I won a total of 5 lots from the recent Roman auction - 3 singles, 1 lot of 10 provincials and 1 lot of 5 denarii. I spent a tremendous amount of money, for me, as I failed to understand exactly what a 20% buyer's premium really meant; plus L21.50 shipping added up to quite a surprise when I paid. Oh well. Win #1 is this gigantic Gallienus from Perga, Pamphylia! I spent a ridiculous $66.51 (including BP, and prorated shipping). That's way too much, but whatever. Having never heard of Perga before, it turns out that it is a major archaeological site, with some absolutely incredible ruins in a very high state of preservation. This is incredible! There's an entire city, preserved, out in the open. Wanna visit? Hop on a plane to Antalya, Turkey and enjoy the sights. The coin itself is an interesting piece, with a humongous 29mm diameter. It's a little lighter than you'd expect for a coin of this size, at only 14.7g. Roma Photo: My photo: In hand, the color is much closer to my photo than the Roma one. Roma's description: Gallienus Æ 29mm of Perga, Pamphylia. AD 253-268. AV KAI PO ΛI ΓAΛΛIHN[O CEB], radiate, draped and cuirassed bust to right; star above, I before / ΠΕΡΓΑΙΩΝ, Tyche standing facing, head to left, holding rudder and cornucopiae. SNG BnF 574 (same dies); CNG E-137, lot 62 (same); Varesi Vicenza Auction, lot 130 (same); SNG von Aulock 4719 var. (laureate); cf. BMC 76 (headgear not specified). 14.55g, 29mm, 1h. Very Fine; smoothed, some corrosion. Very Rare. From a private UK collection. I was a bit apprehensive about the "smoothed" designation. Upon closer inspection, smoothed is right: The level of smoothing seems to me to go dangerously deep into the realm of unacceptable tooling, but I'm not sure what the market thinks about this. Please post any giant Gallieni, provincials, or whatever seems related.
Holy cow. I've never seen a Gallienus Provencial outside of Alexandrian Tetradrachms. That's pretty cool though. Not sure I could ever pull the trigger at the price you paid...I've only spent more than that on one coin The tooling is a bit much on the reverse but I'm not sure how bad it is compared to one that wasn't tooled.
Geez, wait till you see how much the others cost. Honestly, I was really kind of stressing about the cost, but fortunately a Dogecoin investment from a couple months ago paid out $900 so the coins were basically free. In that context, I guess it's alright...
My friend's husband just dropped $100 on dogecoin a few weeks ago. I feel like I missed out on another opportunity. Glad you got a cool coin though
Congrats, Great pick ups it's always exciting to win coins you love. CARIA. Antiochia ad Maeandrum. Gallienus, 253-268. Hexassarion (?) (Bronze, 30 mm, 13.65 g, 6 h). AY•K•Π•ΓAΛ[ΛIHNOC] Radiate, helmeted, draped and cuirassed bust of Gallienus to left, holding spear and shield. Rev. ANT[IOXЄΩN] Bridge of six arches spanning the Maeander, with gateway to left and river-god Maeander reclining left on bridge, holding reed. BMC 57. SNG von Aulock 2430.
Nice fat Perge, @hotwheelsearl - and nice photos of the locale too. As for the price you paid, heck if I know - but you got a solid provenance with it, so that's got to add some value, I'd think. Here is one from that lovely place with a couple of countermarks: Elagabalus Æ 24 Pamphylia, Perge (c. 218-222 A.D. ) ΑΥ Κ Μ ΑΥ [ΑΝΤΩΝΙΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ], laureate, draped & cuir. bust right / ΠƐΡΓΑΙΩΝ, Artemis standing holding bow and arrow. RPC VI, 6122 (temporary); SNG France 448–9 (as Caracalla) (6.89 grams / 24 x 22 mm) Countermark: A.K. in rectangle 5 x 3 mm. Howgego 513 (43 pcs); Eagle in oval. "Note: Countermark (2 - A.K.) was applied earlier than (1 - eagle) ...countermark (2 - A.K.) is not found on coins struck later than..Elagabalus." FORVM Collection Automan.
Of course, with Roma auctions your bids are in pounds. Whenever I bid in a Roma auction--I live in the US--I multiply the current bid price by 1.9. This is usually enough to account for the conversion to dollars, buyer's premium, international credit card fee and shipping combined. When I bid in a CNG auction I multiply my bids by 1.4 to cover fees and shipping.
Haven't heard of Perga, the photo's look great. Reminds me a bit of Ephesus, which I've visited in 2004. Bidding in a different currency can be a bit of a math challenge. I'm glad that Roma always show the current bid in € too (they do if for $ too). And lovely win of course. I don't have a provincial to show from Perga, or a provincial from Gallienus. I actually don't even have a coin of Gallienus... Enjoy the coins, curious about your other wins.
Large provincials are always neat. I often have alot of fun with Provincial group lots, and remember picking up a few from Roma in the past. This thread reminds of a fun quiz that @TIF came up with some years ago called: Know Your Ruler-- Roman Provincial Edition Quiz 2. For the benefit of those who want to take the quiz, I won't link to the original thread to avoid spoilers. My favorite provincial of Gallienus: GALLIENUS AE28. 8.09g, 27.6mm. IONIA, Ephesus, circa AD 253-268. Karwiese 1136 (this coin cited). O: VT · K · ΠO · ΛIKIN · ΓAΛΛIHNOC, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. R: EΦ-ECIΩN · Γ · NEO, KOPON in exergue, Androklos facing right, chlamys blowin’ in the wind, wielding spear at boar standing left; hound at his side. Ex N. M. McQ. Holmes Collection; ex Marcel Burstein Collection (Peus 366, 25 October 2000, lot 636); ex G. Hirsch 171 (25 September 1991), lot 1273
Aspendos is also close to Perge. Theatre. Aspendos Alexander lll Tetradrachm 188/7 BC Obs : Head of Herekles with lionskin Seleucid Anchor countermark of c 161 BC 16.5gm 30mm Price 2907 Reverse- Zeus seated holding eagle ΑΣ = Aspendos ΚC= year 26 Spear in exergue Inscription: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ
Same goes for me. I usually double the hammer price to estimate what I will pay with bidder's premium and shipping for European and British auctions. I live in Canada, so it's even pricier than the US equivalent!
I also convert everything from the main currency to dollars to avoid surprises, especially considering the 20% buyers fee plus shipping (and handling). In the Leu auction these accessorial fees and currency conversion from the more valuable Swiss francs added about 35% to the total cost.
Perge! What a weird coincidence, but I've been working on the three unknown provincials that I recently posted. One of them, so I found, is (probably) from Perge (https://www.cointalk.com/threads/three-roman-provincials-i-need-some-help-with.379387/) Here it is again with a 68.3% attribution: Marcus Aurelius Æ 13 Pamphylia, Perge (c. 161-180 A.D.) [ΑVΤ ΚΑΙ ΑVΡ] ΑΝΤΩΝΙΝοc laureate, cuirassed bust right / ΠƐ[ΡΓΑΙ]ΩΝ, female figure (Artemis?) standing, facing, head l., holding uncertain objects (bow and arrow?) RPC IV.3, 10492 (temporary)? (1.89 grams / 13 mm) eBay April 2021 Lot @ $1.24 Attribution Notes: There are several types from Perge with Artemis standing facing, holding things. This one seems to match the RPC 10492 example, but that weighs 5.09 grams. RPC 10659 is a Wildwinds specimen at 2.87 grams, but goddess facing right.
..kool...i bought a better Gallenius this week also..and another of his kin..i'll postem when they get here
Nice type but I hesitate to call gouging in the fields 'smoothing'. Roughing, maybe? I suppose, these days, we are supposed to be thankful that the seller did not call it mint state? This AE30 (19.3g) of Salonina from Side is also a ten unit denomination (I).
I agree, really not very smooth at all, probably a heavy handed encrustations removal attempt. And, I didn’t realize that the I indicated a “decassarion”(?)
Gallienus. 253-268 AD. PAMPHYLIA, Perga/Perge. Æ 10 Assaria (31mm, 16.78 gm, 12h). Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right,; I (denomination) before. Rev: ΠEΡΓAIΩN, three purses resting atop a money chest. SNG von Aulock 4726.
I spent $100 on doge when it was $0.04. Sold at $0.40 and made a cool thousand bucks, which I spent on a lot of coins, many for resale. So, I used real money to buy fake money, to buy real old money, to convert into more real money. The circle of life.