The Slabbed Coin Market for Ancient Coins is HOT

I sat through the 2nd session of the Heritage Platinum Night & Signature Auction today & am posting a few ancient coins that caught my eye. Prices for many of these coins is totally absurd . Again it appears too many bidders are buying the slab & not the coin inside the slab. Is there really that much money out there that people can afford to squander it by overpaying for these coins ? All the prices realized that I'm quoting include the buyers premium of 20%.


This Owl sold for $13,200.00 despite having horn silver on the obverse & cleaning scratches on the reverse !

This Owl sold for $1,800.00 . I wouldn't pay more than $300.00 for it .

This hockey puck is a beauty ! But don't you think $6,600.00 is extravagant ?

This is a nice looking denarius despite the off-center reverse . I've always wanted one of these coins to go with my Koson stater, but the prices on these denarii keep escalating . This one sold for $2,880.00 !

This legionary denarius of Mark Antony is a gem ! I've never seen one this nice before . There are a lot of collectors chasing after these legionary denarii. This one sold for $7,200.00 .

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I actually considered that Ptolemy III but would have been interested at half that price or less. Its a great coin, but definitely sold for too much in my own personal opinion.

 

Well, the top Athens coin posted is pretty nice. Good nose/some crest showing. the horn silver doesn't bother me and I would assume the scratches aren't as bad in hand & to the naked eye as I would think if severe enough, it would be noted on the slab ticket. Still, it went for more than I think it's worth.

The Ptolemy III is a beauty, but wow...that's a bit much.

 

You were there too??


I woke up at 8am to sit and wait for the two items I bid on.

But I didn’t win either

This is the one I was really hoping to win. I got outbid by less than $100.

I have loved Pegasus since I was a kid and first saw the Disney movie of “Hercules” so I really want a coin with Pegasus on it. Especially a super old one like this one.



I would’ve paid $900 for that Athens tetradrachm. Definitely worth more than $300.

Keep in mind Heritage tends to take photos that really highlight the flaws of a coin and make it look much worse than in hand. My guess is they do it so no one can say “It didn’t show this flaw in the picture!” and use that as an excuse to return the item for a refund.

Oh and I had an eye on that Marc Antony legionary denarius as well but when the price went above $1,000 I decided to pass on focus on other coins.

 

If you want a nice Pegasus coin, go with something more artistic than that piece, something like a Corinthian stater

 

Hmmm... I wonder if mine would gain $12,000 in value if I put it in a $45 slab ?

 

Considering the weight of that Ptolemy and the way coins were struck at that time, it must have taken Hercules to swing that hammer!

 

I would if I could afford it xD

I especially love coins like that with just a picture and no words.

 

It would if it was in the same condition as the other one.

 

That's like saying you can't afford a car because there is a $5M Bugatti.

A brief search will show you that thousands of coins depict a high grade Pegasus for just a few hundred dollars, most of which are also anepigraphic.

 

I agree, and incidentally I bid a bit over half the final price on that Ptolemy bronze. At some point, it just doesn't make sense even if the coin is nice.

There were a number of (common but decent) coins in the Heritage sales which sold for 2x prices they realized within the last 18 months. It makes sense to stretch for coins that will truly not be seen again for years but many of these recent prices aren't rational or sustainable.

 

But then why would someone have paid over $20,000 if they could be had for a few hundred?

I guess I always just assumed before people spent huge money like that that they have looked up the prices of of the same coin in similar condition.

 

It was just about two years ago that that the interwebs were all a-buzz about an enormous hoard of Athenian owls trickling onto the market. I wonder how many of the estimated 30,000 pieces will rate MS 5/5?

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/athenian-owl-hoard.348230/

 

Each to their own but personally I do not care about the grade. I only ask myself if I like it and if I can afford it.

 

Reason why, even though showing some light wear, I prefer mine for its large flan and wonderful patina



Q

 

30,000?? Holy smokes!!

I wonder why on Earth anyone in ancient times would’ve left a hoard of 120,000 drachmae. (30,000 x 4 drachms per coin)

Maybe a temple offering? I know a lot of Persian darics are found underneath temples.

But not 30,000.

As for the MS 5/5 I am guessing maybe 10% will be MS and a fraction of those will be 5/5 strike & 5/5 surface.

Mine is 5/5 and 4/5 and it looks really good but not quite 5/5 surface.

 

@Gam3rBlake, if you want a Pegasus coin look for a Corinth stater or drachm (as mentined).
Also Quintus Titius issued denarii (and quinarii) with Pegasus, with different obverses. You can find good looking coins at decent prices.

This is not a good looking coin but I paid 17 EUR on it. I still like it and I think the price was a bargain.

I don't think this is correct as there are too many exceptions...
Even in the lower league of coins you can see clear examples of a coin sold today with 80 EUR and 3 months ago with 25. Same condition or, often, same coin. I overpaid some coins, not often, but I did. Because I really wanted that particular coin then, and paying 60 EUR instead of 30 was my decision.

 

I agree with you that €17 is a fantastic price for that coin even if it is a bit rough condition wise.

Oh wow I didn’t know the Romans put Pegasus on their coins too! I thought that was a Greek mythology thing.

Then again the Romans copied a lot of Greek culture so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised.

Greek: Zeus
Roman: Jupiter
Greek: Hera
Roman Athena etc.,


I would much rather have a Roman coin than a Greek one since Roman coins are the main focus of my collection.

But on the other hand I really do want one of those Corinthian staters without any words on it. Idk why but to me coins just look so beautiful without a bunch of writing on them. Maybe it’s because the design has more space.

The hard part is actually finding one at a good price. Unfortunately none of my local dealers have ancient coins often and when they do it’s usually stuff I’m not interested in. Like tiny copper coins with corrosion. Such as a Widow’s Mite in VG condition.

Any idea on some good places to look that are based in the United States?

 

I am a slabber too. I know a lot of people who collect ancients really hate the slabs but I’ve always been told “collect what you like not what others like” and I like slabs.

Mostly it’s because if I bought raw ancients I’d probably end up with a collection that was 50% fakes from China.

It’s true NGC doesn’t “guarantee” authenticity but at least they have their experts look at the coins. They definitely won’t slab a coin if they believe it’s fake and it’s not like every week there are stories about fakes found in NGC slabs so they seem to do a pretty good job.

I also like that with slabs I can let anyone hold my coins without holding my breath that they’ll drop it or get oils, dirt, sticky stuff etc,. on my coins.

One thing I learned quickly is that if you hand someone who isn’t familiar with coins a small coin and tell them to hold it by the edges…there is a good chance they will drop it.