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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Curtis, post: 8454719, member: 26430&quot;]I&#039;ve shared this one before, but it fits this theme well. </p><p><br /></p><p>Since Rasiel Suarez&#039;s ERIC II was published in 2010 (I think I got it as a gift that year), I&#039;ve used it as my go to RIC &amp; Byzantine identification reference. Anyone who has a copy will be familiar with the oversize closeup of Constantine IV staring out from the cover in gold (also on the laminated boards if the dj is missing).</p><p><br /></p><p>I always thought it was a really cool cover and actually spent time staring at that face wondering how it could seem so &quot;real&quot; despite not being &quot;realistic&quot;:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1498288[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Maybe it&#039;s clear where the story is heading... Last year the coin appeared at <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7758907" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7758907" rel="nofollow">CNG e-Auction 484 (27 Jan 2021), Lot 978</a>. CNG did <b>not</b> use the usual headline banner for a &quot;plate coin&quot; or &quot;pedigree&quot; coin, which I assume worked heavily to my advantage (I got it WAY below my max bid), but I recognized it right away. </p><p><br /></p><p>I collect &quot;plate coins,&quot; but this may be my only &quot;cover coin&quot; (not counting sale catalogs). And one that I specifically wanted before I ever knew it would be available.</p><p><br /></p><p>Since Suarez <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/posts/5389403/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/posts/5389403/">put a lot of care into the photography</a> (he shared a different image, same coin, in that thread) and <a href="http://www.tantaluscoins.com/coins/179.php" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.tantaluscoins.com/coins/179.php" rel="nofollow">made it &quot;Free to reproduce with copyright holder acknowledgement&quot;</a> (and it&#039;s a lot better than mine!), I usually use his photo from Tantalus (yes, Tantalus still exists!), which is my favorite, though I think the obv isn&#039;t in full resolution: </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1498289[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>It also came with a signed copy of ERIC II (my collectible/shelf copy -- I also collect signed ancient coin literature -- the other is my desk/working copy) and an XRF report/photo-certificate.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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