I'm sure many CT members are tracking the third coin on this post, as am I. Unfortunately, during these lean times, I would have to let go of at least one, if not both, of the first two coins. Yes they are much better grades and the Byblus Shekel is the highest I've been able to find to date. Is the Octadrachm with all its flaws worth it? Phoenicia Byblus Ozbaal/Azbaal shekel Phoenicia Sidon Tetradrachm. IMHO, Not an easy coin to find especially in this state of preservation KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander I. 498-454 BC. AR Oktadrachm, the target coin. Is it worth it with all its flan flaws etc. or should I wait for a better example to come along??
I would say don't sell anything before you win the octodrachm since auctions tend to be full of surprises.
I agree. Moreover, I don't have the time to sell anything before the auction date. BUT if I did win, I would find it easier to settle if I sold one of my existing coins. Hence the conundrum
And to answer the essence of your question: I am not interested in the coin and have no relation to the consignor. I don't know what coins you collect and how this fits in your collection. It seems to be from quite a different time and region compared to the other 2 you posted. While it has surface problems and a strange flan, the horse and man are nicely struck and the coin is nicely toned. One aspect I don't like and that's why I never bought one of these is that the body of the man is not aligned to his legs.
That coin will not sell to someone who has to worry about cost. There are plenty of people out there who simply do not care what it costs if they want it and people will want that coin.
Doug in a higher state of preservation and a round flan etc. $30,000+ perhaps but in that state....I doubt that it will reach $10,000.
Personally - i like the first 2 best...especially that shekel - WOW! So i wouldn't want to have to sell those to get the new one. Just my opinion. But I also find it really hard to actually sell or trade away my collection pieces - i worry that i'll regret it later.
Does the oktadrachm have a flan chip or was the flan originally produced like that? I think it is an attractive coin either way and the odd plan shape doesn't bother me or affect the design. Being a bottom feeder when it comes to nicer coins I'd be happy to have the oktadrachm. John
Rather than tell you what to do, I'll recommend what not to. Do NOT post coins that are for sale. It can be against the rules, is just poor form for numerous reason such as you are helping the seller advertise their goods, may tick off fellow CT buddies that were hoping to bid on it and makes it look like you have a vested interest in the sale even when you don't. I see this faux pas from time to time and am only advising you as a peer, nothing more. If $10,000 isn't much to you than you have a shot. Best of luck.
I periodically peek into the Ancients Forum Threads and, to my mind, the coins were difficult to appreciate. However, my interest gained momentum and this shekel blew me away. This coin is absolutely gorgeous. The quality of the the depiction is fantastic and the detail is wonderful. I have stopped actual collecting of coins, however, were I somewhat younger, a trip down this collecting avenue would, now, be a direction I would definitely travel. I am now hooked following this Forum. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the words of caution but I didn't mention the auction details. There have been other posts actually giving website links which I have been very careful to avoid.
The octodrachm you're targeting has a decent amount of "meat" on the bone and the cataloging indicating graffiti on the reverse is probably a bit overly conservative: it just looks like scratches, although I haven't viewed the coin in-hand. The flan issues aren't ideal and hold it back from being a $20K coin but the style is nice. For what it's worth, I'm looking for the type but not interested in this coin due to its problems. I would personally rather pay 3x more for a nicer example than one where I'd be distracted by issues. How would you plan on selling the coin/coins? It could be worth reaching out to the auction house of the third coin to see if they'd be interested in your other two on consignment but if you needed an advance to pay for the new coin, they will likely be able to set the estimate which could mean there's a potential for a loss if yours don't sell as strongly as you wanted. On the coins themselves, the Byblus shekel is indeed nice although I wouldn't put much stock in its grade relative to other graded examples: the vast majority of pieces simply haven't been graded. If you bought it in the Heritage 2016 sale, your price paid was reasonable. I don't recognize the Sidon tetradrachm but the lack of a patina means it likely doesn't have a pedigree so it's not going to be as sought after as some of the other, more expensive recent sales. I suspect you'll need to add in cash on top of both coins to pay for the octodrachm, especially considering that, with a small consignment, you will likely not be able to ask for more than just the hammer price (no portion of the buyer's premium). Hope this helps!
Joe I find I'm moving more and more towards ancients in recent times and have intentionally and in one case, unintentionally , managed to acquire some nice examples over the last 4-5 years. Yes you are correct, the Shekel was purchased from HA in 2016. I had bought 3 but later sold the lowest grade coin to reduce the base cost of the ones retained. I think I'll set myself an upper limit for this particular example and see how it goes. Who knows, maybe I won't have to part with anything. The only thing that concerns me about ancients is another undiscovered hoard which will make a once rare coin very common, an example being the Attica Tetradrachm. With most moderns there is a fairly accurate record of mintage numbers. Joe IMHO the Sidon tet is one of the better examples of the coin I've seen recently on the web. I was fortunate enough to acquire it at a very competitive price as only 2 other collectors spotted it. It appears to be a difficult coin to find, especially in well preserved condition and hopefully, would do better than the one recently sold at the Nomos auction, if I decided to part with it. However, the terms of the auction house selling the octadrachm are very unrealistic and I'd never list with them. There are many better selling options available if one shops around. One thing is for sure, if I'm successful, it will be posted here soon
