Lost FAUSTINA SENIOR Sestertius - Rize and Fall of the Fenix

Until ten minutes ago I thought I had won this coin at the latest Savoca Auction because according to their results list (and those of Sixbid and biddr) mine was the highest bid.
After I had not heard from the auction house for a week, I called them only to hear in terror that someone had outbid me by 5 Euros, apparently without this having been recorded in the list. I am down.

Here is the seller´s pictures ...



DIVA FAVSTINA - Draped bust of Faustina the Elder right, wearing tutulus of pearls /
AETERNITAS - Aeternitas standing left, diademed and wearing tunica, holding globe surmounted by nimbate phoenix in right hand and raising hem of skirt with left hand. S C in exergue
Sestertius, Rome 147-161 a.D.
31mm / 21,78g
RIC III 1105 (Antoninus Pius); Cohen 12, BMCRE 1490, Sear 4607, Banti 5

A am sad because I was really looking forward to add this one to my collection and had anticipated holding it in my hand for weeks.

Have any of you ever been the high bidder and lost?

 

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What a beautiful subdued, personal portrait. And yes, this happened several times with various electronic auctions. Nowadays I delay all jubilations until the coin is in my hands.

 

What a shame! That is a lovely coin, too. My condolences.

I've never had that happen to me, but I have heard of it happening when there is a floor auction along with the on-line auction and a floor bidder turns out to be the winner. I don't know if that's the case with Savoca or not.

I don't have an Aeternitas standing holding phoenix sestertius of Faustina I, but I do have the sestertius (top) and middle bronze (bottom) of her seated.


Faustina I, AD 138-141.
Roman orichalcum Sestertius, 26.57 gm, 32.5 mm, 1 h.
Rome, ca. AD 155-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS SC, Aeternitas enthroned left, holding phoenix on globe and scepter.
Refs: RIC 1103Aa, RCV 4606; BMCRE 1482; Cohen 15.


Rome, AD 147-161.
Roman AE as or dupondius, 10.91 gm, 27.3 mm, 12 h.
Rome, ca. AD 155-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS SC, Aeternitas enthroned left, holding phoenix on globe and scepter. Refs: RIC 1156; RCV 4637; BMCRE 1549; Cohen 16.

Notes: although dated to AD 147 by Sear, die-linkage studies of the sestertii of DIVA FAVSTINA by Beckmann suggest a date of issue in the late 150s. See Beckmann, Martin. Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces. American Numismatic Society, 2012.

 

Too bad, Julius, great eye appeal sestertius

not so great eye appeal, my Aeternitas as:

 

Ouch, that is a lovely coin. The only similar thing I've experienced was the result of bidding through third party. I don't recall if it was Sixbid or Numisbid but I sent bids on a few coins a couple of days before the auction (Kunker or G&M, don't recall). Unknown to me the bids weren't registered with the auction house. I would have won at least one of the coins.

That was the second and last time I submitted bids through a third party.

 

Yes, I have lost out many times......even after I was certain I had it in the bag.
I don't get upset about it anymore, though.
I have enough nice coins, one less is not going to kill me.

 

Sometimes one has to wonder about these bids that show up afterwards (or, in my case, the coin was not for sale in the first place). Here are a couple of my coins

 

I was the high bidder on an extremely rare bronze with CNG but lost it. This was when they first started taking bids by email instead of phone and didn't have their process fully refined.

CYCLADES, Seriphos. Circa 2nd Century BC. Æ 17mm (3.33 gm).
Obv: Head of Perseus right, wearing winged Phrygian helmet
Rev: Gorgoneion facing; harpa below.
CNG 60, May 2002, lot 620.

The winning collector, who I consider the under-bidder, published an SNG volume and this coin is in it! However, the collector discovered the coin is a die-match for a specimen from a different island, Astypalaea, and not Seriphos after all. So CNG's mistake kept me from acquiring two examples of the same extremely rare island type.

Unfortunately, although I eventually did snag a Perseus from Seriphos, my example has the harpa reverse and not the gorgoneion reverse. CNG did offer another Perseus/Medusa one, but I was too timid. For the last fifteen years I have been unable to locate another...

 

To Julius Germanicus. Yes, I have been in a very similar situation to yourself in an auction by a company under the auspices of Ebay. I followed the last half an hour, or so, meticulously, of the biddings, and when the timing went down to zero, I had no doubt that I hadn't won the auction. To my horror I learnt that someone had, automatically, by a matter of pennies, bid higher, but that hadn't been shown on my screen. I have been in contact with customer services, at Ebay, about two weeks ago, but, so far, nothing has been done, to my knowledge, of contacting me with the sellar, or doing anything at all to compensate me. Since that auction I haven't participated in any further Ebay transactions, and - unless this matter is sorted out - perhaps I never will.