sigh Clio again

Back in the day I had all those NFA catalogs (I never paid for them, but they were sent as a dealer courtesy). David Sear worked for them then, and I remember buying some Republican denarii at a show, I made serious bank selling them, but when I asked David for more I was shot down by Bruce. Way too cheap. Still, I turned $100 into $500.

 

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They can be regularly found on Amazon for $4-$5 shipped and I agree, anyone who collects ancients should buy a copy.

 

The NFA catalogs and the Hunt brothers catalogs are like gold... A nice person at Sotheby's tipped me off to buy the Hunt books for $125 for the set of 5 when they came out. I even got all the prices realized. I think they are $125 each now and worth it just for the pictures.

 

I assume he isn't into ancient Chinese, so I should be safe for the moment.

*currently knocking on all the wood I can find*

 

Maybe he makes colloidal silver?

 

There is a long piece in this week's LA Weekly by Hillel Aron: The Downfall of an Ancient Coin Dealer Who Defrauded Customers of Millions and Lost a Bronze Head. The dealer may be the one you are thinking of.

 

Thanks, Ed. I was wondering about Freeman. Sounds like he was a great numismatist but poor businessman who got in way over his head.

 

While I'm sorry they got scammed, the people who invested in hedge funds backed by "pools of ancient coins" are not collectors. I doubt anyone here would want to invest and own shares in a pool of ancient coins you'll never see or own.

What kind of garbage is that? Obviously they should have expected to get burned. No self-respecting dealer would treat ancient coins like stocks and bonds to speculate on. If one of my dealers was doing that, I'd imediately find a new dealer.

 

The author of the article was after me for a long time to get an interview, but I didnt want to get mixed up in all that nonsense. Rob was indeed a nice guy, but he knew full well what he was doing. It wasnt just bad business decisions. The only reason he isnt in prison is that his deals were presented as investments and as we all know one can lose as well as gain. Still, he was operating a Ponzi scheme.

 

This advice from a lawyer on the clock would be worth many times his hourly rate.

The most basic business decision is whether you are in business to make money in any way you can or whether you are in business to make money honestly. That takes us back to what we each can do as worded by Sallent:

 

For how few I actually bid on or even win on CNG, I was kind of shocked that I got Clio'd today.
I guess it eventually happens to all of us.
The coin was an "In the name of" Alexander III that I really wanted though.
I did end up with 2 other coins though so not to bad. Will post those when they get delivered no need for hexes

 

Yeah, don't jinx it! Congratulations to you only when they arrive safe and sound.

 

I believe Clio should laugh a lot when reading this thread here in CT.

Could it be Clio's Chuck Norris numismatist version?

 

That is a very nice example and much better than mine. I did not see yours today.

 

I have an opinion and nothing more. In the stock market there are funds that select the stocks they hold to match exactly some Index of stocks (e.g. NASDAQ). They don't try to second guess the market but just buy what is needed to match the Index. I believe a collector could do a lot worse than to buy coins matching what Clio bought in previous sales. He does not buy randomly but has excellent taste. I somehow suspect that I would like the three coins that Clio overbid Barry on. Based on the coins I have seen him win (over me, over TIF etc.) I would buy a book illustrating his collection as a text of coins I would love to have (even in a slightly lower grade). If he were buying wildly and randomly, I would have no respect for him. If I had bought $1000 worth of Apple or Berkshire Hathaway stock the first time I heard of them, you would all hate me now.

Who has Clioed Clio? One among you must.

 

It's one of my life goals to clio Clio. One day, it'll happen.

Oh, and I seem to recall @Quant.Geek clio'ing Clio in the past!

 

Sorry Doug, I resurected an old thread simply because I didn't want to start another Clio thread.

Yeah it's personal now

 

It's very difficult to knowingly Clio Clio, especially in a CNG auction. His bids come in with a second or less left, so you don't know he's the high bidder until the lot closes, and CNG doesn't allow you to see who the underbidders are. He does bid in advance in some other sales.

Barry Murphy