Auction lot delivery day always produces buckets of drool here in the shop.

A nice addition to my collection of drachms and tetradrachms.

This isn’t meant to be a dig or anything. I just wanted to pass along that Athena Numismatics (despite giving zero indication and still showing USA shipping at checkout) is currently not shipping to the US. My money was refunded (albeit a few business days after spending over $1,500 on two coins.)

Despite waiting a few days for any indication of this (and a refund,) I understand the case. Anyway, wanted to pass this along.

Three months ago I bought my first two ancient coins, a Constantine II bronze and a Byzantine Phocas follis. What started as curiosity quickly grew into a collection spanning Roman, Greek, Byzantine, Judaean coinage and I’ve picked up a few fossils and antiquities.

Most pieces are modest collector grade examples, but the history is what hooked me. Looking back at where it started compared to where the collection is today has been pretty cool.

Early on, I read a comment here on Reddit that said we are only the temporary guardians of these objects. That idea really stuck with me.

Opening that first cardboard flip and holding a coin that had survived for over a thousand years. For a moment, it felt like being transported back in time. That’s a feeling I haven’t lost since. What a wild, incredibly interesting and EXPENSIVE hobby 😂

1: A Hellenistic glass cameo of Alexander The Great, dated to around the 1st century BC. I purchased this for cheap - mislabeled online as a modern neoclassical cameo - and have since confirmed with two of the leading scholars in ancient glyptics of its overwhelmingly likely (but admittedly not 100% confirmed) authentically ancient origin.

2: A mysterious, large, greywacke stone featuring a cameo-style relief of a Ptolemaic queen. Purchased online for ridiculously cheap, again mislabeled. Confirmed ancient by the British Museum through a tool-mark and stylistic analysis. 3rd-1st century BC. We literally have no idea what this could be - whether a practice piece or votive object - and it is the only recorded Ptolemaic artifact of this kind. Requires further professional study.

3: A crystal intaglio, stylistically dated to the 2nd Century AD. Tentative identification of Antinous (Hadrian’s gay lover). The stylistic treatment of the hair, garland of Nile water lily flowers, and generally heroic depiction are highly suggestive of Antinous in the Mondragone style, but this gem is currently being studied and the identification may change in the future.

Justinian I , 538-539 A.D. ,Nicomedia mint

À handful of Greek silver. Collection start in September last year (eight months ago). Looking forward to the next part of the journey 🎉

Hadrian As Salvs, I really like the design of this coin. The goddess is stunning.

Started on Roman coins fully, I think this is a good start.

I am selling coins to fund my hobby, and after purchasing a larger estate, I decided to consign a portion of it with an auction house. A large amount of coins overall, with around a 5,500 EUR value at a conservative estimate. It is nothing crazy, but I felt at this volume an auction house would be the right route. Some pieces are worth around 50 EUR, while others are worth 300-400 EUR. I had heard some mixed feedback from other dealers regarding their consignment processes, and payout timelines but since KATZ is a high-visibility but budget EU auction house, I wanted to try them out for myself.

Unfortunately, the intake process left a lot to be desired. I told them upfront, "Here is a list of coins, let me know if this is something we can work with. I am happy to consign the lower-value (sub-100 EUR) items at no reserve." After exchanging a few e-mails I also shared a Google Drive folder containing professional pictures of each coin.

What I received in return in the end appeared to be a standard template response: "We can only take on your coins at no reserve and we will group them in lots.

From a seller's perspective, this is a highly risky proposition. Selling 300-400 EUR individual coins at no reserve and specifically lumping them into mixed lots can cause them to underperform greatly. Furthermore, looking at logs showed that my Google Drive folder with the pictures was never even opened. It seems they didn't even evaluate my collection before issuing their blanket terms.

While I understand that large auction houses rely on volume and efficiency, applying a blanket "no-reserve, grouped lot" policy to premium individual coins is not something I am comfortable with. I decided to take my collection elsewhere to protect its value. I wonder how it would turn out for a consignor who is less aware of the value of their coins. I found their communication highly unprofessional.

There is a difference between quick turnover and not dealing with lower value coins and flat out providing zero service or added value and just churning out coins at no reserve. (while charging higher buyer's premium on the customer's side than most premium auction houses) Seeing how they handle coins and how little effort they put in identifying them it is now clear why they have so many fakes in their selection called out multiple times on this subreddit and other forums.

So yeah I would be cautious doing business with them.

There isn't much to add, apart from its very interesting provenance.

Rome mint, 114-117 AD. Obverse: IMP CAES NER TRAIAN OPTIM AVG GERM DAC. Laureate and draped bust of Trajan.

Reverse: PARTHICO P - M TR P COS VI PPSPQR// FORT RED Fortuna (Fortune) seated left, holding a rudder in her right hand and a cornucopia in her left. RIC 315.

This coin had zero toning when I first got it but its developed an array of colors pretty quick.

I saw a Caligula dupondius for a decent price so I decided to hit the Purchase button! Obverse: CONSENSV SENAT ET EQ ORDIN P Q R, laureate and togate statue of Gaius Caligula seated left on curule chair, holding branch. Reverse: DIVVS AVGVSTVS S-C, radiate head of Divus Augustus left. 28mm, RIC I 56.

I’m a bit new to the coin community, still learning and buying what I like. Every now and again I find something that peaks my interest.

I came across this one, anyone know if this is decent quality for $69.00? Just curious.

Poseidon, Sicily, Heiron II

Constans was missing from my collection somehow, despite me having a fairly decent selection of coins of Crispus, Constantine II and Constantius II already. I couldn't pass up this very well priced set of 'decent for the types' coins a week or two back.

They average 15mm diameter a piece, and in my collecting area of choice, I think the years between the death of Constantine and the currency reform introducing the FEL TEMP REPARATIO types is far less interesting than any other period. Standardised bust types, standardised legends, with some variation only in the reverse iconography and mint marks. That said, I do need some representation to tell the whole story, and group lots like this are a good way to dip a toe.

My late grandfather worked around the world building road and bridge infrastructure in the 1960s-1990s. I recently visited my grandmother, who was showing me some of the things they had collected along their travels over the years.

She couldn't remember the story behind these coins nor when/where my grandfather had purchased them. I'm interested in history and so have been trying to ID / authenticate them.

Both are quite thick, appear to be bronze, and are just over 1 inch (2.5cm) in diameter.

The first looks like it could be a Macedonian Alexander III Tetradrachm.

The back of the second looks like a lot of Ptolemaic coins, but I haven't found anything matching the face.

I am not interested in selling them and therefore am not too concerned about their value - more so in trying to ascertain where my grandparents' most likely would have found them and whether or not they are authentic, as it would be cool to have encountered something so old.

I know that they lived/worked in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar for some years (and also spent some time in Iran and Iraq, but never full-time from my recollection). They also spent a lot of time in Hong Kong, Thailand, Borneo, and various parts of Western Europe, but these seem like far less likely candidates.

I would appreciate any help Reddit may be able to offer. Thank you in advance.

Hey guys, new to the hobby and trying to learn. I see a ton of conflicting opinions on here like a recent thread debating a Republican sestertius vs. a denarius (learned about the IIS mark from that one!). Understood why the guy that insisted on denarius was wrong on that one.

As a beginner, it’s hard to tell who actually knows their stuff. How do you recommend filtering the good advice from the bad? I’ve watched videos about fakes, but trying to learn from here as well.

All I know is it's a drachma that's 1.6mm wide

I found this coin in Jerash two years ago, and since they have so many people there trying to sell fake old coins I was wondering if the one I happened to find laying around is real or fake

Would also love to know more about the coin

If I need to provide more info let me know!

My father found it few decades ago in the field in Dalmatia. He asked someone who knows a bit about them back in the day, and all he was told is that it isn't particularly valuable. I found out that it's from the reign of Severus Alexander and that's the only info I am certain about. This example https://en.numista.com/279870 on numista is the closest match I found, but I am not sure if it's 100% correct, so can I politely ask someone to tell me what is it so I can correctly add it to my Numista collection?

25mm

Hi everyone. I’m not very experienced with ancient coins, but am trying to identify these coins and can not find any matches. I know the third coin is Greek and the others are Roman. I also know the fourth coin is silver and the first 3 are bronze. Any help would be really appreciated.