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David R. Sear, class act (and no, the R in his name isn't for Ryro)
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<p>[QUOTE="Ryro, post: 7606835, member: 91461"]I've been putting off this write up for a bit due to my upcoming move (lived in Utah most of my life and I'm not planning on suffering my boy-Os the same).</p><p>My apolo-gies for the delay<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>I've had a couple coins nagging at me to be certified due to lack of provenance and unique style for a while now.</p><p>And I've always heard there is none better than David R Sear.</p><p>But I've never had anything that nagged enough for me to put my money where my mouth is and send them off to him.</p><p>The trigger: However, in the last Auctiones GmbH (a trusted and upstanding auction house) I purchased some spendy but flawed coins.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1309606[/ATTACH]</p><p>Bruttium, Kaulonia. Circa 525-500 BC. AR Nomos (31 mm, 6.63 g).</p><p>Obv. Apollo advancing right, holding branch aloft in right hand, left arm extended, upon which a small daimon, holding branch in each hand, runs right; KAVΛ to left; to right, stag standing right, head reverted.</p><p>Rev. Incuse of obverse, but daimon in outline and no ethnic.</p><p>Noe, Caulonia Group A, 1 (same dies).</p><p>Rare. Cracked in three parts, otherwise, very fine/fine</p><p>Purchased from Auctiones gmbh March 2021</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1309685[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>(Look at that portrait!<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie16" alt=":artist:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1309608[/ATTACH]</p><p>L. Hostilius Saserna. Fourré Denarius (18-19 mm, 2.86 g), Rome, 48 BC.</p><p>Obv. Bearded male head to right, his hair straggling out behind him; cloak around neck and Gallic shield behind.</p><p>Rev. L HOSTILIVS / SASERN, Nude Gallic warrior, holding shield with his left hand and hurling spear with his right, standing left in a galloping biga being driven to right by a seated charioteer holding a whip.</p><p>Cf. Craw. 448/2; Syd. 952.</p><p>Fourré. Very fine.</p><p><br /></p><p>"The head on this famous and desirable coin has long been identified as that of Vercingetorix. This can not be proven but the head does have remarkably individualistic and naturalistic features, and it must surely represent an actual Gaulish captive seen by the die engraver."</p><p><br /></p><p>I wasn't concerned much, as it was coming from a reliable firm and everything looked legit...</p><p>Then horror of horrors, I found not only an exact die match, but a match to my coin in every way, except it wasn't a fouree like mine:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1309607[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The crux: What, why and how in the world could/would/should a counterfeiter make a fouree, especially when they are making solid coins as well?!?!</p><p>I thought I'd gotten a good deal on the type due to the coin being an ancient fourrée, not a modern fake! Adding insult to injury, it was the same Auction house that sold the other "copy", or so I presumed!</p><p>The relief: I reached out to the auction house and they were very reassuring, stating, "The coin you mention is not a second version of your coin, it is the very same coin. The coin has been consigned to us for our eAuction 67, and we described it as being of "crystallized silver" due to the low weight. We only found out after the auction that in fact the coin is a fourré, and when we washed it with acetone (which is the safest way to not do any damage to a coin) the "silvering" which in fact was colored pencil a pre-owner had applied to cover the copper core vanished. So your coin is perfectly as described - a contemporary fourré. A massive silver denarius with the portrait of Vercingetorix in this condition would have well fetched CHF 1500 and more."</p><p>It now makes sense!... but still this [USER=44132]@Bing[/USER] DeNiro quote keeps popping in my head:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1309648[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>So, I catch myself on Mr. Sear's sight and found $55 dollars per coin to authenticate my coins (w/ specifics on the coins background) via the foremost in ancient numistics in the WORLD very affordable. And sent them in toot sweet!</p><p>And vindication:</p><p>Though, the site warns, up to eight weeks of sheer anxiety, I recieved mine back in under 4!</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1309664[/ATTACH]</p><p>&</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1309665[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Wahoo! They're authentic and I learned much!</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are the other coins and docs O authenticity:</p><p>1st a coin I had long sought and coveted, plus got a screaming deal on... but with a very unique style that left me curious:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1309671[/ATTACH]</p><p>Seleukos I Nikator,</p><p>312-281 BC. Drachm (Silver, 16.5 mm, 4.25 g, 12 h), probably Seleukeia on the Tigris, after circa 305/4 BC . Bust of Alexander the Great to right, as Dionysos, wearing helmet covered with a panther skin and adorned with a bull's horn and ear, and with a panther's skin tied around his shoulders. Rev. ΒΑΣIΛΕΩΣ [ΣΕ]ΛΕΥΚΟΥ Nike standing to right, placing wreath on trophy; between Nike and trophy, monogram. HGC 9, 35. SC 197. Toned. Very fine. Ex: Nomos Obols</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1309666[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>And lastly, listed at often high starting prices (what isn't nowadays?), buying from BAC, again, I got a great deal from a reputable, established auction house but wondered, what did others see that made them pass? Or, did I really just pick up something others missed?!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1309673[/ATTACH]</p><p>CRETE, KNOSSOS.</p><p>AE (2.54 g), approx. 200-67 BC BC: head of the bearded Zeus to the right. Back: Labyrinth between ΚΝΩΣΙ / ΩΝ. Svoronos, Crete 116.2.00, Lindgren. Nice. Ex BAC Numismatics 2/9/20201</p><p>"Knossos, the famous city of the mythical King Minos, is closely linked to the mythical tales of Daidalos and Ikaros, Theseus and Ariadne, Minos and Pasiphai, and of course, the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. According to legend, Daidalos built the labyrinth at the request of King Minos, who wanted a secure place to confine the son of his wife, Pasiphai. The son - the Minotaur - was the unnatural result of the union of Pasiphai with a sacrificial bull, and was monstrously half-human and half-bull. Daidalos cleverly built the labyrinth so that the Minotaur could never escape (and according to Ovid, in doing so almost lost himself within its walls). Each year seven youths and seven maidens were brought from Athens, at the time subject to Knossos, to be sacrificed to feed the Minotaur. One year, wishing to free Athens from this ghastly tribute, Theseus, son of King Aigeus of Athens, connived with his father to join the next shipment of youths so that he could slay the Minotaur and free his fellow victims. With the help of King Minos' daughter, Ariadne, he smuggled into the labyrinth a sword and some string to help him navigate his way out again. He slew the beast, but on his return voyage to Athens he neglected to raise a white sail, the signal by which his father the king would know of his success. King Aigeus, in despair at seeing a black sail on the returning ship, hurled himself into the sea, which now was henceforth called the Aegean."</p><p><br /></p><p>Aaaaand the result... drumroll please...</p><p><br /></p><p>To be continued as weirdly in this day and age I am limited to ten images<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie98" alt=":wacky:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Ryro, post: 7606835, member: 91461"]I've been putting off this write up for a bit due to my upcoming move (lived in Utah most of my life and I'm not planning on suffering my boy-Os the same). My apolo-gies for the delay;) I've had a couple coins nagging at me to be certified due to lack of provenance and unique style for a while now. And I've always heard there is none better than David R Sear. But I've never had anything that nagged enough for me to put my money where my mouth is and send them off to him. The trigger: However, in the last Auctiones GmbH (a trusted and upstanding auction house) I purchased some spendy but flawed coins. [ATTACH=full]1309606[/ATTACH] Bruttium, Kaulonia. Circa 525-500 BC. AR Nomos (31 mm, 6.63 g). Obv. Apollo advancing right, holding branch aloft in right hand, left arm extended, upon which a small daimon, holding branch in each hand, runs right; KAVΛ to left; to right, stag standing right, head reverted. Rev. Incuse of obverse, but daimon in outline and no ethnic. Noe, Caulonia Group A, 1 (same dies). Rare. Cracked in three parts, otherwise, very fine/fine Purchased from Auctiones gmbh March 2021 [ATTACH=full]1309685[/ATTACH] (Look at that portrait!:artist:) [ATTACH=full]1309608[/ATTACH] L. Hostilius Saserna. Fourré Denarius (18-19 mm, 2.86 g), Rome, 48 BC. Obv. Bearded male head to right, his hair straggling out behind him; cloak around neck and Gallic shield behind. Rev. L HOSTILIVS / SASERN, Nude Gallic warrior, holding shield with his left hand and hurling spear with his right, standing left in a galloping biga being driven to right by a seated charioteer holding a whip. Cf. Craw. 448/2; Syd. 952. Fourré. Very fine. "The head on this famous and desirable coin has long been identified as that of Vercingetorix. This can not be proven but the head does have remarkably individualistic and naturalistic features, and it must surely represent an actual Gaulish captive seen by the die engraver." I wasn't concerned much, as it was coming from a reliable firm and everything looked legit... Then horror of horrors, I found not only an exact die match, but a match to my coin in every way, except it wasn't a fouree like mine: [ATTACH=full]1309607[/ATTACH] The crux: What, why and how in the world could/would/should a counterfeiter make a fouree, especially when they are making solid coins as well?!?! I thought I'd gotten a good deal on the type due to the coin being an ancient fourrée, not a modern fake! Adding insult to injury, it was the same Auction house that sold the other "copy", or so I presumed! The relief: I reached out to the auction house and they were very reassuring, stating, "The coin you mention is not a second version of your coin, it is the very same coin. The coin has been consigned to us for our eAuction 67, and we described it as being of "crystallized silver" due to the low weight. We only found out after the auction that in fact the coin is a fourré, and when we washed it with acetone (which is the safest way to not do any damage to a coin) the "silvering" which in fact was colored pencil a pre-owner had applied to cover the copper core vanished. So your coin is perfectly as described - a contemporary fourré. A massive silver denarius with the portrait of Vercingetorix in this condition would have well fetched CHF 1500 and more." It now makes sense!... but still this [USER=44132]@Bing[/USER] DeNiro quote keeps popping in my head: [ATTACH=full]1309648[/ATTACH] So, I catch myself on Mr. Sear's sight and found $55 dollars per coin to authenticate my coins (w/ specifics on the coins background) via the foremost in ancient numistics in the WORLD very affordable. And sent them in toot sweet! And vindication: Though, the site warns, up to eight weeks of sheer anxiety, I recieved mine back in under 4! [ATTACH=full]1309664[/ATTACH] & [ATTACH=full]1309665[/ATTACH] Wahoo! They're authentic and I learned much! Here are the other coins and docs O authenticity: 1st a coin I had long sought and coveted, plus got a screaming deal on... but with a very unique style that left me curious: [ATTACH=full]1309671[/ATTACH] Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC. Drachm (Silver, 16.5 mm, 4.25 g, 12 h), probably Seleukeia on the Tigris, after circa 305/4 BC . Bust of Alexander the Great to right, as Dionysos, wearing helmet covered with a panther skin and adorned with a bull's horn and ear, and with a panther's skin tied around his shoulders. Rev. ΒΑΣIΛΕΩΣ [ΣΕ]ΛΕΥΚΟΥ Nike standing to right, placing wreath on trophy; between Nike and trophy, monogram. HGC 9, 35. SC 197. Toned. Very fine. Ex: Nomos Obols [ATTACH=full]1309666[/ATTACH] And lastly, listed at often high starting prices (what isn't nowadays?), buying from BAC, again, I got a great deal from a reputable, established auction house but wondered, what did others see that made them pass? Or, did I really just pick up something others missed?! [ATTACH=full]1309673[/ATTACH] CRETE, KNOSSOS. AE (2.54 g), approx. 200-67 BC BC: head of the bearded Zeus to the right. Back: Labyrinth between ΚΝΩΣΙ / ΩΝ. Svoronos, Crete 116.2.00, Lindgren. Nice. Ex BAC Numismatics 2/9/20201 "Knossos, the famous city of the mythical King Minos, is closely linked to the mythical tales of Daidalos and Ikaros, Theseus and Ariadne, Minos and Pasiphai, and of course, the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. According to legend, Daidalos built the labyrinth at the request of King Minos, who wanted a secure place to confine the son of his wife, Pasiphai. The son - the Minotaur - was the unnatural result of the union of Pasiphai with a sacrificial bull, and was monstrously half-human and half-bull. Daidalos cleverly built the labyrinth so that the Minotaur could never escape (and according to Ovid, in doing so almost lost himself within its walls). Each year seven youths and seven maidens were brought from Athens, at the time subject to Knossos, to be sacrificed to feed the Minotaur. One year, wishing to free Athens from this ghastly tribute, Theseus, son of King Aigeus of Athens, connived with his father to join the next shipment of youths so that he could slay the Minotaur and free his fellow victims. With the help of King Minos' daughter, Ariadne, he smuggled into the labyrinth a sword and some string to help him navigate his way out again. He slew the beast, but on his return voyage to Athens he neglected to raise a white sail, the signal by which his father the king would know of his success. King Aigeus, in despair at seeing a black sail on the returning ship, hurled himself into the sea, which now was henceforth called the Aegean." Aaaaand the result... drumroll please... To be continued as weirdly in this day and age I am limited to ten images:wacky:[/QUOTE]
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David R. Sear, class act (and no, the R in his name isn't for Ryro)
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