Hi all! Just wondering what everyone's best bargain has been. Mine has to be my Vabalathus as Augustus antoninianus, AЄTЄRNITAS AVG reverse. (seller's pics) This was an eBay buy. I was checking the site just before Christmas, and saw it described as an 'Unresearched Roman Coin'. The seller, who has over 15,000 sales and 100% positive feedback, normally sells very common coins (Constantine AE3s, Aurelian antoniniani etc.) in relatively poor condition. I guess this one just slipped the net of the seller, and, as it was Christmas, not many buyers were checking eBay enough to notice it. I was very surprised and pleased to be able to buy it for £31! Looking on coinarchives, most examples in worse condition tend to go for £600 - £800, so I think I scored with this one. It is now the gem of my antoninianus collection What's your best bargain buy been?
Not sure, but I think my best bargain had to come from this Augustus which I bought off a business associate while I was in Croatia several years ago. We were comparing our collections when I asked if he would like to sell one of his examples of this coin. He ended up agreeing to sell it to me for $20. I tried to offer more, but he insisted since we were working on a project together and he had several more in his collection. He said he discovered them all metal detecting at different times and places in Croatia. He lives in Pula which has major Roman ruins. AUGUSTUS AR Denarius OBVERSE: CAESAR AVGVSTVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE. laureate head right REVERSE: AVGVSTI F COS DESIG PRINC IVVENT, C L CAESARES below, Gaius & Lucius standing front with shields & spears; in field above, a simpulum & lituus (in "Pd" formation) Lugdunum 4-2 BC 3.5g, 18mm RIC 210 Images from Pula
£161 very, very,very late NewStyle. None, I believe in coin archives pro. Sometimes ebay is a winner!
I think my best bargain is this one. Trajan AD 98-117. Rome Quadrans Æ 114-117 20 mm., 3,01 g. Ric II Trajan 693 Obverse Legend: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P Type: Head of Trajan, laureate, right Reverse Legend: S C Type: She-wolf walking right I got this as I wanted some Trajan coins. My problem was that I couldn't find a similar example (with the same obverse legend) - the explanation was this is only the 4th known example.
My best bargain from Heritage Auctions/ Europe Regnum Francorum/ Merovingian Regal Issue AV Tremissis ND Brivate Mint (Unique) Theudebert II 586-612 King of Austrasia and Auvergne Only one other gold type coin known from him. Merovingian Royal Issues are exceedingly rare/ even the Civic AV coins are rare. Stole this one for 3K euros. First coin is mine/ second coin photo the only other gold issue from Clermonte Mint.
That's an incredible find, congrats!! I wish I had the patience to troll through all the overpriced junk on ebay. My best bargain wasn't an ancient. I bought this from Frank Robinson as an ordinary 1859/8 cent for 25 bucks, but it turned out to be a rare variety with inverted dies. The auction funds have now been converted into ancients.
My best find wasn't an ancient it was a 1888/7 indian head cent that I got in a coin lot on ebay for less than £1 per coin and I had no idea what it was till about 4months after getting it. Ended up selling it for £5200
Whoah!! And I thought mine was hard to beat. I can't imagine that you're not going to win this thread!
That's a tough decision to make for me. Since I am old, and the time-space continuum has taken on weird proportions, I will limit my "best" buy to recent memory, since the long term memory (all of those coins, dealers, shows, auctions, and price lists of yore) has long since become socially dysfunctional for me. I would say that one of the best buys over the past year, or so (an excellent qualifier for anyone my age), was the purchase of the Faustina sestertius for $100, from an eBay seller. This coin came slabbed as a choice Fine, and I suppose it is, all things considered. What makes this coin special is that Pudicita is seated and not standing, which is quite rare, I understand. In terms of overall condition, the coin is so-so, with the reverse better than the obverse. I really have no idea what this coin is worth, since we're talking about a rare variety, which would appeal to Roman specialists, but not necessarily to your average Morgan dollar collector. So, there you have it. It's time to rest the last function brain cell now, nighty night....
My best bargain wasn’t ancient. It was a 1797 British pence. Listed on eBay incorrectly with an absolute potato fo a picture. I decided to take a punt and purchased it for $100. It ended up being uncirculated with a value of about $1,500.
I don't have any MEGA budgets that I was able to make any money off of. Here is a selection. Aelius Caesar for $40 R5 Ant Pi AE egyptian for like $0.80 or so Commodus denarius for $0.78(?). So encrusted it looked bronze. Not anymore. Probably my most (potential) monetary gain on this one. Beautiful C-Gall for $10 Elagabalus provincial for $0.73 Leo I for $0.95 Plautilla for $4.00 I WISH I could make it big with a 2 buck coin valued at thousands. I'm never good at winning the lottery. A few weeks back with the GME and AMC boom, I went from +$1,800 to -$70 in two days. RIP
In terms of a TRUE bargain. Maybe 5 years ago, I bought a clarinet on eBay advertise as a "NEMO" clarinet for $23. "NEMO" referred to NEMC - North Eastern Music Company which stenciled Vandoren 5RV hard rubber mouthpieces. That mouthpiece sold for over $25 by itself. It was probably closer to $40 but it was so long ago. The clarinet itself, after close inspection, turned out to be a rather nice Buffet E11 clarinet. I sold that clarinet for around $400. After all was said and done (minor refurbishment, oiling, adjustment, the works), profit margin was around 1,600%. It's NOT common at all to get a deal like that, as in coins. It takes an incredibly well-trained eye, "cojones," and a stomach for risk to make it in the "cherry-picking" business.
One thing I can say in my very limited 6 months experience in ancients is that for bargains you need 1. some knowledge 2. some luck. I was incredibly lucky when I bought my first lot, 34 coins - 100 EUR. Although not truly spectacular, the coins value is MUCH bigger. But it was pure beginner's luck, I had no idea what I was buying, I just wanted some coins to start my collection. But you need some knowledge as well. And I am not talking about forgeries (on some, I don't have the right experience to distinguish them). There is still the popular belief that all the ancient coins are very expensive and very rare. If I got 1$ for every coin I saw described as RARE, EXCELLENT CONDITION etc I would be writing now from my personal island in Bahamas area.
Not sure it's a bargain necessarily, but compared to previous sales it was a good buy. Then again, maybe they overpaid? Sold at Heritage (Northern Californian Collection) for $11,000 USD plus fees., ($13,200 total) Then sold at CNG for $8,500 plus fees, ($10,200 total). I purchased in an Australian auction for $7,735 AUD including fees. That equates to about $6,000 USD at the current exchange rate. Or in US auction terms, 5,000 plus1,000 fees. Was very happy to acquire at that price, as I think it is worth more. It's far more attractive in hand than in the photo also. Selinus tetradrachm. c. 430 BC.
Got this sestertius sized piece of Herennia Etruscilla for $15. erennia Etruscilla, (249-251 A.D.) Wife of Trajan Decius AE 28 of Viminacium, 14.2 grams Obverse: HER ETRVSCILLA AVG, draped bust right, in stephane Reverse: PMS COL VIM, female figure (Provincia Moesia) standing, facing left, between bull and lion, AN XII in exergue Reference: BMC 32