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My first successful bid in a standard coin auction: dealer's reputation re invoicing & shipping?
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<p>[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 6455642, member: 110350"]I've mentioned before that I generally don't like buying ancient coins at auction, and have never done so except from Frank Robinson and the Harlan J. Berk Buy-or-Bid sales, neither of which counts as a typical auction. (I did bid at a couple of standard auctions in 2019, but was unsuccessful.)</p><p><br /></p><p>I decided to make an exception a couple of days ago for a Roman Republican coin that I haven't been able to find at retail in decent condition, and have wanted ever since an example I bought through VCoins last summer turned out to be not only a hybrid but a fourree, so I returned it. See the thread at <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-hybrid-roman-republican-denarius-could-it-possibly-be-real.364583/#post-4711545" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-hybrid-roman-republican-denarius-could-it-possibly-be-real.364583/#post-4711545">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-hybrid-roman-republican-denarius-could-it-possibly-be-real.364583/#post-4711545</a>: it's a Marius Capito (Crawford 378/1c) with Ceres on the obverse and a plowman with two oxen on the reverse.</p><p><br /></p><p>The example I bid on was Lot 468 in the obolos 18 electronic auction of the "Trausnitz Collection" by Nomos, a Swiss dealer; see <a href="https://nomosag.com/default.aspx?page=ucAuctionDetails&auctionid=18&id=468&p=1&s=&ca=0&type=webauction#" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://nomosag.com/default.aspx?page=ucAuctionDetails&auctionid=18&id=468&p=1&s=&ca=0&type=webauction#" rel="nofollow">https://nomosag.com/default.aspx?page=ucAuctionDetails&auctionid=18&id=468&p=1&s=&ca=0&type=webauction#</a>:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1257496[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I will wait to give a full description, together with any extended discussion of the type, until I receive the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>This, by the way, was the hybrid fourree I bought last year and returned:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1257499[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Leaving aside the fact that the new one is genuine (hopefully!), it appears to be in about the same condition as the returned fourree, except that it has a fairly prominent test cut on the reverse. Which doesn't detract too much from the coin's appearance in my opinion, as it doesn't cut across any of the design. So I didn't let it stop me from bidding. (Surprisingly, the original description didn't even mention the test cut, so I emailed Nomos to ask "Your description doesn't mention the cut on the reverse. In your opinion, is it simply an ancient test cut? It doesn't bother me, since it doesn't affect the design. I was just wondering." Nomos responded the next day to say "Indeed there is a cut on the reverse, which is a bankers mark, applied in the antiquity either to test that the coin is of pure silver, or just to mark the coin for counting (or accounting) reasons. Banker’s marks are very common in the Roman Republican period." They then changed the lot description, which now ends with "Test cut on reverse<i>, otherwise,</i> good very fine." See the link I posted. I'm pleased that they amended the description, even though the test cut probably should have been mentioned to begin with.)</p><p><br /></p><p>In any event, I am reasonably confident that the auction is over and that mine was the winning bid -- I'm not sure if there was a live bidding phase, but if there was, I didn't keep track of it. I decided that either my maximum bid would be sufficient, or it wouldn't; I didn't want to be tempted to go beyond it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Current Status</p><p>Online bidding closes:</p><p>21 Feb 2021 18:54:00 CET [EST is 6 hours earlier]</p><p>Current Date & Time:</p><p>22 Feb 2021 00:26:55 CET</p><p>Remaining Time:</p><p>Closed</p><p>Hammer Price:</p><p>260 CHF by DonnaML (Bids: 9)</p><p><br /></p><p>(I was a bit confused by the reference to "online" bidding closing, as if there might be some other kind that continues thereafter, but I don't think they'd be giving the "hammer price" if that were the case.)</p><p><br /></p><p>I know that I am going to have to pay an 18.5% buyer's fee (plus a Paypal/credit card fee), but the total should still probably be less than what a similar example would cost me at retail if I had seen one lately. I simply got tired of waiting, and didn't want to pass up the opportunity. I am not planning to make a habit out of this!</p><p><br /></p><p>So here are my questions: has anyone bought coins at this dealer's obolos auctions before, especially in the last year or so? If so, how long did it generally take them to invoice and ship the coins, and, if you live in North America, how long did it take the coins to arrive? Do you know if shipment by courier is an option?</p><p><br /></p><p>Many thanks for any advice you can provide.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 6455642, member: 110350"]I've mentioned before that I generally don't like buying ancient coins at auction, and have never done so except from Frank Robinson and the Harlan J. Berk Buy-or-Bid sales, neither of which counts as a typical auction. (I did bid at a couple of standard auctions in 2019, but was unsuccessful.) I decided to make an exception a couple of days ago for a Roman Republican coin that I haven't been able to find at retail in decent condition, and have wanted ever since an example I bought through VCoins last summer turned out to be not only a hybrid but a fourree, so I returned it. See the thread at [URL]https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-hybrid-roman-republican-denarius-could-it-possibly-be-real.364583/#post-4711545[/URL]: it's a Marius Capito (Crawford 378/1c) with Ceres on the obverse and a plowman with two oxen on the reverse. The example I bid on was Lot 468 in the obolos 18 electronic auction of the "Trausnitz Collection" by Nomos, a Swiss dealer; see [URL]https://nomosag.com/default.aspx?page=ucAuctionDetails&auctionid=18&id=468&p=1&s=&ca=0&type=webauction#[/URL]: [ATTACH=full]1257496[/ATTACH] I will wait to give a full description, together with any extended discussion of the type, until I receive the coin. This, by the way, was the hybrid fourree I bought last year and returned: [ATTACH=full]1257499[/ATTACH] Leaving aside the fact that the new one is genuine (hopefully!), it appears to be in about the same condition as the returned fourree, except that it has a fairly prominent test cut on the reverse. Which doesn't detract too much from the coin's appearance in my opinion, as it doesn't cut across any of the design. So I didn't let it stop me from bidding. (Surprisingly, the original description didn't even mention the test cut, so I emailed Nomos to ask "Your description doesn't mention the cut on the reverse. In your opinion, is it simply an ancient test cut? It doesn't bother me, since it doesn't affect the design. I was just wondering." Nomos responded the next day to say "Indeed there is a cut on the reverse, which is a bankers mark, applied in the antiquity either to test that the coin is of pure silver, or just to mark the coin for counting (or accounting) reasons. Banker’s marks are very common in the Roman Republican period." They then changed the lot description, which now ends with "Test cut on reverse[I], otherwise,[/I] good very fine." See the link I posted. I'm pleased that they amended the description, even though the test cut probably should have been mentioned to begin with.) In any event, I am reasonably confident that the auction is over and that mine was the winning bid -- I'm not sure if there was a live bidding phase, but if there was, I didn't keep track of it. I decided that either my maximum bid would be sufficient, or it wouldn't; I didn't want to be tempted to go beyond it. Current Status Online bidding closes: 21 Feb 2021 18:54:00 CET [EST is 6 hours earlier] Current Date & Time: 22 Feb 2021 00:26:55 CET Remaining Time: Closed Hammer Price: 260 CHF by DonnaML (Bids: 9) (I was a bit confused by the reference to "online" bidding closing, as if there might be some other kind that continues thereafter, but I don't think they'd be giving the "hammer price" if that were the case.) I know that I am going to have to pay an 18.5% buyer's fee (plus a Paypal/credit card fee), but the total should still probably be less than what a similar example would cost me at retail if I had seen one lately. I simply got tired of waiting, and didn't want to pass up the opportunity. I am not planning to make a habit out of this! So here are my questions: has anyone bought coins at this dealer's obolos auctions before, especially in the last year or so? If so, how long did it generally take them to invoice and ship the coins, and, if you live in North America, how long did it take the coins to arrive? Do you know if shipment by courier is an option? Many thanks for any advice you can provide.[/QUOTE]
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My first successful bid in a standard coin auction: dealer's reputation re invoicing & shipping?
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