Today I got a little bit further with my Roman collection, buying a billon argentus of Maximinus Daia, and a small AE4 of Flavius Victor. They’re both typical Savoca Blue auction material, but it’s two small steps forward in any event. Perhaps it’s possible to clean them a little, we’ll see I’m not even sure about the Flavius Victor, so if someone out there has a similar one, it would be nice to see it. Flavius Victor AD 387-388. Aquileia (?) Nummus Æ 11 mm, 1,25 g Maximinus II Daia AD 310-313. Treveri Billon Argenteus 17 mm, 2,94 g
An identifiable Flavius Victor is always a nice addition! I had my eyes on the lot before it as I'd gotten rid of my old scrubby Magnus years ago. Too much for too little. Happy with the Greeks I acquired though. Here's one of my wins from this weekends auction:
Savoca has gotten too popular for great deals now, I think. It’s still good to have a venue where budget coins like these are sold. I’ll probably end up upgrading both of mine, but that’s part of the collecting process, I think Congrats with the dolphin!
I love Savoca! Lots of great stuff - often worn but acceptable examples of scarce emperors. I buy from Savoca to get my entry level examples, with the intent to upgrade later on.
I believe you ID on the Flavius Victor is correct but I really do not advise buying coins whose ID is based on a 'probably' . Mine is a coin of Arles. Perhaps there is some comparison to be made in style with my AE4 of Magnus Maximus from Aquileia. I think I see the AQ on yours. Both of my coins came from a LCS in a city where I will never again visit. The owner of the shop was very full of himself and explained that his good prices resulted from a widow who was bringing in her husbands coins a few at a time and he was buying them cheaply. I felt a little guilty buying from the man but his attitude freed me from feeling obligated from correcting his several misattributions. I would like to have met the deceased collector. Judging from what was there, I suspect he knew how to tell who was on a coin (by reading the legends) but did not see labeling his trays as necessary. I was relieved to receive notice that the seven bids I placed in 106 Blue were all exceeded. Those coins all struck me as well worth having but I plan no further contact with the seller. After I had bid, I sent the following note to their info address. It refers to this lot: https://www.biddr.com/auctions/savoca/browse?a=1829&l=1990251 I believe you will find that lot 636 was issued by Faustina II whose given name was also Annia Faustina but rarely used on coins. The bid level suggests someone thinks this is the rare one of the wife of Elagabalus. I suggest you check this before making an unhappy buyer. I do not expect you to take my word for this but suggest you look at: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=faustina+thunderbolt&category=1-2&lot=&thesaurus=1&images=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1¤cy=usd&order=0 One of the several listed there was in Savoca silver 93 lot 344 https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7731803 Cilicia. Diokaisareia. Annia Faustina AD 221. Bronze Æ 24 mm, 12,45 g nearly very fine I received a very pleasant reply from them disputing my correction even though one of the correctly identified lots I quoted was in their own Silver auction earlier this year. I very rarely bid in sales overseas anymore but thought I would make an exception here due to good reviews from Coin Talk members. I expect coin dealers to offer interesting coins as well as being honest, pleasant and knowledgeable. That is how they earn their buyers fees. This house qualified on the first three. Several times, I have shown my Faustina II (below) here on Coin Talk but I do not expect anyone to take my amateur opinion at face value. That is why I quoted the Savoca Silver coin. Eight different bidders ran this relatively common coin up to a 240 Euro hammer. Someone now has the honor of paying for it. Seven got lucky. Theirs was "nearly very fine"? I previously considered mine a decent Fine due to wear on the portrait. I now feel justified calling it 'Gem Proof'. This is a minor matter. Selling a wife of Marcus as a wife of Elagabalus? See the online RPC: https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/4972 If you are going to dispute a traditional attribution (Sear Greek Imperials 1793 where it is illustrated), at least list a comment on the question rather than just listing the date of the more desirable coin.
It’s always enjoyable when you lay the smack down on a dealer who hasn’t been par for the course, Doug I find that Savoca has a certain «flea market» feel. Sometimes you find good stuff at a good price, other times I have «underperformed» as a buyer. This time I didn’t spend much money, and will accept what I get.
I have no problem whatsoever with amateurs buying and selling of coins but, when you set yourself up as a professional and charge a buyers' fee, I expect you to be a professional and know what you are doing. Sorry.
Agreed! And Maximinus II and Licinius are hard to find in silver, so these issues are the closest for my collecting goal of 1 silver issue from every Augustus.
