Leu Numismatik

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Mat, Oct 23, 2021.

  1. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    So strong that I'm not optimistic about getting the one coin I want, no matter how carried away I get.
     
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  3. akeady

    akeady Well-Known Member

    How did it go (today's Soler y Llach auction)?

    I seem to have won one coin, from 15 pre-bids. There were many coins I wanted and I didn't really concentrate on one or two, just threw in quite a few low bids.
    My budget for the year is gone, so I just hope for some bargains at this stage.

    I think I'll be the proud new owner of this - Cr. 219/1b - I have the dog facing up already (Cr. 219/1a), but this is scarcer.
    [​IMG]
    ATB,
    Aidan.
     
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  4. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    I was blown out of the water for the one coin on which I bid with Soler y Llach. It was this one, which probably shouldn't be a surprise given how often I've mentioned that I badly want an example:
    Volteius snake biga soler y llach.jpg

    In terms of the amount of detail on the snakes, as well as the quality of the obverse portrait, it's one of the better specimens I've ever seen for sale. I had the highest pre-bid (400 Euros), and I was willing to bid twice that much or maybe even a little more in the live bidding. (This was my first experience with live bidding.) But as things turned out, I wasn't even the under-bidder: the coin sold for 2,550 Euros (!!). I actually did get carried away, and recklessly kept up with the bidding until about 1,200 Euros (way more than I should be spending!), when I finally came to my senses and dropped out. So it sold for more than twice my highest bid.

    It was really too bad that the one coin I wanted and bid on came up so late in the Republican coin lots, as lot 453, for the reason that it's a Volteius and the lots were alphabetical by the gens of each moneyer. There were only three Republican lots after this one, and there were no Imperial coins I really wanted and thought I could possibly afford given the pre-bids. If the Volteius had come up earlier in the auction and I hadn't won it, then perhaps I could have successfully bid on something else instead that came up later in the auction. The way it was ordered I couldn't do that, because if I had spent money on something else I wouldn't have had enough money left to have any chance for the Volteius when it came up. Of course, as it turned out, I didn't have a chance anyway!

    Along with the Aureo & Calico auction and other recent results, this makes me feel that I can't afford high-quality Roman Republican coins anymore. But at least I can enjoy the 60+ I already have. And you never know when I might find another one of these at a more affordable price. Plus, the way I look at it, I saved 1,200 Euros today, so now I have all that money to spend on other coins!
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2021
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  5. kirispupis

    kirispupis Well-Known Member

    I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just have patience, look for what other coins you can pickup, and one day you'll be surprised. Alternatively, pay a lot less for a still pretty-nice copy, and if the opportunity presents itself - upgrade.

    I was destroyed multiple times trying to pick this one up at auction, but I eventually wound up getting it at half my max.
    amastris.jpg
     
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  6. Romancollector

    Romancollector Well-Known Member

    For me, Leu was very, very, very unsuccessful. I bid on 10 or 11 coins and won nothing. I was interested in a number of Republican denarii in the first auction, all of which were common types but high grade and provenanced. The hammer prices for the coins were either double, triple, or quadruple the amount of my maximum bids, which I though were aggressive and competitive. As it turns out, I was sorely mistaken. I was only the underbidder on one coin from the imperial section. :( Oh well...I guess you win some and loose some!
     
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  7. panzerman

    panzerman Well-Known Member

    I bid on one Cyrene AV Obol/ was leading by 200 on day of auction/ ended up loosing it by 200! In the past 5 months/ I put proxy bids on 200+ coins / ended up winning 54. So my batting average is .250:(:(:(:(:(:(
     
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  8. kazuma78

    kazuma78 Supporter! Supporter

    Thats actually pretty good!
     
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  9. Ignoramus Maximus

    Ignoramus Maximus Nomen non est omen.

    Sadly, I can relate to that. It's the scenario where you forego bidding on coins you want early on in an auction in the hope of getting the one you really want later on. The worst possible outcome is, of course, when the coins you also wanted (but didn't bid on) go cheap and the one you really want escapes you, and you're left with nothing. The 'Tight Budget Dilemma'. Unfortunately, it's my default mode. :(

    On the bright side: sooner or later another, hopefully more affordable, Volteius will show up. Perhaps you'll even consider yourself lucky that you didn't overspend tonight on this coin...:)
     
  10. Fugio1

    Fugio1 Well-Known Member

    The recent Leu, Aureo & Calico, and Soler y Llach were all very high profile sales attracting a lot of attention from collectors and dealers. The S y L sale was particularly rich in early Roman Republican silver and I sat through 12 lots that are high on my want list, and most hammered for double or more than my estimate of max value in the current climate. I used ACSearch to find the highest historical prices and added various percentages based on the condition. ACSearch is generally no longer a reliable resource for this purpose.

    I've seen a pattern where really nice coins can be had at auction for a reasonable price when most of the lots in the auction are low or middle grade coins but there are one or two really high grade lots. Because most of the lots are average quality, the sale doesn't attract much attention and potential bidders need to decide whether to watch the auction or do something else in their busy lives. The downside is that it takes a lot work to wade through common and mediocre stuff searching for the infrequent gem.
     
  11. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    With this being a large collection of coins of the Roman Republic and early on going for prices higher than a hippie in a helicopter, I kept my fingers crossed that late in the game I might find some imperial coins that slip through the cracks... and slip through they did.
    Of 3 wins of coins with 4 emperors, wait what, this one came up near the very end of the auction. Nearly twelve hours into the auction I picked up my first Pupienus (please don't sound that out):
    2208738_1632939035.l-removebg-preview.png
    Pupienus (238 AD)
    Antoniniano. Acuñada el 238 d.C. PUPIENO. Anv.: IMP. CAES. PVPIEN. M. CLOD. DVPIENS AVG. Busto radiado a derecha. Rev.: AMOR MVTVS AVGG. Manos enlazadas. 3,76 grs. Escasa. EBC-. / Pupienus. Scarce and almost extremely fine. C-1; RIC-9a.
     
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  12. savitale

    savitale Well-Known Member

    Sorry to hear you missed out, it can be frustrating to be outbid on something you really want. I know nothing about these coins but if it really is one of the best examples now is a tough time to be a buyer. But the $64,000 question is: will next year (or any future year) be better or worse?
     
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  13. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    Congratulations! Glad you stuck it out and ended up getting a very nice coin.
     
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  14. rrdenarius

    rrdenarius non omnibus dormio Supporter

    I find it hard to keep my finger off the bid button after a looooooooong time watching an auction. The coin you targeted is one of my favorites.
    Volt ovbv 2.JPG Volt rev 1.JPG
     
  15. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    Are those all yours? The one at the bottom is fantastic!
     
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  16. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    A specific example: this extremely nice, well-centered Vibius Pansa (Crawford 342/3a) with a reverse showing Ceres with torches preceded by a pig -- a type that often has the torches and/or the pig and/or Ceres off the flan -- was Lot 442, only 11 lots before the Volteius. It sold for the very reasonable price of 360 Euros. Had it come up 11 lots later than the Volteius rather than 11 lots earlier, there's no doubt that I would have bid on it enthusiastically. Instead, I let it pass. (Of course, I have no idea how high the person who actually won it was prepared to go.) Really, the luck of the draw. Bad for me, today!

    upload_2021-10-26_23-29-59.png
     
  17. savitale

    savitale Well-Known Member

    If it sold for a "fair" price you just might see it come up in dealer stock soon. It's possible you could even get it for less than you would have paid in a bidding war.
     
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  18. rrdenarius

    rrdenarius non omnibus dormio Supporter

    Yes, the one at the bottom is one of my favorites. It is in my plumb bob collection. I like the A frame level on the Piso.

    DSCN0169.JPG DSCN0921.JPG P1011673 (2).jpg plumb bob on level.jpg Piso.jpg maridvnvm papia_1v_img.jpg
     
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  19. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

  20. pprp

    pprp Well-Known Member

    Do you know how many times the estimates are his pre-bids? :)
     
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