I got an email from Papillon yesterday informing me that they were cancelling a bid I had placed in their current Auction 3. They gave no explanation. Considering they had accepted six bids from me in their Auction 1 and two bids in their auction 2, it seems especially confusing. The coin I bid on was an owl I thought they had misattributed. Well, after I bid, they changed the description twice but kept the coin listed in the auction. I have received no response yet to my email asking them to explain the cancellation. Anyone else ever have a bid cancelled without the lot being taken down?
They probably canceled the bids because there was a substantial change in the description. If the coin described was a $10K coin, and you bid $10K, but it was actually a misdescribed $2K coin, would you want to be on the hook for the $10K bid?
If I was an auctioneer and I had to significantly change the description of an item I listed and had bids on, it would be prudent to cancel any bids on the item until The description was correct. I don't think it is any reflection on you or your dealings with them.
Would the auction house then not explain the reason for cancelling my bid and invite me to rebid if I wanted to with the corrected attribution? I got no explanation just, "Your bid has been cancelled."
I am STILL waiting for my winnings from their last auction... But I did notice a lot of their coins being pulled for being modern forgeries in their first auction. So it could be a blessing in disguise if someone reported it as fake and they removed it.
If it was a fake then that's a minor consolation that you didn't lose any money. I agree that the auction house owes you an explanation though.
I don't want to discourage you from bidding but take a good look at the photos and bid accordingly. Almost all owl tets have been harshly cleaned and one of them has a graffito. NGC has been recently giving surface 3/5 "brushed" for less damage than this.
This is the coin I bid on. Description ATTICA. Athens. Tetradrachm (Circa 470-465 BC). Transitional issue. Obv: Helmeted head of Athena right, with frontal eye. Rev: AΘE. Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent to left; all within incuse square. Starr Group IV; HGC 4, 1595. Condition: Near extremely fine. Weight: 17.12 g. Diameter: 23 mm. It was originally not listed as a transitional issue and dated to Circa 454-404 BC. Because of the three separate tail feathers, I thought it was a Starr Group V.A and bid on it. The next day the description was changed to Starr Group V. Then they changed it to a Starr Group IV which I don't believe it is because there is no definite upward curve in the hairline on Athena's forehead. I am trying to collect an example of all of the Starr Group owls and don't have a V.A, so this really caught my attention.
I just received my coins a few days ago. Strange it is taking this long. On a side note, I will be avoiding the auction this time around. Too many coins with fake "desert" patina:
I was also wondering in this post if members who specialize in Athens owls agree with my attribution of the owl in question as being a Starr Group V.A. Any comments are appreciated.
Maybe Papillion should have put either nothing about Starr groups or used question marks after a series of identification efforts. Has it sold since? No doubt about its authenticity though.
The hair above the eye are not clearly wavy; otherwise it could have been a IV. So V.A is more probable. If you are looking for an IV, it's not a good example. If you are lured by the low starting price, this may easily go up. I note that there seem to be some iron deposits which I don't think can be removed without damaging the surface. But I am not a cleaning expert, so maybe @Roerbakmix could enlighten us...
Thanks, pprp. I always appreciate your sharing your owl knowledge. I was mainly interested in this coin as a V.A. Yes, the iron deposits are a definite negative for this coin which I will have to consider. I have a limited budget, so sometimes I have to settle for a coin with some problems in order to fill a need.
Iron depositions are difficult, however on coins with a high silver content (such as this coin), it's easier than on, say, billion coins. The black depositions look like 'horn silver', i.e. silver chlorides. It has similar issues as this coin, before and after: I expect that this coin is relatively easy to clean, using a combination of weak organic acids (e.g. synthetic citric acid) and sodium thiosulphate (for the horn silver). I would gladly assist.
Thanks, Roerbakmix. I really appreciate your comments. I have had good experiences with removing horn silver but have never tried treating a coin for iron deposits. As I mentioned in my original post, Papillon cancelled my bid on this coin. I have since bid again on it, and so far my bid seems to be accepted. If I do succeed in winning this coin, I would be grateful for your help with the iron deposit removal.
