A Couple of Random Ancients

[physics-fan3.14]

How'd I do?

 

I picked these two because my church group just finished a study of Paul's Epistle to the Philippians, and I thought it would be cool to bring in a numismatic tangent.

 

The first is a coin of Macedon/Philippi, struck in commemoration of a battle there (as I understand it). Its a small coin, 17mm. A few questions about this one:

 

First, what denomination is it? I think its bronze (the seller said AE?).

 

Second, is the greenish color good or bad? In US coins, green is very bad... but I've seen a few posts here where people seemed to like the green color.

 

Third, what would you grade it? I understand ancient grading is different, and I need to get used to it. In the US standard, I'd probably call it VF.

 

Fourth, how does this rank in terms of eye appeal? I search a large number looking for a well struck, well centered coin where you could see all the design elements, and I think I did well - but I want to see what the experts think.

 

Fifth - did I get ripped off? I paid about $50 for it, was it worth it? (I know, I know... I always yell at people in other forums about buying something and then asking if they got a good deal. However, I did a bunch of research, compared it to others, and judged based on comparable sales. I'm pretty sure I paid a good price for it - I just want to see what y'all think).

 

 

The second is a bronze Prutah of Festus. Festus was the Consul in Judeah, and when Paul was brought by the Jews to trial, Paul appeal to Caesar. Festus oversaw his trial in Judeah, and forwarded him to Caesar (as you can read about in Acts).

 

Similar questions about this one: Is the color good? It seems to have dirt stuck on it - but all the details are visible. What would you grade it? This one seems trickier to grade, but I'd call it a really good F or maybe low VF. How does it rank on eye appeal? This is another one that seems to come poorly struck, off center, and badly worn for the most part, and it took a lot of searching to find one I really liked. And, what do you think of the price ($45)?

 

 

So, there you have it. I am currently reading a couple of books to get more of an idea what's going on, but I decided to make the leap and buy a couple.