This is the rarest denarius of Julius Caesar, Crawford 452/5 (rarest along with its "large head" sibling, Crawford 452/4, and excluding Crawford...
Hi Mike. Clearly the boxes once belonged to Yale, but... Did Yale have any records of the coins themselves, other than merely the boxes? Photos...
I finally found the right example of Crawford 353/1c: [ATTACH] Phil Davis
It's not in 57. I don't have 58.
Crawford 503/1, a rare denarius struck in Lycia by Brutus in 43/42 BC. Interestingly, it shares an obverse engraver with certain Lycian League...
A treasonous idiot at that...
By the by, your 1st and 3rd examples are actually the same coin, so the 2018 buyer may have gotten a relative bargain.
If it's any consolation, as @savitale pointed out, this practice used to be a LOT more prevalent in the days before the Internet gave easy, direct...
I would call it a calculated risk on CNG's part. If they frequently miscalculate they'll be in trouble; fatal trouble, if they do it often enough....
Subjectively, it's of course perfectly reasonable and understandable to find this practice off-putting. Certainly, I've felt that way myself....
Ex Archer M. Huntington. Ironically, one lot later than Michael's OP coin in Triton XX: [IMG] Phil Davis
My Cleo & Tony: [ATTACH] Phil Davis
Crawford 121/2, 200-195 BC [IMG] Phil Davis
I'll risk the wrath of Portunus (god of shipping) and post a coin I haven't actually received yet. This is Crawford 457/1, quite a scarce denarius...
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