Show Us Your Great Cheap Roman Coins

[VOTman]

As collectors, we buy Roman coins.  Sometimes we even get a great deal.

Show us your great deals!  Post a photo and basic info, of an inexpensive Roman coin that you picked up.  Let's limit the coins to single coin purchases that were not part of a lot.  And let's limit the coin's purchase price to a max of $10 (excluding tax, fees & shipping).

I'll start with the first coin...

Diocletianus, bronze, 21mm, just $2 at auction.  A common emperor and yes I was lucky.

[Jay GT4]

Nice one.

The one that started it all. My very first Flavian.   From a junk box.



IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG PM
laureate head right

TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P
thunderbolt on draped table or chair

Rome 80 AD

2.24g

RIC II 119 (C2) , Sear 2513

[Ron C2]

Licinius folis, An uncleaned I bought for $2 a few years ago.  

[Blindado]

I bought this Macrinus totally covered in rust or something for a few DM from a junk bowl. The vaguely visible profile intrigued me. I cleaned it up, and boy, was I surprised!

Macrinus
217-218

Denarius

Laureate draped bust, right, IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG
Providentia stg, PROVIDENTIA DEORVM

RIC 80

[SC]

Hadrian Salus As from a 2 euro junk box several years ago.

SC

[Ron C2]

I bought this Macrinus totally covered in rust or something for a few DM from a junk bowl. The vaguely visible profile intrigued me. I cleaned it up, and boy, was I surprised!

Macrinus
217-218

Denarius

Laureate draped bust, right, IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG
Providentia stg, PROVIDENTIA DEORVM

RIC 80

This gets my vote for the win

[Akropolis]

Ken P:
That's Diocletian, not Constantine I.
PeteB

[wolfgang336]

Picked this guy up for $20 about 16 years ago. Still can't believe my luck. Apologies for the lackluster pic.

Constantine I, Half Follis
obv: IMP CONSTANTINVS PF AVG, bare head rt.
rev: GLORIA PERPET, two victories walking rt. standard between
RP in exergue
313ce.
RIC 14 (R3); Vagi 3128; Cayon 532
Fine

[SC]

Very nice.  I could see how someone would toss that in a junk bin as "yet another two victories type" if they didn't look very carefully.

SC

[Heliodromus]

Yes - one of the fun things of the hobby is the treasure hunt aspect and the stupid bargains occasionally to be found!

Here's the least expensive coin in my collection - a Magentius Vrbs Roma I paid $3.03 for in 2009. It certainly has issues, but if it wasn't 1/2 missing it'd have cost 100x more.

Or how about this glorious chocolate patina Vrbs Roma that cost $7.51 in 2007. See sellers picture for why it went so cheap.

Ben

[Mark F]

That Vrbs Roma is absolutely luscious! Quite a fine bit of metal, that one. I bet you are very happy you took the plunge on it.

Mark

[Heliodromus]

Thanks, Mark!

I bought the Vrbs Roma for what appears to be an unlisted "eyes to god" bust, and the chocolate patina was quite a surprise bonus when I got it!

Ben

[Flamur H]

Nvm,,,

[Blindado]

Here's another one. I bought this in a junk shop in an Aegean country for a few bucks back in the eighties. Of course, none of the lettering remains. It wasn't until I later bought Van Meter's book on Roman coins that I figured out what it was.

Livia

AE23 of Cilicia, Augusta
23–24 AD

ΙΟΥΛΙΑ [Σ]ΕΒΑΣΤΗ, Portrait, right
ΑΥΓΟΥCTA—NW—N, Tyche std., river god Saros at feet

Same design as RPC 4009v, but larger