The Tyrant Collection

@AncientJoe perhaps when you do meet Clio next... asking him/her to come on here for a Q&A session? Obviously this person shares the same passion as we do - and may be enjoyable and extremely interesting for all. Privacy can be protected, etc..

 

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The coins on the website are breathtaking, and worthy of a collection valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. Equally amazing is the fact that what's presented still only scratches the surface of what the hobby offers ("only one coin of Faustina I. "). I for one would love to also see a website showcasing the Tyrant's $100 coins. I'd bet that they'd be equally worthy.

 

I went thru the collection. I am surprised that there are no Tyrants of the Rhine/ Danube The German States/ Holy Roman Empire produced some of the most prolific/ beautifull coins ever made. I counted 124 that I have, here is one....AV Ruspone/3 Zecchini 1781 Florence Mint
Pietro Leopoldo Grand Duke of Tuscany

 

I'll see what I can do!

 

Please, don't give him ideas! The Central European Middle Ages are my hunting grounds, and I honestly don't need bidding competition from those with abysmally deep pockets!

(Seriously, each time I see such phenomenal collections on (digital) display, I anxiously look whether they also focus on bracteates. Since such collectors play in a completely different financial league, it probably wouldn't affect me at all if they did. Still, I'm always relieved when I discover that they definitely won't bid on the same Magdeburg Moritzpfennige I'm interested in. Not sure what this says about my character...)

 

Mine too! I love all the AV coinage from German States/ Swiss Cantons/ Holy Roman Empire/ Transylvania Your right there is enough competion out there.
John

 

The British section (Tyrants of the Thames) is outstanding...even a AV Double Leopard Edward III!

 

No Eadwig portrait penny?! Pfffft.... FAIL!!

Jaw-dropping stuff, no kidding. Wish I knew who the collector was.

Rasiel

 

Imagine if Vladmir Putin ever decided to collect classical coinage...$70US Billion and counting. He could move into Katharina II (The Great) St. Petersburg Palace, house collect there too/ plus have security detail to guard it and him.....paid by state taxes. That would be heavenly I would be happy just to use the interest on that sum to build a nice collection.

 

The Tyrant collection is not Clio. I know who they both are.

Barry Murphy

 

Yes, AJ explained that fully in previous posts.
John

 

Eye-Opening thread - Thank's for all the posts. Very informative.

 

Not all great coins are gold and not all gold coins are great.

Just because something is made of yellow metal doesn't make it exceptional and if someone of the general viewing public doesn't care to learn anything more and is awed merely because of the metal content, they should just take a look at some double eagles and call it a day.

Gold coins often survive in much better condition than their other metal'd brethren.

As someone with a number of gold coins, I'd happily take a rare, beautifully styled denarius of an interesting type over a poor style or poorly struct aureus any day.

That's not to say collections focused on gold can't be great but they aren't great because of the gold. Larry Adams' collection is a great example, as are parts of the Tyrant collection where he could have bought a run-of-the-mill aureus but instead chose high-style coins.

As @dougsmit rightly pointed out, there are gaps in the Tyrant collection which should hopefully be eventually filled. Maybe it won't increase the value in the narrow eyes of the gold-hungry public who haven't tried to learn anything about the coins they're seeing but I'd rather see a collection that impresses those who know what they're viewing.

 

Very well said. Thank you, AJ.

 

The displays at Long Beach are the best coin displays I have ever seen: coins displayed in about 80 degree vertical cases so you can see them very close and without having to bend down all the time and risk ruining your back; very strong lighting; enlarged photos of both sides of every coin; and detailed descriptions. The designer is a woman called Vera Liu who came to it with a background in design, not museums or numismatics.

 

That would be my way of displaying the coins, need a big house with large rooms....and good security system.

 

Wouldn't you be thinking more in terms of good security staff?

 

I'll look after it ...

 

I bought my first ever lottery ticket/ $75M jackpot! If I win, 60M would go into forming a "Little Tyrant Coll."
John

 

Aha! Seeing those pictures reminds me of when I saw the UK coins at Long Beach a couple of years ago. Thanks for jogging my memory. IIRC, I was most impressed by the Edward VIII proof set (yes, you read that right!)