I posted this on another forum some time ago, but I feel like there are enough ancient collectors on the board now that it could be useful: Many collectors of US coins proudly proclaim that they don't care who owned a piece before them, and are interested solely in the coin itself. I find this to be a rather foolish belief. The fact is, any pedigree information adds history to the coin and can often increase the value. Pedigrees are very important in ancient coin collecting. Not only do coins from famous collections bring more money at auction, but proof of previous ownership protects against increasingly common government seizures. The problem with this is that many collectors do not describe the pedigrees of their coins and, when they do, often do it in an unclear and confusing way. I present here the standard method that we use at work and that is common among the major ancient auction firms. The most common word you will see to describe a pedigree is "ex," a rather versatile Latin word most appropriately remembered as "out of." This is used for auction pedigrees and for most namedcollections. Abbreviations are used sparingly, so say Numismatica Ars Classica rather than merely NAC. First give the name of the auction company, the number of the auction (if they are numbered), the date of the auction in day, month, year format, then the lot number.Unless otherwise noted, sales are generally assumed to be mail bid or public auctions. Other formats include FPL (fixed price list), BBS(buy/bid sale), and Electronic Auction. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 85 (15 September 2010), lot 330c Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 238, lot 295 Ex is also used when a coin had previously been in a named collection. First provide the name, then cite the auction as usual, but in parentheses. Ex BCD Collection (Lanz 105, 26 November 2001), lot 529 Ex Ardatirion Collection When a dealer acquires a coin directly from a collection, with no intervening sales or auctions, he cites it using the word "from." From the Ardatirion Collection So, in the examples above, two different scenarios are presented. In the second, the coin being sold is offered directly from the private collection. In the first, it had passed through other hands in the meantime. Do remember that, when you acquire a coin listed as "from," it is now "ex!" In general, I only cite collections and public auctions. While I prefer to not publicly reference them, it is sometimes necessary to include other dealer interactions. I use either "purchased from" or"acquired from," depending on the circumstances. The main difference between the two is that "acquired" sounds fancier! I usually include the venue or month of purchase as well. Purchased from John Kraljevich, ANA Boston 2010 As records of eBay sales are private and almost never preserved, I cite them using "acquired." Acquired from John Doe via eBay, May 2012 Finally, one should also describe the circumstances of the coin's find, if applicable. This includes both hoards and often-unprovenanced ground finds. Hoards are generally described the same as a named collection despite that they can be published in various ways. For hoards first published in an auction catalog, describe them as if they were collections, using "ex" and including the sale info and date. For hoards published in an inventor, include the citation for the find. For completely published hoards, include the number of the coin. Ex Beauvais Hoard (Glendining, 4 November 1987), lot 14 Ex 1867 Auriol Hoard (IGCH 2352) Ex Vatican Hoard, 220 For ground fines with a certain provenance, use "found" and include the date (if known) and location. For finds with a less than certain source, include the word "purportedly." Found in Southern Spain Found by a metal detectorist in Norwich, 2009 Purportedly found in Syria Any questions?
Not a question but a suggestion.....stop typing so fast Ardy. :devil: Go back and edit some of those run on words and you've got a most marvelous post.
In defense of modern collectors who don't care, many of their coins exist in such large numbers in exactly the same condition that it is hardly distinctive or important that your coin is the one that was in a certain collection or not except for the comfort that coins known to exist in 1900 are not modern fakes. Many ancients are a bit more distinct and might even be known by some characteristic to specialists. For example, the ex Hunt Poros Dekadrachm of Alexander might be known as the one that is poorly struck on the reverse top. I suppose modern collectors would pay more attention if we had a specific dollar once thrown by George Washington (ex Delaware?) but such is not the case. :devil:
I think pedigree's add a bit something special to a coin. I have 2 from old auctions, freeman & sear I believe but I dont note them. My eastern severus is from some heritage "mixed lot" auction. My lifetime faustina is " Ex Robert Kutcher". I had to google the name to find an Obit. from the fellow. It was interesting but nothing that blew my mind. I just find it unnecessary to add where I bought it if there is no trail. Why do I need to add "ex. Bargain Bin Ancients, ex. Forvm, ex. VC dealer". I have all my receipts and records of each coin I got unless it was in a trade but to add it to my forum posts or forvm gallery, it isnt important IMO.
I do keep record of sources dates and prices in my database for accounting purposes and find the information interesting when looking to see which source has provided me with the most coins over the years but I only would pass this information to the next owner if it were special like ex John Quincy Adams, ex Mabbott or ex Bavarian Collection in which cases I also would save the envelopes in which the coins came. I save any envelope over 100 years old even if I don't know the origin of it.
That's pretty much my situation. With my limited means, my collection does and probably will continue to consist of all the "easy" ancients that have been owned by every other penniless Joe Schmoe and John Doe.
I like to keep track of where my coin has been as well. The more bizzare(or maybe mysterious is a better word) looking the flip that comes with a coin, the more likely I am to keep it. I have some that have multiple dealer slips too.
