The 10K+ club

Here is a coin that I saved up for for two months(had to cut a lot of lawns for this baby!)
AV Oktadrachm ND 28.09g./ 28mm. Alexandria Mint struck under Ptolemy VI 180-65BC
obv. Arsinoe II Philadephos
won for 17K

 

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gulp

 

Gorgeous! I have long-coveted one of these for my women on ancient coins collection, but it has always been out of my reach. The sacrifices we make for a wife and kids, eh?

 

Amazing piece! Worth every penny of 17k for a collector who is lucky enough to have a coin that beautiful and rare in their collection. I only spend around $100 a week on coins at most, though if I had 17k money available to spend on anything, it would go on a beautiful coin like yours!

 

I kinda got a system/ my wife made a deal with me. I work 40 hrs a week from April/Dec for paying the bills. She said everything over that is for me
So, this year I took on even more work= 125K for coins. The 100 hr weeks in June/July/Aug. suck! But thinking of the coins makes me happy. Plus I get the Winter off to enjoy. I will be trimming cedar hedges tomorrow....

 

Another beauty @panzerman

Only? I wish!

 

I picked the wrong line of work lol! Worth all the hard work for those coins, you are extremely lucky! Once again, congrats on such a beautiful coin!

 

Normally it is around $50, still a lot, I try to never go above $100, as it is very hard to control myself at the coin shop! I spend too much on coins...

 

Don't we all; according to our spouses anyway

 

Wow that is a beautiful and absolutely massive gold coin. Thank goodness CT allows me to live vicariously through my coin friends. I'm not even fancy enough to own a photo of coins like that!

Great coin @panzerman!

 

Best thing about my work, I am outdoors in the fresh air/ do not have to dressup, mostly go shirtless/ even drink a few ice cold Coronas on hot days. Reason that i do well in my profession(lawn/garden services) I work alone/ no staff to pay/ little overhead/ I can get as much work done in a day/ as a bigger outfit with six emplyees! Clients nickname me, "The Army of one" aka Dolph Lundgren movie
Well I am off to work, I got a few good bids on upcoming auctions....

 

The one coin on this page would pay for the rest of my tuition, room and board, and still have some to spare.

 

MAGNIFICENT!!!

Since my absolute individual coin limit, combined monthly coin budgets or not, falls between 1-2K, examples of the type will only be those I visit in my dreams LOL

 

An absolute beauty @panzerman !

Q

 

Great coin, panzerman. Here's some of its siblings:

Berenike ($33K, although it previously sold for $78K)



Ptolemy III ($25K):


Regardless of what level you purchase, it's always worth being aware of what's available. There are coins where I've paid many times what a common example would cost because the coin is in uncommon condition. Knowing when an opportunity is truly special versus a dealer saying "finest known" or "extremely rare" is crucial to ensure you're paying the right price for the right coin.

 

Congrats on a sweet looking coin. I have yet to reach even near that amount yet, though there are lots of coins I wouldn't mind getting in that range.

 

Just got home from work
Those two coins you posted are BEAUTIFULL, you have a magnificent collection...
The Ptolemy III example shows how artistic the Ancients where in their coin designs/ way nicer then what is minted nowadays. Your coin photography is fantastic.

 

Curious, you paid over 50% less for the Berenike than what is was sold previously. Did you get a sweet deal, or did they grossly over pay @ $78k (or a little of both)?

 

I think it was a bit of both. It sold one more time in the middle for $48K which is probably more around where it should be priced today. I was shocked to get it at the level I did and was willing to go considerably higher: I won it on a "throw away" book bid at a Triton sale. There was a Berenike gold dekadrachm as the prior lot which I was also in the running for but was ultimately outbid. It was so strong it elicited a round of applause from the auction room... and the octodrachm was the next lot, which went for the opening price, my book bid.

I sat in slightly concerned horror for a moment trying to determine if it was actually my bid or if I lost it to another book bid but ultimately decided to not bid against the book which was the right decision as I'd be running myself up. That was the last time I put a book bid in a live sale where I was attending in person: it's not worth the confusion.

These Berenike II octodrachms are quite rare in nice style. There are two slightly nicer examples which have been on the market, both "selling" for 120K CHF hammer. When viewing auction records, it's important to keep an eye of skepticism from some auction houses: not everything that is listed as sold was really sold and it often takes cross-referencing with people who take notes in the room to get a more complete picture. One of these two coins has since resold for $62K which is roughly in-line with where I'd think it should be (~25% nicer than mine).

Or, it's all just two people who keep their paddle up as long as it takes to win and no amount of quantifiable analysis will help to understand price.

 

Thanks, I appreciate the compliments!