Did anyone here win something at yesterday´s Heritage Auction? I got one Sestertius from the "Morris Collection" but cannot figure out who exactly that collector is or was (an alias maybe?). I know that Desmond Morris (the ethnologist) collected all kinds of ancient things, but I did not know about coins. Can anybody help???
At least you already have a clue about the pedigree. Much worse when the only information is “from a collection of a gentleman from New York”.
I thought perhaps Robert C. Morris -- an 18th century US collector -- but it appears the collection being sold is from someone currently living or recently passed. https://www.numismaticnews.net/article/roman-coins-star-in-january-sale
I have the printed catalog. There is nothing about the consigner. I went to the preview. I was very interested in a particular denarius. https://coins.ha.com/itm/roman-impe...53-gm-7h-ngc-choice-au-4-5-5-5/p/3071-55098.s Unfortunately two floor bidders took it to a place that I was unwilling to follow. That denarius previously appeared in a Numismatica Ars Classica sale in 2008. It is unlikely that it was collected during the 18th century!
That is a sensational reverse! I think I remember an Aureus of a similar type going for something like 200.000 CHF some years ago, so there is some demand... I went further that I had planned on my purchase as well (that is why I try to avoid joining live auctions...) but I think it was still in the "reasonable" area (I still can´t show anybody I know personally because they would not understand, so I´ll post it here instead once I have it in hand and broke it out of its slab :-D). Looks like Mr. "Morris" is an investor who likes to protect his privacy...
You could be right... it looks like he purchased some of his coins as early as the 80s and these were just the highlights. They plan on offering the "lesser" goods on a monthly basis during the rest of the year, so there must be much more than these "investment" pieces
Not even remotely an investor and not named Morris but I won't say anything further as it was told to me in confidence.
That may be true in this case, but not necessarily in other cases. I bought at retail a coin which had appeared in several NAC sales in the early 2000's. I've since proven that it came from the Duke of Northumberland Collection, and was acquired by the Duke or his family sometime before 1856 (when it was published in a catalogue of the Northumberland collection).
