My first ancient gold coin!

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Gam3rBlake
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My first ancient gold coin!

#1 Unread post by Gam3rBlake »

Hey guys just wanted to share my first ever ancient gold coin :)

I picked this up a couple of weeks ago and I think it’s pretty cool.

This is a solidus. A significant sum of money during the time it was in circulation. A soldier made 1 solidus per month so it definitely wasn’t a coin for smaller transactions like some wine & bread. It would have been used for larger transactions like a horse or a large amount of exotic spices.
8B5A1FC2-151C-4FC5-B645-FB959E0EF0CE.jpeg
Justinian I the Great (AD 527-565). AV solidus (22mm, 4.46 gm, 7h). NGC Choice AU 4/5 - 3/5. Constantinople, 5th officina, ca. AD 545-565. D N IVSTINI-ANVS PP AVG, cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing, wearing plumed helmet with pendilia, globus cruciger in right hand, shield decorated with horseman motif in left / VICTORI-A AVGG Є, angel standing facing, staff surmounted by staurogram in right hand, globus cruciger in left; star in right field, CONOB in exergue. Sear 140.
82DA57EF-A289-4B0F-957A-8BF01D764C28.jpeg

What do you guys think?

Thanks for looking! ^_^
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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#2 Unread post by Paul »

👍
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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#3 Unread post by Clint W »

that is awesome!!
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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#4 Unread post by silverbul »

verrrrry nice.

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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#5 Unread post by Triple C »

Nice!!! 👍

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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#6 Unread post by Daniel »

Nice

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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#7 Unread post by Earle42 »

Wow! Very nice. All the history this coin had witnessed is just mind boggling. It seems almost a miracle something this old can be in this good of a condition. Congratulations!
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8

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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#8 Unread post by Gam3rBlake »

Earle42 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:19 pm Wow! Very nice. All the history this coin had witnessed is just mind boggling. It seems almost a miracle something this old can be in this good of a condition. Congratulations!
Thanks! I agree with you 100% this coin must have witnessed a lot in it’s nearly 1,500 year history.

I can just imagine Justinian the Great flipping this coin at a servant and saying “Bring me and my guests some fine wine!”

Or a soldier using it to pay for some of his armor. Which wasn’t cheap back then.

What’s really cool is that alot of these are reasonably priced. I think I paid $650 for this one which is indeed a significant amount of money but not a crazy amount like the older Roman aureus coins sell for. Plus you have to remember it is a gold coin and weighs ~4.5 grams which is like $275 in gold melt value alone.

I paid a little more than 2x melt which doesn’t seem bad at all considering the decent AU condition it is in.
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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#9 Unread post by Earle42 »

Wow - admittedly I would like to learn more about this. Just to have a pice like that in hand is something I could really go for. I had no idea they could be had for 650.00! My limited knowledge was thinking a couple grand at least.

Do you mind me asking where you got this and if you have other sources. I really know very little about ancients. But I could certainly put something like this on a goal list. I am one who can be absorbed when holding an incredible piece of history like this.
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8

How much squash would a sasquatch squash if a sasquatch would squash squash?

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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#10 Unread post by Gam3rBlake »

Earle42 wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:15 pm Wow - admittedly I would like to learn more about this. Just to have a pice like that in hand is something I could really go for. I had no idea they could be had for 650.00! My limited knowledge was thinking a couple grand at least.

Do you mind me asking where you got this and if you have other sources. I really know very little about ancients. But I could certainly put something like this on a goal list. I am one who can be absorbed when holding an incredible piece of history like this.
Yeah I was surprised to learn that too until I checked it out.

It’s true that if you want an older Roman aureus you will end up paying at least a couple grand even for one in low condition.

It’s a bummer too because I desperately want an aureus myself :(

I bought mine from Heritage Auctions. You can even find them for less than $650 if you’re OK with minor issues like a flan flaw or clipped or brushed or something like that.

I definitely recommend checking for ones in AU condition as well since the price goes up several hundred dollars once you get into MS territory.

However it also depends on which Byzantine Emperor’s solidus you’re aiming for. Some of the really rare ones like Constantine will indeed set you back at least a couple grand.

Some of the “cheaper” ones are Honorius, Valens and Maurice Tiberius. The expensive ones are a lot of the older ones from the 4th and 5th century.

But I highly recommend getting at least one just because they are beautiful coins and because they are so thin the flan is a good size and the details are easier to see.

Here is a good example of a Maurice Tiberius solidus that sold a couple weeks ago for only $500 and in decent condition without problems.
96A65AFB-1785-48C5-8817-1BEC3A3F85C4.jpeg
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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#11 Unread post by Earle42 »

Thanks for this. Personally I have no preference at present as to which one. Just a Roman gold coin is amazing enough for me. I am currently reading a book (4th time at least!) I have of letters, common papers, writings from Plny (both), and other papers of life in Rome from the Romans themselves. I find their parallels of their demise and how our society, sadly, is following in their footsteps. Amazing, but not surprising!

As the Romans Did : A Source Book in Roman Social History
by Joanne R. Shelton
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8

How much squash would a sasquatch squash if a sasquatch would squash squash?

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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#12 Unread post by Gam3rBlake »

Earle42 wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:18 pm Thanks for this. Personally I have no preference at present as to which one. Just a Roman gold coin is amazing enough for me. I am currently reading a book (4th time at least!) I have of letters, common papers, writings from Plny (both), and other papers of life in Rome from the Romans themselves. I find their parallels of their demise and how our society, sadly, is following in their footsteps. Amazing, but not surprising!

As the Romans Did : A Source Book in Roman Social History
by Joanne R. Shelton
You should check out Titus Livius’ (Livy) work “Ab Urbe Condita” (From the founding of the city).

It’s a monumental history of Rome from the mythical period of Aeneas leaving Troy after the Trojan War all the way up to the time of Augustus (whom Livy was a personal friend of).

He does a great job and keeps things interesting. At least for the first 8 books he does. Each book is small though so it’s not too long and a lot of it is missing.

One of the biggest causes leading to the fall of the Roman Empire was debasement.

During the reign of Julius Caesar the denarius weighed 3.8 grams and was 95-98% pure silver.

About 3 centuries later the denarius weighed 2.8 grams and was only 5% silver.

This is a good example. Notice how these antoninianii start out as medium sized silver coins and eventually they get smaller and smaller and become more and more debased with copper?
103B67CF-231D-43EA-AD23-3CC70EB41F17.jpeg
This caused massive inflation which devastated the economy.

Today the same thing is happening. The government keeps printing massive amounts of money and when it does that it makes all the money already in circulation worth less.

That’s why a millionaire in the 1970s was considered extremely wealthy whereas today a millionaire is still wealthy but it would be tough to call them the 1% because everything costs so much more now.
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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#13 Unread post by Earle42 »

Thanks! I know who Livy is, just never read his work. He is on my list along with Tacitus, Josephus, Pliny (both), and others. One of these days!
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8

How much squash would a sasquatch squash if a sasquatch would squash squash?

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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#14 Unread post by Gam3rBlake »

Earle42 wrote: Thu Oct 28, 2021 4:09 pm Thanks! I know who Livy is, just never read his work. He is on my list along with Tacitus, Josephus, Pliny (both), and others. One of these days!
Ahh well Livy is definitely my favorite of all of them since he writes in a way that’s easy to understand and tells great stories xD.

Here is a little sample from my copy to show what I mean.
DD2BF6E0-C50E-473A-A57D-0A5DC5CA6778.jpeg
Ignore the left page that’s the original Latin that Livy wrote in and the English translation is on the right page.
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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#15 Unread post by thairunts »

You certainly like to collect ancients of nice quality! Back when I studied Latin, I liked to translate Ovid - practical Roman life, yet funny. :)

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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#16 Unread post by Earle42 »

Thanks for this glimpse. It would be fun to have read a transliterated copy like that though. I speak Spanish and its fun trying to figure out Latin, Italian, Greek and other languages in writing.
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8

How much squash would a sasquatch squash if a sasquatch would squash squash?

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Re: My first ancient gold coin!

#17 Unread post by Gam3rBlake »

thairunts wrote: Thu Oct 28, 2021 6:36 pm You certainly like to collect ancients of nice quality! Back when I studied Latin, I liked to translate Ovid - practical Roman life, yet funny. :)
Yeah I like the high quality stuff xD

I’m not really a fan of copper coinage because it turns super dark (or worse - green!) and so i like the silver & gold stuff.

Basically I’m the kind of collector who would rather spend $600 on a really nice coin than spend $600 on 12x $50 coins in rough condition.

I also enjoy coins ALOT more when I have to wait and save up for them.

One day I will get a Roman aureus! ^_^
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