More provenance than I bargained for (Remembering the great Tom Cederlind)

I recently purchased these two coins from Agora Auctions, for an average price of $63 per coin (including shipping and auction house fees).



None of these coins had any provenance listed for them, nor did the description mention that there would be any collection tickets along with the coins, so I expected to receive the coins with a simple Agora Auctions ticket and nothing else. Well, here is what I got.



Honestly, I could not have asked for better provenance. Although I never met the great Tom Cederlind, nor had the pleasure of purchasing a coin from him, I've heard so many great things about him that I am deeply honored to have these two coins that passed through his hands in my collection. It makes owning these great coins a little extra special.

Maybe it doesn't mean as much to others, but I'm glad I've got two of his coins. Tom Cederlind was a great collector, dealer, and representative for our hobby, and having these tickets show up with my coins (when I was not expecting it) was a nice bonus.

 

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Those are two great coins with wonderful provenances! That Phillip has a superb portrait too.

 

Congrats Sallient! Funny, I was just going through my coins tonight trying to recall from memory what I'd bought from Tom. I think I've still got about 10 RR and 2 RI, and some of my favorite coins are ones he bought for me in Euopean sales. A pleasant surprise for you!

I find that knowing some of the prior owners or sellers of my coins helps bring them alive even more by bridging the millennia between when they were made/circulated and when they came to me. It's nice to be able to know at least a bit of their journey.

Nice coins btw.

 

Congrats. I really like the Phillip. Both sides. Great detail.

 

I have to agree ...knowing part of the coins journey is pretty cool!!

Terrific coins @Sallent !!

 

Both terrific coins, congrats!

 

I'm always surprised how little provenance Agora lists. The listing for this quinarius for instance, mentioned only that it was Ex. RBW but RBW's envelope mentioned "Malter XXX(Rindge), 6/7/85, lot 1473". After posting the coin here, @Valentinian was nice enough to send me scans of the catalog of Malter XXX which revealed that the Rindge collection was the collection of Frederick H. Rindge, who passed away in 1905. I'm glad it wasn't noted though, it provided a few hours of fun research.


Scans of the tags & auction catalog for those interested:



I unfortunately never got to meet RBW. He passed away right as I began collecting the Roman Republic, but I now own several of his duplicates that I've acquired via various auction houses, dealers and even a few from a collector who knew him.

 

two nice coins and a pleasant surprise to go along with them..win!

 

Yes, nice pedigreed coins, congrats

Q

 

Two very nice coins. Having known Tom for many years I can interpret the back of his tag for you. It was offered for sale in his List #118 (I never kept his catalogs, so I dont know when that list was but his last when he died was #181). I also know his cost code, so if you want what he originally paid I can tell you that as well (privately).

 

Sure thing. I'd love to find out.

 

Two nice coins with good provenances. I especially like youthful Caracalla and Geta portrait coins.
Tom must have had an different / older (?) RSC book. Tom said RSC 545 vs Agora RSC 64. I only have the RR RSC book. Are there that many silver coins of Caracalla?

 

RSC used Cohen numbers so the top is 693 but there are many gaps where the coins of other metals were listed by Cohen.

 

Yes, there are tons of Caracala coins. Remember the guy was co-Emperor and Emperor for two decades. That's a long time as far as ancient Rome goes. Not a lot of Emperors made it to two decades or more. When you take into account the different reverses Caracalla used, and the different obverse portrait styles (young Caracala, teen Caracala, mean adult Caracala, older more friendly Caracala) there are tons of Caracala varieties out there. And that's not even counting the provincial silver coins...and bronzes.

 

For those not familiar with Cohen: Cohen listed coins alphabetically by reverse legend but paid no attention to mintmarks or field letters so you can not equate an RIC numer to a Cohen number unless you understand the limitations. As a result it was easy to assign a Cohen number to part legend coins since it was fair to assume the encircling legend in many cases just based on the type (if it is a Falling Horseman, the legend was FEL TEMP REPARATIO). There is no scholarly organization or dating within the reign implied by the order. Coins from different mints that read the same have the same number. Cohen was a great book for its day and IMHO worth owning today if only in the public domain electronic free online. The 8 volume paperback set was not all that expensive a few years ago but modern collectors expect more organization so RIC numbers are much more popular.

 

Tom was one of the best...

 

Some sweet coins!