Can anyone help me suggest a retail range for these ancients?

icsoccer

I am trying to improve my grading skills in grading raw ancients? I just got these back
and while still a novice in grading, I was happy with grades.

Now I would appreciate any opinions on retail price ranges...I am below a novice in pricing. I have used many online
resources in looking at pricing...however it seems almost impossible to find exact matches to comp.
Thanks in advance!!

Sapyx

<< <i>...however it seems almost impossible to find exact matches to comp... >>


You won't. Ancient coins aren't like modern ones (and by "modern" I mean post-1600) where for most types there are dozens of identical coins available in every condition. Each ancient coin has to be judged on its own merits, something NGC has tried to address with it's 3-D grading system. Even so, you just can't give a "slab-based" valuation - some closer pics of both sides of the actual coins would help in that regard.

#1: I am astonished that anyone would call this coin "AU" - I'd say EF at best. I'd be extremely reluctant to ever give an ancient bronze coin a grade above EF, given the extensive cleaning it would have needed to undergo. I'm also surprised the description makes no mention of the planchet flaw that's just about cracked the coin into two pieces - a sight-unseen buyer might want to know things like that. As for the coin itself, it's hard to say without seeing the obverse but I think this is the Wildwinds example, which has a rating of "scarce" from the RIC catalogue. Unfortunately, it was a member contribution rather than an eBay sale, so no sale price was given, and the Sear catalogue for this time period hasn't been released yet. Wild guess at value: $50?

#2: For this emperor, mintmark and denomination alone, there are "150 known combinations" of regnal year and officina mark - and as far as I know, none of them are any more sought after or valuable than any other. None are noted as rare or valuable in my old Sear Byzantine catalogue. The slab doesn't even give the officina mark. This one in EF sold for $300, but yours is in much more typical condition - I'd grade it Fine. Value in the $20 to $40 range, I think.

#3: Again, seeing the other side would be useful; the "SC in wreath" provincial series of Antioch is complex. This example is more worn, but less pitted, and was sold on location in Baalbek, Lebanon (!) for $30.

#4: That very broad date range given on the slab can easily be narrowed - the obverse legend reads M ANTONINUS AVG ARM PARTH MAX, a legend only appearing on coins of Aurelius dating from the period 166-169 AD; with information from the reverse, the coin can in all likelihood be dated down to an actual year. "Reverse: Pax standing" sounds like a match for this one and this one, which date from late 166 AD. Those two sold for $250 and $49 respectively. It's a silver coin; those "deposits" might come off with a bit more cleaning.

#5: Again, an actual date would be given on the reverse, and this design was issued over several years with different dates. $50 to $60 sounds a fair price for this one.