Options
New ancient! Hadrian brass sestertius
Pokermandude
Posts: 2,713 ✭✭✭
Picked this up last weekend at the bi-yearly coin show. Hadrian 117-138 AD, brass sestertius 34 mm, 27.3g.
Well worn and some marks, but I really like the even color and smoothness. A lot of these that I have seen have better details, but are corroded, crusty, ugly even.
Took a lot of shots of it and the obverse is nearly spot on with how it looks in hand. The reverse is still showing more green than it actually has.
Well worn and some marks, but I really like the even color and smoothness. A lot of these that I have seen have better details, but are corroded, crusty, ugly even.
Took a lot of shots of it and the obverse is nearly spot on with how it looks in hand. The reverse is still showing more green than it actually has.
http://stores.ebay.ca/Mattscoin - Canadian coins, World Coins, Silver, Gold, Coin lots, Modern Mint Products & Collections
0
Comments
Great portrait.
Very nice for the grade, with great surfaces, clear portrait, and pretty complete legends. Sure, there's a few small scratches, but it's a 1,900 year old coin, fer cryin' out loud, so those can easily be forgiven, and I do not find them as distracting as the typical pitting or porosity would be.
This is a coin I'd have pounced upon like the proverbial duck on the junebug, were it offered within my budget.
It's the sort of thing I go for with my ancients: modest grade to keep the price down, but clear portrait and lots of "meat" for the grade.
I got the the coin show just after it opened and started making my rounds. After about an hour (mistake!) I got over to the second of my favourite two dealers who frequent this show. They are basically the only ones who deal in good quality+price ancients and British hammered/early milled coinage. I was browsing his case and nothing really caught my eye right away. Then I see a VERY large AE, half hidden in the back of the case.
I ask if I can see it, he says sure and pulls it out. There were two coins set aside together, both Ptolemy II. One was a small silver coin. The one I had my eye on was an extremely large AE, about half the size of a hockey puck. I'd guess it weighed at least 4 ounces. Quite nice details, virtually no pitting, only a little bit of green. Overall a very pleasing dark patina. Marked at $350, about 5x what I've paid for any ancient. But it's like I knew it was a quality coin.
I inquire about it, and the dealer says another customer has put it on hold- said he'd be back in an hour. I tell him if he doesn't come back I WILL take it!
I am sitting at his table, flipping through another box of coins, but nothing is catching my eye. Another avid collector of ancients comes by and the three of us start talking. This collector is the owner of about half of the coins in the large ancient display. It's at the table next to us, the collector and I go over there and he shows me a bunch of the amazing, mostly silver, greek coins. I tell him I haven't bought many greek coins yet, but find them very interesting, mentioning the Ptolemy II piece I was very interested in.
He pulls a coin out of his front breast pocket, a nearly identical huge AE Ptolemy II piece, bought from the same dealer, probably before the show even opened to the public. He says he examined both coins and found this one more pleasing. We go back over to the table and the dealer pulls out the on hold Ptolemy piece for us to compare. The other good ancient dealer (whom I very much like, his knowledge is vast, his opinions solid and he is very fair) comes over and comments "nice piece, I'd be interested in that". I smile and tell him he's 3rd in line
I go off and search for more coins to blow my budget on in case this one falls through. Nothing is catching my eye. Moderns are mostly boring me at this time, with that Ptolemy coin still stuck in my head. I do end up buying a few trinkets though. Including the North Korean 1 chon I posted in another thread here, a small Nicaraguan toned proof 5 cents, some world silver priced below melt including a half balboa in AU+/MS.
About an hour comes and goes, I return to his table and the coin is still there! I ask if the other customer has returned, he says no, but he looks out into the crowd and says he is still in the room. It's an older man in a wheelchair who is about halfway across the room. The dealer says if I'd like I could go ask him if he's still interested in the coins. So I go over to him. He's busily flipping through modern looking banknotes, with a dozen or so in his hand. I ask if he's still planning on buying those two Ptolemy coins he put on hold, as I was interested in one of them. He replies "oh yes- thank you for asking". I realize I may have just reminded him that he had those great coins on hold - D'OH..
I report back to the dealer with the bad news. I've done quite a bit of business with him, he knows what I like, and he hands me a couple boxes of stuff that hasn't been displayed. Mostly lower grade stuff. I flip through, but nothing catches my eye. The older man returns and promptly pays for the coins. My heart sinks a little.
The dealer feels sorry for me, says he would have rather sold it to me if given the choice. I tell him I absolutely understand, sometimes that's just the way it goes. Seeing that I am done flipping through his last box, he tells me he has some more, a small unopened box from a recent round of auction wins. I tell him sure I'll take a look.
They're all unattributed coins, low to medium grade, mostly larger sizes. Nothing catches my eye until I spot this fairly large smooth brass coin. Great colour was my first thought, sure don't see one like that very often. I pull it out and examine it for a long time. I'm not totally sold on it. I ask about it and he says for me he could do $100, normally it would be $125 but he feels sorry for me. I tell him no need to feel sorry, it's not the first (or last) time I'll miss a desired coin.
I hem and haw. I don't know anything about the coin really- my typical ancient coin learning curve goes: see pretty coin, buy coin, research coin afterwards. Not even close to the "love at first sight" as with the now-off-the-table Ptolemy AE, but I still kinda liked it.
He says to take it over to the other ancient dealer and get his opinion. So I do, the other dealer says it's pretty nice for the grade, says $100-150 would be reasonable. I ask about the large gash on the obv, he says "oh didn't see that, still $100 all day though". I return to the table and pay him for it, thanking him very much for his time.
Now just another 6 months until the next show. Hopefully he brings some more great treasures. I know where I am stopping first next time!
I have been looking at Ptolemy II & there is many to choose from. Ive read about all the different sizes and such, crazy. Sadly I have never seen one in-person, just online photos.
I too have missed out on some coins. In Long Beach I once lost out on a Leopold I Taler graded NGC EF 45 for $350. I had already spent my money on some low level ancients and mexican silvers. One day I will get one
That was barely a week after a show where I'd eyeballed some ancients, but hadn't bought anything like that. And now, for the past four years, I haven't done a show.
I shudder to think of how I'll behave when I'm turned loose on the bourse of the FUN show or something like that, with all that stuff to look at and paw through, armed with the additional knowledge I've picked up in the last four years. I'll have to make that happen, and resume my regular FUN show attendance.
I'm envious of those of you who get more opportunity to do shows. If it hadn't been for VCoins, I don't know how far I would have gotten with the ancients. But VCoins and eBay and the 'Net have spoiled me, too. I found myself on the bourse at FUN one year, looking for some specific coin, and wondering, "where can I go to type in some keywords to see which table I need to find?"
<< <i>I'm envious of those of you who get more opportunity to do shows. If it hadn't been for VCoins, I don't know how far I would have gotten with the ancients. But VCoins and eBay and the 'Net have spoiled me, too. I found myself on the bourse at FUN one year, looking for some specific coin, and wondering, "where can I go to type in some keywords to see which table I need to find?" >>
I totally agree. I discovered ancients just a few years ago as well. Browsed online resources but never really had the "guts" to buy raw ancients for more than a few bucks each from pictures.
It's a double edged sword that ancients are so unique. Makes them hard to compare qualities without having them in hand. I can't say I'd be too comfortable buying them online, unless they are from a dealer I trust. It's a much richer experience buying ancients (especially in hand) as opposed to more modern coins where stuff is all slabbed/graded/price guided/etc.
The two dealers I use almost exclusively (as mentioned in my previous post) both have Vcoin stores, although neither seem to update their online stores often. I'd suspect most of the nicer coins rarely ever even get listed.
Dealer from whom I bought my Hadrian sestertius
Other dealer I respect a lot
<< <i>
<< <i>I'm envious of those of you who get more opportunity to do shows. If it hadn't been for VCoins, I don't know how far I would have gotten with the ancients. But VCoins and eBay and the 'Net have spoiled me, too. I found myself on the bourse at FUN one year, looking for some specific coin, and wondering, "where can I go to type in some keywords to see which table I need to find?" >>
Dealer from whom I bought my Hadrian sestertius
Other dealer I respect a lot >>
Never bought from them. Ive gotten a few from Zuzim Judea, Beast Coins, Herakles, & York. All top notch vcoin dealers to deal with!
I have a few "bookmarked" coins from AI, sayles & lavender which I forgot did get my Severus Alexander from, & Lodge Antiquities but they are overseas so the Euro conversion is slowing me down