Paying a premium for an extra millimeter of art

Wow, and I thought the x6 example was nice! I especially like the horse's legs, the dolphin rider's face & hair, and the marvellous surfaces & flow lines. Also I'm not sure I've ever seen one with all three sets of genitalia complete!

I hope you figure out the meaning of the serpent.

I had given away my only Athenian owl (to a friend who loves Greek history), and just last week managed to replace it with one from the current flood. This checked almost all my boxes. A couple dings on the chin, an incomplete E, and no hair loops/helmet pad, but good detail, pleasing surfaces, and (bonus) a decent amount of crest. Most importantly, only 440 USD (plus juice). I'm quite sure I couldn't have got a similar quality owl for that kind of money pre-hoard!

 

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I like this. I read two signs of what I consider to be a true coin collector (instead of coin investor) here:
1. You wanted to share the joy of having a wonderful ancient coin with your friend, so you gave him your owl. Wow. How did he react?
2. You don’t seem to be worried about volatile coin prices. On the opposite; it’s great that they find new coins that we can collect

 

That coin is super gorgeous! The details are amazing even the genitals are well preserved. XD

I also agree with you and others to get the best quality possible. Although many of these amazing coins are too expensive for my current budget so I have to go for lower grades or other collecting areas but I still am of the same opinion trying to get the best quality that you can afford.

 

Wow! That's a great example at a great price! Where did you pick that one up if you dont mind me asking? I'm looking for one now and would be thrilled to find one like that for a similar price.

 

When I initially saw this coin, its beauty was so breathtaking that I didn't even notice that the dolphin's tails was off the flan. It was only after I read the complete post that I realized the coin wasn't perfect.

Interestingly, every time I look at this coin again, I fail to notice the lack of a dolphin's tail. The artistry is so superb that your eye is inexorably drawn to the exquisite detail of each feature (e.g., the horse rider's bicep; the abdominal region of the dolphin rider) and the missing tail just doesn't register.

One of the two primary reasons I collect ancient coins is for their artistry, and this coin would be at the very top of the list!

 

That coin is awesome Joe. But I knew that anyway as I bid on that coin in the Leu auction myself. And put up what I thought was a more than reasonable bid, but was well short in the end.

It's interesting that you just don't know who you are bidding against. I'm glad it's got to a great home in the end.

I bid on another Tarentum Nomos in Triton (different design - rider on horse covered by shield except for top of head and helmet), but was the under bidder on that coin. Kicking myself as could of gone a bit higher.

Anyway, will keep looking. For now I'll go and have another look at yours!

 

Thanks for the kind words. I think they apply to almost all of us here in the ancients forum!

My friend's jaw did drop a little. I first showed it to him and his reaction was "wow, cool!!" Then when I said it was his to keep he refused the gift at first. Eventually I persuaded him.

Roma had a ton of them in their auction that just closed last week, I got it there. I think Heritage might be a good place to snag the occasional deal too.

 

With every ancient coin there seems to be a bit of a dance. On one hand you have to look at what is right about the coin, on the other what is wrong. When I was looking for a tetradrachm from the mint of Syracuse for my collection I really did not think much about this coin. I was actually more interested in another coin in the same auction. However when I saw the coin what I felt was right about this coin, the sharpness of detail, the artistry of the design, the freshness of the dies, and the overall grade so completely overwhelmed what I felt were the negative features of this coin which are mostly problems with the flan. I thought that this coin was so superior to the other coin I was interested in that I simply ignored it and tried to buy this one. I cannot say I got a bargain. Paid a lot for this coin. Did I pay too much? I really do not know or much care. I really like this coin and I am happy I now own it. Syracuse Ar Tetradrachm 466-460 B.C. Boehringer 438 17.40 grms 26 mm Purchased from CNG Triton XXIII Lot 117 January 14 2020 Part of my NYINC purchases.

 

Thanks! And this mirrors the need to be semi-pragmatic when it comes to adding coins: while I'm a proponent of not settling and having standards you stick to, it's hard to be called a collector without any coins.

 

For what it's worth, I don't think you overpaid. You gave the consignor a slight profit but it only appreciated slightly over the LHS sale price in 2008, so, I think you were quite fair in your bid.