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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 2897957, member: 81887&quot;]I recently decided to take a chance and bid on a group lot in a CNG auction.&nbsp; Here&#039;s the photo and description from the sale (CNG Auction 408, lot 811):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]697481[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>MIXED. Greek to Central Asian. <i>Lot of fourteen (14) AR and Æ denominations.</i> </b>Includes: A broad range of eastern, mostly Parthian types (8 coins), but a couple of Shahpur I Æ issues included. Lot includes an AR obol of Eukratides I and an AR drachm of Ardaxšīr (Ardashir) III, as well as a Gandhara issue. Lot also includes an Æ of Mithradates I Kallinikos of Commagene. Coins Fair to VF, some roughness. Commagene coin ex CNG E-294, lot 201. LOT SOLD AS IS, NO RETURNS. Fourteen (14) coins in lot.</p><p><br /></p><p>The estimate was $200, and I won with a final bid of $320.&nbsp; The main coins driving my interest were the Ardashir III drachm, the Eukratides obol, and one of the Parthian coins visible in the photo.&nbsp; So, how did I do?&nbsp; Here&#039;s photos of all 14 coins, with my preliminary IDs and impressions.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]697482[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]697483[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>1. Sasanian, Ardashir III (628-630), AR drachm.&nbsp; Year 2, mintmark seems to be AY (Airan-Khurra-Shahpur or Susa).&nbsp; Decent late Sasanian silver.</p><p>2. and 3. Sasanian, Shahpur I, AE.&nbsp; The larger coin has rather porous surfaces, but I quite like the smaller coin.</p><p>4. Parthian, Mithradates II.&nbsp; Reverse shows a horse, a very popular Parthian bronze type.&nbsp; Slightly rough surfaces, but decent for Parthian bronze.</p><p>5. Gandharan.&nbsp; I know basically nothing about this coin, but it looks cool, I will have to do some research.</p><p>6. Parthian, Artabanos II (or the similar Artabanos II or Gotarzes II).&nbsp; I&#039;ve seen that reverse type before but can&#039;t remember what it is.</p><p>7. Parthian, Phraates IV, horse.</p><p>8. Parthian, looks like Phraates II.&nbsp; A scarcer early Parthian bronze.</p><p>9. Bactria, Eukratides I, AR obol.&nbsp; A beautiful little gem of a coin, clearly a highlight of the lot.</p><p>10. Commagene, Mithradates I Kallinikos.&nbsp; I looked up its previous appearance in a CNG sale, and at that time it looked like this:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]697489[/ATTACH] </p><p>It is clearly the same coin, but something bad has happened to it since then, perhaps an ill-advised attempt at cleaning.&nbsp; The surface is definitely more porous than it was in the old photograph, and much of the reverse detail is missing.&nbsp; In its previous sale, it sold for $130 (!), but in its current appearance, I would never have bought it alone.</p><p>11. Parthian, Phraates II.&nbsp; The green stuff seems to be solid encrustation, not bronze disease.&nbsp; A rather ugly coin.</p><p>12. and 13.&nbsp; Parthian, with Tyche on the reverse.&nbsp; Bronzes of this type were issued by several kings, it may be tough to attribute these to a specific ruler.&nbsp; As usual, these types show evidence of the blanks being cast in a strip.</p><p>14. Parthian, Phraates III, horse reverse with Mithradatkart mintmark.&nbsp; This obverse type, Sellwood 38, is one of my favorite Parthian designs (see my avatar) and this is a nice bronze example.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, how did I do?&nbsp; I&#039;d estimate the combined retail value of these coins to be higher than what I paid, so on that basis it&#039;s a win but not the steal of the century.&nbsp; There are only two coins (#10 and 11) out of 14 that I find ugly and not worth owning, the rest are mostly bread-and-butter decent coins with a&nbsp; few real winners.&nbsp; Based on this experience, I would consider bidding on future CNG large lots if I can make out a few nice target coins in the photographs.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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