Paying a premium for an extra millimeter of art

This is another recent purchase of mine from NYINC, following on to one of the points made by @Valentinian in the Condition and price balance thread.

I was the underbidder when it sold last year, thinking ~3x the open was more than enough. But, I later learned that a well-known dealer outbid me, bidding for their stock. This is often a good sign: I hadn't seen the coin in person and it clearly meant they were willing to put their money where their mouth is and tie up funds in a not-inexpensive coin.

This is by no means a rare type; there are certainly hundreds which exist. However, this coin exhibits subtle details and stylistic attributes which made it jump out of the tray to me, justifying a ~50x price premium over some lesser examples.

It may seem absurd to pay such a premium for what amounts to a square millimeter in area but we're already paying for coins that can't be spent so I think all of us have semi-questionable sanity!



The obverse has some notable features, especially the horse - with demarcated joints - and the pose of the rider. Happily, this side also appears on a full flan.

To me, the reverse is the more artistically striking side: I love the sensitive (and uncharacteristically well-struck) face and hairstyle, as well as the care placed in executing the foot pose and outstretched hand.

Yes, the dolphin's tail isn't fully on the flan. To some people, this is an issue and it nearly was a deal-breaker for me too. However, when I realized I couldn't stop thinking about this coin and probably would never find a "perfect" one, I had to go back and buy it.

Some collectors will steer clear of any Athens tetradrachm where the nose is hitting the edge; I imagine they might also avoid Tarentum nomoi without a full flan but I'd much rather sacrifice a bit of dolphin and have markedly nicer style overall.

Post your coins of Tarentum or other coins that ticked almost all of the boxes for you, even if they aren't quite "FDC"!

 

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Joe that is gorgeous. Very difficult to find these on full flans with all the devices. I have a few of these but here's a good example of a dolphin but with the riders head off flan, among other issues

Youth on horse standing left with monogram N below, holding wreath above its head.

Taras holding Nike & trident, on dolphin left, TAPAΣ to right API-ΣTO below.

Calabria, Taras
250 BC

21 mm, 6.7gm

Ref: SNG-Cop-923, Vlasto 873v

 

Wow, Joe, that's practically flawless! The tail was indeed a tiny price to pay for what you have on the rest of the coin. I especially like these when you can see the facial features of the riders. My pet peeve is when any part of the the snout of the dolphin ends up off flan. The one below is my favorite, though part of the tail has also been lost, as well as the feet of the horse and rider on the obverse.


CALABRIA, Tarentum
AR Stater. 7.75g, 22.3mm. CALABRIA, Tarentum, circa 332-281 BC. Fischer-Bossert Group 80, 1131 (V417/R873); Vlasto 587; HN Italy 934. O: Warrior, holding shield and two spears, preparing to cast a third, on horseback right; ΣA below. R: TAPAΣ, Phalanthos, holding distaff, riding dolphin left; pellet to left; below, prow left.

 

The artistry and details really make that coin-- what a beauty!!

This one fits that description... the artistry is outstanding and I just couldn't stop thinking about the coin-- always a good sign . I certainly paid a premium for it but have no regrets!


SICILY, Syracuse. Agathokles
struck 310-305 BCE
AR tetradrachm, 17.40 g, 24 mm
Obv: head of the nymph Arethusa left, wearing grain wreath, earring and necklace; around, three dolphins; under, monogram (NK?)
Rev: ΣYPAKOΣIΩN, fast chariot charioteer leads to left, holding reins and kentron; above, triskeles; in exergue, monogram
Ref: Ierardi 12 (O2-R8); SNG Copenhagen 573 var., SNG ANS 637
The story of its acquisition is here.

My lone Tarentum dolphin rider:


CALABRIA, Tarentum
circa 344-340 BCE per CNG's cataloger; 380-345 BCE per Cote/Ratto;
AR nomos (didrachm); 21 mm, 7.72 gm, 9h
Obv: Warrior, holding small shield in left hand, dismounting from horse galloping left; horizontal T below
Rev: Phalanthos (Taras?), holding helmet in right hand, riding dolphin left; TAPAΣ to upper right, I and waves below
Ref: Fischer-Bossert group 47, 657 (V252/R509); Vlasto 437 (same dies); HN Italy 876; Côte 152
Ex Dr. Spencer Paterson Collection of Ancient Coins, Sept 2019
Slabbed prior to its most recent sale to me and quickly de-slabbed upon arrival; NGC XF, 5/5, 4/5, Fine Style.
Prior sales: CNG's Coin shop (date unknown); Roma Auction 6 lot 327 (Sept 2013)
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/my-first-tarentum-dolphin-rider.347715/

 

This is a tiny coin, but in my humble opinion, a miniature masterpiece of the celator's art



.

Sicily, Aitna AR Litra. Circa 461-450 BC.

Ivy-wreathed head of Silenos right / AIT-NAI, winged thunderbolt. SNG Fitzwilliam 948; SNG ANS 1239; Jameson 537;HGC 2 65


. 0.70g, 11mm, 1h.

 

They are all beautiful coins and an intriguing thread. Because of some really bad decisions in the past where I was lucky to extricate myself, I have been less reluctant to buy poorly centred coins in the past year on the basis that there was less chance of a forgery if the coin wasn't so "good". As a former milled coin collector condition used to be everything but this is no longer the case for me. I am trying to put together a collection of Marc Antony travelling denarius, following the footsteps of Bing, and my last purchase was a Legate II that had more unstriked flan than striked flan/planchet.

 

Beautifull Tarentum dolphins, as AncientJoe says, no shortage for these coins, question of budget how much your willing to pay for one.

I choose one with a little owl , middle of the road quality and a late one:

 

Uh, Mars, what's that you're supposed to be holding in your right hand on the reverse? Why, Victory of course! But the one feature lacking on this otherwise difficult-to-find issue is our Roman goddess.



VITELLIUS 69 A.D.
AE Sestertius (29.74 g.) Rome Apr. - Dec. 69 A.D. RIC 115
A VITELLIVS GERMANICVS IMP AVG P M TR P Laureate and draped bust r. Rev. MARS VICTOR S – C Mars, helmeted and in military dress, striding l., holding Victory in r. hand, parazonium at side and trophy over l. shoulder.

 

Beautiful coins, all (especially that Syracuse tet, @TIF -- now, that's a dream coin, for sure)!

Maybe it's just me, but I think I'd rather have the dolphin's nose on flan than its tail, if I had to choose one or the other. Either way, @AncientJoe, that is an absolutely gorgeous coin with the finest of styles that I've ever seen for the type.

 

Well the capital is super detailed so I wouldn't mind the tail...I recently got a STARR II/III where the tip of the nose was off the flan but it had a full crest and other recent examples with test cuts sold for 40% more while a complete one was bought by Larissa for 10x more

 

You made an excellent choice AJ/ the coin is truly breathtaking in design, and is in perfect quality. You will never regret paying more for such a magnificent work of art.
John

 

The top of the horse's head and the wreath are cut off of the obverse of this coin, and the horse's legs look weirdly stretched out. (Does anyone know what could cause that?) But I really liked the reverse (despite what look like gouges in the rider's leg), so I bought this coin even though it's certainly not "perfect."



My catalog description: Tarentum, Calabria. AR Nomos (didrachm), ca. 302-280 BC. Magistrates Sa.., Arethon and Cas-. Obv. Youth on horseback right, crowning horse with wreath; magistrates' names: ΣA to left and AΡE/ΘΩN in two lines below/ Rev. TAΡAΣ, Phalanthos astride dolphin left, holding tripod, CAΣ below. Vlasto 666; Rutter, HN Italy 957; SNG ANS 1046. 23 mm., 7.86 g.

 

Just a beautiful coin @AncientJoe and one that would be a fantastic addition to a collection irregardless of price. Congratulations.

 

May we add extra credit for the muscle definition in the thigh of obverse horse and reverse rider? That is a nice coiled snake on the reverse as well. I don't know about 50x but surely 10x. 5000% is a lot.

I guess that is why I don't have a coin like this.

The Aitna is a great coin. I wonder if the die cutter also worked in Katane. Of course mine is worn to a much greater degree making details hard to compare.

 

WONDERFUL coins, and what a pleasure to read the pride and joy of the owners!
I agree with the first post here. Quality really matters, and will always be preferred over quantity for me. For this reason I can’t collect Greek coins, as that would be too expensive for me. I have put my toe in, however....

 

I picked this one up at the last CNG auction. I wasnt planning on bidding as much for it as I did, but pretty much got skunked on everything else in January so I put in a high bid because I liked the detail, toning and the helmet. It's pretty well detailed and in good condition.

 

The engraver really succeeded in executing their vision. I meant to mention the snake: does anyone know the context for its presence? I can understand helmets and some of the other paraphernalia held by the dolphin riders but have yet to find context for why a snake was chosen.

(Also, the 50x is admittedly over quite low grade example - it wasn't quite that expensive relative to "normal" pieces. But, you certainly get more "bang for your buck" with ancients vs US coins when it comes to delta in quality from a relatively low increase in cost. The post linked to in Warren's thread was of a US quarter that was $85 in MS66 and $25K in MS68 - a mere 29,400% increase for a near-imperceptible difference in quality. I'll take ancients any day )

 

Another artistic masterpiece @AncientJoe! LOVE both sides of your new acquisition.
No Quentin Tarentum-tino for me, yet. Though, like @eparch and @dougsmit I was willing to sacrifice my obverese for, what I feel is, an exquisite Sicilian reverse:

Sicily, Katane
AR Litra. Circa 415/3-404 BC. Head of Silenos to left, wearing ivy wreath / ΚΑΤΑΝΑΙΩΝ Winged thunderbolt between two shields. Boehringer, Kataneische LI 6-7. Rizzo pl. XIV, 18 var. SNG ANS 1266. 0.71g, 10mm, 6h

 

The stretched out look is probably the result of die wear.

 

Thanks for the explanation.