Opinions Wanted! A Card Guy's DARKSIDE CHALLENGE Options

LarkinCollector

OK, I'm picking up a few foreign/ancient coins that looked interesting to me, though I have no idea on value or authenticity. With the $20 cap, they're cheap gambles and hopefully I won't get laughed out of here for picking up fakes. At this point, I'm most interested in if the coins are thought to be authentic. I have bids scheduled on a few others and will take a poll once all are purchased on which one I should submit for the challenge. Descriptions/photos are what was provided by the seller (at least until I get them in hand). Thanks for any input at all since I know very little about this area of collecting!

#1 This coin was started producing in 621 AD in the Tang dynasty in China. It is made of bronze. Diameter: around 1 inch/2.54 cm


#2 Gaghaya (Gadhaya?) dynasty (800-950AD?) silver (India) WEIGHT - 4.33 gm. DIAMETER - 15 mm


#3 1566 Knight on Horse Silver (Country unknown, perhaps Spain?) - MEASURES 14 MM COMES IN AT 0.4 GRAMS


#4 Western Kshtrap C303 (India) - silver 2.29gm


#5 PUDDUKOTTAI STATE - MARTANDA BHAIRAVA (India) - WEIGHT - 1.28 GRAM DIAMETER - 12 MM


#6 Constans. 337-350 AD. Æ 20mm 3.6 gm Struck 348-350 AD. Antioch Mint


I'll update this post with others as I win them....

Stork

So far, two things I know next to nothing about. By sheer eyeball interest, I prefer the one from India...I like silver

lordmarcovan

The Indian piece is indeed cool, though outside my experience. I am not strong at all with Asian coins. But you've gotta love ancient silver, right?

Chinese cash coins like that are quite common, even ancient ones. That being said, yours is an especially sharp looking one and I like them with the find patina on 'em like that. The reason these are so common is because some truly enormous buried hoards have been found. So you've got some neat history there. (If it's real. I don't see much reason to doubt it, despite the prolific modern counterfeiting of just about everything in China.)

So far I'd give the Indian coin a slight edge in my preference, though I know less about it than the Chinese piece. Maybe that's some of the appeal.


PS- after another look, it's definitely the Indian coin for me so far. Look at that great, whimsical, primitive portrait! Stylistically it reminds me of the older Celtic coins of about 2000 years ago. I believe this is an artistic degradation derived from an earlier Parthian design? The ancient experts will know. Good pick! That coin has loads of character.

LarkinCollector

<< <i>But you've gotta love ancient silver, right? >>


That was definitely part of the appeal.


<< <i>I believe this is an artistic degradation derived from an earlier Parthian design? >>


What little I've been able to find out so far: Link

ETA: Total spent so far on both coins is $13.07

lordmarcovan

Thirteen bucks for both?. Oh, you're smokin' hot and may be a natural at this!

Shoot, even without fully knowing what it was, I'd have possibly splurged as much as fifteen to eighteen bucks on that Indian coin alone, just for the history lesson and coolness factor. The T'ang Chinese pieces I've usually seen for around five or six bucks, but yours is a sharp one.

LarkinCollector

Added options #3-5. #3 worries me a bit as it was advertised as silver, but based on the seller pics doesn't look it. #4 is probably my favorite so far. A couple Euro coins on the horizon in the next couple days and that will probably complete my attempts for this contest. I have found a couple others that won't qualify for the contest I'll likely pick up or at least look for similar on a trip to Asia this summer.

LochNESS

I feel like I shouldn't be offering advice since we'll be voting on the challenge winners next month (right? or no?) but here's what I will say for general thoughts about darkside coin buying:

• super old coin ≠ rarity (or value); don't settle on a poor quality example just because you think the old age is cool

• in the unpredictable market of various darkside countries, precious metal content always helps, especially when reselling

• refer to the same rules you apply when buying cards

STLNATS

FWIW #3 is a 2 denar from Poland/Lithuania. As luck would have it there's one on the world's biggest thieves' market: link The grade on the ebay piece is kinda laughable, but whatever. I think these are billon, a low grade silver. Overall I think you've got a fun group of coins given your parameters, esp since they all probably did what coins were meant to do (ie circulate) and since only 1 is European.

Swampboy

#2
Although with a better image I bet #3, Dudley Do-Right on "Horse", would be a contender.

lordmarcovan

Those early dated Polish/Lithuanian coins from the 1500s have always been appealing to me. Like the Hungarian denars I just started collecting, they are mostly pretty common, I think, but that just keeps them pleasantly affordable. It is impossible not to like a 400+ year old silver coin with a galloping knight on it, and if that coin also happens to have a modest pricetag attached, it becomes all the more irresistible.

Selection #4 above is very appealing, but only on an instinctive level for me, as I know practically nothing about it!

Nice work so far- it is interesting to see how much central Asian or Indian material you're selecting. What makes it appeal to you? No judgments implied. I'm just curious to know the motivation, is all. As mentioned, this is a numismatic arena about which I know very little.

LarkinCollector

LochNESS - Thanks for the tips!
STLNATS - Thanks for letting me know the origin of #3! Figured I couldn't go wrong with a horse/knight combo even if it is a lower grade silver.
Swampboy - I'm really hoping I get most of these in hand to get better pics/scans. I'm pretty good at discerning card details through a fuzzy pic, and am hoping some of these come through nicer.
lordmarcovan - #4 reminded me of a common side-pose Buddha image, plus I'm a big fan of silver (if only the back were better aligned). As for why the Asian theme:
- Price seems to be much less than for roughly equivalent Euro issues
- The unknown is appealing to me, seems the Euro are more well documented
- Large potential market of future coin collectors, Chinese in particular are becoming big players is certain areas of the card market
- Travels have taken me there frequently and I find Eastern religions fascinating to study, so I'm drawn to the scripts and symbolism

Aethelred

Of these.....#4

lordmarcovan

Thanks for explaining your "Asian rationale". Seems like pretty sound thinking to me.

LarkinCollector

Received 3 coins in today's mail. #1 I can't do a better scan/photo than the seller provided, #3 updated pics, and added a new one #6. If anyone has tips on how to improve the quality of the pics, please share. I just did an 800dpi scan of both sides for these.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>Of these.....#4 >>

So far, I agree with Ye Olde Dead King. #4 seems the most appealing. #2 is really neat, too.