Ebay lot shenanigans - "Do you see what I see?"

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Finn235, Oct 23, 2019.

  1. Finn235

    Finn235 Well-Known Member

    On an unrelated note, some of the other coins from the lot, reinforcing that this may have been one of my best eBay purchases.

    Constantius II, FTR from Alexandria, an overall very nice coin, even if it isn't slivered anymore
    Constantius ii FTR alexandria.jpg

    Aurelian Alexandria tetradrachm, Year 5?
    Aurelian tetradrachm alexandria year 5.jpg

    Byzantine conquest of Carthage, AE nummus of Justinian, Chi-Rho within double circle
    ZomboDroid 26102019213555.jpg

    Indo-Parthians, Gondophares AE Drachm bust / Athena (And this is a curious and unusually nice rendition of the type - they are usually more blocky than this)
    Gondophares drachm.jpg

    Galatian celts (?) Imitating Seleucid, maybe Demetrios I? AR 19mm, 0.64g
    Celtic AR seleucid imitation cornucopia.jpg

    British Celts, Durotriges BI stater (there was another just like this)
    Durotriges BI stater.jpg

    Kings of Macedon, Philip V AE Chalkous(?)
    Philip V Macedon zeus Athena.jpg

    Tarraco, Hispania AE As? Augustus / Gaius and Lucius Caesares
    Tarraco Spain Augustus Gaius Lucius.jpg

    Kingdom of Galatia, Deiotarus Philoromaios AE Zeus / Monogram & shield
    Galatia Deiotarus Philoromaios AE zeus shield.jpg

    Post-Seljuk Artuqids, Qutb al Din il-Ghazi II AE dirham, imitating a Constantine "Eyes to Heaven"!
    Artuqid Dirham Qutb al din Il Gazi ii 1176 AD Constantine eyes to heaven.jpg

    I'm being struck with a case of the Bilbo Baggins

    "After all... why shouldn't I keep them all?"
     
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  3. Roerbakmix

    Roerbakmix Well-Known Member

    The celtic AR unit shows resemblance with this one
    https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5809886
    from Demetrios I. Weight differs a bit though, but the style is comparable.

    The Durotriges is not a billion, but an AR stater, I think Van Arsdell 1235-1. It's in quite OK condition, but a bit rough.
     
    Finn235 likes this.
  4. Pellinore

    Pellinore Well-Known Member

    Are you sure this is a silver coin? It looks bronze. My Axum gilt coin (17 mm, 1.69 g) is definitely bronze, it was minted by king Ouazebas:

    4451 Axum Ouazebas co.jpg

    I wouldn't dare to start cleaning the grime...
     
  5. Roerbakmix

    Roerbakmix Well-Known Member

    I concur: it looks like a dirty bronze. Weighing the coin may help differentiate.

    On the other hand: soaking it in distilled water and very gently brushing the coin will likely not harm it.
     
    Kentucky likes this.
  6. Finn235

    Finn235 Well-Known Member

  7. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Looks like a fantastic and diverse lot. What fun! :)
     
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  8. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I would keep them all as a reminder that you don't lose all of the time. Were it mine, I would soak the Axum in distilled water perhaps rubbing lightly with fingers. The coin has potential.
     
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  9. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    Great group of coins @Finn235 ....I agree with @dougsmit there looks to be some good detail under the gunk...Maybe even use a very soft toothbrush and I would start on the obverse and see what happens...
     
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  10. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Precisely what I was about to say.
     
    Finn235 likes this.
  11. Plumbata

    Plumbata Well-Known Member

    Great Axumite coin, I believe that many of their silver coins were made using a somewhat debased alloy so a crust of dirt and copper salts may be why it looks like a bronze piece. I have used dilute citric acid to clean the copper salts off a little Axumite AR coin but it started out rather less encrusted than yours and is dangerous/unforgiving to begin with so I wouldn't recommend it. Please post updates if you make progress cleaning it!
     
    red_spork likes this.
  12. Finn235

    Finn235 Well-Known Member

    Thanks all! I'll try hand at cleaning the Axum coin with distilled water and brushing first - I'll keep you updated if I make progress!

    And I ran out of room earlier - more goodies from the lot!

    In no particular order:

    Arab Byzanine "Three Caliphs" fals - no idea how to ID it any better? Looks to be overstruck on something
    Arab Byzantine three caliphs.jpg

    Lucania, Thurium AE, Apollo / Horse
    Lucania Thurium AE apollo horse.jpg

    Same, but apollo / cithara (a type of lyre?)
    Lucania Thurium AE apollo cithara.jpg

    This one threw me for a loop...
    Philip II of Macedon AE 1/4 unit (12mm, 1.04g)
    Head of Herakles / FILIP-POY above and below club, spear head above
    Spent an hour scouring coins of Philip III looking for this one before I thought to check daddy!
    Philip III bronze heracles club.jpg

    Thrace, Chersonesos AR hemidrachm
    Lion / pellets and HP monogram in quadrupartite
    Chersonesos hemidrachm HP pellets.jpg

    Lucania, Paestum AE sescuncia Demeter / Wolf
    Lucania Paestum sescuncia punic war Ceres wolf.jpg

    Another Axum AR! This one I think may be Ousanas?
    (This is what I *don't* want the Aphilas to look like after cleaning!)
    Axum AR.jpg

    And this one... I don't know?
    AE 15mm, 3.55g
    Obv: Female head (venus?) right
    Rev: Nike walking left, Phoenician or Punic inscription
    ZomboDroid 27102019223359.jpg
     
    Chris B, Cucumbor, Theodosius and 7 others like this.
  13. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    This was likely someone's beginner collection of ancients.
     
  14. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    This was an interesting thread. I decided to watch the sellers other auction lots. Before this thread they sold at very modest prices. After the thread, all the lots sold much higher than retail might average. I guess many are still looking for that diamond in the rough. Me? I hate gambling (aside from poker of course).
     
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  15. Finn235

    Finn235 Well-Known Member

    Been watching a few more of the seller's sales and Ken is right, some of these are getting ridiculous, although there were still a few bargains to be had if I could justify buying them.

    But this one that sold today...

    https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/372825184451

    Went for $532 for:
    - Average quality Kushan tetradrachm
    - A few medium-low grade Judaeans (yeah one is a Pontius Pilate, but still...)
    - A chipped Sev Alexander denarius
    - An Indian state or Mughal rupee
    - A few low grade eastern Celt ARs
    - A Parthian AE

    Unless I'm missing something major, someone got carried away and spent like 5-8x retail on that lot!
     
  16. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    I notice that two feedbacks on this seller seem to acuse him of selling stolen merchendise (it's in French, so I'm not sure)
    "objet volé meme pas d'envoie avec signature pour ce prix c'est une honte"
     
  17. red_spork

    red_spork Triumvir monetalis

    I believe the correct translation is that the item was stolen in the mail. Buyer is angry because it was shipped without signature confirmation.
     
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  18. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    I think he's saying that the coins were stolen in the mail and it wasnt shipped secure, or signature required.
     
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  19. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Really interesting stuff. I'm really enjoying this thread- it is giving me a vicarious thrill.

    I've been watching this seller like a hawk - because of budget constraints I've only won one lot - I got a decent Claudius DV countermark out of it, but also a bunch of early Islamic stuff I've been (slowly and inexpertly) working on - it has been fun, and from what I can tell from auction and Vcoin sales, a great bargain for me, at under $2 a piece. This is the Islamic part of the batch:

    _Lot CMs and Arabic AE Aug 2019 (12).JPG.JPG
     
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  20. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    Thanks, the translation software wasn't too good
     
  21. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    Exactly

    Q
     
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