How come this coin sold for so much?

My Victorinus was deemed good enough only for a inclusion in a large group lot.



The numerous nutty hammers in the Leu auction were pretty depressing to watch, but I did manage to pick up something fun for myself for a relatively affordable CHF 45. Say hello to Dumbo!

 

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This aureus of Volusian sold for CHF 15000 (the fair estimate was 2000). It was originally described without the plugged hole. I informed Leu about the hole (and showed them a picture of the original) and they correctly adjusted the description, but still some buyers were apparently undetered. The coin was sold on an Ukrainian auction website last year for about USD 2000,- with the hole.

NumisBids: Leu Numismatik AG Web Auction 15, Lot 1967 : Volusian, 251-253. Aureus (Gold, 18 mm, 3.28 g, 7...

In the original coin the letters B and V above Volusians head were completely missing and have been reconstructed by the restorer. Leu told me that the repairs were undetectable even at 20 times magnification.

PS a lot of heavily "restored" aurei from Ukraine have been offered recently. The repairs are practically undetectable and hence not mentioned in the auction catalogs.
Examples:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5389092
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7369364
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4956416

 

This one went for more than 7-fold the starting price and more than I was willing to pay: 360 CHF. It's scarce, but by no means unobtainable elsewhere.

 

When it was sold by Nomos in 2015 the hammer price was 325 CHF. Not so much more this time. And I wanted it

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2344184

 

Not unreasonable, I guess, but after buying the left-facing bust denarius of Faustina I, a diademed bust denarius of Faustina II (to be shown in an upcoming Faustina Friday Feature), a CERES sestertius of Faustina II, and a HILARITAS as of Faustina II, I was entering "Honey, you've got some 'splaining to do" territory with my wife and I couldn't stretch my bid to acquire that one. Moreover, the hammer may have been 360 CHF, but how much would I have had to bid to acquire it? 400 CHF? 450? 500? More?

 

more than 410 CHF

 

I always worry about making a similar bidding mistake. I also wonder what LEUs strategy is by starting their auctions so damn early. Maybe they don't want American bidders.

 

I also had a provincial coin from Corinth on my watch list, but I had doubts about bidding the starting price of 100 CHF, since the coin is smoothed.
The decision was taken out of my hands.
Hammer price 5500 CHF, and not only one bidder, but two bidders with same bid, the third one with 4500 CHF, and bidder 4 with 4050 CHF.

https://leunumismatik.com/en/lot/25/1102

 

Most European Auctions start at 9:00AM their time or 10:00.
Problem is we are 5/6 hours ahead. If they started by NA time/ means their auctions would start at 3/4 PM and run past midnight. Ditto for Europeans bidding at a Heritage event/ they would be in bed asleep.

 

Insane prices are result of people with fat wallets/ no knowledge of the coins they are bidding on.

 

What about this one? Do you think it is a reasonable price?


I wanted an example and I bought one, in worse shape, a month ago, for 20 EUR.
500 feels waaaaaay too much for this conservation.

 

It’s so confusing how people with this kind of money can also be so foolish. Like, how did they accumulate this type of wealth in the first place when they make such dumb financial decisions

 

^^
It's stimulus season, baby!

 

I bid on 10 items and won two lots. Bidding was heated and several coins with initial bids of 25 CHF as I mentioned above went for over 1,000 CHF. Fortunately I was able to acquire an AR Miliaresion of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Romanus I, and Christopher. My second coin was an AV Histamenon Nomisma of Constantine X Dukas.


Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, with Romanus I and Christopher, 913-959. Miliaresion .


(AR, 25 mm, 3.15 g, 12 h), Constantinopolis. IҺSЧS XRISTЧS ҺICA Cross potent set on three steps; below, globe. Rev. +ROmAҺO' / XPISTOFOR' / CЄ COҺSTAҺ' / ЄҺ X'ω ЄVSЄ/b' bASIL' R' in five lines. DOC 18. SB 1754.





Constantine X Ducas, 1059-1067. AV Histamenon Nomisma.


(AV, 28 mm, 4.41 g, 5 h), Constantinopolis. +IhS XIS RЄX RЄςNANTҺIm Christ, nimbate, seated facing on square-backed throne, wearing tunic and pallium, raising his right hand in benediction and holding book of Gospels in his left. Rev. +KωN RAC Λ O ΔOVKAC Constantine X standing facing, wearing crown and loros, holding labarum in his right hand and globus cruciger in his left. DOC 1a. SB 1847.



Needless to say I am happy with the two coins and one of my focus areas of 2021 is Byzantine gold.

 

I saw some awful prices on this auction, but nothing as surprising as this one.
I kept looking, perhaps it's not the common Prutah, perhaps there is something special about it, but all I saw was a VF with centering issues on the obverse.
500 EUR + fees....
I think I will sell mine, it's worse, so I think 350 EUR is reasonable (I will pay the shipping and fees are 0)

 

..i ain't sure whats goin' on...but it lQQks like we've invested wisely into old coins...WE'RE FILTHY RICH!! (i'd sell mine for half o dat)

 

Insanity is rarely a convincing explanation. What about money laundering?

 

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