Second Chances: Part Two - Call Ripley's Believe It Or Not

In this thread https://www.cointalk.com/threads/misery-loves-company.316995/ I recounted how I lost a long coveted Domitian as Caesar Pegasus denarius by just a few seconds. It was quite heartbreaking.

Soon afterwards, I was able to acquire an example of the type, although it isn't nearly as pretty. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/second-chances-part-one.317718/

Surprisingly, a week after my worn example was purchased, the coveted original coin came up for sale again! After emailing the seller to verify it was indeed available, I will give you three guesses what happened next!

The coin arrived over the weekend. Needless to say, I am immensely pleased with it.

Domitian as Caesar
AR Denarius, 3.31g
Rome mint, 76-77 AD
RIC V922 (R2). BMC - . RSC - .
Obv: CAES AVG F DOMITIANVS; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: COS IIII; Pegasus, standing r.
Acquired from Marc Walter, May 2018. Ex Künker eLive Auction 37, 20 October 2015, lot 152.

A rare obverse legend variant of the Pegasus type struck for Domitian Caesar under Vespasian. Here we have 'CAES' instead of the much more common 'CAESAR'. No reverse die links between the two different obverses have been found, perhaps suggesting the 'CAES' issue came slightly later. Out of 240 Domitian Pegasus denarii on acsearch, only 6 have the 'CAES' obverse. The reverse copies a denarius struck for Augustus (RIC 297). Mattingly speculates it refers to Domitian's poetic aspirations.

Struck in the very finest of styles.

How many times are you given a second chance like this? It's the first time for me.

 

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Congrats, what a great feeling!!!

 

Congrats, David. Clearly a case of Fortuna smiling on you. The new coin’s a beauty too, btw, but of course, you already knew that .

 

Great style coin, in beautiful condition. Congrats.

 

Was this new listing from the same seller or did the coin pass to someone different who realized it was worth having in his sale stock? Do you know how it came to reappear?

 

Congrats, David!!

 

Just wow !

I know quite well your feeling as a similar opportunity occured to me a few years ago : At long last!

Q

 

That coin is now where it belongs. Congrats!

 

Clearly, appropriate offerings of thanks are in order. I must attend to that straight away!

 

Yes, the same seller. I had the coin in my VCoins 'Want List' and was about to delete it when I noticed it was for sale again. To be honest, I only inquired if the coin was available again. After receiving a 'yes' answer, I purchased it without any further questions. I assume that a buyer changed their mind, but really have no idea what happened.

 

Great coin and glad that you could get it @David Atherton - sometimes miracles do happen!

 

I am glad to see you had a similar experience that worked out in the end. Isn't it a wonderful feeling!

 

It is, indeed.

Q

 

Coins do somehow end up finding their proper home! I had a very similar scenario happen at the New York International show in January. I was walking around dealer tables and didn't see much of interest, save for one coin.

I liked it a lot but wasn't quite 100% ready to bite the bullet and figured that very few collectors would be walking the floor looking for this sort of coin (as they're usually sold at auction).

I came back the next morning, checkbook in hand ready to buy it but it had already sold! I was disappointed but que será, será.

Fast forward a couple months and I was visiting the NAC offices in London, viewing their stock where I happened to spot the same coin. Happily, it wasn't purchased by a collector but instead by NAC: it was the one and only coin they purchased at the show (it's nice when dealers have the same tastes as you).

They were able to sell it to me and now it happily rests in my collection:

 

I agree about coins finding their proper homes.

I placed a bid on the attached coin assuming I would be easily out-gunned. However, there was a glitch in the auction so it closed on a Tuesday (Roma). I got it for about 1/2 its value. In fact, with the invoice came an offer from another client for 280 GBP to let him buy the coin. That would have been a quick profit! I had to politely refuse because it is a must-have for me, especially at the price.

Seller photo, considerably nicer in hand.

 

Wow. Missing it the first time had to have stung. I bet it made the acquisition all that much sweeter! Congrats!

 

Love hearing these kind of stories everyone!

 

Here's one of my favorite second chance coins.

I was the underbidder on it in 2015 despite bidding higher than my planned max.

It came around again a year later in a HJB Buy or Bid sale. Astonishingly, the Buy price was less than what I had bid the year before and that bid didn't even win!

I didn't bid in the HJB BBS, I bought-- very quickly, within minutes of receiving the sale notice and finding the coin.


Julia Domna
AR denarius, 19.5mm, 3.17 gm, 6h. Rome mint
Struck under Septimius Severus, circa AD 207-211
Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA; draped bust right
Rev: Fecunditas or Tellus (Earth) reclining left under tree, resting arm on basket of fruit and placing hand on celestial orb; standing before her are four children representing the Four Seasons
Ref: RIC IV 549 (Septimius Severus); RSC 35
ex R.H. Collection

@AncientJoe, congrats on that stupendous Caracalla! Wow, what a reverse

 

I've lost count of how many coins got away from me. Hopefully someday some of them will find their way back!

This is one of them.


Domitian as Caesar
Ephesus mint, 71 AD. RIC V1447.

I contacted the seller about purchasing the coin, but he was unable to sell it to me at the time because he was away from home. He told me to contact him in a month or so upon his return. When I did, he informed me he had sold the coin at a show in Europe and had forgotten about our deal. Another heartbreaker. Maybe someday I will see it listed again.

 

I'm glad you finally got that one, it's a beauty!