Yes. ON FIRE. For real! Good morning, everybody! Do I have a tale to tell you! This is a coin I never thought I'd hold in my hand. Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman provincial Æ drachm, 24.36 g, 35.4 mm, 12 h. Egypt, Alexandria, AD 151/52 (year 15). Obv: ΦΑVCΤΙΝ CЄΒ CЄΒ ЄVCЄΒ ΘVΓ, draped bust, right, wearing circlet of pearls around head. Rev: Monumental altar or flat-roofed temple with four (garlanded) columns enclosing female figure dropping incense on altar; above, pyre; acroteria in form of aphlasta; L – IЄ (year 15) to either side. Refs: RPC IV.4 14749 (temp); Köln 1961; Dattari 3305-06; K&G 38.69; Emmett 1971.15; Sear –. Note: Some authors identify the altar on the reverse as the altar of Agathodaimon. I purchased the coin at Auctiones GmbH e-Auction 74 (lot 38) on December 12. And tracking the item, it arrived at the ISC in NYC on December 16, was sent to Queens on Dec. 17, and then to Jersey City on Dec. 18. And then it vanished. I put in a missing mail search request on January 18, figuring there had been a problem. I got an update in February from the USPS saying they couldn't find it, but the case was still active. The post office sent another notice in March, saying they still couldn't find it, but they were still looking. I gave up on it – more than three months had passed – but lo and behold! THIS arrived last Friday!! It was all scorched and smelled of smoke! The invoice was burned, and the cardboard mailer was stained. But the coin envelope itself was undamaged, as was the coin!! Hooray! Faustina escaped the flames! I'm not sure what happened, whether it was in an actual fire or it sustained friction burns from a conveyor belt from being stuck in a mail-sorting machine. About the coin and its reverse type Some numismatists identify the structure on the reverse as the Altar of Agathodaimon.[1, 2] Others have interpreted it as "the temple complex from Caesarea with a representation of Mount Argaeus behind."[3] If the image on this reverse type represents an actual architectural structure, it has been lost to the sands of time. A Google search for "altar of Agathodaimon" yields nothing outside of the numismatic literature. A search for "temple of Agathodaimon" is only slightly more productive. It identified only a non-relevant citation in a book by Corbin and a single relevant citation: a brief mention in The Classical Review[4] of a "temple of Agathodaimon" in Alexandria in a German antiquarian publication from 1900.[5] There is no mention of either a Temple of Agathodaimon or Altar of Agathodaimon in Alexandria or its environs in a rather comprehensive review article about Agathodaimon in Greco-Egyptian religion by João Feliciano.[6] Therefore, it is far from clear that this temple of Agathodaimon in Alexandria mentioned in an obscure German journal in 1900 is that depicted on the reverse of this coin type. Roman Provincial Coins online is appropriately reluctant to identify the structure on the reverse of this and similar coins, describing it as a "monumental altar or flat-roofed temple with four (garlanded) columns enclosing female figure dropping incense on altar."[7] Similarly, there is confusion about the various images on the reverse. The descriptions in various dealers' listings,[8] as well as Geissen and Weiser,[9] describe the structure in the center on top of the structure as a "pyre of burning pinecones," but at least one source has suggested it represents a figure of Mt. Argaeus in Caesarea.[10] There is a little more consistency in the description of the structure's acroteria. Almost all sources describe them as aphlasta.[11] Our own @zumbly researched this issue several years ago and some of his sources identified them as coiled serpents or winged serpents. I'm afraid I have had nothing to contribute to the state of numismatic knowledge of these coins and default to the description of the reverse type in RPC. Moreover, I shall not discuss Agathodaimon at all, since it is uncertain whether this coin has anything whatsoever to do with this deity and I'd have nothing to say that @DonnaML has not said more thoroughly or eloquently in her post about it here. Let's see your coins that were in packages damaged or delayed by the post office, coins with the "Altar of Agathodaimon" reverse type, big bronze Alexandrian drachms of Faustina the Younger, or anything you feel is relevant! ~~~ Notes 1. Emmett, Keith. Alexandrian Coins. Clio's Cabinet, 2001, nos. 1971-72 and pl. 4,8; pp. 87, 313, 319. 2. Geissen, Angelo, and Wolfram Weiser. Katalog Alexandrinischer Kaisermünzen Der Sammlung Des Instituts Für Altertumskunde Der Universität Zu Köln. Hadrian-Antoninus Pius Nr. 741-1994. 1974, sv. no. 1961. 3. "Roman Temples." Forum Ancient Coins, https://www.forumancientcoins.com/lateromancoinage/temples.html. 4. Nutt, D., ed. "Summaries of Periodicals." The Classical Review, Vol 14, 1900, p. 476. Online here. 5. Ausfeld, A. "Zur Topographie von Alexandria und Pseudo-Kallisthenes I." Rheinisches Museum für Philologie, Vol. 55, part 2, 1900, pp. 31-33. 6. Feliciano, João. "The Agathos Daimon in Greco-Egyptian Religion." The Hermetic Tablet: Journal of Western Ritual Magic, 19 July 2016, pp. 171–192. Available online here. 7. "RPC IV.4, 14749 (Temporary)." Roman Provincial Coinage Online, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford., https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/14749. 8. "Search for 'Faustina Agathodaimon Alexandria'". ACSEARCH.INFO - Auction Research, https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1¤cy=usd&order=0. 9. Geissen, Angelo, and Wolfram Weiser, op. cit. 10. Forum Ancient Coins, op. cit. 11. So too RPC, op. cit.
Lost coins! It happened to me last year for the first time. I bought 3 coins from Zeus Numismatics through biddr. The auction was in June. By August I sent an email to Zeus about the delay. No response. Asked again a week later. Nothing. Then I sent an email to biddr and received a response saying they would contact Zeus. Zeus finally sent me a one line email month later in October, "Have you received your post?" Ah, no. At this point I was pulling my hair out. Via tracking I finally found that the coins were stuck in San Francisco Customs. I called Customs there and talked with a wonderfully helpful woman for over 40 minutes who said they did not have anything describing my package. She said the US Post Office had it, but warned me that the USPS is a black hole and detailed exactly what USPS would say. USPS responded exactly how she said they would - they blamed customs. She told me to have the a USPS supervisor call her and she would try to help them get their collective heads out of their posteriors. At the end of the day, the USPS told me to write a lost and found letter to their center in Atlanta. I did. I've never heard back. I eventually requested a full refund from PayPal, and received one in November. Fortunately the three coins were pretty cheap and didn't fill important places in my collection. I purchased two of them just to have a couple variations of the she-wolf reverse. I'll never use Zeus Numismatics again, mostly because of their failure to communicate. And using the USPS to ship their coins from overseas? Not smart.
Wow! If Faustina could only talk, what a tale she could tell about coming through the fire. If that's really the temple of Agathodaemon, it makes sense that those are snakes on the roof. But who knows? Here's my only Faustina II from Roman Egypt, also with a serpent theme -- but it's a Uraeus rather than an Agathodaemon: Faustina II [Junior] (wife of Marcus Aurelius & daughter of Antoninus Pius), AE Obol, Alexandria, Egypt Mint, Year 12 of Antoninus Pius (AD 148/149). Obv. Draped bust right, hair in chignon at back of head, ΦΑVϹΤΙΝΑ ϹƐΒ(Α)ϹΤΗ / Rev. Crowned uraeus serpent [sacred cobra, worn by deities and pharaohs] standing erect to right, L beneath I – B across fields (L IB = Year 12). 18 mm., 4.18 g., 12 h. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Online Vol. IV.4 15420 (temp.) (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/15420); Emmett 2037.12; Dattari Savio 9144; SNG France 4, Alexandrie II 2810 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, France Vol. 4, Alexandrie II, Hadrien – Antonin le Pieux – Nomes (Zurich 2018)]. Purchased at Nomos Obolos Auction 22, 6 March 2022, Lot 578. [adjusted to make the color look more like the actual coin than the Nomos photo]
I'm glad the coin finally arrived! Gotta chuckle at the post office passing the buck - Received Damaged. Hey, that's how we got it! Suuure. I think you're right though - it got stuck in a machine and abraded. A fire would have destroyed it.
So glad that rare beauty made it to you in the end. Thing survives two millennia no problem. Surviving USPS not so easy. How about my Fed UP...I mean Fedex story. First, this is not Savoca's fault and they were awesome about it and refunded me for the coin. Two things I love about Savoca: they have the fastest shipping in the game. I don't know why Fedex is so efficient for them and not everyone else. And the other thing, I am frugal and if I don't buy too much in an auction of theirs they will hang on to my winnings for me so that I can combine shipping with my winnings from the following auction. So, I have 2 auctions worth of winnings coming to me from them...and the winnings don't come. I wait and wait. Nearly two weeks! (which for any other auction house that would be excellent delivery time) Finally, this lunk of turd lands on my doorstop: I could still see the safety cardboard and am a pretty lucky guy...maybe just maybe all would be well and the super sweet RRs I had coming to me would be ok...and maybe I'll start growing hundos out my nose! Fortunately, the coins from my first order that I had them hold for me were all still in the cardboard. Unfortunately, those were the not so expensive coins. The big daddy RR didn't make it. Just from the destruction of the envelope and the cardboard, I think maybe the coin got turned sideways or something in one of the scanning mechanisms and ripped right out of the packaging, but your guess is as good as mine. I sent these photos to Savoca and they immediately refunded me and used the photos to file a claim with Fedex. Best in the biz baby. Here are the coins that did make it: A coin that shows the ancient tools used to mint us our coins! T. Carisius. Circa 46 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.34 gm). Head of Juno right / T. CARISIVS above minting implements, all within wreath: wreathed cap of Vulcan, resembling reverse die, above moneyer’s anvil between tongs and hammer. Crawford 464/2; Sear, CRI 70; Carisia 1a. NVF, Purchased from Savoca Jan 2022 The identification of the obverse bust as Juno is questionable since she is not wearing the usual stephane of the Queen of the Olympians and wife of Jupiter. Although accompanied by one of her ancient titles moneta, from moneo (‘warn, advise or council’), it is eminently probable that by this time Moneta was a minor personification in her own right. The same personification can be seen on the reverse of Domitian’s Moneta August aes issue of AD 84, which celebrates the reopening of the mint after the fire of AD 81. A gnarly Macedonian helmet in silver! Antiochos VI Dionysos. 144-142 BC. AR Drachm (16mm, 3.21 g, 1h). Antioch on the Orontes mint. Undated issue, struck circa 143-142 BC. Radiate and diademed head right / AΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY EΠIΦANOYΣ ΔIONYΣOY, spiked Macedonian helmet with cheek guards, adorned with wild goat’s horn above visor; TPY above helmet, monogram to lower right. SC 2003a; SMA –; HGC 9, 1037; Sunrise 209. VF, toned. Very rare. Purchased from Savoca Jan 2022 And this guy. Who is he. We don't know for sure. But there are lots of guesses.
A friend of mine is working for USPS, so I made a little investigation: 1) this is the reason for your smokey parcel: 2) USPS is apologizing to you RC because they didn’t check the background of one of the Postman they hired, Thomas A. Sweatt…
The package looks as if it partially burnt up on reentry! I'm glad the outcome was a happy one. Nice coin.
Thanks much Bidding on them can get pretty bonkers pretty quick. Best practice: Be patient I probably bid on 5 or 6 of these before winning this HUMBLE example. But folks just seemed to sleep on it due to their being several big auctions that day and the condition That said, I really feel that I stole this particular coin with a song Another sad story with a happy ending for RC's AWESOME thread I waited 362 days (insultingly, the wayward coin wouldn't even give me a full year to complain about) I ordered a bunch of coins from a Timeline auction that ended Feb 25th 2020. With them you know you're going to have to wait for them to get the customs clearance.... and then... What happened two weeks later... COVID! I did get most of my order, in two different shipments. But one coin just couldn't make its way. Due to the rotten Rona and them having a hard time communicating with the British board of whateverit took them less than a week under a full year to get this unimpressive RR to me: Here's me griping about it when it was only a few months late: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/an...ne-auction-to-send-coins.360599/#post-4528714
I collect rare specialty records and I'm used to shipping glass, shellac and aluminum records. I would have used a decent padded mailer, like the ones London Ancient coins use, or if the coin were expensive enough, made a tiny crate and a custom foam insert. My buddy built a custom crate for my Charlie Chan transcriptions, a bucket list want. I wonder how the truly high end auctions pack their coins? I'm hoping they don't fling EID MAR aurei into a mailer? Now THAT would be a case where a custom crate is called for.
Amend tiny crate to a small but sturdy box. A tiny crate would be too difficult to open. You mentioned you were frugal; does FedEx cost $80 from Savoca? That's what I was quoted from a German firm. I went with DHL. Perhaps the shipping price fluctuates with how expensive the coin is?
20 euros plus 1%. Though, I have had other auction houses charge an arm and a leg when trying to ship slightly larger things like books.
I must say, 20 Euros isn't too terrible. I should start a thread asking what is normal to pay for DHL/Fed Ex. I avoid the private shippers like the plague, so I truly don't know. I went into buying a coin truly scared because I heard horror stories of mysterious phantom charges, etc. I didn't know whether to expect 25 Euros or 100 Euros. Do the rates vary from European country to country? Is it pegged to how expensive the item is? After the turntable debacle I don't want to use FedEx, but I'm willing to take a chance on sub-$200 items - if I have no other choice but to use FedEx/DHL. Hey, FedEx could have changed since 2015. They now offer regular Saturday delivery. I can live with 20-something Euros for DHL, assuming they actually deliver the item. 80 Euros for FedEx, heck no. If the delivery's stellar, I can live with 20-30 buck European shipping. The shipping is slow and expensive on this one record auction I frequent, but man is it well-packed. I remember when I bought some cracked glass discs (the pristine set had sold). Packed like a tank; no further damage. And packing unbroken glass discs is hard enough... I can then save the packing material for future records.
