Purchases from the Chicago Coin Expo

I had a wonderful week at the CCE, spending time with a few forum members and getting some early insights into upcoming auctions. The venue was beautiful and couldn't have been more convenient for me which is a nice change from needing to travel far to shows.

As has already been discussed here, the auctions were a mix. I had a sizable number of coins consigned to the Gemini sale: the ones that sold, sold well but about 2/3rds went unsold. There is something to be said about momentum in an auction: comparable coins of some of the same types sold for very strong money the next day at Heritage. While it probably shouldn't, the "feel" in the room does have an impact on prices realized (for better or worse). I first assumed it might be tax time budgetary impacts but Heritage saw some incredible prices, so that can't be the sole factor.

I'd also wager that photography makes a significant difference. My consigned coins looked better in the printed catalog than online but they look far better in-hand. I've heard that HJB has taken the mentality of ensuring their customers are pleasantly surprised when they receive their coins; perhaps a middle ground could be reached with better but not idealized pictures. Some of the estimates were high but there were definitely deals to be had. That said, I think the new owners of some of my coins will be very happy, especially if they didn't have a chance to lotview themselves.

But, in the end, one sale does not a market make. And, contrary to comments made in another thread, this was definitely not "investor class is selling all the high end Greeks they bought during the economic downturn almost all at once" - it was a comparably small sale - only about $1.8M in total estimate, or around 1/5th the size of an NAC sale. It would have to be several tens of millions of dollars of coins to indicate a firesale situation.

Without further ado, the coins! These are my first attempts at photographing them and I will undoubtedly reshoot them again.

Phanes trite: This series is among the earliest of coinage, and the first coins on which a legend appears, with the staters "I am the badge of Phanes". This trite carries the more concise "ΦANEOS" in retrograde.



Brutus denarius: I was offered this coin two years ago for almost 5x what I paid for it this week at Heritage. I'd have to attribute this to a terrible picture, a slab which made for poor viewing conditions, and a lost pedigree which wasn't mentioned in the sale. I was quite happy to see it come back around and, needless to say, had a considerably higher bid than I ended up needing.



COL NEM: I have wanted an example of the popular Nemausus dupondius ever since I started collecting but since my more recent focus on quality over quantity, it's been very difficult to find the "right" coin. Not any longer! While this was only 1/10th the price of the Phanes trite and the type is probably 1000x more common, it's my favorite purchase of the week, again from Heritage and again with a terrible picture which didn't come close to showing the quality of the coin. Lotviewing is well worth the time.



Thanks for looking! Please post any related examples!

 

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Nice scores, congrats.

 

Fantastic buys!!

 

Huge congrats AJ!!!

All are wonderful, but I am naturally drawn to the 'Imperatorial' coins especially that gorgeous 'Nemausus Dupondius'----I can't recall ever seeing another example with such stunning detail and incredible eye-appeal!! WOW!!

 

Eesh, never knew that the croc is chained up. Definitely the Col Nem is the best.

 

@AncientJoe, thanks for the interesting writeup about the Chicago show. Also, the coins you won are gorgeous.

 

They're all obviously total winners, but man, that Phanes trite is amazing!!

... well done (it's very cool)

 

Wow! That COL NEM is far superior to the example that was sold last Fall in the NAC auction. The detail on the reverse is the best I've ever seen. Out of its slab, the quality of the coin is much clearer than the picture on the auction website illustrated.

I continue to think that Heritage is doing itself a disservice by slabbing all its coins, and then using photos of the coins in the slabs to illustrate their auctions. My dealer found a great bargain in a Hadrian travel-series aureus (which I posted a few months ago) that was overlooked in a Heritage auction, due mainly to its lack of attractiveness in the slab.

 

They're all winners but man... that Nemausus!! I didn't know any existed in such stellar condition. As-struck (and a great strike), fantastic centering... wow!

It's ferocious!



Run, you sad little wannabes, run!


The Phanes and Brutus aren't too shabby either

 

That Phranes trite is insane!

That croc is totally pwning mine as we speak. Lol! Love the graphic, TIF.

Erin

 

Fabulous coins, AJ! I've seen that Brutus someplace but can't recall off hand. Old collection coin for sure.

 

Magnificent coins AJ! Some I did not even know about, many thanks for showing off your awesome new additions....love that Croc coin I have never ever attended an auction in person, gotta try it one day.

 

LOL, HEY! I see mine in there!!! Who's a wannabe???

And that was going to be my matchup to @IdesOfMarch01 if we contend this week...

(Naw, just kidding... )

BTW, VERY cool graphics! Man, when I was running Marketing years ago, would had loved you on staff!

 

Yeah, mine's in there too. I pulled pictures from the most recent COL NEM thread.

 

LOL, all good! Jest pullin' your leg!

 

I'm blown away by that crocodile. Just fantastic !

Q

 

Three magnificent coins, AJ, congrats. I'd be more effusive, but photographic evidence above suggests that your new croc coin may have eaten mine .

 

LOL Apparently, he already swallowed mine LOL

 

Great coins all, but the Phanes trite is my favorite by far! I like the early legend.