and Licinius, etc, could be had in terrific high grade with very attractive "desert" or "earthen" patina. Those of you who've seen me post on the Liteside have heard me talk about "CircCam" (Circulation Cameo) silver coins- well, those "desert patina" ancients are "DirtCams"- they actually have a sort of cameo contrast to 'em. Unfortunately that seems to be mostly a provincial thing, and I don't see it much on the Rome Mint stuff from the first century AD.
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While I love pretty much all forms of coinage, the Ancients have a certain allure that other coins don't...maybe it's because they have survived as long as they have, or maybe because I just really like ancient history more than any other time in history.
I like the way they look even in really low grade...
Now I have to start working with a really crap camera and get some photos up of my eclectic accumulation. There are one or two pieces that I am not familiar with at all.
As far as reading about the Emperors, I took an ungodly fifty hours of History as an underclassman. There is a lot of stuff rattling around in there. I have found that I enjoy reading full blown history books about the areas and periods I collect to flesh out knowledge about my collection.
I specialize in Imperial Russian, but I also go off on a collecting tangent with my daughter into British Imperial India and mainland pieces. (Fiona loves the large cents from Great Britain.) A book I am nearly finished reading from my history book club is called, "George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Cousins and the Road to World War I." It really shows the interconnectedness of the royal families of Europe, the intrigue, the disastrous alliances and treaties which dragged all of Europe into world war. Nicholas' taking refuge in his family, utterly disconnected from the peasant, merchant and neaveau riche, unaccepting or unawares of Russia's yearning for revolution. Great stuff.
I think that my Roman Collection will be something better once I have a theme like you do, Rob. It will also stop me from buying whatever looks cool at the moment.
Nick
You don't have to learn that much before deciding to begin. Jump right in (cautiously, of course), and the learning just kind of accumulates. I still consider myself a novice in this arena.
Even though I agree with the above statement, I think it's grand time for a new book thread (numismatic and/or other). Any volunteers Aethelred?
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So well centered.
I love reading Roman history.
Here's an interesting account form Suetonius's The Lives of the Twelve Caesars.
"A certain lady pretending to be desperately enamoured of him, he was prevailed upon to admit her to his bed; and after he had gratified her desires, he gave her four hundred thousand sesterces. When his steward desired to know how he would have the sum entered in his accounts, he replied, "For Vespasian's being seduced.""
<< <i>A book I am nearly finished reading from my history book club is called, "George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Cousins and the Road to World War I." It really shows the interconnectedness of the royal families of Europe, the intrigue, the disastrous alliances and treaties which dragged all of Europe into world war. >>
Hmm. Sounds very similar to my current read, which is Robert K. Massie's Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War. I'll follow that up with Castles of Steel by the same author, which I think picks up where this one leaves off. (I got both books for my birthday from Dear Old Dad). Have also read bits of Barbara Tuchman's classic, The Guns of August recently, so I too have been on a WW1 kick.
While at work on the graveyard shift, I'm forced to use my eyes and hands to type stuff in spreadsheets, but I keep my ears and mind occupied with Mike Duncan's "The History of Rome" podcasts. Though created by an amateur historian, they're anything but amateurish.
<< <i>I understand why you couldn't pass up the Domitian denarius. >>
It's in hand, now, and very nice indeed.
<< <i>after he had gratified her desires, he gave her four hundred thousand sesterces >>
Wow. He must have given her the equivalent in gold or silver. If he used the big bronze sestertii coins, can you imagine how massive a grouping of 400,000 of them would be? Imagine a line of slaves with wheelbarrows rolling to and fro. (Hm. Did the Romans have wheelbarrows? Well, OK... imagine an oxcart full of bronze coins.)