This was just going to be a brief review of some of my loot from this past weekend's Ancient and Medieval Coins Canada Auction 1, but I thought I'd also say a few words to acknowledge the fact that as I'm writing this, @Severus Alexander is probably working feverishly to ensure that the 79 coins of mine that sold will be with their new owners as soon as is humanly possible (you hear that, Sev? AS SOON AS IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE ). In all seriousness, I'm sure Sev's service in this after-sale period will be as top-notch as it was throughout my consignment process. When the catalog first came out, I was totally blown away by how much care was given to the photography and attribution of each coin, regardless of whether they were the pricier ones, or the most modest. The many knowledgeable write-ups or cool numismatic tidbits he dug up made the catalog a pleasure to browse... I learned some new things, and had a few chuckles over some of the descriptions - off the top of my head (pun unintended), the "Head on a Platter" caption on Lot 267. As some of you may know, AMCC has a pretty unique 120% of starting price guarantee in addition to very friendly terms and fees for its consignors. Nevertheless, I'll admit I still did my fair share of nail-biting in the days running up to the auction. As it turned out, the sale results quite exceeded my expectations, and I'm on track to do as well as on the occasions in the past when I had consigned coins to auctions of established names such as CNG and Roma. I'm sure this was thanks in no small part to Sev's marketing efforts at various venues paying off and attracting a really healthy pool of bidders for a first auction. I've no doubt things are going to get even better on this front and I'll definitely be consigning more coins to AMCC 2. I'll also not hesitate to say that if anyone here is looking to sell some of their coins, I can now wholeheartedly recommend 'Going Canadian'... with Ancient & Medieval Coins Canada, of course . Now, on to some of my favorite AMCC 1 wins... I've already posted my Neapolis didrachm in TIF's thread, but I'm so pleased with my Lot #2 score as Bidder #2 on Dec 2 that here it is again. I bid on this lifetime Alex III tet not just because I thought it would be an solid buy at about $110, but also because of its triple CT pedigree... ex @Severus Alexander himself, also ex @Aethelred, and ex @John Anthony's much-loved CoinTalk sales. And here's one that I'll say right now will have zero chance of appearing in another AMCC auction (or any other auction) while this coin collector still draws breath... a fabulous Carausius PAX AVGGG antoninianus, from the collection of our most esteemed @jamesicus. What about this beauty of a Sep Sev Cappadocian drachm? Fine style on both sides, bold details, and a scarce year to boot. Which crazy person let this one go?! @Theodosius ended up winning my first choice amongst four Greco-Baktrian elephant head bronzes that were available, but I'm already finding reasons to be extra fond of mine, like realising what I took to be large flaws on the surface caused by the usual corrosion were already part of the flan when the coin was struck, something that can be observed by the dotted border running right into the crater from 10-11 o' clock on the obverse. And, finally, what would a CT auction outing be without someone to blame a purchase on? This is the thread that suggested a Probus that could serve as a Saturninus spacefiller, and @dougsmit is to blame for it. If you're as happy with your AMCC 1 scores as I am, please feel free to show 'em here and give @Severus Alexander a shout-out for putting up a heckuva auction for both bidders and consignors!
Nice haul, Z! @Severus Alexander did a superhuman job getting this company and auction together and I wish him great success in future auctions! I feel a bit bad for having no consignments in AMCC1... but it's just so hard to part with anything! Here's my haul. Some had CT member pedigrees which were unadvertised. Z pointed out a few of his among my lots. If any other CT member consigners recognize their coins and if that information isn't listed, please let me know. I really like having coins from other CT members! Massalia obol, as already posted. Not the prettiest coin but doesn't matter at all (see this thread). Bidder #1 placed bid #1 in AMCC auction #1, lot #1, and on December 1, won. Magnesia ad Maeandrum AE8mm. The off center obverse is unfortunate but the reverse is well centered and interesting. The descriptions say it is a cuirass but it looks more like a torso to me. Cuirasses don't go that far out over the shoulders and they don't have necks! Compare to the few others in ACsearch. Not the nicest, not the worst, but at $27 all-in, a good price. Apparently this is an ex-Zumbly but the auction attribution did not say so. Themistokles hemiobol, the subject of an outstanding writeup and entry in the 2018 Coin Imperator contest. I had some competition for this and am surprised it didn't sell for more! Ex Severus Alexander. A tasty group lot. I feel like I absolutely stole these! The all-in cost in USD is ~$5 per coin . My first month of ancient coin collecting, I paid $12 a piece for a couple of "uncleaned" (and unimaged) Greek coins from Dirty Old Coins. Both were complete slugs, with virtually no dirt or encrustations to "clean" at all. $5 a piece for Greek coins which have interesting devices is astonishing! Even if I get tired of them, they will make wonderful gifts for newcomers. (This group was also an unadvertised Zumbly consignment-- he told me after I won). A Caracalla issue of Stobi depicting the abduction of Persephone. Dagnabbit I've wanted one of these and just haven't managed to find and win one. This is obviously not a choice example but it is still interesting. I might see if I can clean it up a bit. Another unadvertised Zumbly consignment. A bronze from the late period of the Bosporan kingdom. The artwork is downright comical. I have a couple of earlier Bosporan issues so this will complement them. This one was purely a whim. I just liked it. The portrait looks as much like Pescinnius Niger as it does ol' Seppie (It's Septimius Severus), so that caught my attention. Plus I have no Cappadocian Mt. Argaeus drachms. Next is a wonderful tet and I'm delighted to have it. The centering, strike, fabric, and style are all quite good for a later tetradrachm of Roman Egypt (this is Maximian; Herakles reverse). Ex Justin Lee . I had a few targets among the offerings from @jamesicus and had my heart set on a Diocletian abdication issue. I won this and lost the subsequent lot after a lively round of bidding. Selge AE 13mm. Because Shrek . This one might be amenable to some judicious cleaning. This one is just plain funny . Sure, you can buy these Nutella tokens on eBay but this one is nice and it wasn't any more expensive than eBay examples. Lots bid on but lost: 2, 51, 68, 119, 147, and 266.
The cool little Selge was one of my consignments as well. Thanks for picking it up! I've always liked that distinctive facing portrait of Shrek and ended up with a couple of spares. Love the Septimius Niger too!
You are the one to blame here @zumbly : I didn't have any "head on a platter" and Sev's comment "(Zumbly helped to popularize the term “head on a platter” for this type on CoinTalk.com.)" made me wanting it desperately I had an eye on that one too. It was actually the first coin in the sale I put a bid on, before I saw the fabulous tetrachic folles from Alexandria that were offered My thoughts exactly. I wouldn't sell my kids, so why would I sell my coins In addition to @zumbly's "head on a platter", I got a fabulous portrait of Crispina (Ex @Justin Lee) and a Severus Alexander die clash from the @Severus Alexander's collection Not yet in hand but on this occasion I'll make an exception and post them prior to arrival Three out of three wins come from CT friends Happy Q
Everybody did so great! My haul just doubled! This will soon be arriving home! How could I pass it up for $20? The Miletos diobol joins its brother, Alexander the Great: I saved up $40 for the auction and I got these two with $2 left for my morning coffee! I’m sorry, Severus and Justin, I basically stole from you guys. Did the diobol belong to anyone here? Erin
Aha! So TIF was my competition! Granted, I didn’t put up much of a fight, but congrats on the win - It’s an intriguing coin!
That was ex me, too. I got it in my first couple weeks collecting ancients. I think it's a great little coin! Enjoy it!
As I mentioned before, this is the one coin I had my eyes (wallet) set on in the days leading up to the auction start. I put my proxy bid in and was going to just watch what happened and I'm happy with the result. Augustus denarius And then this one came around and I couldn't help myself, I just had to hit the bid button and before I knew it, it was mine. Vespasian denarius Much like others, curious if those are an ex CT-members?
I think the Maximinus II "Head on a Platter" follis is a Q coin if I ever saw one. Glad you picked it up! I think the other two are excellent as well. The Vespasian denarius came to me in a group lot, but as I already had another example of the type, it was a duplicate that needed a new owner. Nice buy!
Erm... workin' on it. I think around three quarters have been sent out, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Mrs. SA! (And thanks for the other kind words, Z. But the Basilacius! It went too cheap! ) Aha! But I also got someone with my sales pitch, Z! The mighty Q, even! But Q, why didn't you buy that sweet Basilacius too? No respect for Byzantine? Wow, that is super weird and interesting... I certainly didn't notice that. Otherwise I definitely would have mentioned it in the description! Can you please write them for me next time? (This would mean much less work for me too. Be a pal.) It's OK, really. Buying a bunch instead is always definitely OK. All of the below are ex SA: Reason: well, I can't keep all my coins or I'd be a hoarder like TIF! Um, except this one: The SA mentioned in the description is the guy on the coin, Q. And the guy on the coin is not me. I know it can be confusing sometimes.
Oh ! It's confusing, indeed ! I really thought you were the guy on the coins, quite handsome if I may Q
So many great coins were purchased by CT members. I picked up for coins. Two were pre bid targets and two were spur of the moment purchases. I won a little Ptolemy III chalkon that is ex @Justin Lee and George III 2D "Cartwheel" that is ex @jamesicus both as pre bids. My spur of the moment purchases were a Probus Antoninianus and a Hadrian AR Didrach.
Bravo, Mrs. SA! I hope you're paying her well, Sev. It did. On the bright side, I'm sure the new owner is mighty pleased with their score and will be looking forward to AMCC 2. And, who knows, maybe we'll have better luck with the next Basilacius that comes our way. I could certainly give it a try for any interesting ones I consign to the next sale. But as for those I may be keen on as a bidder, I see an ever so slight conflict of interest.
Here's my total AMCC1 haul, and a general indication of my current budgetary situation. (I did put in one bid. Had to, y'know.) I did sell some stuff today - barely enough to put in a feeble "longshot" bid on something that caught my eye in the Nomos auction, but I have the feeling I will get trampled there, too.* We shall see. Perhaps superstitiously, I bid the exact same amount on this Nomos lot as I did on the AMCC1 lot I fell short on. (*I showed it to TIF and she said that one would "not go quietly into the night", which tends to dampen my expectations of success. But by golly, I'm gonna try.)
