Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 2745557, member: 56859&quot;]You can’t have too many A-Pi drachms… or can you?</p><p><br /></p><p>One of the many fun things about collecting ancient coins in this modern era is discussing upcoming auctions with like-minded friends.</p><p><br /></p><p>Zumbly and I do this frequently. It heightens enjoyment of the auction and also prevents both of us from chasing the same coins since we work out any conflicts ahead of time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then again, sometimes it just leads to trouble…</p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>The day before a big auction</b></i></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Gemini! Are you going after any of the lots? I was going to give it a miss without looking in detail at the catalog, but I received the hardcopy today and of course I started flipping through it. I&#039;m now tempted by the low estimates of some of the Art Institute of Chicago lots/group lots <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie82" alt=":shy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</span></p><p><i><span style="color: #00b300">[Looking at this dialogue in hindsight, it&#039;s obvious I was just looking for trouble...<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie80" alt=":shame:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> --Z]</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">I&#039;m so behind in coin browsing! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie3" alt=":(" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">I&#039;m going to browse the catalog now and will report back.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><b>Lot of 79 bronze drachms and 1 bronze diobol of Antoninus Pius. </b>g. (0h). . Virtually all attributed by BMC, many also by Dattari and/or Cologne. Includes three nome drachms, and many other coins with interesting or rare reverse types. Eleven of the coins are ex Dattari, ten of them (including the three nome drachms) being illustrated in Dattari-Savio, while the eleventh coin is stated to be ex Dattari, but is not illustrated in Dattari-Savio. Good-VF.</span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Even without the pics, they&#039;re making that sound like a tasty group!</span></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">Maybe... but there are tons of super crappy coins in Dattari-Savio!</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Yeah, definitely, from some of what we&#039;ve already seen offered in Naville. But how far wrong can you go with nice big bronzes of A-Pi? <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> And &quot;G-VF&quot; gives one the hope that at least some will not be the utter dregs.</span></p><p><i><span style="color: #00b300">[Ok, kids, the fact here is that &quot;G-VF&quot; can mean the mix is 95% &#039;G&#039; and 5% &#039;VF&#039;. TIF and I had both bought sub-par mystery mixed lots before, so I don&#039;t know who I was trying to fool here. --Z]</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">True, and even crappy-condition BD-ridden ex-Dattaris sold for hundreds in Naville</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080"><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie3" alt=":(" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><i><span style="color: #00b300">[This is true, sadly. I guess I&#039;m part of the &quot;problem&quot;, sharing blame for rising prices of these coins which used to be rather inexpensive. --TIF]</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">I flipped cursorily through the other sections but I&#039;m not looking for any big ticket coins. My failures to score any of the AK Collection A-Pi Alexandrian lots in the past Triton and no Dattari coins from Naville has me itching to try to win some here... sigh.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Hmm, can you talk me out of bidding on that 80-coin lot 464? It&#039;s getting late and I feel like just throwing a big bid at it with not even half a clue as to whether that&#039;s a strong or weak bid <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie100" alt=":wideyed:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. Yes, it&#039;s a dumb idea.</span></p><p><i><span style="color: #00b300">[Internally, this translates to: &quot;If TIF doesn&#039;t just outright tell me it&#039;s a dumb idea, I&#039;m soooo going to bid on this lot. If it turns out wrong, I can blame her!&quot; --Z]</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">Hmm. That one is on my &quot;consider&quot; list <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><i><span style="color: #00b300">[Surely by now Z knows that half the lots in every auction end up on my &quot;consider&quot; list <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> --TIF]</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">I guess it would be too difficult to do and might lead to ruination of a friendship, but it is tempting to propose that we go in together on a large lot.</span></p><p><i><span style="color: #00b300">[Laying groundwork to absolve me of any responsibility if things go south --TIF]</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">It&#039;s a very tempting suggestion, actually! But yes, difficult to do... splitting the loot and deciding how to do so would be a project unto itself!</span></p><p><span style="color: #00b300"><i><i>[Huh... <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie12" alt="o_O" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />?? Shared purchase of a mystery mixed lot? Noooo... nooo nooo nooo. Bad idea on top of an originally bad idea with bad idea bits sprinkled on top! What are you thinking, TIF! --Z]</i></i></span></p><p><br /></p><p><b><i><i>Day of the auction</i></i></b></p><p><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p><i><i><span style="color: #00b300">[Regardless of what I said to TIF, I was still thinking I might bid on lot 464, but having had half a day to ruminate and come to my senses, I thought I&#039;d just touch base with her again to make clear that I wasn&#039;t going to bid on the lot and also that bidding on it together was a no-go... --Z]</span></i></i></p><p><i><i><br /></i></i></p><p><i><i><span style="color: #00b300">[^^ Tsk tsk, such duplicity! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie7" alt=":p" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> --TIF]</span></i></i></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Actually, if you&#039;re still keen on 464 and are interested in splitting the risk, I think we could probably work out a creative system to divvy up the loot equitably should we win. Let me know!</span></p><p><i><i><span style="color: #00b300">[Ermmm... Doh! --Z]</span></i></i></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">My feelings about the lot waver from moment to moment. Let me think about it and get back to you before the auction starts. It would be fun to sift through the lot but I&#039;m afraid most of them would be tough to unload.</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">Then again, with ever-increasing collector restrictions, maybe having a load of crappy quality drachms isn&#039;t a bad thing?</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">I totally know what you mean. It is definitely a gamble, and it won&#039;t be a very small one pricewise, even if we buy it together. And like you say, many may be tough to unload and not really worth keeping at all. Tsk... Decisions! I think I will be game if you are and it&#039;ll still be fun to try for it nonetheless <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">I have to go in to work for several hours. Heading in now. Hope to be home in 5-6 hours. I&#039;ll be thinking about the A-Pi lot.</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">Meanwhile, why don&#039;t you work on a plan for the joint max bid, if we do this?</span></p><p><i><i><span style="color: #00b300">[Z came up with a detailed workable plan for equitable division of the coins, and we discussed a max bid. The lengthy messages are omitted here for brevity. --TIF]</span></i></i></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">I bet the lot is full of dregs-- that&#039;s why it has so many coins compared to the other group lots.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie103" alt=":yack:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Perhaps the 3 nomes and &quot;many other&quot; interesting and rare types mentioned is cause to be slightly more hopeful? <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">I probably have to get a bit more sleep if I&#039;m going to be functional later. I&#039;ll be back on in an hour or two.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">HOUR OR TWO? Doesn&#039;t the auction start in less than 90 minutes? I guess the Roman Egyptian coins will be a few hours though. Okay. Go nap <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><i><i><span style="color: #00b300">[Z is 12 hours ahead of me, poor thing. The timing of most auctions sucks for him. --TIF]</span></i></i></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Good luck on your lots! Are we going ahead with 464?</span></p><p><span style="color: #00b300"><i><i>[Last chance to back out! --Z]</i></i></span></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">Okay... looks like we might be a go?</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">I had a few days of horrible internet connectivity with it dropping every few minutes. It magically resolved, but occasionally my computer freezes and requires a reboot.</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">I have a second computer available but the screen is cracked so a good portion of the screen isn&#039;t accessible. It might work in a pinch and I&#039;ll have the live bidding up on it too just in case.</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">As the Roman Egypt section progresses we can take the temperature of the room and have a final discussion about how much to bid. Sound okay?</span></p><p><br /></p><p><b><i><i>Auction has begun</i></i></b></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">Wow, it&#039;s moving FAST.</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">Dang, I should have bid on the Punic tet, lot 22. It was on my watch list and went for a good price. I did click bid but someone beat me and I paused to decide whether to rebid and the lot closed! Sheesh, they should s l o w d o w n.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">Z... I&#039;m getting cold feet about lot 464 after looking at CNG105&#039;s Alexandrians. There are many rarities and artistic coins. Septimius Severus, Annia Faustina (3!), etc.</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">I think I should not spend so much money on grade G-VF A-Pi drachms. Maybe a lesser maximum bid?</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">I&#039;m good with the lower max limit.</span></p><p><i><i><span style="color: #00b300">[I was out of the house at the time and couldn&#039;t follow the auction, but in such cases, always trust a woman&#039;s instinct. --Z]</span></i></i></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">Okay.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><b><i><i>Alexandrian section has started</i></i></b></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">Oh sure. Now the bidding picks up <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie11" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><br /></p><p>T:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0080">I bid one more increment than intended... Hope that&#039;s okay. It&#039;s ours <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><br /></p><p>Z:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">What! Oh, heh... cool... I thought we had lost it <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Exxxxxcellent! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><i>...</i></p><p><br /></p><p>So... was it exxxxxcellent? It was definitely fun and sharing the experience with Zumbly made it more enjoyable, but did we get a &quot;deal&quot;? No, not particularly. If we were dealers and needed to flip these for a big profit, we&#039;d be in trouble. It was indeed full of &quot;dregs&quot;, at least from a condition standpoint, but those dregs all have a good pedigree (10 are ex-Dattari; all are ex-Art Institute of Chicago) and there were enough rarities and interesting reverses to satisfy us.</p><p><br /></p><p>Z and I had a good time and each ended up with a big pile of bronze coins-- Roman Egyptian coins that are becoming more difficult and more costly to acquire. I&#039;d call the whole venture a modest success, or at least not an overt failure. Our friendship survived just fine. I&#039;m not sure I could have gone through this with anyone but Zumbly <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>You can view the lot contents on this Google Docs spreadsheet: <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1p-6TskQRjbFVsDZozjQk_eDf82bnkKB7uavihqB8R3E/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1p-6TskQRjbFVsDZozjQk_eDf82bnkKB7uavihqB8R3E/edit?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow">A-Pi Madness</a>. No Google sign-in is required to view it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are a few of the better coins from that lot. I&#039;m sure Z will chime in shortly with a few of his picks. As always, feel free to post anything you think is relevant <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>...</p><p><br /></p><p>We divided the ten Dattari pedigree coins first and I had the first draft pick.&nbsp; Despite there being coins of greater rarity among those ten, I love Zeus Ammon and chose this ragged coin (ragged but still probably of higher condition than the average coin in the lot <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie9" alt=":eek:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]627679[/ATTACH]</p><p>Zeus Ammon.&nbsp; Dattari-Savio plate coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>The next coin is probably my favorite of the 40 because I&#039;m actively seeking all permutations of Serapis and didn&#039;t have this one.&nbsp; I also love anepigraphic coins, although I guess since this coin used to have legends that doesn&#039;t really count <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]627684[/ATTACH]</p><p>Serapis-Agathodaemon</p><p><br /></p><p>Isis-Sothis!&nbsp; Low grade, but still desirable <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]627688[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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