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| Code | What ??? (Roman unless noted) | Cost | What was I thinking? |
| A | Byzantine 20 nummi of Justin II | $17 | This half follis is not bad condition for these crude coins. It has traces of the faces, a good strong Chi-Rho and bold year date 6. Year 6 is the show-off collector date of choice since the practice of the period was not to place an I after the five (then more a u than a v) but to use a separate 'six' mark that looked like the 'five' but curved the left arm over the top of the letter. The obverse legend is missing at the left and the overall detail is crudely done as expected for these raggedy little coins. |
| B | Constantius Gallus Caesar AE2 Cyzicus mint |
$15 | This is not a bad looking coin but the amount of retained silver wash is far beyond average. The coin would be prettier with a smooth brown surface but I felt the need for a few coins showing how the things looked when new. This does bring up the interesting question of whether the unnatural situation of being missing all the silver might be better than retaining most of the original resulting in a patchy and unattractive surface. Coins with full, bright and bold silver are rarely seen in the market and should always be checked to be sure they were not replated. |
| C | Gallienus / Laetitia 253-268 A.D. |
$14 | I'm now doubting this purchase. When I saw it I thought it might be one of the less common mints because the style which is not like other coins I have. Now I suspect it is just a nice barbarous radiate. The condition and 'eye appeal' are pretty good. The reverse shows a clear impression of the die edge which seems a little concave. I've aways been a sucker for technically different coins. There is still a chance to learn from this purchase and lessons in ancient numismatics can cost a lot more than $14. |
| D | Constantine I AE2 Thessalonica mint Jupiter reverse | $15 | This is an earlier and larger coin of the 'Great' emperor and shows a harsh portrait and fully pagan reverse type (always interesting for the guy history credits with being the first Christian emperor). I always buy nice Contantines at good prices if for no other reason than they make good Christmas presents for Christian friends. The same coin exists for co-ruler Licinius but a hundred times as many people have heard of Constantine. Some of them even figure out that the mint city relates to the New Testament letters to the Thessalonians. |
| E | Vima Kadphises, Kushan AE27 105-130 A.D. Siva and Bull |
$30 | Of the group this one was purchased with the least hesitation. Far from perfect, it is far higher quality than any Kushan coin in my collection. Unfortunately the head of the king is poorly struck on both sides so one might have to grade it as only fine but the rest of the figure is strong and the entire Greek legend is strong. I would have paid several times the price simply because coins of this type usually come more worn and with worse strikes, centering or surfaces. |
| F | Kaniska, Kushan AE22 130-158 A.D. Nanaia |
$17 | Not as nice as the Vima, this is still far better than most of my Kushan coins. I have another with the same reverse but this one spells out the name of the goddess NANAIA while my other used the short form NANA. Obviously I would have prefered a different reverse but the coin is acceptable to my current standards. |
| G | Salonina, wife of Gallienus 253-268 A.D. Augusta in Pace |
$12 | This coin has a lot of faults that would have made me reject most coins but this reverse is frequently found a lot worse than this. The reverse is as close to complete as I could wish were it not for the flan crack. While the portrait is acceptable, there is no denying that the missing legend is a major fault. I bought the coin because there are some people who consider the 'In Pace' legend evidence that Salonina was a Christian. I can't say that I accept that theory but it does make this the reverse type of choice for Salonina and this one is considerably more clear than my other coin of the type. |
| H | Orodes I, Elymais AE drachm 130-147 A.D. |
$20 | This one probably followed me home for the strangest reason of them all. It is an acceptable but not especially high grade example of an Elymais drachm. It has a reverse type beyond plain dashes. The reverse may be shown here upside down (depending on how you like your anchors) but this way reminds me of the monogram used by Indiana University and I was born in Indiana. My mother was a graduate of the Indiana University school of nursing and often wore a wool cape emblazoned with this IU symbol. My mother has passed but I still have that cape and now I have the coin to match. I warned you it was strange. Some of our coin purchases are more intellectually based than others. |
| I | Constantinopolis Commemorative Thessalonica mint c.330-333 A.D. |
$12 | Another 'no-brainer' this is simply a nice coin. It was issued by Constantine to commemorate the founding of his new capital at Constantinople. The coins were issued alongside the common 'Two Soldiers - Gloria Exercitus' types. Because this coin weighs 2.84g. we know it went with the 'Two Standards' versions and dates to the earlier period of the type. That fact means that you have to know the weight of a coin before you can look it up in the correct volume of the standard catalog RIC. I bought it because I did not have an example from this mint (I don't know if I am trying to get a complete set or not but I buy the ones I lack more freely than I do duplicates). |
| J | Urbs Roma 'mule' Constantinople mint c.337 AD |
$12 | Political correctness was not lost on Constantine so his Constantinople commemorative was accompanied by a version inscribed URBS ROMA. The reverse was supposed to be the she wolf suckling Romulus and Remus but some coins were made using the reverse dies intended for use with the portrait dies of the ruling family. These are far too common to have been errors. They come from several mints and I did not previously own one from Constantinople. My belief is that the mints ran short of reverse dies and kept the precious obverse dies in service for the rest of their useful life by using them with the 'Two Soldiers - One Standard - Gloria Exercitus' dies. That is just my opinion. You are quite welcome to have one of your own. Note that this, later, coin is smaller and lighter than the early one above it. There are some dealers who misrepresent these are rare errors and sell them for high prices. Buy elsewhere. |
| K | Constans / 2 Victories AE4 337-350 A.D. Trier mint |
$9 | Even smaller than the issues before them the reverses showing two victories eventually led up to the coinage reform that brought us the FEL TEMP REPARATIO types. To me, this is the least interesting part of the Constantinian era but there are a few 'cute' coins. I bought this coin because of the leaf that is in the field between the two victories. I suppose at $9 a coin might not have to be too much beyond 1800 years old and neither worn nor corroded. I almost left this one due to the tight margin on the obverse right but, overall it is a decent example from an unimpressive period in the history ofRoman coins. |
| L | Valentinian II / Victory AE4 375-392 A.D. Siscia mint |
$9 | I have relatively few coins of the times following the end of the Constantinian dynasty. Many of them are small and somewhat 'ordinary'. This one is well struck and centered with full legends including AVGGG which indicates that there were three Augusti at the time. |
| M | Muhammed bin Sam Ghori - Delhi Billon jital 1193-1206 A.D. |
$14 | The single coin that I purchased from the dealer across the aisle from my old favorite was from a series I have only recently begun to collect. When I started my website in 1997, I collected 'Ancient Greek and Roman Coins' and nothing else. This one is from medieval India. It is late in the jital series showing a bull and horseman design used across Afganistan and Northern India for 500 years. These are always smaller than will allow the entire design to show and this example was selected because it showed the legends to the right of the horse and above the bull to advantage. A collection intent on showing the die design of these coins would probably require at least four coins of each type. True fans of this series probably are not bothered by missing heads on the two animals but I am at a beginning stage and appreciate the fact that this example is off center in a pleasing direction. |
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| Our three coins of Kashmir are all identical except for the legends in syllabic Nagari script that start on the obverses and are completed on the reverses The coins were cut deeply so they can wear a lot before losing detail beyond the faces on the figures. I have a few of these which still show the faces but most are worn from years of circulation. Most are sold impacted with dirt and often look better if it is left in place. They can be cleaned with water and a toothbrush but no detail is gained. I only suggest this when part of the dirt has fallen out leaving an uneven appearance. |
| N | Abhimanyugupta, Kashmir 958-972 A.D. AE unit |
$5 | The only appeal of this coin is that I did not have one but am collecting the series of these coins. As these go it is just an average Kashmir bronze but it is what it is and I didn't have one. It lacks the letters at the right ends of both obverse and reverse so it only reads A - BHI and GU but after looking through so many coins I was very glad to find one I did not have. Identified Kashmir coins should sell for over $5 even if not a more scarce ruler. |
| O | Didda Rani - sole reign - Kashmir 979-1003 A.D. AE unit |
$5 | I already had coins of Queen Didda but this one was off center showing two reasonably clear letters (De Vya) at the far right (lower corner). Is it crazy to buy abnormally off center coins? I'm happy to have this one. Would I prefer to have one coin that shows all of the legend as well as completely clear devices? Certainly but don't hold your breath. Even if you are willing to pay a premium price it may take a while to find. |
| P | Ananta Deva, Kashmir 1028-1063 A.D. AE unit |
$5 | Only marginally better than my previous coin of this ruler I regret that neither shows any of the reverse letters. I can live with having a duplicate. Who knows, perhaps someday someone will trade something I lack for my spare. The coins of Kashmir become a bit more crude with each reign so even recognizing the ones I lack may be a problem for me. My skills with these letters is not at all well developed. |
 In truth, I do not have a photo of Junior's coins. The illustration here was made from junk I have accumulated over the years including coins from the group I bought back in the 1960's that taught me the same lesson but at a tenth what Junior paid due to the difference in what you get for a dollar these days. The better coins shown here belong to Licinius I, Gallienus and Claudius II. There are a couple Islamic bronzes that someone might be able to ID but the underlying coins are slugs without detail. Also shown is a tourist grade fake of a denarius of Septimius Severus (center right) and one of the fake Gela tetradrachms (upper left) that were sent out in pairs glued to a card advertising a book on Greek history nearly half a century ago. Such things get thrown in with genuine junk sometimes because their owners don't know what else to do with them. Some sellers are being honest when they say they don't know anything but I'll ask since when is prideful ignorance something we reward with cash investment? What we end up with here are souveniers of our foolishness and perhaps such a purchase might serve as a cheap education in the numismatic marketplace. Years ago a dealer sold me a fake for only $8. When later confronted he joked that at that price it was still a bargain. I agree. Over the years between that date and when he went out of the ancient coins business I saved both time and money skipping his table at shows. Who knows how much that $8 saved me?
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| The few of you that have read this far must really be collectors as strange as I. There are thousands of numismatic specialities but tens of thousands of collectors who will touch nothing even slightly out of the mainstream. Finding anyone interested in the same things you are is never a given factor in this hobby. On the other hand, it is not too hard to find interests that are in such small demand that you can afford the coins you do find. I wish you well in your search - whatever it is you are searching for. |
(c) 2011 Doug Smith
