A win .... by mistake

Hello ladies and gentlemen,
As I recently turned 18 (X 2) I decided I cannot miss an auction on one of the houses I usually buy from.

Haven't had much success. From the coins I was watching, I only got 2 or 3 and they weren't on the top of the list.
Surprisingly I got a Claudius provincial in a very nice condition, and the price was very decent especially judging after the trend of this auction ...

(goes well with the book I am currently reading, Claudius the god by R. Graves)


But the surprise was another coin. I was not after it at all. Since my wireless adapter is playing tricks on me (one of these days it will go to its rightful place, the trash can) I was also watching the auction on my phone to make sure I have a backup.
Attempting to hit the Back button on my phone, I accidentally hit Bid.
And I won the coin.



PONTOS. Amisos AE29 Time of Mithradates VI Eupator, ca 105-90 or 90-85 BC
Helmeted head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with Pegasos
Rev: AMI - ΣOY - Perseus standing left, holding harpa and head of Medusa, whose decapitated body lies at his feet; monogram to left and right.
SNG BM Black Sea 1169-72; HGC 7, 238.
18,30 gr, 30 mm

Mithradates coins are not usually in my area so I tend to skip them in auctions. Looking at this one, I think the mistake was quite ... good.


Apparently what I thought to be signs of overcleaning seem to be adjustment marks
https://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotv...&Lot=261&Val=184ef36e2aa78ecfa1ca6cb16733a170
(not convinced, but many other examples I found have the same aspect)

Obverse is not well centered and Athena's face is either worn or off the flan. I don't complain! the details of the helmet are good enough! But the reverse, well, hats off. A strong mythological scene, fully visible, a reverse with a hero, a headless Medusa ... who can ask for more?
Also - this is by far my largest non Roman bronze.

Please post
- coins with mythological scenes
- coins you won by mistake
- anything you feel relevant

 

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Excellent wins! I LOVE the two Graves Claudius novels!!!
Yeah, they really needed those adjustment marks as they often struggled to strike the coin

 

Cool coins, @ambr0zie! What's cooler than a headless Medusa!?

 

Not complaining at all, especially since I started studying the coin AFTER winning it. The first reaction was - what did I do?!
A pity Athena has no mouth, but overall a good coin and a nice addition.
Perhaps @Ryro can borrow me one of the mouths from his coin - win win situation.

 

..its a good way to get coins i think..if not for mistakes, i wouldn't have won this lil beauty..the most expensive in my collection to date..
D.J. Brutus Albinus, 48BC

 

What a great "oopsie"!
I have really liked that design with Medusa's head being held by Perseus.

 

Wish my mistakes have such a great ending; very nice additions. I should work on making more mistakes

 

Nice finds, @ambr0zie !

I have one similar to yours...


Pontos Amisos Mithradates VI 109-89 BC AE 28 Athena Perseus Medusa Head Body

 

Those are flan preparation/adjustment marks frequently found on this series. They do not add to the value of a coin but they are not damage. In my opinion, there are several things that 'should' show on such a coin. You should see Medusa's head (facial details are a major plus!!!), The decapitated body must show blood gushing from the neck. The harpa should be on flan and show the hook rather than looking like a knife. Perseus should have a head - getting both his head and the prone body requires a decent size flan. The obverse should show a clear Pegasus and face on Athena (on that one, you lose). Surfaces should be smooth and the city name clear. If your coin had better obverse centering, I would consider it far above average and worth as much as the Claudius you bought on purpose.

They come form several cities of which I only have three. We once had a CT regular who specialized in these and had most (but not all?) of the set. Amisos is most common. Can we all together not show the full set? A couple of them are rare.
Amisos


Amastris (see Medusa's face)


Sinope

 

Thank you, @dougsmit . This coin type is new for me. Just read about it today, after the "mistake".
I was happy when I read about the adjustment marks. When I first saw the coin, I thought the lines are the result of a very aggressive cleaning.
Overall, it's good. Especially the reverse. The obverse has a minus (Athena's face) but at least the Pegasus details are OK.
Just double checked, this coin and the Claudius one had the same hammer price - 36 EUR each. I think this is decent.

 

Nice wins! I only won one coin from that auction, and it was kind of an accident. I put in a bunch of proxy bids on some of the group lots, and a single proxy bid on a single (cheap) lot. I only won the single lot, so I guess I'm paying more for postage than I paid for the coin!

 

Like the Claudius from Antioch,congrats.

Heres my Amisos



Perseus gave the head of Medusa to Pallas Athena who stuck it on her shield

 

Yep, some prices were higher than I was expecting. Didn't win any group lots.I was also after some Imperial coins but I was outbid. But I'm OK with my 9 coins - my finances are low.
I also got a Gordian III - similar to the one won by @Harry G - good coin in my opinion and depicting another hero

 

I think you did awfully well for a mistake! And the Claudius is a great coin.

My Amisos decapitation scene fails the Doug test too. (But I do get the bonus Medusa face points!)

 

Well, this coin beats all the others I've seen. Probably the only con about it is the harpa?
I strongly doubt it had a 2 figure price.

 

That's a pretty stunning example for clarity of corpse and gushing neck. Your monograms swap position compared to my coin and Doug's with same monograms. This one, from Amisos, hits most of the requirements but the weakly struck reverse is not ideal:

Pontus, Amisos, struck under Mithradates VI, ca. 105-65 BC, AE
Obverse

• Shows a clear Pegasus
• Athena's face was the highlight for me
• Surfaces are smooth on obverse

Reverse

• Medusa's head visible but without facial details
• Decapitated body is weak but clearly shows blood gushing from the neck
• Harpa is on the flan and shows the hook
• Perseus has a head and some facial detail
• Surfaces are not very smooth on reverse
• City name is clear

 

Cool Medusa types all.

 

Nice pick ups, @ambr0zie - sometimes mistakes really work out. Those Pontos issues are rather addictive - many interesting types, and reasonably abundant.

I have a "Medusa" from Pontos, as with many of them, with some good and bad aspects.



As with @Sulla80 I really like the obverse portrait on this one, despite the ancient crud and some fissures and no Pegasus. The reverse has some problems - both Medusa and Perseus have lost their heads. However, full blood-gush from Medusa's neck and an intact hook on the harpa.

That Claudius from Antioch looks a lot like this one I just got from the same place, but issued for Augustus:


Augustus Æ 28
(c. 5-4 B.C.)
Syria, Seleucis & Pieria Antiochia ad Orontem
IMP·[AVGVST·]TR·POT laureate head right / Large S.C within circle within laurel wreath of eight leaves.
RPC 4247a; McAlee 206b; BMC 129.
(15.56 grams / 28 x 24 mm)
eBay June 2021

 

ambrOzie, Last April I turned 36 (X 2 + 1) . Your Claudius provincial bronze is well struck despite the surface roughness . Most of the provincial bronze coins of Claudius from Antioch were struck on small diameter flans, but they do bring a pretty good price at auction. I sold the coin pictured below at CNG 483 for $295, including the buyers premium.

 

Thanks, @Al Kowsky ! In fact the Claudius coin was one of the reasons I entered that auction.
I had to celebrate my official adulthood (x 2). In fact, my weight starts to look like a 2 adults weight....
I have 2 very worn imperials from Claudius and an Aizanis provincial (a litttle rough but nice).
I like Antioch coins - usually the portraits are realistic and the design and style are pleasant.
Some others I have with similar reverses, but I think the Claudius coin is the best.

Augustus

Nerva


Macrinus



I would still like to see coins you bought "by accident".

BTW I almost made another mistake in that auction. Could have been a costly one. There was a gold modern coin towards the end.

As it had no bids, I almost hit Bid, by instinct (gold coin at opening price, hey!).
... but the opening price was 8.000 EUR. Saw this right when I was about to click.