I think there is an element of psychology when it comes to auction estimates. Obviously an estimate that is too high will discourage bidding....
That's a very nice, representative type set for the Julio-Claudian period. I especially like the Nero dupondius - nicely centered with full...
Nice portraits! That Agathokles tetradrachm is a stunner. Here's a facing Athena, slightly three-quarters, from Paionia, a tetradrachm,...
Dolphins swimming around Arethusa. Tetradrachm, Syracuse, Second Democracy, 460-406 BC. [ATTACH] Next: Gemini, the twins.
Nathan, do you have a photo of the other side? Often, with this type, the concave side has pretty good detail. The convex side is very often...
That coin looks like a Byzantine billon trachy. These coins are very thin, as you can see, and this coin is very heavily encrusted and corroded....
The coins in the earrings are Spanish silver "cobs", of the 16th or 17th century, probably one reale pieces. Now these coins were hammer struck,...
"As is" literally means what you see is what you get, no returns, period. That's why it is very important to do your homework before bidding....
The group lot, #1736, from Roma E-Sale 88 arrived yesterday. This is a lot of 6 Byzantine folles, of Justinian I, Phocas and Heraclius. This lot...
Thank you for the link to the article. It is easy, with the passage of time, to forget or block out the dispossession, isolation, persecution,...
The Greek god of victory, Nike, the model for the angel on the 50 and 2 pesos, was a popular one depicted on coins in the ancient world. Nike is...
That's a nice, bold counterstamp.
Nice coin! I thought I had a 1921 2 pesos, but apparently not. I must have sold it with other coins when I was raising cash. This is a tough...
Clearly a case where the cure killed the patient.
That's right - they are inert, and they are hard as concrete. I imagine that the coin must have been in a hoard, and moisture and soil...
Those deposits look like accumulations of cuprite, Cu₂O, an oxide of copper. They are extremely hard to remove and I don't recommend even trying;...
Thank you. It was possible back then to cherry pick these coins, there were so many of them. The dealer charged at premium, which was quite...
Yes, that design has been used in currency as well. Thank you for mentioning that and posting some nice examples.
Ever since the first minting of this magnificent gold coin, the 50 gold pesos, with its beautiful obverse and reverse designs, have graced...
I took an image from the current HJB BB Sale 217 and used the haze removal tool in Photoshop. The one on the left is the original and the one on...
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