3 Strikes! Yoooouuu're out! Celebrating coins that weren't to be

We've all been there. You spot your highly desirable coins in a particular auction that grabs your attention and then put in the work. You research previous sales of the type, save up the amount you will need to execute the purchase, check around for additional provenance and buckle up for the incredibly unique experience of an online ancient coin auction:


I was very excited about the M & M GmbH sale as it had 3 highly desirable coins in order of desirability and all within, what I thought was, my budgeted amount.
The first one on my list, for obvious reasons, was this dazzling Corinthian, classical style, beauty...I was dead in the water when the coin went for over three times the estimate:


GREEK COINS. CORINTHIA. CORINTH. Drachma, 4th century BC Chr. Pegasus n.l. flying, including Koppa. Rv. Head of Aphrodite or nymph with jacket and earring to the left, behind the head Δ 2.64 g. SNG Cop. 90 cf., BCD, Korinth 27,156. Vs. Small graffito. Good very fine From Coins & Medals AG, Basel, List 386 (February 1977), 16

That's ok though, I REALLY wanted the labyrinth coin and fealt fortified enough to have a good shot at this due to the fact that I was leading the pre bid party and then it went live Just under double the estimate:


GREEK COINS. CRETE. KNOSSOS.
Small bronze. Head of the bearded Zeus nr Rv. Labyrinth. 1.19 g. Svoronos, C. 79,105, Plot 6.27, SNG Cop. 385 cf. Dark green patina. Rare. Very fine From the collection of Lord Grantley (1855-1942), with handwritten collector's label. The labyrinth pattern refers to the myth of King Minos and the Minotaur slain by Theseus (son of the Pasiphäe of a bull originally consecrated to Poseidon), who was banished to a prison called "Labyrinthos". The name may mean "House of the Double Axes". Greek artists have depicted the labyrinth as a kind of maze like here.

But even that's ok, cause I really wanted this absolutely extravagant Macedonian helmet!
... but again, just under double the estimate:


GREEK COINS. KINGDOM OF THE SELEUKIDS. Antiochus VI. Dionysus, 144-142 BC Chr Drachm, 143-142 BC BC Antioch. Radiant head with diadem to the right. Rv. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ- ΤΡΥ- ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ / ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΥ Macedonian helmet r. with goat horn, in the field r. Monogram. 3.84 g. Newell, SMA 259. Houghton-Lorber II, 324.2003 (control mark b). Hoover, HGC 9, 1037. Small planar crack, otherwise good very fine

I know estimates are just that. But dang
I got up at 2 AM for this one. Ouch
Good thing there's always next game



If anyone wants to commiserate, as I know we've had a TON of great auctions lately that have fetched exorbitant amounts, please post those coins that really grabbed your imaginations that you couldn't quite stomach the price of

 

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If it makes you feel any better, I was the second underbidder for lot 17 which sold 5 times the starting price and the underbidder for 195. Both went to the same person in the "floor". The "floor" was consistently waiting for all other bidding to cease and was then taking over. For the sikyon 195 the hammer almost fell for me and for a few seconds between "going twice" and "gone" I thought it was mine

Fortunately the "floor" was not there today in Nomos which seemed like a totally different auction

 

Yes I know the feeling. And wondering if I'll regret not going that bit further, or if I'll regret it if I do! For some reason, I never have any idea which it's going to be until afterwards - I've regretted not getting coins for double what I'd expected, and regretted getting others for less than I thought!

Like several other people on here, I've been looking for a good Hadrian Britannia. But they can cost $5000 or so, which is someway off for me at the moment(!). So I thought I'd go for a cheap one to last me the next few years (or 20). They can be $150 or so - well within budget.

I saw this one on CNG a couple of weeks ago - not great, but pretty good. The estimate was $150, so I thought I would go in prepared for $300 or so (knowing CNG estimates!).



I was doing well, despite being on my phone (I had to pick my son up from school at the same time), until the last few seconds. It raced up another $200 faster than my screen would refresh and hammered for $475 - more than 3 times the estimate. (Curse you CNG and your estimates!).

Too much for a placeholder. Instead, I lowered my sights a little further and got this for less than half the price:


Hadrian, bronze as, 119, Rome. 10g. IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG. PONT MAX T R POT COS III, Britannia seated, holding sceptre, large shield to right (RIC 577b).

 

..those are very desirable coins.....and that also means EVERYBODY wants them......dont feel lonely Ryro...

 

I probably get less than 10% of the coins that I would like to get. If I tried to put of pictures of the ones I didn't get during the October madness I would have a very long thread. So I will do what I didn't get today.
Start off I forgot about the auction as I discovered if I get out to the Fed Ex depot reaaaal fast I can pick up my package. So that's what I did. I also have a cold. When I got back I remembered the auction and as luck would have it the coin I was interested in was only a few lots away. Samos Drachm 510 BC. I saw this coin and thought Hey this looks cool Maybe I should bid on it sort of spur of the moment. Everyone else thought it was cool as well
Kaunos stater 430 I liked this coin and planned to bid on it but again tooo popular. Also started to see competition from internet bidders only Time to drop out.
Kos Tetradrachm 285 BC This coin started higher than I wanted to go. Then as usual they decided to have a short break I decided I needed a snooze as well so I slept through the next one
Demetrios II Second reign Tetradrachm Antioch Well at least I got a really nice nap and my cold is getting better. Oh well regroup reform reorganize. Next big rumble January

 

Beautiful coins!

 

I had my heart set on this giulio of Alessandro de Medici that sold at the last NAC auction. The dies were engraved by Benvenuto Cellini (as described in his autobiography) and I did not even know that there were any collectable specimens of it-- the only one I've ever seen reproduced belongs to the Bargello Museum. I put an absolute moratorium on all other spending and bid 3500 euro on a 1500 estimate-- the most I've ever bid on a coin. I was still blown out of the water when it sold for twice that. For what it's worth I think it's still worth every penny at that price, but I just don't have that kind of money to spend on a coin.

I did get some consolation though from the fact that I won this magnificent Mezza Piastra of Alessandro's successor Cosimo I de Medici, engraved by Cellini's pupil Pier Paolo Galeotti for a steal at one increment above opening.

 

Damn, that's a shame, @Ryro. The Corinth drachm is absolutely gorgeous. Pity about the Knossos too, but I'm sure one will eventually come your way.

Here are two that hurt when I ended up the underbidder on them this past week.



CILICIA. Soloi. Circa 440-410 BC. Stater (Silver, 10.74 g). Amazon, nude to the waist, kneeling to left and stringing her bow; wearing bonnet and with her gorytos at her hip; to right, facing head of satyr. Rev. ΣΟΛΕΩΝ Large bunch of grapes with stem to left; below right, fly; all within a linear border of dots inside an incuse square. BMC 3. Casabonne Type 2. SNG Levante 40. SNG Paris 128. SNG von Aulock 5858. Extremely fine.



HADRIANOPOLIS. Commodus, 180 - 192 n. Chr. AE ø 27mm (11.44g). Unter dem Gouverneur Iulius Castus. Vs.: ΑΥ ΚΑΙ Λ ΑΥΡ ΚΟΜΟΔΟΣ, drapierte Panzerbüste mit Lorbeerkranz n. r. Rs.: ΗΓΕ ΙΟΥΛ ΚΑΣΤΟΥ ΑΔΡΙΑ/ΝΟΠΟΛΕΙ/ΤΩΝ, der nackte Herakles steht zwischen den Rossen des Diomedes, zieht Diomedes an den Haaren u. schwingt die Keule, an seiner Seite ein Rad. Varbanov, GIC II, 3331; RPC Online 10483; Yurukova 123. RRR!

 

...i believe you have one of the labyrinth coins right z?..

 

I wanted this coin bad but it ended up hammering for 5 times estimate and I was long since out of the running before the dust settled.

 

Yep. I was lucky enough to win this one in a Frank Robinson auction 2 years ago.


CRETE, Knossos
AE19. 5.83g, 19.4mm. Knossos-Gortyna alliance issue, struck circa 220 BC. Svoronos 122; SNG Copenhagen 378; Lindgren II 1721. O: Europa, holding veil, seated left on bull leaping left; radiating lines in periphery, two dolphins below. R: [Κ-Ν-Ω-ΣΙ-ΩΝ], Labyrinth; star above.

 

@Terence Cheesman
Out of the dozen or so coins I had watch listed for this auction, numbers 2,3,4 on your list were among them.
Popular indeed - or maybe we have similar taste

 

I have always wanted one of these Faustina elephant carpentum coins and put what I considered to be a competitive bid. I was blown out of the water. It went at the recent Münzen & Medaillen auction for more than triple the starting bid and over what I was willing to pay.

 

I feel you. All my bids in the auction, including a strong one on a nice Tarentum nomos, were blown out of the water, too.

Most painful to see was the bidding on this bracteate with an important hoard provenance. It started at €80 with an estimate of €100. I had carefully thought about it and decided to bid €250, which is a lot of money for me – yet, I really wanted it and was almost certain that this bid would win it. Well, the coin did bid up to €1.400, which is way out of my league and 14 times the estimate...

 

At today's Naumann auction, I put in a "How am I going to explain this to my wife?" bid on this Faustina and got blown out of the water anyway. It went for 12x the starting bid.

 

What was your bid? 1$? Is there anything special about it apart from a nice portrait?

 

Your tone is condescending and insulting.

I bid 200 euros, which -- combined with buyer's fees, shipping and currency exchange fees -- is a large expense at Christmas time when the budget is under strain. The coin is a very rare reverse type of this empress. It is not listed in RIC, BMCRE or Cohen. It is only listed in Strack (494), citing a single specimen in the Museo Communale, Bologna.

 

Sorry has I have caused offence. Not being a Roman expert I did not know of its rarity. Sorry once again.

 

Beautiful God, what would I give to see a Polaroid of the Faustinas!
Sometimes those, "What happens when the little lady looks at the bank statement?" Purchases are better left lost... though, some of those have been my favorite wins

 

..hey @NewStyleKing ... ..hehehe...well, ive figured out how it works to place bids on Saturday nites...place your bid and let the other bidders decide how much yer gonna pay...i won last nite a coin to start my next years mission(one of)..i won a Carlos ll cob, which ive wanted to get for a couple years now...its brutal on Sat. nites...