Do you have any coin misses or regrets?

I know this topic has been discussed before, but recently I missed out on this unattributed sestertius. I'm pretty sure it's a left facing Titus. I got the ebay page up and ready to enter my bid (I usually bid towards the end), while I was also working on other things in my laptop, and simply missed the auction by seconds.

I really like the portrait despite the coin being totally worn and with absolutely no reverse. Definitely nothing valuable but missing out on this for the opening bid of $12 hurt a little.

 

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Yes. I've had a few. But then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do, then saw it through, without exemption. I planned each chartered course, each careful step, along the byway. But more, much more than this, I did it my way.

 

...a little Sinatra...not bad!!!!

 

If you don't get an affirmative ("yes") answer from every CT member, then someone is lying!

 

Yes.
One time I had the opportunity to acquire an extremely rare and very interesting bronze as of Septimius Severus. I placed what I thought was a very high bid and lost by about 10%. It's still painful to think about!

 

Just so you know: I'm really mad at you for making me remember!!!

Long before the print catalog arrives in the mail, Harlan J Berk sends out the email saying the new Buy Bid Sale is online. Here is why I now try to catch that email immediately and race through:

Three years ago, I looked through BBS 220 to see a coin that I instantly recognized from a book on my shelf, ACNAC Norman Davis, published in 1969 by ANS, a 4th century BCE Rhodian Didrachm:



It was priced ridiculously low: $300! (At $1,000 I would've still at least considered it, or planned a bid.)

What's more: The provenance to the important Norman Davis Collection, and it's publication, were completely absent from the listing. (That's me who added it in the comments to the ACSearch record; I do that a lot.)



Before I could click "Buy Now" and pay, however, someone beat me to it.

I'm halfway convinced (okay, more than halfway) that HJB deliberately radically underprices at least one or two coins per catalog. (Nothing expensive enough that it would hurt, but enough to give an incentive to buyers to look as soon as possible and buy fast!)

Now I always look right away so I won't miss another. Just bought one when the current sale came out. I'll post it soon!

(I have many other sob stories like this, usually having to do with some old collection provenance and plate coin I recognized but somehow missed the purchase. Also a couple of happy stories where I got a second chance a year or two later, so on balance I can't be too mad.)

 

Meat Man,

As a specialist collector of Severan bronze coins, I'd be interested to hear what type it was that you missed.

Curtis Clay

 

I hate the ones that hammer before I find them in the mass of online sales / auctions. I have seen only one 13, IΓ, weight and that was 36 hours after it hammered for next to nothing. Scale weights are hard to find in auctions. They are listed in several different places.

 

The answer to your post is yes, but mine has a happy ending. I was temporarily laid-off in 2012 and needed money so I sold about 150+- coins from my collection. They were a mixture of Greek and Roman ranging from common bronze follis to silver denarius. Looking back I'm sure there were some scarce and even rare coins in the lot. However, I made sure to keep the best coins so one day I could rebuild my collection. Most of the coins were Gordian III and Philip I, as I thought that it would be easy to replace these common coins.
Here's where it gets interesting. I am an avid collector of mint error coins (double strikes, unusual flans, etc.). I made sure to keep all these coins, at least that's what I thought. I turned white with anguish once I realized that I had accidently sold a very rare Gordian III, RIC 172 (B) mint error. I was sure that I would never see it again or if I was lucky have to pay a king's ransom to acquire it back. A couple days after I sold the coins I went back to the coin shop hoping he hadn't sold it. Luck was on my side, there was my coin in the display case. I acted very relaxed so not to draw suspension. I asked to purchase that coin and a couple others. As I was looking thru the box of ancients I nearly fainted. For in the box was another Gordian III RIC 172 (B) mint error exactly like mine except it was a really ugly coin, it was suffering from bad lamination and covered in a dark slime. When I got the coins home and was able to conduct photo analysis on both of them I discovered they were a perfect die match; meaning they were minted by the same person at the same time. What are the odds to find two, rare, mint error, die matched coins at a coin shop I only visited once. They were meant to be together, twins, never to be separated again.


Coin 1 - Original coin that was accidently sold. Rare mint error (double strike).


Overlay of Coin 1 and Coin 2 to verify die match


Coin 2 - Lucky find. Rare mint error (double strike).

 

That is a pretty amazing story! If you had not mistakenly sold the first one and returned to retrieve it, you would never have found the second!

I really like that the second one also has a dramatic double strike (at least) and an extra broad flan. I really enjoy those kind of coins.

 

Yes. I didn't buy this when I had the chance. Most items you can buy later if you keep looking. You can't do it with this. It is an 1801 Jefferson inaugural medal by John Reich.

 

Yes, I have a regret that I think about quite often. It was in the early 1970's. I was at a very small local pawn shop that I had bought and traded with, but mostly Lincoln wheat cents. He had an almost complete set of Mercury Dimes. It was only missing 3 or 4 coins. He sold it to me for $15.00. Of course, the 1916-D was one of the missing. He then told me that he had 5 safety deposit boxes at the bank, full of old coins he had saved during his younger days, and that He had a 1916-D in one of them. Later, he brought the coin in to show me. It was at least XF or AU? He offered it to me for $95.00. My wife couldn't see trading $95 for a dime. If I would have bought it, it would have been very cold in my house for a while. So, I didn't buy it. Wish I would have, now. We divorced in 1977, and I would have had a very nice 1916-D Mercury Dime!

 

Yes, I need just the 1895-O Barber dime to complete my set of circulated Barbers. I wish I had bought one 25-30 years ago when Barbers were largely ignored. I looked at several but never pulled the trigger.

I'll eventually find the time and place to acquire one but it will cost me a lot more.

 

I've been debating on whether or not to submit it to NCS (NGC) for conservation. I wanted to see if they could remove the black "death" to help stabilize the metal. It appears to have lamination on the obverse but it could just be some type of issue with the metal from when they struck it.

 

I've also felt that deep regret of choosing not to bid on a particular coin (or having a technical issue that means you couldn't bid!). The one I regret most was a coin of Diocletian that I chose not to bid on because I already had a coin of his (at that time, I was also trying to complete my Nerva-Antonine dynasty and saving my money for those). It wasn't a particularly rare coin, I just thought it was a really striking portrait. Coins of Diocletian are obviously very common, even in excellent condition. However, I thought this one was really something. It didn't go for very much (110 pounds excluding the hammer fee). I would have happily paid that for it.

 

I missed a couple of Antonines that I liked, but if I'm being honest I only remember two that stuck out. I also had a good shot at a sestertius of Vespasian (I still don't have a sestertius) but now my budget is quite restricted so I stay happy with what I have now.

 

Curtis - Blake Davis here - a couple of days ago I found a Caracalla sestertius for sale - a rather scarce one - on Italian ebay. A few months or so ago I had seen the identical coin on a Spanish seller's site in an online auction, but it was taken down, which of course rang alarm bells. The coin shows Caracalla on horseback spearing a fallen enemy who is holding up a shield and is inscribed PONTIFTRPXICOSIII along the top with PROFAVGG under the horse, rider and enemy. "SC" is under the horse. The coin weighs about 26 grams, 34mm. Not listed but close to RIC 438 as alleged in the original Spanish seller's description, which I copied at the time.

Now the identical - the very same - coin shows up on Italian ebay and goes off in a couple of days - I am not certain if it is the same seller. The coin is very clearly a die match of the same coin as that in the British museum. But even the BM coin looks a bit suspicious - but I guess we can trust the British Museum to catch fakes (???).

I have not been able to find a coin for my collection for months and months so I have quite a bit of money saved up for this one, which would be a great addition to my collection - if it is authentic, and the seller doesn't get a bunch of nominees to bid up the price, as I recently saw on ebay for a rare Nero sestertius that also rang alarm bells but nevertheless sold for over 1400 pounds.

Usually I do not want to go around advertising a forthcoming ebay auction of a rare or desireable coin but no choice here since this one really should have been sold at that Spanish Auction - so why was it taken down, if not there were doubts about its authenticity - doubts I very much share. But the coin is not listed as fake anywhere I can find,

In short, I was wondering if you had seen this one, and if so, what do you think?

Thanks again and if you will be at the New York show I will say hello - we have been communicating for decades and it would be nice to meet in person - I can bring a couple of interesting coins that I have not posted or sent to you as I have done in the past -

All the best from chilly New Jersey from a very nervous Blake - 11/26/23

 

Oh sorry I missed this post! Certainly - the coin in question was RIC IV 764 (R3):


https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10987719

I could not find any other specimens online. There are a few with Caracalla on the obverse but none with Septimius.

Man, it still hurts. Bad.

 

I have had many of those - you just pray something as good or better will come around. The coin I mentioned above just got bid on by a guy that had 100% of bidding with the seller - if that isn't a nominee I do not know what is - so why bid on it if the seller is using phony bids to up the price? But if the coin is authentic it is worth it. But I can't answer that - it look authentic but??????

 

You mean you've had many of these coins?? Or just many of the same experiences missing on a desired coin? If the former I'd love to know where you can get more.

I hope that you can resolve the problem with your coin...does the seller accept returns? Surely, if you bought from them and it turned out to be fake, eBay could force a return/refund.