Another newp- my first electrum coin!

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by lordmarcovan, Jun 9, 2017.

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  1. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    Yes, unsurprisingly on my budget, my first electrum is a tiny little hekte.

    I liked this one for the design, centering (no "nose off the flan" here), and the archaic incuse-punched reverse.

    The price seemed budget-friendly for one of these, too. With the Euro/USD exchange rate, it was $420.98 plus shipping on MA-Shops, but I think I must've caught it on sale on VCoins - I got it there for $358.88 plus shipping and surcharge ($391.20 total, so under four hundred bucks). I think that's a pretty good deal, since most of these little electrum pieces I've seen have been $500+, mostly. This one is described as having "surface scratches on obverse", but from what I'm seeing in the photos, it looks quite acceptable to me.

    This will be my first purchase from GIN (Germania Inferior Numismatics), in the Netherlands. Do any of you have any experience with this seller? I've seen their listings on both VCoins and MA-Shops, as mentioned, and mostly like what I've seen vis-a-vis price versus quality.


    Description
    ANCIENT GREECE EL Hekte 478-387 B.C.
    Grade: VF/VF+ surface scratches on obverse
    Material: Gold
    Weight: 2.53 g
    Diameter: 9.00 mm
    Obverse:     Helmeted head of Athena right; below, dolphin swimming left.

    Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square​


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2017
    lordmarcovan, Jun 9, 2017
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  3. gregarious

    gregarious E Pluribus Unum

    very nice!
     
    gregarious, Jun 9, 2017
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  4. Nerva

    Nerva Well-Known Member

    Excellent purchase, and I've had good experience with GIN.
     
    Nerva, Jun 9, 2017
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  5. panzerman

    panzerman Well-Known Member

    Super coin! These EL hektes were composed of 50/50 Gold/Silver, all are pretty rare. Also neat, that there are so many different reverse/obverse designs!
    John
     
    panzerman, Jun 9, 2017
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  6. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Dolf is a great guy! Highly recommend. Fair; quality; great service; ships quickly / packs well; one of my favorite Providers... Rats, now a secret is out!
     
    Alegandron, Jun 9, 2017
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  7. Theodosius

    Theodosius Fine Style Seeker

    Great choice Rob! That looks like a very reasonable deal.

    Is it my imagination or are these hektes much more prevalent in the market than they were 30 years ago? Have large hoards of these been found in the last few decades?

    It may be that 30 years ago I ignored anything gold or electrum as not affordable for me at the time.

    :)
     
    Theodosius, Jun 9, 2017
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  8. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    Thanks. High praise, coming from you. Yes, I saw there was a wonderful variety of designs, but many seem to be off-center. In the less expensive ones, I thought this was well-centered and I liked the incuse punch, as mentioned. I've been meaning to get another archaic piece with the quadripartite punch for a while, and now I just did.
     
    lordmarcovan, Jun 9, 2017
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  9. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    Dunno. They weren't on my radar (and certainly not my college-aged budget!) 30 years ago. I only just "discovered" them a few years ago, seeing them in cases at shows.
     
    lordmarcovan, Jun 9, 2017
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  10. Nerva

    Nerva Well-Known Member

    A dealer told me that a vast collection was given an export license from Turkey a few years ago so there are a lot on the market now.
     
    Nerva, Jun 9, 2017
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  11. Nerva

    Nerva Well-Known Member

    ... other possibility is lots of fakes coming to market, though I don't like to think about that...
     
    Nerva, Jun 9, 2017
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  12. Aethelred

    Aethelred The Old Dead King

    Awesome little coin in nice style and well centered.
     
    Aethelred, Jun 9, 2017
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  13. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    The number of small electrums that have been appearing in sales like CNG has been amazing me for a year or more now. What really gets me are the large lots at the end of the sales. Check Triton XX lots 1659 and twenty lots following each having 15 electrum coins (many all the same). What I learned from this is that hecate come in rolls of 15. I wonder if they were delivered in bank style paper rolls??? It is one thing to have a lot of nice individual coins in sales. It is another to be in a position to offer a group of 15. What are we to think when there are so many coins not deemed worth offering individually? I would love to have some of these but do have to wonder if there is market support for the bottom of the barrel. Will we stop calling Gordian the cockroach of ancient coins? What is melt value of a hecate? The OP coin is attractive but what will become of the ones off center or scratched?
     
    dougsmit, Jun 9, 2017
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  14. Ancientnoob

    Ancientnoob Money Changer

    Love it!
     
    Ancientnoob, Jun 9, 2017
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  15. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    :rolleyes:

    Lord-M => congrats on that awesome OP-goldie-ish addition (man, I love those lil' babies)

    Yup, I only have two examples to add to your cool thread ... wanna see 'em?

    Lesbos, Mytilene EL Hekte - Sixth Stater
    478-455 BC
    10 mm & 2.48 grams
    Ram's Head & Bull's Head (Incuse)
    Lesbos Mytilene.jpg


    Lesbos, Mytilene EL Hekte - Sixth Stater
    454-428/7
    10 mm & 2.44 grams
    Silenos portrait & two rams butting
    Lesbos Silenos & Rams.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2017
    stevex6, Jun 9, 2017
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  16. Mikey Zee

    Mikey Zee Delenda Est Carthago

    Excellent hekte at a very attractive price!!!

    My sole example cost less but has far less eye-appeal as well----Lebos, Mytilene, circa 377 BC (Apollo and Artemis or just male/female heads??): Electrum El Hekte Lesbos Mytilene.jpg
     
    Mikey Zee, Jun 9, 2017
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  17. red_spork

    red_spork Triumvir monetalis

    I have purchased from Dolf at GIN a few times and my dealings with him have always been pleasant. For the coins I've purchased the prices were excellent for retail and competitive with auction prices. His shipping seemed a little expensive at first but he ships with 2-day Fedex shipping so your coins are in-hand faster than most domestic sellers.
     
    red_spork, Jun 9, 2017
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  18. gregarious

    gregarious E Pluribus Unum

    ...you will now have to change it to " box of 21":)
     
    gregarious, Jun 9, 2017
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  19. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    Nice little coin, Rob. Congrats. Good price too!
     
    Mat, Jun 9, 2017
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  20. Jwt708

    Jwt708 Well-Known Member

    Good points. Maybe I'll get to add one of the low end ones. Hmmm...what is the melt value...

    @lordmarcovan Nice new addition!
     
    Jwt708, Jun 9, 2017
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  21. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

    Nice!
     
    randygeki, Jun 9, 2017
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