What’s a very worn coin in your collection you were looking for and why did you buy it? (Assuming your budget was very high, so no ‘I bought it just because it was cheap’ / ‘I had a very low budget’ coins allowed).

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

I’m curious about any ‘worn because rare’ or similar coins in your collection. Maybe you liked the texture, the shape, or anything else about the coin, really.  
  
Note: it doesn’t have to be an expensive coin, but I’m not allowing ‘beginner coins bought because I had a low budget’. I want coins you purposefully bought that way, even though you had a higher budget for a better looking coin! And I want to know why you got it 🙂  

I’m also allowing ‘cheap version’ of very expensive coins (e.g. a Dekadrachm, a Cleopatra, etc…)

[kirispupis]

This is a worn coin I was absolutely thrilled to add to my collection, though it certainly wasn't a budget example.

Cyclades, Keos. Koressos
4th century BCE
Ae 12mm 1.53g
Obv: Cuttlefish.
Rev: K-O bunch of grapes.
HGC 6, 588

 

This completed my "Coinage of Kea" collection and examples from Koressos are extremely difficult to come by. While 5th century examples come up every now and then, this is the only 4th century/bronze example I've ever seen for sale and ACSearch brought up no others. You can see the full set and write up here.

[ominus1]

...this one wasn't real cheap but it was less expensive than most others and i was lQQking for him at time, Didius Julianus sestertius...the more money i save on a coin, the more i have for others i dont have yet...my goal was to get them all (which i ain't done yet 9_9)...:)

[expat]

This worn example I chose not because of cost but for the interesting countermark.

GALATIA. Koinon of Galatia. Galba (68-69). Ae. (25mm, 12.8 g) Ancyra. Obv: ΓΑΛBAC AYTOKPATωP KAICAP CЄBACTOC. Bare head right; c/m: owl within incuse circle. Rev: CЄPOYIOC ΓAΛBAC CЄBACTOC. Mên standing left, holding patera and pine cone.
RPC Volume: I №: 3565
Reign: Galba Persons: Galba (Augustus)
City: Koinon of Galatia  Region: Galatia Province: Galatia
Denomination: Æ (27 mm) Average weight: 12.95 g. Issue: Series 4: (b) Tavium? (AD 68/9)
Obverse: ΓΑΛΒΑϹ ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ϹΕΒΑϹΤΟϹ; bare head of Galba, right
Reverse: ϹΕΡΟΥΙΟϹ ΓΑΛΒΑϹ ϹΕΒΑϹΤΟϹ; Mên standing, left, holding patera and pine cone

[Al Kowsky]

I normally shy away from coins with this much wear, but I made an exception when I saw this coin ☺️. Only 5 examples are listed in RPC II 1969, & 3 are in private collections. Prieur 142; McAlee 381 (V Rare). These coins were previously listed as products of the Antioch mint in Syria, however, RPC reattributed them to the Caesarea Maritima Mint, Judaea, because they differ stylistically from the coins of Antioch. The photos pictured by McAlee, Prieur, & RPC II, are all heavily worn.  

[Hrefn]

Rarely do I buy a heavily worn coin, but here are two of the very few I have acquired.  The first is an aureus of Marcus Aurelius with Spes reverse.  This coin comes from the Aurum Barbarorum collection.  In my opinion it is a genuine Roman aureus repurposed as a pendant in Barbaricum.   The second coin is a siege coin struck by the Venetian garrison which held out against the Turks for about a year during the conquest of Cyprus, ending in 1571.  The Wikipedia article on the siege is well worth reading, if you have a strong stomach.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Famagusta   This coin was also worn as a pendant.  

[AETHER]

I have a lot of worn coins because I don't mind worn coins and allows me to buy historically significant or rare coins.

Here are some I like..

 

[Roman Collector]

Prior to the appearance of this coin at auction, this type was known from only two specimens, collections in Berlin and Rome as cited by Strack. The coin is listed in Cohen, but Cohen cites no source. I presume it was either the Berlin or Rome specimen, because had it been from another source, such as the French national collection in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, that would have been noted by Strack. The coin is not listed in Temeryazev & Makarenko’s comprehensive The Coinage of Roman Empresses (CRE). There were no examples of the coin in the Reka Devnia hoard, and none are listed among the collections of more than fifty European and North American museum collections that collaborate with Oxford University’s OCRE online project. A comprehensive search of internet auction databases, such as acsearchinfo, Coryssa, and Coin Archives, yields no additional specimens. 

I purchased this one because it was the only one in private hands and I needed it for my collection of Faustina I coins. It didn't matter what it looked like. 

 

Faustina I, 138-140 CE.
Roman AR denarius, 2.87 g, 18.1 mm, 6 h.
Rome, 2nd emission, 139-140 CE.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG P P, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: VESTA, Vesta seated left, holding palladium and scepter.
Refs: RIC 334a; BMCRE 48n.; Cohen 287; Strack 399; RCV –; CRE –.

[Hrefn]

@AETHER, you have packed more historical significance into the purchase of 5 coins than I would have thought possible.  Kudos.  

Edited Thursday at 11:46 AM by Hrefn

[John Conduitt]

All my early Roman coins are worn, as that's how they were when they got to Britain. They were often countermarked to show they could be used despite being slick - so if you want those countermarks they only come on worn coins.

Julius Caesar Denarius, Moneyer Lucius Aemilius Buca, January-February 44BC

Rome. Silver, 20mm, 3.24g. Wreathed head of Caesar right, crescent behind; CAESAR IM [P M]. Venus standing left holding Victory in right and sceptre in left; L AEMILIVS behind; BVCA before (Crawford 480/4). From the Helmingham Hoard 2019 (Ghey 297; SF 544, Portable Antiquities Scheme SF-8C645E).

Caligula As, 37-41

Rome. Bronze, 27mm, 10.26g. Agrippa (45-12BC) issued by Caligula (37-41) and countermarked by Claudius (41-54). Head of Agrippa, left wearing rostral crown; M AGRIPPA L F COS III. Neptune standing left holding dolphin and trident; S C; TIAV countermark (RIC I, 58). Ex James Pickering. The countermark was applied to barbarous imitations and worn coins to allow their use in provinces like Britain, where there was a coin shortage.

Claudius Sestertius, 50-54

Bronze. Head of Claudius, laureate, right; TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P. Spes, draped, advancing left, holding flower in right hand and raising skirt with left; SPES AVGVSTA S C; countermark NCAPR. Found Navenby, Lincolnshire.
 

Hadrian As, 119

Rome. Bronze, 10.00g. Laureate bust right; IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG. Britannia seated facing, holding sceptre, large shield to right; PONT MAX T R POT COS III; S C; BRITANNIA in exergue (RIC II.3, 241).

British Celtic bronze usually comes worn and corroded, since it was rarely hoarded and each coin has spent 2000 years directly at the mercy of the elements. This is the ABC plate coin, despite being past its best.

Dias Throne Unit, 1-10

Verlamion, Catuvellauni tribe. Bronze, 15mm, 1.77g. Short-haired male head (DIAS in front). Seated figure facing left, standard before and behind, VER below (ABC 2751 (this coin); VA 1816; S 251).

 

Edited September 26 by John Conduitt

[Finn235]

I initially bought the legionary denarius on the right because it was a heck of a lot cheaper than anything with a legible legion number, but I *kept* it because of the cool factor of having a coin that was minted at the twilight of the Republic, was paid to a soldier who would go on to fight at Actium, and then went on to change hands presumably thousands of times, at least late into the reign of Augustus; likely a whole lot later.

[Brennos]

The fourth known drachma of Spanioli's Group A (with the ethnic above the bull). In her corpus, she lists 263 staters but only three drachms.

 

Italy, Lucania, Sybaris Drachm circa 540/30-526, AR 2.5 g. 
Bull standing l. on dotted exergual line, looking backwards; VM above. 
Rev. The same type incuse.
ref. Spagnoli groupe A 1002 D2/R2?

------

a previously unknown die combinaison for Syracuse wich is pretty rare and what's more, for the Demareteion series.

Sicily, Syracuse. Tetradrachm of the Demareteion series circa 465, AR 16.84 g.
Obv: Slow quadriga right, driven by a male charioteer holding goad and reins. Above, Nike flying to right, crowning horses. Dotted border.
Rev: ΣV – RAK – OΣ – ION Head of Arethusa r., wearing olive wreath, earring and necklace, framed within a circle and surrounded by four dolphins swimming clockwise. 
ref. Boehringer - (V198/R268); Randazzo Hoard -; Sult (JNG 60, 2010) -

 

[Edessa]

Phoenicia, Berytus. Trajan, AD 98-117. Æ25 (13.67g, 12h). Obv: [IMP (CAES)] NER TRAIAN[O OP AVG GER DAC P P]; Laureate bust right. Rev: [COL IVL AVG BER]; Neptune standing left, placing right foot on rock, holding dolphin and trident. Ref: RPC 3847; BMC 26.65.90. Very Good, nice brown patina with wear and scratches.

Why did I buy this? Well, Patricia Lawrence and the group had a discussion about this reverse type on Forum about 20 years ago. That was enough to spark my interest in the type. 

[thejewk]

This is possibly the grottiest coin in my trays, and I have it there with no regrets.

NOT IN RIC / G Askew 433 / Ashmolean HCR4082

IMP C MAXIMIANVS PF AVG

COMES AVGGG

S/P/MLXXI

3.03G

21MM

289-293 AD

 

Understandably it was dirt cheap, but a close look made me realise that this is a coin of Maximian from the London mint of Carausius, and as far as I can tell it's the second known of its type.  GK Askew's book lists it and refers to the Ashmolean, the coin found here: https://www.ashmolean.org/collections-online#/item/ash-object-394875

The coin in the link was donated by the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans who I believe also was the curator at the Ashmolean for a significant period of time.

I have looked on and off since purchasing it in 2021, and I've not found another example.

[Kaleun96]

This one qualifies as "I had money for a better looking Alexander tetradrachm but not one of this type" 😄

Suffice to say, the left-facing Herakles variety of Alexander's tetradrachms are very rare and sought-after so fetch a high price. This one, presumably due to its wear, went very cheaply and would be one of the few examples of the type I could afford. That being said, I really do like the obverse, the wear doesn't bother me at all.

[zadie]

I'll take any opportunity to flaunt my cistphori!

Most of these are relatively rare (less than 10 specimens known per type) but this is mainly because magistrates were rotated out fairly quickly. Regardless, this coin is one of three known of the type and one of my favourites in the collection. Despite the governor's name being almost completely obliterated.

Promagisterial Cistophori. C. Fabius Hadrianus as Proconsul of Asia. Aristoboulos Iereous (priest?), magistrate. AR Cistophoric tetradrachm, Tralles, 24th march 57 BC - 24th march 56 BC. Serpents emerging from cista mystica; all within wreath / [C•FABI•M•F] PROCOS, Two serpents entwined by bow case, eagle above. In the left field, zebu standing. TPAΛ. In the right field, Hermes standing left, holding caduceus. ARIΣTOBOΥΛOΣ / [IEΡΕΥΣ] in exergue. 28.10 mm, 12.41 g. Stumpf 31; Metcalf 329 (O5/R28)
Three known examples: Gorny & Mosch 130, 1256; Hauck & Aufhäuser 6, lot 262 and this coin.

 

Below are pictures of the two other known specimens, both of them leagues better than mine:

Edited October 14 by zadie

[maridvnvm]

One of my collecting focus areas is the eastern mint denarii of Septimius Severus from A.D. 193 to A.D. 196/7. Within this I have a variety of sub-collections, one of which is the series of odd-ending obverse legends that occur at some point after the AVG issue of A.D. 193 but before the COS II issue which spans A.D. 194-195. I am attempting to gather as many different coins from these issues as I can to try and understand the number of obverse dies and the variety of reverse dies associated with the limited number of known obverse dies, finding die linkages to these and other coins where possible. These coins are not well documented in the standard references and are generally listed in the with COS II issue.

Whilst looking for these obverse dies I saw the following coin, which neatly intersects with another of my sub-collections in this series, which is reverse dies with legends ending in II COS. The style struck me as similar is style to some COS I or very early COS II obverse dies.

I was discussing the coin with Curtis Clay and sent him through a plaster cast of the coin from which he was able to confirm the reading of the obverse die as matching a coin ending in II COS on the obverse which had a different reverse die "FORTVNAE REDVCI II COS, Fortuna standing left holding rudder and cornucopia" and was up to that point the only known example of this obverse die.

Obv:– IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG II COS, Laureate head right
Rev:– BONAE SPEI II COS, Spes standing holding flower and lifting skirt
Minted in Emesa, 194 - 195 A.D.
References:– RIC -. RSC -. BMC -.

2.53g, 20.31mm, 0o

Some month later I came across this coin, which is a double die match to the Curtis Clay example (ex Kelly).

Obv:– IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG II COS, Laureate head right
Rev:– FORTVNAE REDVCI II COS, Fortuna standing left holding rudder and cornucopia
Minted in Emesa, 194 - 195 A.D.
References:– RIC -. RSC -. BMC -.

In summary... coins from this issue ending with II COS on the obverse are known from a single obverse die with a total of 3 examples with 2 reverse dies. I am please to have two of these in my collection.

[Sulla80]

I picked up this coin - because I doubted that I would l see another one.  The story of this coin from Corinth is quite unusual:

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/lais-of-corinth

https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/247

 

[panzerman]

My worst looking coin is this....

 

Mallorca

AV Florin d'oro ND

Mallorca Mint

Marti I 1396-1410

This coin was featured in Aureo & Calico "Seleccion 500" Auction

It was estimated at 2000E/ but was unsold/ so I got it for staring price 1200E

Reason? Well its "unique" only one known. The auction house listed it as MBC (VF) to me its looks "very good" at best.

[LongShanks]

I did it for the countermark!  And the coin, even though in low condition, has charm like only an ancient can. there is a lot of beauty and interesting angles in worn, damaged, holed, and repurposed coins.

 

Kallatis, Moesia Inferior Coastal, Black Sea Æ22 7g. 12h, aF, CM:VF, green and red patina Obverse: Dionysos head right, wreathed with ivy, youthful (beardless); CM: Artemis head right, wearing stephane and armed with bow and quiver at shoulder in circular incuse at outer 7h tilted -10° Reverse: Ivy wreath [around magistrate or monogram], fileted thrysos to right; KAΛΛA References: SNG Cop 178; Moushmov 229 (wildwinds example same CM)

[Theodosius]

That is a really clear and detailed countermark. Very cool. 

John

[red_spork]

I wish I could say I bought this because it was cheap but I spent a great deal on this extremely rare Roman Republic drachm which was offered to me by a friend after I mentioned buying a corresponding didrachm. I've been looking for a predenarius drachm for quite some time so I was excited to acquire it. The didrachms are not particularly rare but few people realize that a few of the issues also include a drachm since they almost never come up for sale

Roman Republic AR Drachm(15mm, 3.19g, 8h), anonymous, circa 235 BC, Rome mint. Laureate head of Apollo right / Horse rearing left; above ROMA. Crawford 26/2; Sydenham 28; HN Italy 307; BMCRR Romano-Campanian 69b

Privately purchased from a friend in February 2024, privately purchased by him from Andrew McCabe in 2022, ex Roma Numismatics Auction 9, 22 March 2015, lot 492

[Limes]

On 9/25/2024 at 7:16 PM, AncientCoinnoisseur said:

I’m curious about any ‘worn because rare’ or similar coins in your collection. Maybe you liked the texture, the shape, or anything else about the coin, really.  
  
Note: it doesn’t have to be an expensive coin, but I’m not allowing ‘beginner coins bought because I had a low budget’. I want coins you purposefully bought that way, even though you had a higher budget for a better looking coin! And I want to know why you got it 🙂  

I’m also allowing ‘cheap version’ of very expensive coins (e.g. a Dekadrachm, a Cleopatra, etc…)

Well, depending on whats 'worn', a lot of coins in my collection could be considered 'worn'. I collect coins because of history, I don't simply collect pretty coins.  If I can chose between an interesting coin or a pretty coin without a good backstory, I generally go for the latter. I understand that most collectors or interested people prefer pretty over interesting, that has become apparant in my few collecting years. And maybe I find a prettier version of a coin I'm interested in. But then there's the wouldn't/couldn't rule. For some coins I won't pay more; for some coins I cannot pay more. It's not an exact science either and lines shift over time.

Edit: 'worn' is subjective of course. 

Below, some examples.

Wouldn't - paying this amount for this coin is what I think was good. Despite the flaws, it ticked the boxes. Generally speaking, I think the 'wouldn't categorie' flows into the 'couldn't' category, considering my budget. I won't be able to afford a XF+ sestertius of Caligula. 

 

Couldn't: there are better types out there, for these very rare types. But I simply cannot afford it.

Some collectors will never add these to their collection, because they are not pretty enough. I'm more than happy to have been able to add these. They are referring to historical events or what ancient Rome looked back then, and I want my collection to tell and show history. 

Edited Sunday at 10:54 AM by Limes

[Roman Collector]

Yes, it's worn. Yes, it has an unsightly scratch right across the portrait. However, the left-facing portrait appears to be unique with this reverse type and I snatched it up as soon as I noticed it for sale. It is unlisted in the major references, and no other specimens appear in the online databases.

It's important because it serves as a die linkage demonstrating the simultaneous production of two different Venus reverse types of Faustina the Younger.

Faustina II, 147-175 CE.
Roman Æ as, 9.17 g, 24.7 mm, 11 h.
Rome, 148 - March 149 CE.
Obv: FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, bare-headed and draped bust, left.
Rev: VENVS S C, Venus standing left, holding apple and rudder about which a dolphin is entwined.
Refs: RIC –; BMCRE –; Cohen –; Strack –; RCV –.

It demonstrates that the long-running Venus with apple and dolphin-entwined rudder type -- which appears in all denominations -- was in simultaneous production at some point with the rather limited Venus adjusting drapery and holding apple type, which was struck only in the medium bronze denomination. Because the reverse design on my new coin is worn and unclear, here's the usual type with the right-facing bust.

Faustina II, 147-175 CE.
Roman orichalcum dupondius, 14.77 g, 26.5 mm, 12 h.
Rome, 148-March 149 CE.
Obv: FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: VENVS S C, Venus standing left, holding apple and rudder, around which a dolphin is entwined.
Refs: RIC 1409b; BMCRE 2160; Cohen 269; RCV 4736.

Note the obverse die match of my new coin to this one with a different VENVS reverse:

Faustina II, 147-175 CE.
Roman Æ as, 9.85 g, 26.0 mm, 6 h.
Rome, 148 - March 149 CE.
Obv: FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, Bust of Faustina II, draped, with band of pearls, left.
Rev: VENVS S C, Venus standing right, arranging drapery on right shoulder, and holding apple in her left hand.
Refs: RIC 1410b (bust l.); BMCRE 2165; Cohen –; Strack 1304; RCV –.
Note: Heritage Auctions, Inc., Auction 271933, lot 35249, 18 August 2019. Ex-Morris collection.

All told, there are 12 specimens of a VENVS S C reverse type with a left-facing portrait of Faustina, all struck with the same obverse die: 11 of the Venus adjusting drapery and holding apple type and 1 specimen of the Venus holding apple and rudder type. 

Edited Sunday at 01:29 PM by Roman Collector
Clarity