Coins you will never sell

I've had this one for over a decade and it came in group lot. I always thought it was interesting but never gave it a second thought until I started re-shooting all my coins. I was also using the old BMC reference and new ones came out since I acquired it. I recently turned down an offer of $180 for it which some of you may think is crazy to refuse but I am definitely keeping this one. The two books that came out that contain entries for this coin are HANDBOOK OF COINS OF THE SOUTHERN LEVANT by Oliver Hoover and ARADOS HELLÉNISTIQUE. ÉTUDE HISTORIQUE ET MONÉTAIRE by Duyrat and is in French. I like the coin due to it's oblong planchet, imagery, and that it has elements of Phoenician, Aradian, and Aramaic script all on the reverse. I emailed several researchers about what the Phoenician inscription may mean, but I have not heard anything back.

The obverse depicts Europa which inspired the love of Zeus. He approached her in the form of a white bull and carried her away from Phoenicia to Crete. There she gave birth to three sons. They were Minos ruler of Crete, Rhadamanthys ruler of the Cyclades Islands, and Sarpedon ruler of Lycia. She later married Asterius, the king of Crete, who adopted her sons. She was worshiped as Hellotis in Crete, where the festival Hellotia was held in her honor. That also explains the bull on the reverse, but the inscription is a mystery to me for now.

I don't put much stock into rarity scales, but Houghton uses such a system in his book rating from C (thousands of examples know) to R3 (only 1 or 2 known) to exist. This is a different scale than RIC uses and are believed to be estimated numbers know to exist in the world. My coin is listed as a R2 meaning he believes between 3 and 9 examples of this coin are known to exist. I have no idea on it's accuracy but have not seen another for sale in the last 15 years! This one is also a full 3 grams heavier than documented examples in museums.

Lastly special thanks to Martin Rowe for helping me properly attribute this.

Phoenicia Arados
Year 164, 96/95 BC
Obvs: Female bust Astarte-Europa right, wearing stephane, and veil over back of head. Border of dots.
Revs: Phoenician script "Yodh Shin Beth Daleph Mem" (yšbdm) above, Recumbent humped bull lying left. Aradian ΔΞP date in ex.
AE 21x22mm, 10.37g
Ref: BMC 324; Duyrat 4418/4419; HGC 10, 79 (R2)

Post any coins you never plan to sell.

 

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Nice!

Here's one I wouldn't sell.

 

That's a really beautiful and interesting coin. I can see why you can't bear to part with it.

I have tons of coins that I can't imagine I'd ever want to sell, but perhaps this one most of all. Coincidentally, it also has Europa and the bull on it.

CRETE, Gortyna
AR Stater. 11.77g, 29.8mm. CRETE, Gortyna, circa 330-270 BC. SNG Cop -; cf. Svoronos 58 (rev as Svoronos 62). O: Europa seated right in plane (platanus) tree, resting her head pensively on her left hand. R: Bull standing to right, head turned back left to lick its flank.
Notes: Overstruck on a stater of Knossos, circa 425-360 BC (Svoronos 23), with undertypes of the Minotaur and Labyrinth of Knossos visible.

 

The UNC and proof of this coin got me interested in world "coins with insects". known as a beetle cross design. it really peaked my interest in insect coins. the more real the insect looks the more I like it.

2001 Slovakia 500 Korun UNC version mintage 10,200




and the very scarce proof version mintage 1,800 and my avatar....


only a 16 year search for the proof version. lol NFS = not for sale.

 

my King of my collection 1832 Belgium 10 centimes NGC MS-65 RB lion copper coin.





when you have shelled out so much money for this coin knowing it's a grade rarity and really like this lion design. you appreciate it that much more. The only way I would sell this coin is if I needed the money really really badly and there was no other way to get money.... and even then I would probably keep it. there are many other coins I would sell before this 1. I like it to much to let it go. NFS= not for sale!

 

opps sorry these are not ancient coins. if you are to strict to have my modern coins here have the moderator remove my posts.

 

I thought I had about a thousand coins in that category until I realized that I might rather see who they went to than to find out you really cant take it with you. There are at least a hundred that I would much rather give away if I could find someone who would appreciate them in the way I do but the fact that this thread was started shows most people consider most coins just merchandise to be bought and sold for profit with only a few rising above that status to 'keeper'.

In 1974 I sold about 150 coins to Joel Malter. I asked him to return these three if he would not pay a premium for them as special in some way. He saw nothing worth having so I got them back. I regret selling any of what I had from a profit sense (the group included single coins that would sell today for more than he paid for the lot) but I am glad to have these three back. I have posted each so many times that old timers here would have seen them (and agree that Malter was right).

No one cares about the X chair support on this dog of a denarius.

I thought it was rare but now I have three and know Martin has some. It was my favorite coin in the 1960's so I'll keep it.

This was my first overstrike and, therefore, special to me.

 

Beautiful!

 

Sorry, but, as I read your story, I could hear in the background; "It rubs the lotion on it's skin or else.............."

 

I would never sell my very first ancient coin:

 

I've been given a few coins as gifts, and I would never sell them. The nicest one came from my wife.

Athens AR Tetradrachm, VF, Athens mint, weight 16.632g, 29.0mm, c. 120 - 119 B.C.
Obv: helmeted head of Athena Parthenos right, triple-crested helmet decorated with curvilinear ornament on the shell, a griffin right above the raised earpiece, and protomes of horses above the visor.
Rev: A−ΘE / AΦPO−∆IΣI / ∆IO/ΓE / OΠA/ΣY, owl standing right on amphora on its side, filleted double cornucopia on right, B on amphora, ΣΦ below, all within olive wreath.
Thompson Athens 546a

 

My whole collection if I had a picture .


Thanks,
Jacob

 

The same sediment! I really need to start offloading some of my coins . Too much capital locked away...

 

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=2867

 

All of them!!!! I can't even imagine selling a single coin, even my junk 90%!! I'm hoping to pass them all on to some or all of my children. I'll echo Dougs sentiment, there is something truly satisfying in gifting particular coins to particular people.

 

A Morgan dollar that, by pure chance, I found counter-stamped with my father's, brother's and uncles first names. They were all alive back when.

But even THAT coin would have a price. Those who say they will never sale their coins make me chuckle. Every coin has it's price. Even if they don't, time takes care or it. When I was young, I have had local collectors say "Over my dead body!" and I always told them, "OK, I can wait."....and I did.

Now that I am an old man, that doesn't work so well.

Heh.

 

Is that you in your "younger days" , if so, love the stach!