Ancient collectors got a question.

agentjim007

Ancient coin collectors don't care for errors Like world/ US collectors, is this correct? I find myself attracted to the odd and unusual ( my wife would say so does she). I did not own any ancients and watched the SB ancient session. When they got to a gold ancient that was double struck and priced within my comfort zone for not knowing what I'm doing I hit the bid. I did pay about 90 bucks more than similar but slightly lower grade just sold at Heritage. If this were a large cent it would be an auction highlight. Would such an error sell for less than a non error if some dumb bidder didn't get involved? Can't get a link to work from my phone, lot 2103.

bronzemat

As an ancient collector I happen to like "errors" also. I have some that have die breaks, die chips, brockages and my favorite, clashed dies. But from the many I converse with, they are looked down upon. Many ancient collectors can live with off centering, lower grade condition and various other things but from my 4 years experience collecting ancients themselves, errors are not loved.

Another area are contemporary counterfeits. I happen to like them too but most dont.

bronzemat

Found the coin you posted the lot # of. Flip Over strikes are actually popular. I have seen them sell for more then the average "error" would sell for. Some of the flip overs can be pretty drastic in strikes & those are the sweet spots.

STLNATS

I've collected ancients for a while, specializing in a few areas. I like picking up errors to supplement the areas in which I specialize but typically pay modest, if any, premium for such coins and certainly don't "reach" for them. Very different than in the case of modern errors, of course. As luck would have it, I've been inventorying my Roman coins recently and happened to image two folles of the tetrachy showing extreme flip over strikes. Both were $50 or less, probably no more than "full retail" for a non-error example in similar condition.

Maximian, mint of Thessalonica. These are fun! The obverse seems to portray Bane from the recent Batman movie. The reverse legend should be "GENIO POPULI ROMANI" which was transformed into what looks like "IROMANI PUL IROMANI." The unsuspecting collector could look for this legend in standard references for quite some time. The obverse legend is similarly muddled.



Constantius, Trier mint. If you can visualize rotating the reverse about a quarter turn clockwise, you'll find the forehead, nose and chin of the emperor in more detail than on the obverse. And parts of both the obverse and reverse legends can be easily found on both sides.



Incredibly, there was enough detail on both coins to id them to specific RIC numbers.

Also, I've had a great doubled solidus of the Byzantine emperor Focus which I purchased basically at gold melt value some time ago.



Gotta love 'em!

lordmarcovan

Because minting technology was more primitive in ancient times and quality control standards differed from modern ones, ancient errors do not necessarily command the premium they do with more modern coinage. In fact, they can sometimes slightly detract from the value rather than enhance it.

Take, for example, "off-center" strikes. On a modern coin that's 20% off-center, that's impressive. But an ancient that's 20% off center can be downplayed as having "poor centering".

That being said, it doesn't mean ancient errors aren't popular. Some folks do like 'em. And usually an error won't detract from the value too much, even if it doesn't necessarily enhance the monetary value, either. If a coin's got character, it will usually find somebody who likes it.