I decided to Back off This One...much to my regret

Now that the auction is over I can go ahead and show you the one that I 'almost got.'

In spite of this being of the few on my list of coins I would still like to get while I am of this earth (hopefully still for a long while), I decided to back-off this one simply for the reason that, on the picture at least, the coin looks a bit porous, potentially crystallised and therefore fragile.

You may recall thread about my beautiful Nero denarius which ended up in two pieces?
Well, that one really spooked me, and I did not want to run anew the risk of ending up with two pieces of an expensive coin in my hands. It just looks fragile to me.

I know that it is difficult (impossible) to judge from a picture, but I just did not feel comfortable with it.

I made it part of the way thru the bidding, and then commonsense took over.

On the bright side, now I have some funds for something else...

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

There is an old french proverb from the XIII century who says :a scalded cat even fears cold water......

 

looks OK to me , no cracks , attractive Caligula denarius ,depends on price if it would be a good buy.
need one too , in the meantime I'm happy with my fouree:

 

I may yet live to regret that decision, but at the moment I think I did the right thing
(at least I think I do...).

Post your 'I almost, almost got this' if you have any!

 

For what it's worth, I've also noticed that some auction houses photograph their coins in such a way that emphasizes their roughness beyond what is visible in hand. This can create the appearance of crystallization where it isn't in reality very bad. But I don't blame you for being spooked.

 

I hope that I am not spooked top the point where I start seeing potential crystallisation in every denarius I come across which interests me - but I don't think that will happen!

 

Too bad @Eduard but sometimes you just have to make a tough decision about a coin. In a recent auction I backed off on a solidus of Heraclius that just was a bit too worn for my liking, so I started getting buyer's remorse even before it was in hand.

 

We all have standards by which we judge coins. I do not mind wear at all compared to coins with poor centering, rough surfaces and poor metal. It is all good. We each can have the coins that appeal to us. I have many coins that have the faults that bother me but those are the spacefillers. Worn coins are more likely to stay here long term.

 

If you were doubting it before buying it, you would not have been happy with it. I think being happy with a purchase is more important than the one that got away.

As mentioned above, photos can be deceiving. Here are 2 photos of a Caligula denarius. One is from Forum Ancient Coins and one is mine.

 

Looks good to me. Besides that, signs of crystallization enhances the natural qualities of any coin with nearly 2,000 years. Besides conferring authenticity, hardly a silver coin with more than 800-900 years will not fail to present some signs.
I understand your concerns. Once I received a sassanian drachm that was delivered broken. Of courier, this is naturally pissed me off.
But at first, in your coin and IMHO, I would like to see it in hands, before decide to give up.

Yeah! I think that is an universal proverb, well known in my language.

 

P.S.: Never buy a bracteate!

 

..i'm with melord on this one...

 

I guess i'll never know if this one is really sound, but that area under the bust where the planchet looks like a bit chipped-off did not help.

 

I almost bought this one below yesterday at the CNG auction. I dont know, something held me back. It wasn't price, it sold a paltry $95 (I feel bad for the consignor). Its just that something was telling me not to buy it. Who knows why we dont always pull the trigger? Will I regret it? Maybe, but eventually another will come along. They always do (well, in most cases) .

 

I regret not going after this unique Vespasian denarius earlier this month. A victim of a busy weekend and other targets in my sites.



And it sold for less than I would have bid.

 

That's some definite chipping (or spalling?) of the crystallized silver, plus additional smaller edge chips that aren't as eye-catching. The vertical line in front of his face and horizontal line that goes straight to his mouth from the vertical line look like evidence of internal cracks/fractures too (not sure if that was also a factor), hard to say but if these are turn-offs then you probably made the right decision.

Given my inexperience, lower standards and limited budget I like crystallization as it is about as close as I can get to a guarantee of authenticity, but the risk of a rarity breaking into 2 or 3 pieces isn't exactly a desirable feature.

 

Exactly! one thing is a $200-$300 denarius breaking into 3 pieces.
That hurts.
Quite another is a $2500+ denarius doing the same thing.
That hurts a whole lot more.

I doubt the auction house would re-imburse me for something like that. Don't know for sure, but it is a good question.

 

I have one currently, but would like to get more in the future. (Most of my coins are from mid 1500’s onwards, but am growing the collection as much as possible). If not too much trouble, could you list some of the other things to look out for when considering purchase of a bracteate? Thank you in advance