Did anyone buy anything in the latest Frank Robinson auction?

The results of the most recent Frank Robinson auction went online this morning. I won three lots. Here are Frank's photos of them; I haven't yet researched all the references. (I know it's considered bad luck to post them before receiving the coins, but I don't think there's too much risk that they won't reach me from upstate New York! Famous last words, of course.)

1. Mark Antony legionary denarius; Leg XIX. Crawford 544/35. I've wanted one of these for a long time -- I didn't care which legion -- and now I've finally bought one. Given that it's listed in Crawford, does it count as another Roman Republican coin?



2. Nero, Alexandria tetradrachm; Alexandria on reverse with elephant hat, Year 12.


3. Julian II double maiorina with bull on reverse, Sirmium Mint, Officina 2. (This is an upgrade; I had another example from the Arles mint which I don't think was quite as nice -- especially the obverse -- so I've put it up for sale.)


Did anyone else buy anything in this auction that they'd like to mention?

 

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I won one coin, a scarce Parthian type, though as per my usual policy I won't go into detail until the coin arrives (and I have the chance to photograph and do a proper write-up).

 

Very nice wins! That's an exceptional legionary denarius, and a fantastic Julian portrait. Are any of those ex Frank's collection?

I was blown out of the water on most things, but barely managed to scrape a win on this Gordie denarius:


I offered a little extra because it was ex Frank's collection, which is a cool provenance. Gordie's ants are easy, but as @Terence Cheesman will attest, it's actually quite difficult to find a superior Gordie denarius. (Of course it's hard to know what it will actually look like in hand, what with Frank's terrible photography.)

 

The Nero had an "R" after the number, so I guess it must come from Frank's collection. The only problem I have with his photos is that they must be at a very low resolution, because they quickly become blurred if I try to enlarge them.

 

I just looked. Looks like I got one piece:



"But Chris, its just like your avatar"........yeah.....shut up. Don't judge me.

 

There was two I was considering but decided against it because of the USPS stuff. I had checked the results and they went past what I would put a max on anyways. So no loss.

 

Question: How long does a coin have to be in possession of a dealer for it to be declared part of his collection? Does length of stay matter or just the intent of the dealer's purchase of that coin? If a dealer buys a coin at auction and three months later sells it, is it an Ex [Dealer's Name Collection] coin or is it just inventory? How would you ever know the intent?

 

Thanks, DonnaML, for your question. And for holding up as much of the tent for this whole forum as you do, on a routine basis. The one of Marc Antony is Just, Just, Just, Brilliant. Congrats on all of these.
And, um, I just paid for this.
https://www.biddr.com/auctions/fsrcoin/browse?a=1215&l=1293038
Here's the Wiki article (again, better than I could do: ) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nectanebo_II.
Frank Robinson notes that the issue has been attributed to Persian occupation. But what I need about the Wiki article is how the gold issue uses hieroglyphics. ..What's the hieroglyphic for scales? --Someone could help with this.
...I need the whole arc from the late dynasties of Pharoahnic Egypt, to the Sudanese kingdoms of Napata and Meroe, to the Christian kingdoms in northern Sudan and Ethiopia /Aksum (/Axum; real academics use both spellings). And sporadically --more often aspirationally-- collect this stuff. Here's my one little amulet from the Meroitic period, bought from someone on UK ebay who had reliable provenance to a recent Christie's auction (with Lots of attendant documentation).

Not a lot to look at, but it's c. 3rd c. BCE, with a stylized depiction of the ram's head of Amun. (With the horns, starting from the lower left.) Amun was kind of the patron god of the Napatan and Meroitic dynasties.
Now, what I'm wishing I could find would be some kind of amulet or scarab, reliably attributed to the 25th Dynasty. ...Regarding Amun, you're invited to consider the transition in a certain 18th Dynasty regnal name (especially in reference to his father, Akhnaten), from 'Tut -Ankh- Aten' to 'Tutankhamun.'

 

An excellent question @TIF I can only answer this for myself. For me, a coin is part of my collection when it adds something to the collection I already have. For example, since I collect the 12 Caesars and in particular the Flavian dynasty, a denarius if Domitian would definitely be part of my collection. However, I do not collect LRBs so tha 40 I just bought would not be part of my collection. In fact I bought them do I
Could give them away to good homes.

to answer your question more directly, if
I were to get rid of a Flavian for example I would definitely consider that coin to be ex:Orfew collection.

 

I won a very rare transitional drachm S31.7. What is different about this coin is the fleur de lis pattern on the tiara....the usual motif is either a 6, 7, or 8 pointed star on S31 drachms. This coin, minted during the Parthian Dark Age was believed to have been minted at the height of a power struggle between Orodes I and Mithradates III. The obverse depicts the effigy more commonly used on Orodes coins, whereas the reverse legend is associated with Mithradates III. The idea, more or less being, that whomever was the victor could claim the coinage....as there were elements of either ruler depicted on them. Because, surely, no one wanted to get on the wrong side of the winning king!

 

Looks like I went 1 for 6 in his latest auction.
Syria, Antiochos VIII tet.
Love that Mark Antony denarius.

​

 

Nice coin, is that Hunnic-Sasanian?

I was trying to find coinage of various steppe-peoples last night, Turkic, Scythian, Hunnic and not much was popping up, but did find a couple of coins similar to yours.

 

Nope, shut out this time.

 

I had forgotten to check results today. Thanks for the reminder. I won two lesser lots but missed the prime interest ones. Those who look at the results should check lot 201R. I wanted that coin but dropped out long before. You don't see many $950 reductions. I want to talk about lot 206R if any of you won it overbidding me at the end. I was a bit glad since I believe my bid was too high all things considered. I hope the buyer understands what it is and why it was worth a bid.

The point of this sale was that Frank decided to downsize his collection and put a few of his long term coins flagging them with the R. I consider those to be legitimately ex. Frank but the ordinary stuff he sells is listed as bought from him but not as from his collection.

Congratulations to the winners.

 

No, its Vahran II Sassanian. I documented here on CT for a long time how I wanted one, and once I got one I just kept going. I might have 10-12 now, (not sure, as I am kinda a hoarder).

I am a huge fan of Central Asian coinage. In fact, need to post my newest purchases on another thread I won a few days ago. If you ever have a question about them, search archives here or ask. There are quite a few very knowledgeable members here on the area. My specialties are Hunnic, Sassanid, and Sogdian. I guess my Kushan collection is pretty good too, except for the gold. @THCoins is amazing, @Parthicus is a god for Parthia, and @Alegandron has nice pieces. I know I am missing some of us oddballs who love Central Asia and I apologize for that. There is surprisingly a good depth here for a more esoteric area.

 

Beautiful coins - congrats everyone!

 

I'm sure the distinction can be rather arbitrary for some dealers. In Frank Robinson's case, he apparently keeps his inventory and personal collection physically separate, maintaining the latter in a safe deposit box. This is the explanation he gave in connection with his latest auction, at http://fsrcoin.com/f.html:

"When I started collecting ancients in the '70s, and then dealing, I decided to keep for myself only really good stuff.

By now that's several thousand coins. Time to pare it down.

To decimate the collection in the original Roman sense, which meant executing every tenth man.

I didn't do it randomly, but selectively.

So I brought them all home from the bank and reviewed them. Many I actually hadn't seen in decades.

Choosing what to keep had often presented dilemmas in the past. One might be rare and interesting but not great in condition. Another with a lovely obverse but problematic reverse. And so forth. Inevitably, over 4+ decades, my perspective on such choices evolved. Always a "condition snob," that intensified.

Pruning the collection required forcing myself to make choices — a kind of Sophie's Choice!

For example, no Caracalla denarius below EF would ever have been kept. But having over 30, I made myself take out a few.

Anyhow, every coin so chosen was previously deemed suitable for inclusion in what was conceived as a topnotch collection.

Many are rare and unusual. One coming to mind is Lot 206 here, a Vespasian struck over Otho, with Otho's name visible! I loved this coin, don't recall ever seeing another like it, but decided to let it go because the condition is not wonderful.

I picked over 300 coins, and originally thought I'd put them all in a single sale; but then decided to spread out the fun, over three auctions, so each sale could also include the more customary contents (many of which are very good coins too of course).

Ones from my collection are designated with an "R" after the lot number.

All are in my original, distinctive, neatly lettered envelopes, most with some price history noted."

 

Prompted by this thread, I searched for this exact coin on acsearch. I was surprised to find it, since I had assumed it was a longtime resident of Frank's collection. Not so! He bought it from Kuenker just a few months ago:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6826802

This also illustrates the risks you take when buying a coin based on Frank's low-res photos. It's a nice coin, but considerably rougher than his image suggested. Including the short residence in his collection, I'm a bit disappointed. I actually wrote to tell him so, in case he hadn't sent it yet. But he had. Being a good dealer, though, he reassured me that I can return it if not satisfied.

Argh! This isn't the first time you've scooped me on one of these. When will you have enough?!?

Whoah - that is quite the bid reduction. This coin was definitely on my radar too. Acsearch shows one (not that much worse) that sold at Roma last year for a little over $300, and a much better one at top-dollar venue NAC for under $1000. That bidder was definitely setting themselves up to overpay!

 

I bid on four coins -- lots 214, 235, 239, and 272 -- and got outbid on all of them. Of these, the one I most desired was 235 (Faustina II SALVTI AVGVSTAE middle bronze) but not at the price it went for. I would have had to bid $280, which is way too high, in my humble Faustina II specializing opinion, for that one.

 

Sorry you didn't win on any. I was very tempted to bid on Lot 214 (the provincial Domitia from Philadelphia with grapes on the reverse), just to have a Domitia coin, and would have done so if the coin had been in slightly better condition. In the end, there were others I wanted more.