Quoting @Mat from a recent topic, I too thought I would remain a CNG virgin for quite a while. They usually don’t have any Chinese coinage from the era I am interested in, and their non-Chinese ancients are usually a little too expensive for me. A few years ago they did have some of the nicer coins from the J.P. Righetti collection of Chinese coins up for auction, but sadly I was not yet collecting back then. Earlier this month however, a few more coins from this collection found their way to CNG’s E-auction, interestingly enough in the form of several lots. I managed to scoop up two lots for rather decent prices, outbidding our new member @Finn235 in the process (sorry again ). The package arrived today, and they are certainly pretty... The main selling point for the first lot were the pointed-tip knives (see this topic for a write-up on the type). I have recently decided I want to expand this sub-collection a bit, so this was the perfect opportunity. Five in total (from right to left): two different varieties of Ding 丁, Liu 六, an unreadable character obscured by a crusty patina and at the left edge another Ding 丁, but with the character on the reverse instead of on the obverse! Also included were two straight knives. The patina is absolutely gorgeous, but sadly the inscriptions were cast in even lower relief than usual. These two were not pictured, so I had hope they would be better, but alas. Both belong to the Bai (Ren) Bi 白人匕 group, but identification was only possible due to the vaguely teardrop-shaped character near the tip.The inscription on the square foot spade is read as Qi Bei 齊貝, although this reading is highly contested. As some of you might know, I collect these square foot spades by inscription and they form the main back-bone for my collection. Qi Bei is one of the most common ones, nevertheless I did not yet posses a specimen, never being able to find the right one for the right price. So a new inscription, but given the condition, I’ll most likely add another specimen sometime soon. I would consider the rest bycatch: three Kai Yuan’s (including a Southern Min lead one, although rather corroded), a nice Wu Zhu, an Annamese cash from the 1820’s and lastly a Ming one wen. Nothing too spectacular. Alternatively, this topic could also have been titled “I bought a Ming knife hoard, part two” (check this topic for the first part, as well as a write-up on the type), because the second lot consisted of 20 Ming knives. All intact, although some were sort of wavy and missing a tiny fragment here and there. A nice selection of knives with some diverse types: from the early broad ones (top rows) to the later stone-chimed shaped knives. And not unimportantly, an equally diverse selection of reverses: Some of my favourites: From left to right: - Nei San 内三 (Interior three), Hartill 6.H. Not that rare of an inscription, but I lacked a Nei + number type. And it is an exceptionally clear inscription in hand! - Nei Ren 内人 (Interior man), Hartill --. This combination of characters is not listed in either Hartill or Coole (haven’t checked the Shanghai catalogue yet), which is always a nice thing. And look at that gorgeous blue patina! - Zuo Wu 左五 (Left five), Hartill 5.H. A nice, clear example! - You shi ding 右十丁(Right ten ‘fourth heavenly stem'), Hartill 4.G. Although I must admit I don’t agree with the reading of the last character (but don’t have a better suggestion…), I love three character reverses! - The last reverse has me intrigued. What on earth is that first character? Just a variety of Nei 内 partly obscured by the heavy patina? Or perhaps You 右? Or is it something else? Any opinions, @TypeCoin971793 and @Ken Dorney? I’d love to see some of your first ever CNG purchases or something from the J.P Righetti collection! But feel free to post anything . Mika
Look, Mat, don't let anyone rush you into a CNG auction. Your first CNG auction should be special, with that special coin. Don't fall for some cheap-talking flashy slabbed poser, either. When a collector and a coin love each other very much, you'll each know that it's the right time. That's why I'm a 49-year-old CNG virgin, and proud of it. When I do make that special bid, however, I will be sure to use protection--Paypal protection.
Fantastic knife coins my friend. What a superb haul. As for CNG, I've bought 3 coins from them. They usually have strong bidding competition and sell for the high end of the market price, so I've lost far more than I've won as I tend to want to pay for coins at the low end of the market price.
Very nice specimens! No hard feelings about being out-bid; I was going for about 50-75% of the market price with an eye to keep one and sell the rest. Figured I had little chance to win. I have won a few CNG auctions; they do tend toward the upper end of affordable for Greek and Roman coins, but sometimes bargains are to be had, especially when bottom feeding on their large lots. This was my first CNG win, and remains arguably my favorite coin to date, even if I overpaid: One thing I have learned (that I probably shouldn't divulge, but oh well) is that if a coin doesn't meet their apparently arbitrary standards of "value", it goes in a lot, even if it failed to meet the cutoff by a few dollars. It is also a gamble going by their horrible lot photos; I have bought lots where most of the coins had only one good side, and lots where the best stuff wasn't even in the picture.
Great group! Have fun with them! (I actually backed out of bidding on this lot). I really have no idea. Same here
I'm pretty sure from what I can see in the photo it is Nei. One of the things one finds out quickly with Ming knives is that there is a huge variation in how the characters were written. I think it may be a result of a combination of scenarios. Individual celators and their handwriting, some variation in time, variation in mint location (currently I think there are only two mints attributed to these), also, maybe illiterate celators simply copying as best they could.
Great groups. I am glad I did not pursue these as much as I might have otherwise, since it sounds like they found a good home. To be honest, with CNG not shipping to MN I find myself not bidding as strongly as I would normally. I detest having to wait until I go to another state to get purchases.
I'm impressed you can read those characters. They don't appear to have any resemblance to modern Chinese
Thanks guys! Beautiful coins @Milesofwho and @Finn235! And I know you wanted to flip the lot, but I still hate bidding against people I know.. Thanks for the opinion Ken, I too am now gravitating towards Nei. Couldn’t find any parallel in any of the books I own, but in combination with heavy patination, it does seem to be the most likely option.
