Who's ready for Roma?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by savitale, Mar 23, 2021.

  1. Volodya

    Volodya Junior Member

    What you're seeing as a c/m is actually part of the type. It's a raised tablet inscribed L . D (= Libero--Damno.)

    Phil Davis
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2021
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  3. Volodya

    Volodya Junior Member

    I haven't looked closely at the prices, but what I've seen is very very odd. The better coins--including your new Coelia, Steve--are mostly going reasonably enough, while absolutely humdrum examples of very common types are unfathomably strong. I think the speculation here about new or uninformed buyers is quite plausible.

    Phil Davis
     
  4. savitale

    savitale Well-Known Member

    I can't speak for the Roman Republicans, but many of the better Greek coins went for very strong prices.
     
  5. Fugio1

    Fugio1 Well-Known Member

    Phil, I observed the same thing.
     
    savitale likes this.
  6. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    I see.

    Thanks for pointing that out.
     
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  7. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Lot 72, a Corinth stater, was a coin I sold about 6 months ago in Obolos 16 for CHF 850. I was very pleased with the result then, but I imagine the current consignee is even more pleased with the £1800 (~CHF 2300) that it just fetched. To get a full measure of how nutty hammers currently are, consider that the coin went unsold in a 2016 auction for a starting price of £280!
     
    Ryro, svessien, savitale and 8 others like this.
  8. FrizzyAntoine

    FrizzyAntoine Well-Known Member

    I've heard that a number of Chinese bidders who are new to the ancients market also recently made the switch from Heritage to CNG as they'd never previously heard of it, and it seems they've certainly found Roma now too. I hope a few of my favourite watering holes remain hidden a while longer, but at this point it seems unlikely, and I'm not sure whether to jump for joy that the hobby is alive and well or cry because it's cut my purchasing power by an order of magnitude!

    I'll do you one better, this coin, lovely as it is, sold for 3750 USD last night after selling for 1240 USD at Roma last year, and only 430 USD at Leu 6 months prior to that! While I would gladly buy it at 430, and might be willing to go somewhere near 1240, I can't help but feel someone is going to feel sour about this one in a few years (or months....)

    I only hope that the people bidding like this are at least buying for the history or art of some other facet of the coin itself. I can easily swallow losing out to a fellow collector, but the notion of speculators and investors cornering the market and locking out regular collectors certainly makes me feel otherwise....
     
  9. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Great coin, and with a control symbol I'm really fond of myself, but that price... o_O I guess at least two well-heeled collectors really wanted it! The last time I won a coin in a CNG auction was 4 months ago. Sadly, I don't really even consider seriously bidding in their auctions these days.
     
  10. Limes

    Limes Well-Known Member

    I noticed quite a few imperatorial coins were sold under estimate. Were the estimates too high? Or was the interest too low? One very nice denarius went unsold, altogether!
     
    svessien likes this.
  11. Restitutor

    Restitutor Well-Known Member

    I would cry. These aren’t hobbyists shelling out this kind of cash. I just hope once the buyers realize the magnitude of their mistakes they don’t take it out on the coins!
     
  12. Fugio1

    Fugio1 Well-Known Member

    This and a few others were just over estimated. This Victoriatus was hyped as "FDC" and notably discussed in another CT thread, but failed to get close to its 1750 GBP estimate. That it is perhaps the most common victoriatus issue in high grade did not escape the bidders. This lovely Q. Pomponius Musa was quite reasonably obtained at 1400 GBP against an estimate of 2000 GBP. There were a few exceptions but I thought most of the Roman republican lots were uncharacteristically (for Roma) estimated very high.
     
  13. Fugio1

    Fugio1 Well-Known Member

    To contradict myself a bit, my own single win was had for almost double the estimate, but then it was the lowest estimate in the RR group.
     
  14. AncientJoe

    AncientJoe Well-Known Member

    I agree with this assessment. Additionally, the prices of some well-pedigreed examples are fairly weak and I'd say that a handful of the aurei were steals. This is perplexing as Kunker gold was strong. The coins aren't quite MS* 6/5-6/5 so it seems that recent bidders are more attracted to grade than other attributes.
     
  15. Mrktstrtmyhm

    Mrktstrtmyhm Active Member

    I was watching this bid live and laughed out loud at the fool who dropped 4,000 on that coin. It was the result of a bidding war and clearly this guy had a rush of blood to the head.
     
  16. Restitutor

    Restitutor Well-Known Member

    Not too surprising, we buy coins because they’re pretty right? :shame:
     
  17. Fugio1

    Fugio1 Well-Known Member

    Regarding unusually high prices in auctions nowadays, I almost got up at 4am, willing to bid up to 100 euros for this lot in the last Kueker sale. I thought the result was rather interesting: upload_2021-3-25_9-35-13.png
    The coin has a really nice portrait style and it is in marvelous condition but it is otherwise perhaps among the most common issues of the tetrarchy period, unless I'm just missing something.
     
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  18. svessien

    svessien Senior Member

    Oh, only 14 times the estimate, then....o_O

    I don’t know what is most ridiculous; this bid, or my (only) pre bid on Kuenker, which was a measly 1.25 x estimate.
     
  19. savitale

    savitale Well-Known Member

    I lost out on the only denarius I bid on, but only by one increment and I didn't bid crazy high. Not sure if making generalizations is appropriate but I'm wondering if the Greek coins are more on-fire than the Roman coins.

    I could see if "new money" is attracted to the coins as pieces of Classical Art (as I sort of am) they would favor Greek.
     
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  20. Restitutor

    Restitutor Well-Known Member

    upload_2021-3-25_11-56-42.jpeg
    This is currently for sale at $675 (the dealer markup price mind you!). Not a perfect match as he’s got a different outfit on the obverse, I believe it’s rarer. So yeah, hopefully the buyer in your comment doesn’t stumble on this thread for their own sanity.
     
    Bing likes this.
  21. Fugio1

    Fugio1 Well-Known Member

    This coin has the top four slots in ACSearch when sorting search results by hammer descending, the most recent sale of it (in ACSearch) being June of 2020. It is a lovely coin of fine style from the Trier mint. The markup reveals what is happening in the market these last few months.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2021
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