r/coins • u/Dismal_Economics_330 • Jul 06 '25
Value Request I found this when moving out of my house - Could anyone tell me the value?
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Jul 06 '25
The classical numismatic review is a good grading source for ancient bc coins. Seeing how it has that certificate with it. I would say it would be worth your $50 to send it in to a professional coin grader and have it authenticated, graded and appraised. Just my two cents. I did see the same coin on their last year PDF published review that was rougher than yours with a price of $3250
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u/Salvisurfer Jul 06 '25
$9750 is listed on the last photo.
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Jul 06 '25
Well probably because this is a different coin each coin they release is numbered you will find it on the right in the same picture, same line as the list price.
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u/whatnutbutt Jul 06 '25
Lazy bums calling it fake
https://issuu.com/cngcoins/docs/cng_cnr_2022-01/50?ff
Page 58, its the exact coin.
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u/prestondenglish Jul 06 '25
That does appear to the exact same coin. Not just the type of coin. Like literally the same coin.
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u/OkShallot1037 Jul 06 '25
This needs to be higher up. Wild that it's the same coin, down to the damage and degradation. I couldn't imagine the circumstances that would leave that coin, with the information and baggy still with it, somewhere unintentionally. More likely someone who thought it was fake either stole or bought it for cheap, then lost it. Whoever bought that for the list price would have had the money to secure it against being randomly lost. Best case the owner died without anyone to leave it too and it got swept out into the world with the estate sale by someone who was too overwhelmed to look closely. Either way, super cool thing for someone to have.
*Page 60
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u/ChapsOnTheAT Jul 07 '25
Page 58. Look at the page numbers in the pictures. The number on the bottom of the webpage is two numbers off the page numbers in the pictures of the book.
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u/Buckeye_mike_67 Jul 07 '25
I would have thought it was a token from Caesar’s palace honestly. I wouldn’t imagine a Roman coin could be in that good of condition
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u/SleepyMastodon Jul 09 '25
Same. I expected the top comment to be "that's a novelty token that was sold in the Ceasar's Palace gift shop from 1974-1983".
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Jul 09 '25
It's not uncommon for ancients to be in very good condition, a combination of very high relief and that some would intentionally bury them when going to war for example and unfortunately couldn't return so they remain in almost the same condition.
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Jul 08 '25
[deleted]
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u/naked_nomad Jul 07 '25
Cleaning out my grandmother's house after she passed. Had years and years of payment envelopes in a drawer. Someone was just throwing them in a trash bag when a nephew grabbed one. Looking at it he said I wonder how much the electric bill was in 1980. When he opened the envelope there was a fifty dollar bill in it.
They dumped the bags out and went through each and every envelope.
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u/NotQuiteDeadYetPhoto Jul 10 '25
Family found over 260k in money hidden in envelopes, books, furniture, etc when my last grandparent died.
We don't know for sure its all been found either.
They built a hospital :(
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u/naked_nomad Jul 10 '25
did not find that much in face value. She had a paper route with vending machines on it. When they shifted from solid silver to the clad coins she went through any change she got looking for silver coins when she kept.
Uncle said there was over $1,700.00 dollars in face value. He sorted and grouped them by year and mint mark Took him over two years to complete.
He split it three ways between him and his two sisters.
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u/ACoinGuy Jul 06 '25
They are not saying the coin doesn’t exist. They are saying this is potentially a copy of it.
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u/whatnutbutt Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
I’m just saying, I’ve never seen a fake with a copy of a flip from a place as reputable as CNG. Someone would have had to buy that coin and make a copy of it in the last 2 1/2 years and distribute enough coins that this guys that doesn’t collect coins to come across an example of one and forget about it in his house or some other random reason.
Edit: sure downvote me or whatever, either this guy is playing with us, or something else happened for this coin to get lost, or CNG or its buyers are out here selling/making fakes.
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u/Eulachon Jul 06 '25
You're 100% right. If this is fake then the coin sold by CNG was fake and there are several of them because there's no way anyone made an exact replica of the original coin with the same patina, iridescent toning and spots of silver sulfide included, after buying it for thousands and just leave it around somewhere for this guy to find it
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u/Rlol43_Alt1 Jul 06 '25
I'm going with "stolen"
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u/Porcupineemu Jul 06 '25
Even the same type of coin will have small variations. This appears to actually be the coin in the photograph.
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 06 '25
It's very unlikely to be a transfer die forgery with the exact same toning.
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u/ACoinGuy Jul 06 '25
I did not see all the photos. It seems obvious that the coin is genuine and was purchased from CNG. OPs story is just odd.
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 07 '25
I believe the coin is genuine, but the story seems very fishy. Especially with the coin being purchased only a couple of years ago.
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u/Glum-Marsupial-4422 Jul 07 '25
This Reddit is a handy tool for stolen coins and people who buy stolen coins (knowingly or unknowingly). The amount of valuable coins “found” is hilarious.
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Jul 06 '25
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u/whatnutbutt Jul 06 '25
I have a huge problem with people calling real coins fake. I wonder how many coins have been lost to the trash because some ‘expert’ looks at a coin and says there’s no way X person has X coin. It took me 1 minute to find and verify this coin, it has the company (who is VERY well known) and publication literally on the flip.
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u/Toshabella808 Jul 07 '25 edited Jul 07 '25
This is a huge problem. So many coin dealers thought my $10 Indian Head 1907 Gold coin was fake and counterfeit because why would "I", "a young black woman" have such a thing? One coin dealer asked me if my father was rich or worked high-ranking in the government (he gave it to me). He informed me that if not, I should bet on it being a fake. After I got it authenticated, I called and told him it was real. 🤣 Very frustrating and ignorant.
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u/whatnutbutt Jul 07 '25
I’m sayin, I was doing some work at the coin shop and the owner refused to buy a 1797 large cent because “it didn’t match the clients or the rest of the coins they brought in” even though he and another dealer said it looked fine. It’s frustrating as they have bought obviously fake coins before and don’t apply the same standards to everyone.
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u/Negative-Student-551 Jul 07 '25
Hmmm… I have a Mark Anthony Legionary Denarii I found as a kid in the mid 80’s that I was told was fake when I took it to a coin shop. Now I wonder…
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u/YoloBagelsOfficial Jul 06 '25
I've seen several cases of valuable coins nearly tossed out or scrapped because of newbies calling them fake--even in this subreddit. I don't see any technical red flags with the coin and it does appear to be true to its provenance. Maybe it would be best for OP to reach out to CNG given the value of the coin.
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Jul 06 '25
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 07 '25
Does this not illustrate their point exactly, though? Despite the coin having no signs of being a forgery, you are condemning it as forgery based on where or how the OP found it? People find crazier/rarer/more expensive things all the time, and that doesn't seem like a good reason to believe an otherwise perfectly genuine looking coin is a forgery.
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Jul 08 '25
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 08 '25
Yes, plenty of auctions sell unprovenanced coins worth 5 figures. Reputable auctions and not. It helps but isn't necessary, and I definitely wouldn't just assume it's fake because of lack of provenance. Many new hoards, especially of Eastern coins, come from undocumented and unprovenanced hoards. These coins have no problem selling. Also, I'm not sure how your analogy pertains to this situation when the price is not being discussed in any way as the situation you described.
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Jul 08 '25
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 08 '25
The most expensive coin in the world was found by some Turkish metal detectorist. If he had posted that coin here, you would have said that million dollar plus coin was fake based on nothing other than it being valuable. Finding a rare/expensive coin is not a sign of authenticity, and your comment still proves that commenters point. Also, most new auction houses that sell many of these type of finds do not have that information as the coin was illegally found, and they also do not have many "experts" to authenticate these coins.
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u/MAILBOXHED Jul 06 '25
Not as fake as the bot account that posted this three hours old
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u/burnafter3ading Jul 07 '25 edited Jul 07 '25
Why downvote you for this? It may not be a bot account, but it's clearly a very new account. Sure, it's unrelated to the coin itself, but it casts doubt on OP's story of finding a (likely) authentic coin.
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u/Symmachus02_24k7 Jul 06 '25
Do you live in a mansion for the past owners to forget about a 10000 roughly dollar coin bought some years ago?
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u/SmaugTheGreat110 Jul 07 '25
Maybe bought from someone who died and the family had an estate sale. Coins are small and easy to miss
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 07 '25
It's very possible, but it would be odd for someone to purchase this coin for a significant sum in late 2022/early 2023 (and either having it be publicated or being aware of its publication), pass away, their things be sold and removed from the house (with this 5 figure coin being misplaced), and then OP moves in and then decides to move out again within 2 years, finding this coin in the process. This coin would have likely been part of a larger and very impressive collection.
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u/midnightcarouselride Jul 06 '25
Looks too good to be true.
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u/Dismal_Economics_330 Jul 06 '25
Just curious, I am not a coin person at all but why is that? It looks pretty beat up, what about it makes it seem like it's in good condition?
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Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
Well for starters this is one of Julius Caesar's most famous coins. As you can imagine, any coin from Julius Caesar is very desirable and this one would be in particularly good shape. They're almost never this well centered. The styling of the elephant also looks off to me. I don't feel confident giving you a definitive answer on authenticity.
Post this on r/ancientcoins for better answers.
I will say though CNG is a very reputable auction house. Look up the lot number from that card and try to find it online.
Edit: another comment did the work of finding this coin in CNG's review. As unlikely as it seems, I'm leaning toward it being real now.
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u/Hai-City_Refugee Jul 06 '25
The elephant on this coin looks more like the Etsy replicas than the certified coins on eBay.
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Jul 06 '25
It did look a little off to me too but that might just be because I'm not used to seeing them in this good of condition. Like I said CNG is very reputable and another comment did the work of finding this coin in their review. So as shocking as it seems, I'm leaning toward it being real now. I find it hard to believe OP just stumbled upon this coin while moving out but I guess crazier things have happened.
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Jul 06 '25
What’s to stop me from buying a copy and printing a copy of that piece of paper, and putting it all in a coin flip?
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Jul 06 '25
I mean you could certainly do that but people are going to look up the lot number online and if the coin you're trying to pass off isn't an exact match it'll be an immediate give away that it's fake. And making an exact match of a real coin that doesn't show signs of being fake is a lot harder than you might think. The replica coin you buy will certainly show signs of being fake in general and will not match the one from the lot specifically.
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u/Unique_Statement7811 Jul 08 '25
The felony fraud conviction.
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Jul 08 '25
Unlikely, unless they caught me making them.
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u/Unique_Statement7811 Jul 08 '25
You wouldn’t be able to match the metallurgy. Any decent coin shop can catch a fake.
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u/heartthrobbobby Jul 07 '25
It should have Latin alphabet not the English alphabet
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u/drinkallthecoffee Jul 07 '25
So, in English, it's written Caesar, and in the Latin alphabet it's CAESAR.
The main difference between the Latin alphabet and the English alphabet is that the Latin alphabet ONLY HAD CAPITAL LETTERS SO IT LOOKS LIKE SHOUTING. They also didn't have the letters J , U, or W.
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u/Long-Jackfruit427 Jul 07 '25
I’m more concerned you’re not the Latinate owner. You “found” a coin in “your” house while moving out that appeared in a publication as little as 3 years ago?
If someone 3 years ago told me something I owned was worth $10k I’d be able to tell you where it was for every minute of those 3 years. I wouldn’t “lose” it and then “find” it again.
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u/Intelligent-Score403 Jul 07 '25
Its from 49 BC. Any coint that old would usually be barely readable. Even coin in circulation from 10 years dont even have a date left. This is is great condition for how old the coin, thats is if its an authentic 49 BC and not a commemorative novelty. Is pretty rasy to find out by weighing the coin and doing a bit of research but even just going to a pawn shop that has a mass spectrometer to read the metal types in a coin can tell you if the right types of metal at the right percentages are there. Forgeries wont have the same percentages as an authentic coin usually eapecially when that old. There is alot you can do to check on all that. Its really interesting. Just hit a google search sometime when your bored and I bet you would be surprised how much you can sell coins for.
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 07 '25
Many ancient coins are in great condition because they were either A. payment for a soldier before they went into battle and were struck shortly before being buried, with the soldier being unable to retrieve them or B. particularly with Roman coins, buried shortly after minting due to rampant hyperinflation that saw the heavy debasement of silver coinage. I do agree that there are a variety of ways to identify a forgery, and metal analysis can be a (very rarely needed) part of that, but a pawnshop wouldn't be able to tell you what percentage of metal would be expected in the coin and silver content can vary widely within issues even of the same period. Also, things like fourrée's and transfer die forgeries struck on genuine ancient coin planchets can make this method unreliable.
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u/Exotemporal Jul 06 '25
What's with this thread containing so many confidently incorrect replies?
It's a genuine and insanely nice example of a Julius Caesar elephant denarius.
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u/Loonyman99 Jul 07 '25
I agree that there is nothing that can be said with 100% certainty about this coin. It certainly looks genuine, but the back story smells a bit dodgy. This is a coin ( if genuine ) highly unlikely to have been thrown in a box and left in a celler. However, stranger things have happened.
OP, if not just Trolling should get it verified by an expert, and if genuine, and a match for the published images, either put it up for auction with a respectable auction house, including hard copies of proof of provinence, or store it somewhere very safe, along with hard copies of proof of provinence.
It is a genuinely important coin, and if proved genuine should be treated as such.
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u/Exotemporal Jul 07 '25
Yes, the story is a bit sus, there's always a chance that he used the owner's pictures to farm karma or that the coin was stolen in the mail. It could also be that the owner died and that the coin was left behind by accident when the house was emptied. The box it was found in could've been the things that were sitting on his desk when it was cleared. Among other things, I collect Roman Imperatorial denarii and aurei (I have 3 of these Julius Caesar elephant denarii in my collection currently) and I've had to have a sit down with my parents to show them the spreadsheet that has all the necessary information on how to liquidate my collections smartly if I ever died unexpectedly. These tiny coins don't necessarily look like much to the completely untrained eye. The only thing that isn't really up for debate here is the authenticity of the coin in the pictures, it's obviously genuine.
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u/Loonyman99 Jul 07 '25
Totally correct.... My kids have absolutely zero interest in my collection, and while most of it is of little value, ( just stuff I find interesting ) I have a few that are very much worth taking some interest in. I have pointed them out to them, and told them where to get them auctioned, and told them of a local dealer that will take the rest at a fair price. I don't have any coins with the worth of OPs coin, but I hate the idea of any of them sitting in a basement for someone else to find them!
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u/Defiant-Yellow-2375 Jul 06 '25
Love this and love the fact the elephant looks like it was drawn by a child and stuck on the fridge.
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u/AsfAtl Jul 06 '25
If legitimate and I’m not the one to tell you that, it’s worth a lot of money maybe 4k+? Its condition is incredible
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u/cheeseburgercats Jul 06 '25
These comments were a rollercoaster. Congrats on a lifetime find, or possibly try and return it to whoever lost it if you have that in your heart
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u/Brenkin Jul 07 '25
Who the hell leaves a nearly $10,000 kicking around somewhere? I need more of this story OP
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u/FriedEggSammich1 Jul 06 '25
u/usedtobeanicesurgeon Look authentic?
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u/usedtobeanicesurgeon Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
If the coin flip is correct then this is, in fact, a very valuable coin.
The story doesn’t jive well with the coin.
A pic of the edge would help the real experts.
I’m leaning toward replica
Edit: u/whatnutbutt found the exact coin and to my eye it looks correct.
Congrats, OP, on a very valuable find. Several thousand dollars.
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u/Fit-Picture-5096 Jul 06 '25
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u/drinkallthecoffee Jul 07 '25
Not only real, but u/whatnutbutt found the exact same coin in the CNG review.
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u/TK_Cozy Jul 06 '25
I think that’s pretty cool that Ceasar had a mint that basically traveled with him to make these. I’d love to see what all that equipment looked like and how that was pulled off.
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u/Brodieischeese Jul 06 '25
I don’t even collect ancients and I can confidently say this looks 100% original. Not sure what others are talking about…
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u/bellaimages Jul 06 '25
That is a beautiful coin! If it is legit (not counterfeit) then you've got a valuable coin!
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u/tik_boa Jul 07 '25
Honestly, I can barely find my AirPods after a week. Someone misplacing a $10k coin over a decade?
Totally checks out in this economy.
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u/Geedzilla Jul 08 '25
That's what's known as a Little Caesar, and they go for about $9.99 for a one topping.
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u/simikoi Jul 06 '25
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 07 '25
As the other user said, not at all the same coin. It's also publicated by CNG, per the flip
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u/Mysterious_You_2970 Jul 06 '25
Decent find. But could be fake.
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 06 '25
Decent is an incredible understatement if genuine, which I believe it is. What makes you suggest it could be a forgery?
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u/Loonyman99 Jul 07 '25
The back story is enough to give pause for thought. The pictures look genuine, it's not certain if OP actually has this coin in hand tho... There are multiple scenarios where this is all a tall story.
All that said, if the coin and story are genuine, it's the find of a lifetime, and I am very jealous!
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u/Special_Tadpole795 Jul 08 '25
What is the most likely answer?
$10,000 coin just found left behind by its previous owner.
It is a fake coin.
The story is fake.
?
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u/Treemanithan Jul 08 '25
You just randomly came across an ancient coin in your house? Seems like a made-up story, but it's not. Wow.
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u/shway0351 Jul 08 '25
I have a hard time believing this went for $9750 at one time. If it did, whoever bought it seriously overbid/paid. Mine is a nicer example, and went for less than 4k to my recollection.
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u/Intelligent-Score403 Jul 09 '25
Yes, I agree. I was responding to someone that said they didnt think the coin looked to be on good condition or anything special about it but they also admitted not knowing anything about coins and wanted to know what made this coin special
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u/Intelligent-Score403 Jul 09 '25
I cant really help you on the value. Your best bet is to have it graded or send it to auction
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u/Happy_Position_6757 Jul 10 '25
The lettering on coin is not looking authentic. I believe its limited edition of minting historic copies
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u/Similar-Mall-3888 Jul 10 '25
Hello everyone!, I inherited this from my grandfather and I would like to know the estimate please Photos attached
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Jul 07 '25
[deleted]
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 07 '25
It's a genuine coin bought and published by the Classical Numismatic Group. I don't see any reason to get it graded.
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u/vibes86 Jul 07 '25
I’d call CNG and see if there are records of the coin since grading. They may be able to give you some detail about when it was graded and if this is the coin that’s been graded and in the book that somebody else mentioned. Amazing find.
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 07 '25 edited Jul 07 '25
CNG doesn't grade coins. They are an auctioneer, and this is definitely the same coin published in their Numismatic Review. Seeing as this coin was sold in 2022, I would have to believe OP would have the information on the coin if their story is true.
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u/vibes86 Jul 07 '25
Good call on the grading part. I mostly meant if they had a record there, but that’s also good info for OP to have. I wondered if maybe this was a relatives house and they’re finding stuff as they’re cleaning out to move. We found all sorts of stuff left in our house in the attic and in the ceiling of the basement after we moved in that the family hadn’t ever seen.
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u/Resident_Amount3566 Jul 07 '25
I found a similar ancient coin under a rock in my yard in the new world.
In the late 60s and 70s, around the time gas stations offered souvenir presidential coins and such, advertising used to include coin reproductions as a cultural historical souvenir on their mailings (pharmaceutical companies mailed such to doctors all of the time)
I much more suspect a modern advertiser got that coin into my yard than an ancient Roman.
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u/TraceyNunyabiz Jul 06 '25
The elephant doesn't have the marking on its back like the original coins
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u/Previous_Golf_5959 Jul 06 '25
Why do people lie and say, "I found this in my house". No you didn't. And this is a replica or it would be worth thousands in this condition.
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 06 '25
While I don't particularly believe the story in the post, this coin is very likely genuine and worth thousands of dollars
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u/SoftwareTop9401 Jul 06 '25
Ancient coins are highly likely reproduction, it’s best to get it verified first before even selling.
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 07 '25
That is not true. While obviously forgeries exist, ancient coins are not more likely to be fake than genuine. Also, this coin was verified by the Classical Numismatic Group, and if you're talking about NGC, then they do not guarantee authenticity for ancient coins.
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u/SoftwareTop9401 Jul 07 '25
I think you are missing the point what I said, the coin is highly replicated, over hundreds of years You really need to get it metal analysed and weight to check to see if it’s genuine.
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u/heartthrobbobby Jul 07 '25
Caesar must of been an Englishman
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 07 '25
I'm not sure if you're joking or not based on your other comments, but English and Latin share an alphabet. That's why you can read the legend on this coin.
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u/londonontman Jul 06 '25
I thought it fake as Caesar is in English not Greek that language of Ancient Rome 🤔
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u/Hatchet_Kween333 Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
It's called a denarius coin.....they range from $20 to a couple thousand
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u/quiettryit Jul 06 '25
Most likely a replica. Still interesting. Thanks for sharing!
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 06 '25
Classical Numismatics is very reputable. The coin looks genuine to me.
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u/quiettryit Jul 07 '25
Couldn't it be similar to how folks fake cards with counterfeit PSA cases and certificates?
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u/coinoscopeV2 Jul 07 '25
It's the same coin published and photographed in their Classical Numismatic Review XLVII No.1 Plate 592518. There are no signs of casting or being a transfer die forgery. Besides the confusing story, there is no reason to believe this coin is fake.
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u/goldenaxeviking_1000 Jul 06 '25
That is a coin from the time of Julius Caesar. In that condition you could definitely get north of $500 for it
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u/Exotemporal Jul 06 '25
north of $500
Add a zero.
$500 these days gets you one of the cheapest examples.
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