A second chance to obtain a desired sestertius

With this latest @John Anthony auction purchase, I have nearly completed my set of Julia Mamaea sestertii. All I need is a IVNO CONSERVATRIX with the longer obverse legend.

A few years ago, I went on a Julia Mamaea bender and had been searching for this particular sestertius for quite a while -- the VESTA reverse type with the patera and transverse scepter (the one with the Palladium and vertical scepter is easily acquired). Last year, I was outbid at Leu's 11th web auction. It hammered for 110 CHF, but I have no idea how much I'd have had to bid to win it. 120? 140? 150?? Who knows?



But I regretted letting it get away. As luck would have it, I had the opportunity to buy the exact same coin from John Anthony, and it arrived in Thursday's mail. Here's my own photograph of the coin, which does it justice. It has that rich, deep brass "Tiber" patina.


The Leu photo, on the other hand, was very lifeless.



I'm pleased as punch over my "do-over." Now, if I can only acquire a decent example of the last sestertius on my list (Mamaea's middle bronzes are another story entirely!).

Have you ever experienced such a do-over, a second chance to buy a coveted coin?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I was ho humming that coin too but I have slowed my coin buying considerably this year for various reasons. It is a great bronze.

I had had a few do-overs but my favorite is the one below.

on a VC watchlist for a short time, sold, saw it months later cheaper on ebay & quickly bought it without hesitation.


Domitian (81 - 96 A.D.)
SYRIA, Seleucis and Pieria. Antioch
AR Tetradrachm
O: AVT KAISAR DOMITIANOS SEB GERM, laureate head right; aegis at point of bust.
R: ETOUS NEOV IEROV H, eagle standing facing right on thunderbolt; palm in right field. RY 8 (88/9 AD)
14.77g
26mm
Prieur 145; RPC II 1978; Wruck 108

 

Congrats Roman Collector , its a beauty.

 

Could you please explain the term «Julia Mamaea bender» to a poor foreigner?

Congrats on another great coin, RC!

None of the coins that I’ve been to obtuse to get when I should have given me a second chance so far. But I’m waiting!

 

I acquired it at an early-bird dealer swap at the Gettysburg Coin Show, and received no information on the coin concerning who won it in the Leu auction. But I must say I'm very pleased to have filled one of your JM sestertius holes, especially with a coin that had once gotten away!

 

Neat coin and I'm glad you could get it from @John Anthony

I'm now on a Alexandrian drachm bender on Leu Auction 16...we'll see what I end up with.

 

Just found this Sestertius in my old folders. Reverse has Vesta standing, holding scepter and Palladium (Cupid).

 

Yum, just the kind of sestertius I like, bags of character and attractive patination.

Is the last on your list a very hard to get type?

 

Once and it was last year. I'll always be too poor to buy a real aureus, so I was looking for a fourrée specimen. This example was probably produced by one of the "Germanic tribes". Saw it for sale in an auction but got outbidded...but the same coin was for sale again 4 months later and I got it fo half-price compared to the first auction !

 

Last fall I was very interested in purchasing a number of coins in the Roma Auction, however I ended up buying one coin which pretty well depleted my budget, ending any thought of purchasing any of the others that I wanted. Bummer. However a few months later one of the coins that I had wanted to purchase came up on another dealers site. We negotiated a bit and I got the coin.
Geta As Augustus Ae Sestertius 211 AD Obv. Bust right laureate. Rv. Fortuna seated left. RIC 168a 28.03 grms 31 mm Photo by W. Hansen He would have been most likely 21 to 22 years old when this coin was struck. Within the year he would be murdered by his brother. Some of his last portraits show him wearing a beard that very much resembled his fathers. This is probably the only thing that I could possibly wish that was different on this coin. However getting any sestertius of Geta is a bit of a challenge so I am very happy with the coin.

 

R.C., Nice score ! The Rome Mint gave her a flattering portrait . I scored an attractive sestertius of J.M. last year pictured below .

 

In college I went on a two-week alcohol bender as an experiment. Turns out, the term "bender" is right, as I was bent over in pain/nausea/general illness for a large portion of my restful hours.

 

T.C., That's a wonderful sestertius of Geta with a great composition on the reverse . I couldn't afford a sestertius of that quality so I settled for a Tet from Antioch that has a pleasing late portrait of Geta.

Antioch-Syria, Geta, AD 209-211, Billon Tetradrachm: 14.44 gm, 26 mm, 12 h. McAlee 719.

 

This coin escaped me in an auction in 2017, but I managed to buy it a year later.
From Philippopolis. About as large as a sestertius. It has a river god, one of my favorite collecting themes. Bonus for the nice patina and the "ADRIANOC ANTWNEINOC" legend.

 

Check out that Felicitas!

 

From what I've read Julia liked to show-off her legs too, & a lot more !

 

In a coin sense, a bender, then, is when you keep buying the same sort of thing for a short period even if it is not a close fit to what you ordinarily collect. For a period of a couple months in 2013, I went on a 'crocodile bender' and bought half a dozen of the Agrippa/Augustus crocodile coins as shown on my page on the subject. I had one when I started and have not bought more than one more in the last several years since. I used to do that a lot with coins when I was trying to gather material for new pages on my website. That is one way of ending up with coins you can't recall why you felt the need to buy.

 

Congrats @Roman Collector - satisfying to get the second chance and to see that the coin is nicer that Leu photo showed. Here's another Mamaea for the thread:
Roman Imperial, Julia Mamaea, mother of S. Alexander, Æ Sestertius, Rome, AD 228
Obv: IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA, draped bust to right wearing stephane
Rev: FELICITAS AVG, Felicitas standing facing, head to left, holding caduceus and cornucopiae; S-C across fields
Ref: RIC 670 (Alexander)

 

Congratulations! What a beauty!

IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA - Draped bust right, diademed, hair weaved in rows and tucked at base of head
IVNO CONSERVATRIX S C - Juno, diademed and veiled, standing left, patera in right hand, scepter in left, peacock at feet at left
Sestertius, Rome 222 aD
30 mm / 24 gr
RIC 686, Cohen 40, BMCRE 51 (same obverse die), Banti 11 (2 Specimens)

Here is my writeup on the type:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/new-julia-mamaea-sestertius-ivno-conservatrix.343628/