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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Volodya, post: 2276228, member: 19615&quot;][ATTACH=full]454207[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This is one of two coins with a special tag in my trays, telling my wife to put it on the cover of the catalogue if I die suddenly. (My current avatar is the other.)&nbsp; It&#039;s Crawford 335/3f, struck in 96 BC by C. Poblicius Malleolus. Readers I suppose may say, well sure, it&#039;s very nice, but your favorite? Really? Anyone familiar with just how dreadful this type usually is will get it though. Normally I hate descriptions like &quot;finest known,&quot; because how can we ever know that, but this time I think it&#039;s apt. I can&#039;t imagine a better example of the type.</p><p><br /></p><p>For years I had admired this coin in the Leu 17 catalogue (lot 276), where it was my favorite coin in the whole wonderful Nicholas Collection. When it appeared as lot 395 in NFA XXVII (the Roberto Russo Collection, though not named as such in the catalogue,) I knew I had to have it. I gave myself a firm limit of $2500 +10% commission, which I really thought would be enough. I was in the room; this was one of the few auctions my wife attended with me. After early bidders dropped out, it came down to me and a gaggle of Spaniards a row in front of us. I was careful to hit my $2500 limit. The Spaniards spent a couple of minutes whispering together and one of them finally raised his hand at $2600. I said <span style="color: #ff4d4d">edited</span>; young and innocent days when we still had a mortgage and I&#039;d never spent anywhere near this much on a single coin. My wife looked at me and said, you really want this, don&#039;t you? I nodded. She sort of pushed my hand a little; I nodded. I think it was just momentum that got my hand all the way up.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Spaniards said <span style="color: #ff4d4d">edited</span> in Spanish and started whispering again. Finally they disgustedly said no. Phew... Little did they realize that I was done. Even a cut bid would&#039;ve won it. If they had bid again and I&#039;d lost this coin, I&#039;d still be kicking myself from now until Tuesday. (Wait, it <b>is </b>Tuesday!) Sorry for the long-winded way to say nice coin.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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