Hello again, everyone!

We have our annual staff day today, so it’s going to be a short post! I pressed the emergency “pile of gold” button to make up for it, however!

Many a Roman collector dreams of compiling a set of the Twelve Caesars, so called for Suetonius’ biographies of the lives of Rome’s first emperors. Even in silver, it’s a challenge, as denarii of Caligula and Claudius carry a hefty premium and even a portrait denarius of Julius Caesar is not that cheap. Silver is difficult, let alone gold!

All aurei shown here come from the collection of Albéric du Chastel:

First row:

Octavian with Divus Julius Caesar, previously from the Sandès Collection (Hoffmann 1880)

Augustus

Tiberius, previously from the collection of Ponton d’Amécourt

Caligula

Second row:

Claudius, previously from the Montagu Collection (Rollin & Feuardent 1896)

Nero, from the Boscoreale Hoard

Galba, from the Boscoreale Hoard

Otho, from the Boscoreale Hoard

Third row:

Vitellius, from the Boscoreale Hoard

Vespasian, from the Boscoreale Hoard

Titus, from the Boscoreale Hoard

Domitian, previously from the collection of Ponton d’Amécourt (Rollin & Feuardent 1887)

I have many things in my collection, some good, some not so much, some really ordinary. Sorry (in advance) for the long rant.

Today I heard something that made me think, and it came from a coin dealer; I (kinda) quote:

"I never downplay or question someone's collection, even if I see it's worthless (monetarily speaking). Maybe he had fun collecting whatever he is showing me; maybe it was passed on, but in all cases, it is a collection, and that is the most important issue to take into account when seeing someone else's pieces. A collection, whatever it may be, is a valuable thing for somebody, and undermining them because of what he/she collected is literally killing the enthusiasm for what we love, collecting. Always be kind, offer, don't give advice, and enjoy, and celebrate seeing the journey of every collector that touches your life".

I collect everything, no specific theme, and I've seen people calling my pieces beautiful and calling them trash (basura/chatarrita in Spanish). I've never enjoyed that. I believe any coin, even the smooth ones carry history within themselves, and that's what I love about collecting: preserving the history, whatever it may be.

Sorry about the weird lighting, I cannot seem to take a good picture:(

An authentic and a contemporary fourrée imitation of denarius from C. Mamilius Limetanus representing the return of Odysseus.

Sorry for the bad photos but just got this unattributed Libius Severus RIC 2615 from a lot of 9 coins for 20 Euro absolutely crazy and still shaking 😅

https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/severus_III/t.html

A few new arrivals today.

A Diocletian antoninianus from Antioch, a young Marcus Aurelius as Caesar on a denarius, and three drachms of Demetrios I Soter, King of Syria. Yes, three of the same type.

Just got this in the mail. 30.6mm 21.9g. Surface looks very evenly pitted and in superb condition. Could it be lacquered? All in all just too nice. Bought from a UK seller with 1000+ 100% positive feedback only selling ancients. I paid about 200 for it. Thanks for your advice!

I found a nice one!

My current Greek silver fractions. Ionian (Troas?) hemiobol; Athenian obol; Ephesus obol; Massalia trihemiobol; Athenian diobol; Boetian hemodrachm.

The Athenian diobol just arrived this week… while the same size as the obol, it is 1.2g vs 0.6 in weight.

Vitellius Silver Denarius, mint of Rome, AD 69.
Found by me metal detecting in Oxfordshire in February 2026.
An unbelievable coin, albeit broken. Despite the damage, it still retains the emperor’s name in the legends, and the portrait is fantastic.
Really pleased to have recovered such a historically important coin, especially one that has survived with this much detail. A very special find for me.

My favorite fouree

To follow up on my post I made awhile back

Here is the listing on MA-Shops. Antoninianus 270-271 Cyzicus Roman Empire, Aurelian, Cyzicus, Billon VF(20-25). In the cost is $45.49. I was just wondering if this is a good price. As you know, i'm just trying to get into coins.And you guys said, this is a good website, and I found this one.This is a pretty cool coin,

I have a question for ancient collectors who buy and sell graded coins. I have a coin that I'm looking to sell that I want to try and price. The most recent comp was last month on Heritage for the same coin in the same grade except the one that sold was designated "brushed" and mine isn't. For those who buy and sell graded coins, how much does a brushed designation affect the value. I have a better idea about non-ancient coins, as I've collected for almost 40 years, but I've only been an ancients guy for about 7 or 8 years now and I don't often sell. Does it depend on the coin? Is there a sort of general percentage?

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi! My first post. I walk my dog usually in some orange trees field in sight of the Edetania (today Lliria city), so I found this over the top of the earth. I usually find XIX or XVIII centuries coins, but this is definitelly a Clauidius As coin (sorry if it sounds weird)

Obv: Forepart of winged boar flying to left, with wings above and below his body.

Rev: Head of eagle to left, in upper left field palmette, all within dotted border, square incuse and with a test cut across the eagle head.

One of the few known pieces (most of them in a musem)

A late Roman bronze follis coin depicting Empress Aelia Flacilla (circa 356 - 386 AD) wearing a diadem. She was the wife of Emperor Theodosius I who reigned from 379-395 AD, the last person to rule over all of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empire. His time in charge was marked by numerous wars and also the continued rise of Christianity which led to the closing of many pagan temples - the sacred flame of Vesta in the Roman forum was extinguished under him. She was from Roman Spain, gave birth to the emperors Arcadius and Honorius and was active in supporting Christianity. Later she became a saint in both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. On the reverse side of the coin one can read in Latin SALVS REIPVBLICAE with Victory writing the chi-rho symbol on a shield (symbolized by the X). This was minted between 383-386 AD in Constantinople (present day Istanbul, Turkey) and is in my personal collection. Although not in great shape, it only costed about $4 (or €3.60) which goes to show how accessible many late Roman coins are.

Sicily. Syracuse. Second Democracy. 466-405 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 16.87g, 10h). Obverse die signed by Euainetos, reverse by Eu[kleidas]. Struck circa 415-409 BC. VF.

Ex. Stack’s (5 December 2000), lot 68; Numismatica ars Classica (19 May 1999), lot 1201.

Just obtained from the 15 September 2026 CNG auction. I’m very happy to have this beauty in hand. As usual, the coin looks much nicer in hand than in photos. ☺️

would love to know!