When a coin is worth a Premium....

Of course, this is a highly personal and subjective decision and many of us probably consider this to be merely over-paying for a coin, yet those focusing within a particular niche---specialist or not---or those who simply must have a particular coin, might view it as well worth the cost. This 'ruggedly handsome' tetradrachm of Alexander III is my most recent candidate. It was offered at auction with an 'estimate' of $300, yet to me it was an attractive lifetime issue worth at least $400-$500. My initial maximum held up until the last day when it was exceeded by a bid of $505.00 and I resigned myself to losing it at that level. But, less than an hour before closing, I reconsidered and placed another maximum, regaining the lead at $555.00, which held as the last second ticked off and the lot was declared CLOSED. However, a few moments later, I received a 'winning e-mail notice' indicating a 'snipping bid' managed to sneak in raising the cost precisely to my maximum of $605.00.

Why was I willing to exceed my initial maximum? Well, I saw a remarkably well-centered coin with terrific details and I loved the attractive toning. Naturally, I had hoped my winning bid would fall between the estimate and my initial maximum, especially considering the areas of surface 'roughness', but I also placed a special significance to the 'B' beneath the throne and decided it was worth about $600 to me. Perhaps, the following combined excerpt says it best:


"Passing virtually unopposed through the Cilician Gates, Alexander entered Tarsos, the capital of the satrapy of Cilicia, in the summer of 333 BC, and, from August-October of that year, the city served as both a strategic and financial base of his eastward military operations. This coin was part of the first issue of Alexander's coinage, and was struck at Tarsos very shortly after that city's liberation from Achaemenid domination. The first series of Tarsos had not only the distinction of being the very first issue of what we now call the Alexandrine coinage---the engravers working at Tarsos immediately re-tasked to producing Alexandrine coinage without any great break in production---but was also the first of what would soon be many liberated Achaemenid cities to strike coinage in the name of Alexander. Price demonstrates conclusively that the dies produced at Tarsos bearing BA as well as simply B refer to Balakros, son of Nikanor, who was one of Alexander's somatophylakes (bodyguards) and was appointed satrap of Cilicia after the Battle of Issos in 333 BC. He enacted many new fiscal measures in Alexander's name, and served Alexander loyally until his death circa 324 BC while leading an expedition against a revolt in Pisidia."

In short, I felt that a 'first strike' issue of a series that would continue to be struck from numerous mints for nearly 300 years was well worth a 'premium', especially a high-grade, 'life-time' tetradrachm with considerable eye-appeal.

I hope you will find this topic interesting enough to share any coin you felt was well worth the additional cost.....and the reasons why you did .


Macedonian Kingdom. Alexander III 'the Great'. 336-323 B.C. AR tetradrachm (25 mm, 17.16 g, 1 h). Tarsos, lifetime issue, ca 333-327 B.C. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; below throne, B. Price 3000. Area of slight roughness above head of Herakles. Nicely toned. Extremely fine.

 

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Its a fine coin for sure, but Im not sure how I'd feel about it at $606.00 plus auction fees and shipping. Must have come to around $700, right?

Again, its a really nice coin and perhaps the next one of its kind you found at auction might not have the same exact "eye appeal", but maybe you could have had it at $450 plus auction fees, and had enough money left over for another coin or two. This is not a unique coin, or a rare coin, and there are plenty of fish out there.

Im sure others will disagree, but you did ask for opinions and thats my honest opinion.

 

Nice example @Mikey Zee. A coin is worth as much as the buyer is willing to pay IMHO. There are examples in my collection I feel were way too expensive, but I was willing to pay for whatever the reason. IMHO, $600-$700 is not unreasonable for an example of this type.

 

I think the coin, the acquisition story, and the significance on one of the first strikes of Alegandrian coinage (yeah, I understand the Makedonon dialect for the "X" was a "G" sound), was a great purchase. I have no problem for your premium as a price to enjoy the art of your collection! Great job! I have taken that same tactic, and will continue to take that same tactic for certain coins that I really like.

I recently paid a mint for a coin that I know will not come up in auction or on the market for sometime. Life is short, some things are special, and the love of your Hobby is just that: The Love of your Hobby. I would take that Tet at that price into my collection any day!

Hey! My Lifetime:

Makedon Alexander Lifetime Tet Myriandrus mint-Alexandria near Issus

 

If it helps, these coins are extremely popular and maybe in 10 years I'd be wishing I had bought one at a premium when I had the chance as these will only go up in price. With the condition on yours, I'm sure you can find some buyers willing to pay the premium price should you ever decide to sell it.

Here is my non-lifetime Tet which I'm sure you are all tired of seeing by now. I really should get another Alexander III

 

That is a fine example worthy of a 'premium'. Perhaps I'm more inclined to agree with your purchase because I have been down that road many times before.

 

@Mikey Zee If you wanted it, then it was worth the price. Personally I think it is a fabulous coin with a great history.

Here is another coin with a story. Did I overpay? All I can say is that I would do it again. This Vespasian denarius came up for sale in a auction a few months ago. The bust is worn, and it looks like a run of the mill Flavian denarius in mid range condition. Probably worth about 75.00 or so. When I saw it come up for auction I noticed that the portrait was bare headed. You do not see a bare headed Vespasian everyday so I did some research. There were 0 examples on CNG, Coin Archives, and Acsearch. I found out there were only 2 types of bare headed portrait. One is RIC 853 with only several examples known, and the other is RIC 773. In the RIC II Part 1 it is R3, only one known example, and that is the coin I bought. The coin was 190 GBP plus BP plus shipping.

Did I overpay? I will let you be the judge.Would I do it again? Absolutely!




Vespasian (69-79). AR Denarius (18.08mm, 3.50g, 6h). Rome, AD 75.
Obv: Bare head l. R IMP CEASAR VESPASIANUS AUG
Rev: Pax seated l., resting l. elbow on throne and holding branch.
PON MAX TRP COS VI
RIC II 773 (this coin); RSC –. Extremely Rare variety, near VF.
Ex Vecchi sale 13, 1998, 757.
Ex: St Paul Antiques auction 7 Lot 285 June 11, 2017
Coin depicted in the Wildwinds.com database.

 

1 - It's a coin you like (I like it very much too)
2 - You were OK with paying what you paid for it
3 - Your family will not suffer from your buy

Everything is OK then !

I've been down this road myself sometimes : my last "big purchase" in the Dombes coinage was a 300 € estimate that I got for 1500 + fees + postage, even though I would have prefered it go for 400-500, but I bet I won't see another one, especially this nice in the next 20 years. Heck, we live just once !!!

You did very well
Q

 

I had a similar experience to @Orfew but with a Faustina Junior denarius. I have 73 coins of Faustina Junior and I have more than a passing familiarity of the market for her coins. I also collect Venus reverse types. This one had been on my radar for some years.

When I saw this come up at auction earlier this year, I knew it might possibly be the only opportunity I would ever have in my lifetime to obtain this denarius. I put in a maximum bid high enough that only Clio would have paid more. I wanted to win it, competition be damned.

What's so special about it?

Well, the coin is listed in RIC only as an aureus, RIC 732, not a denarius. It is given an R2 rating by Temeryazev & Makarenko. It not listed by Sear or Cohen. It wasn't until 1982 that the British Museum finally obtained a copy for their collection. The coin is described in Staal's The Three Graces and Their Numismatic Mythology, p. 142 and pictured on p. 169. Staal notes examples from "Bank. H Aufhauser 18, #420 ... (Oct 1989)" and "Coin Galleries #2447 (Dec 2001)." Frank Robinson notes one sold at "CNG eAuction 1/2010, the only sale record I found."

Well, I looked at the coin in the CNG archives and it graded fine at best and had a plugged hole and a crack. CNG described it as "extremely rare."

I think mine is very attractive. It has lovely toning, too!


Faustina Jr, Augusta AD 161-175
Roman AR Denarius, 3.18 g, 18.2 mm, 6 h
Rome, under Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-175
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right
Rev: VENVS FELIX, Venus seated left, holding small statuary group of the three graces and scepter
Refs: RIC 732 aureus var.; BMC 170; Temeryazev & Makarenko 240; Staal p. 142, p. 169.

 

This about sums it up for me.

Apart from the historic interest and the fact that it's a lifetime issue, the coin also has nice style, a sharp strike, and plenty of eye appeal. It jumped out at me when I browsed the catalog of that auction and I looked at it several times myself. I'm glad it's gone to a good home.

I'll probably be revisiting the theme of paying a premium in a few weeks when I receive a Constantine I AE3 that I won in a recent auction. It's nothing rare and I could probably have gotten a decent example on Vcoins for $60 (meaning $40 on eBay??), but I ended up paying closer to $300 for it. So much for LRBs being cheap .

 

Thanks for all the posts everyone!

I think all of us can safely check off 'Q's three qualifiers, although I personally have now obliterated my October coin budget with my OP purchase in combination with another. Dang, on the wagon already

Of course, I can easily appreciate why @Orfew and @Roman Collector spent more than others might have. Noticing something unusual, highly scarce or rare about a coin always makes me want it more

 

I'd say those abs alone are worth $600

 

I still regret not paying a premium for several choice coins that I did not buy and some of them were years ago.

I find the pain of a high price fades with time while the ones that got away still bother me every time I am reminded of them.

 

I feel this so hard in respects not only to coins, but also all the other things I collect.

 

Great coin OP and you should have no reservations about buying it at that price. It will likely only increase in value. My rule of thumb is to not lose an auction when I know it is a really nice coin. Sometimes we may overpay but then there are many times when auctions are relatively quiet and you can get really good deals, outweighing those rare times when we have to go higher than our initial comfort zone with regard to price.

 

I've never regretted 'overpaying' for a coin. This happens most often when viewing a coin in person. A photo can never truly come close to what it is like in the real world.

 

Wonderful coin!

 

On the one hand, I pay "premiums" all the time without regrets; often enough I pay a record price for a particular type. I pretty much have to bid that way to win the coins I consider suitable for my collection. On the other hand, although I have some idea of the maximum I'm willing to spend overall, I hardly ever set myself a firm limit on a particular lot before an auction. There are too many variables to make that a sound strategy for me: the mood of the room, who is or isn't in attendance, how much or how little I've spent on previous lots, how many lots of interest are still to come, sometimes even what's coming up in a future sale. I bid until it's time to stop.

Except when I don't.

This denarius of Ti. Veturius, Crawford 234/1, is a prime example of stopping/not stopping. I absolutely positively was done... until I raised my hand again anyway:



I won it at a hammer price of $3400 + commission, which, fwiw, feels like a bargain now. If anyone's interested, I recounted this episode in a bit more detail here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-confederacy.274831/page-2#post-2350044

Phil Davis

 

Overwhelmingly, the coins you have to stretch for are the ones you should stretch for. There are several times where I've kicked myself for being too cheap and other times where I've won a lot at a "discount" only to realize that it was a mistake and I overpaid.

I think the OP coin is fantastic and well worth it for the price. I paid several times more for my similar example but also don't regret it. The style struck me as it being the "right" coin for me so I paid what I needed to get it: