Another haul for me from an eBay auction! Won this coin lot for just 50 usd, among them are Roman and Byzantine bronzes plus a couple of Greek silvers. When I first came across this listing, I assumed the tetradrachm was fake (probably why not many bid), but the countless test cuts made me think it might be real, or at least the later intermediate type. But with closer inspection I spotted some unusual lettering on the reverse, upon some further research online, looking up past auctions for hours I found out it was issued under Mazakes. He was the last Achaemenid satrap of Egypt under Darius III. Seller's images, My photo of the coin: Mazakes Persia/Alexandrine Empire. Satrap of Mesopotamia, circa 331-323/2 BC. AR Tetradrachm, 17.08g Imitating Athens. Helmeted head of Athena right / Owl standing right, head facing; olive spray and crescent to left, "Mazakes symbol" and Aramaic MZ[DK] to right in retrograde. Similar coin I found on Fourmancientcoins, Now, most of these issues I've seen online have poor engraving or off-centered with justifiably numerous test cuts. They also have the name Mazakes normally written, however my coin has it in retrograde. With regards to the value, it's all over the place, ranging from few hundreds to few thousands. But attribution and values aside, I'll take an owl tetradrachm for under 50 bucks any day with some bonus goodies to boot! Couple of my favourites from the lot: Commodus Sestertius, with Virtus holding Parazonium (23g) A Janiform Roman Republican bronze (31.3g), my oldest Roman coin.
That is a fantastic haul, well done! I can see several groups and individual coins in there justifying a $50 USD price tag. (The Commodus Sestertius alone, the other large RIC on their own -- especially with the Janus/Prow As -- or even the Byzantine Folles on their own, and, of course, the Tetradrachm.) Along the same lines, here are a couple nice rarities that I found in eBay group lots, c. 2000-2010, I think. Magnentius BEATITVDO PVBLICA AE3 (RIC VIII Aquileia 164; Vagi 3299; SRCV 18839). Quite rare. I only find a few in commerce, all in bad condition, having sold for few hundred dollars. (The cheapest one has actually reappeared now at Naville; previously in their Auction 76 [130 GBP + 22%, under $200 USD].) Lucius Verus AE Assarion, from Augusta Traiana. Not a valuable coin. (Conceivably $50 or more for the one right buyer.) At the time I found it, it was quite the rarity: It was the only known photographed specimen (RPC & wildwinds "plate coin") until last year, when Staatliche Münzkabinett Berlin photographed theirs (previously it was only described in Schonert-Geiss & Varbanov; RPC still shows the plaster cast, but CN 1727 & SMB now show the coin). And now Chris Scarlioli discovered he has had one unattributed in his collection for a long time too! Scarlioli's is now the RPC IV.1, 10348 (temporary) "digital plate coin" (mine is No. 2). I still have both of those above. The next one I sold when someone offered me hundreds of times what I paid for it. (Back in '05, there may have only ever been 1 public sale of this type [$1200 + fees].) From an unattributed group or a bag of uncleaned -- either way, a nice surprise: John V Paleologus (1341-1391) AE Follaro. (Sear 2515.) A few more have appeared at auction in the past 5-10 years, but in the 2000s this was quite a rarity -- and a big score for a crude little 1g coin!
That's a great discovery and acquisition! The other coins are also very nice. Group lots can be a lot of fun, with always the possibility of a rarity or two included.
