I won two coins. Despite my general collecting focus on the Near East, both my wins were from North African cultures. Well, that's at least still at the edge of "Classical" civilization . Carthage (c. 300-264) AE18/shekel. Sicilian or Sardinian mint, 4.92g, 18mm. Obv: Head of Tanit wearing wreath l. Rev: Horse's head r. Hoover: Coins of Sicily (2012), 1671; SNG Copenhagen 149. From the Orielensis collection, Ex Artemide eLive Auction 6, lot 221 KINGDOM OF NUMIDIA: Juba I (60-46 BCE), AR Denarius. 3.53g, 19mm. Obv: REX IVBA; Diademed and draped bust right, with sceptre over shoulder. Reb: Octastyle temple, Punic inscription around. MAA 29; SNG Copenhagen 523. From the JB (Edmonton) collection Darkly toned, reverse off centre, slightly scyphate flan. Juba became a friend and ally of Pompey as far back as 81 BCE when Sulla sent the latter to reinstate Juba’s father as king. During the civil war with Caesar, Juba trounced Caesar’s lieutenant Curio but after Pompey’s death, he stayed out of the final battle at Thapsus, regarding Metellus Scipio’s efforts as a lost cause. When his retreat was cut off, the story goes that he fought to the death with Cato’s friend Marcus Petreius, with the idea being only one of them would have to commit suicide afterwards. That fate fell to Petreius.
Nice wins! You guys! I got it! Top of my wish list coin! It may not look like much, but, it means a lot. The Tribute Penny and Shekel of Tyre are two of the most popular coins for ancient biblical coin collectors. As it stands, it probably would have taken me several years to get one of these. This one has a lot of stories hidden within it. It's been to some places and seen some things. I'm very proud to add this beaten up piece of metal to my collection. It joins my bronze Shekel of Tyre which, itself, is somewhat of a mystery. Thanks for making it so fun! Erin
I managed to win the two I bid on. I was going to go for the Khubilai Khan coin, but I just received some very bad car news, prompting a more conservative approach. I’m glad it’s staying in the CoinTalk family!
Congrats on this great coin! I didn't participate in this auction because I have a number of targets at other ones, but this one would have been at the top of my list had I participated. It required a great deal of self control to not bid on it, and I'm glad it went to a good home where it will be appreciated.
I was high bidder on the biggest one until the live auction. I couldn't participate in it live so lost it. @furryfrog02 glad to see you got the other Constantine VII related issue. I thought about it, I won the Zoe coin. I also picked up a Byzantine group lot with a Class H Anonymous bronze. That is a pretty rare coin, only my second.
The one with both Constantine VII and Zoe? That is a beautiful coin! Both have great details on their faces and a great legend. I wish mine had a better obverse legend: That class H is beautiful too. I love the reverse. Not something I've seen before.
I am updating my guide to Anonymous Folles at the Twin Cities Ancient Coin Club. The old one is available for free now, and the new one will be up in a few weeks if you want a free guide on them. I actually found a Class F in a group lot last week in a German auction. The rare ones are Class E, F, H, and J. Yeah, I have been debating getting all of Constantine VII bronzes. I got into his coins because of its the first time Christopher, (my name), and Steven appears on coins, but have expanded from there after getting all gold and silver coins with those names.
My... Favorite: Fits well with both my Severus / Mt. Argaeus drachm collections. Favorite Runners up: Not everyone's cup-o-tea but I appreciate these large bronze coins from the Tetrarchy. It's got a little schmhutz on the lower reverse, but really nice portrait. Denarius, just a bit of a flaw that resembles a parasitoid from alien left at 3pm - but nice portrait! Spontaneous: Got excited when I saw the bid countdown...but it is an upgrade from a different coin I bought from Warren! Wish I bid more: Need [would like to have] a Hadrian Sestertius, this wasn't quite it otherwise I would've went after it but this is a great looking coin from the fine style bust to the handling wear around the high points on the reverse that even seems to accentuate Felicitas' figure. Love to have had it in hand. I felt greedy and let this get away. Great coin, hard to find this issue in this state and of course price is a factor. Fine style portrait really sticks out on this one especially when considering other coins with his portrait. I liked it, one "complaint" would be that it could've used more early period Imperial bronze and silver.
Lots of Kudos to @Severus Alexander, great auction! I am still exhausted after the battle this morning..too much adrenaline it was really awesome! Initially, I had two on my wish list, then a few days ago I added some more. From the original two, I won the second one - for the first I didn't react fast enough while trying to understand what meant the red panel (red means one has to bid, which I didn't understand). So I figured it out the hard way - and then I won almost all of my other targets. Since I don't want to jinx the postal service, will share them upon safe arrival. Some that I remember are definitely from the CT family: arnoldoe, shea19, Al Kowsky and ex-Justin Lee
Thanks Thomas, another great auction! Had 2 main targets and bought 3. This coin is the last I acquired and was won after getting my main targets. Why did I buy it? It definitely is not the subject matter I usually pursue. I won a 1900 year old coin of a famous Roman emperor for the price of a burger and fries. Good enough reason for me. CAPPADOCIA, Caesarea: Hadrian (117-138), AR Hemidrachm, uncertain year. 1.37g, 15.5mm. Obv: AΥΤΟ ΚΑΙC ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟC CΕΒΑCΤ; laureate bust right, with slight drapery. Rev: Nike advancing right, holding wreath in right hand and palm in left. RPC III 3074, BMC 142 AMCC #3 Lot 529. July 25, 2021 The following coin is a rare denarius for Titus as Caesar. I have one of these already but this one is better than the one I had so... I loved the portrait on this one as well. Titus as Caesar (69-79) AR denarius, issued 76. Rome, 3.28g, 19mm. Obv: T CAESAR IMP VESPASIAN; laureate head right Rev: IOVIS CVSTOS; Jupiter standing left, holding scepter and patera, altar at feet left. RIC 863(R2); BMCRE -; RSC 166. From the Severus Alexander collection, acquired from Gitbud & Naumann on VCoins in 2013. Rare; only 4 on acsearch. AMCC #3 Lot 198 July 25, 2021 My main target was the following denarius for Vespasian. I have wanted one of these for years and had not seen one in the last several years that I had been looking. I was very jealous when @Limes posted this coin on CT. I am absolutely thrilled to have landed this one. Vespasian (69-79) AR denarius, issued 76. Rome, 3.39g, 18mm. Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; laureate head r. Rev: PON MAX TR P COS VII; Pax seated l., holding olive branch RIC II 852 (scarce) From the Limes collection AMCC #3 Lot 197 July 25, 2021 Thanks again to Thomas for a fun and interesting auction.
It's probably obvious to all that AMCC 3 was a labour of love for Sev more than anything else, but it's still great to see how well it did for him and his consignors. Equally nice to see so many coins won by CT members! I only snagged a small fraction of the lots I bid on, but I'm very pleased with my wins. My favorites... How beautiful is this A-Pi coin, and with an excellent photograph to boot! Reading Sev's writeup on the rare Commodus below, I just had to have it: "The IOVI DEFENS SALVTIS type is unique to Commodus. Coming near the end of his reign at the height of his paranoia, it indicates Jupiter’s protection of the emperor; RIC notes the coin types of this year show his “growing nervousness and insecurity.” The seven stars likely have astrological significance, mostly likely representing the seven “wanderers” in the sky (planets in the classical meaning of the term): the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn." Finally scored one of these ex Otto Helbing sale coins! And an affordable pierced Gordie III fourree for my holey coin collection...
Congrats, Erin. I bid on this coin too, but though my bid was lower than yours, I do think you scored a great deal on it. You can thank Sev for talking the price down in the lot description.
Well done folks ! And thanks so much @Severus Alexander for a great and fun auction once again I had bids on 16 coins and won 4 The one I had to let go with the more regret is the #155, ex @Al Kowsky Philip I tetradrachm. Hope it's now in a good home ! But I managed to put my hands on three GIII (one denarius and two antoniniani), two of them being really outstanding The last one came from the pickbin : a Diana Lucifera reverse minted for Claudius II that will take place in my Diana Lucifera subset : not a coin you encounter very often Happy Q
I had a big day planed yesterday beginning with AMCC 3 & followed by the UFC las Vegas Event (I'm a big fan of combat sports ), but the day started on a sour note . At 10:00 AM I drove to a big Walmart super-store in Brockport for groceries & decided to take a wooded back road to save time. I couldn't avoid running over a large racoon that darted out in front of me , my first road-kill in over 20 years. I thought this might be a bad omen but it wasn't . All 6 of my Antioch Tets sold, 3 of which were super bargains for lucky bidders. As Q pointed out, #155 got plenty of bids & hammered for $200.00. Another Tet that did extremely well was #156, that hammered for $300.00 , 10 times the opening bid of $30.00 . I did win 3 of the 6 coins on my want list , including my top pick, but won't post them until they arrive from Canada . The cost of the 3 coins I won will be more than covered buy the 6 coins that sold . Tom Callaway deserves great praise for putting together this impressive auction ! AMCC 3 should serve as a model for the many smaller auctions that I've encountered on the internet .