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Chocolate Nero

Here is another Nero that I only added because it was just too cheap to pass up.



Has a nice chocolate brown look to it.



image

Nero (54 - 68 A.D.)

Billon Tetradrachm

EGYPT, Alexandria

O: NERW KLAY KAIS SEB GER, radiate head right, aegis on chest.

R: AYTO-KRA, draped bust of Alexandria right, wearing elephant skin headdress; date LIB to right.

Alexandria, Egypt. Dated Year 12 (65 - 66 A.D.)

12g

25mm

RPC 5289; Milne 238; Dattari 204; Geissen 172; Sear 2004.

Comments

  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Indeed, nice. And the contrasting patina is a plus. Makes the design stand out.

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  • AethelredAethelred Posts: 9,288 ✭✭✭
    My very first coin from Nero, way back in the mid 80s, was a Tetradrachm of Alexandria so I always have a soft spot for these.
    If you are in the Western North Carolina area, please consider visiting our coin shop:

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  • bronzematbronzemat Posts: 2,602 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Aethelred

    My very first coin from Nero, way back in the mid 80s, was a Tetradrachm of Alexandria so I always have a soft spot for these.




    Damn Egypt tets are going up too. Was lucky to score this for $25 shipped. So I grab them when I can.
  • ZoharZohar Posts: 6,629 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That's quite a score for $25!
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Zohar

    That's quite a score for $25!




    image

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  • nicholasz219nicholasz219 Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
    I think that is quite the nice coin for $25 and more. Nice addition. I don't know much about these so I do not buy them but i like them.
  • AethelredAethelred Posts: 9,288 ✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: bronzemat
    Originally posted by: Aethelred
    My very first coin from Nero, way back in the mid 80s, was a Tetradrachm of Alexandria so I always have a soft spot for these.


    Damn Egypt tets are going up too. Was lucky to score this for $25 shipped. So I grab them when I can.


    Yes, an absolute steal at 25.

    If you are in the Western North Carolina area, please consider visiting our coin shop:

    WNC Coins, LLC
    1987-C Hendersonville Road
    Asheville, NC 28803


    wnccoins.com
  • AethelredAethelred Posts: 9,288 ✭✭✭


    Damn Egypt tets are going up too.


    I read an article somewhere not long ago (I wish I could recall where), but anywhere ancients were being compared to oil. The suggestion that was being made was that we have reached "peak ancients" similar to the concept of "peak oil." The article argued that most of the big hoards and easy finds have been made and that the supply of new material coming into the market peaked in the 1980s or early 1990s and is now in a slow but irreversible decline while prices for nice stuff will move ever upward.

    Any thoughts on that from anyone?

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  • AethelredAethelred Posts: 9,288 ✭✭✭
    And the above was my 24,000th post!
    If you are in the Western North Carolina area, please consider visiting our coin shop:

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  • bronzematbronzemat Posts: 2,602 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Aethelred

    Originally posted by: bronzemat

    Originally posted by: Aethelred

    My very first coin from Nero, way back in the mid 80s, was a Tetradrachm of Alexandria so I always have a soft spot for these.




    Damn Egypt tets are going up too. Was lucky to score this for $25 shipped. So I grab them when I can.




    Yes, an absolute steal at 25.







    Congrats on the post count.



    Most other ancient collectors I have talked to seem to think it's many investors are coming in & leaving the paper investments for others. Basically the way u.s. collectors deal with.



    Also a lot of the government MOU, import restrictions, are playing a big factor.



    I got into ancients in 2009 and noticed a pretty big rise when you don't count inflation.



    There is a reason I own so little greek silver and roman republics. I just can afford it and bargains are few, unlike imperial denarii or random tets like this OP.
  • nicholasz219nicholasz219 Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
    I agree with Mat in many ways. I think at the top end there are people with money looking for bargains and better upside potential. I also think that with further development of Internet markets you have a much wider base of customers worldwide to sell to versus a much more limited market by mail and brick and mortar stores prior.



    I think that more coins see the light of day by more people on the other hand with people on eBay and private sites being able to buy and sell. Whether or not we peaked now is a question we can only answer in retrospect from this point forward. You would think at some point that the coins would have to be all discovered but then again they thought that all of the oil that could be recovered profitably had been found. Then technology changed and made heretofore inaccessible oil a profitable venture. So who knows? Maybe coins sitting in areas untouched because of politics or inaccessibility will have the chance to come to light when conditions change.



    I have learned like Mat to not fight the market even when it means leaving collections dormant for a long period. Sometimes too much new money moves into coins making them not fun to collect on a certain budget. Thank goodness for many different coins to collect.
  • LochNESSLochNESS Posts: 4,829 ✭✭✭
    Interesting thoughts. I know this isn't exactly what you're suggesting, but my reaction ...



    I do not believe new coins need to be discovered, or revealed, in order to keep the hobby alive. So, I therefore do not believe we have peaked or could ever truly peak. I believe it is more like the graph of stock market. Some days up, some down, many mini peaks and valleys. Once in a while, a spike or crash, but it keeps going because ...



    - people like acquisition and collecting

    - people like art

    - people like history

    - people like dealing and trading

    - people like family heirlooms, tokens, and sentimental items



    I could go on.



    I see posts and threads and conversations all the time about "is the hobby dying" and such. It will never die, as long as there are civilized people on the planet.



    edit to clarify: I believe prices will continue to rise and fall regardless of whether any new ancients are unearthed because that is just the nature of business. Supply and demand are variables. Even if there is never any new supply of freshly unearthed ancients, there will still be ebbing and flowing supply of coins for sale on the marketplace.
    ANA LM • WBCC 429

    Amat Colligendo Focum

    Top 10FOR SALE

    image
  • AethelredAethelred Posts: 9,288 ✭✭✭
    Good thoughts on the subject of "peak ancients."
    If you are in the Western North Carolina area, please consider visiting our coin shop:

    WNC Coins, LLC
    1987-C Hendersonville Road
    Asheville, NC 28803


    wnccoins.com
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