Bailathacl

My wife is a direct descendent of Richard Warren (and it’s her middle name.). Quite a genetic legacy that small ship left in its wake.  

46 minutes ago, Hrefn said:

 

Lion and Sun-face challenge accepted. 

 

You crushed that challenge!

While not a lion & sun design this time, I will offer up a “Lion/Sun adjacent” AV Dinar, from the Three Brothers reign (1249-59 AD), 4.49g, Album-1227, struck AH 648 at the Konya mint.  Nicer in hand than the photo fully suggests, strongly and evenly  struck with consistent luster and no wear evident.  (One can almost hear the whirling Dervish music playing if one listens carefully.)

19 hours ago, Parthicus said:

I will be disappointed if I don't see some of the lion-and-sunface dirhams of his father Kaykhusraw II!

Disappointment no more!  Here is my favorite Kaykusraw II lion and sun dirham, Album-1218, from the Konya mint (one star below lion).  To me there is something compelling and evocative about this obverse design.  

I just won this today at the Steve Album auction.  I had been looking for a nice Bactrian Indian-standard coin of Apollodotos I to pair with my Attic-standard tetradrachm from the same kingdom.  These bilingual square pieces, with Greek on the elephant side and local (Bactrian?) script on the bull side, were circulated locally, and the round traditional issues were aimed for exportation, it seems.  

Auction photo and description below;

Lovely “Voter” Denarius!  I add mine to encourage people to vote on “Super Tuesday” if you live in one of the many American states holding primary elections this week.”

3 minutes ago, CPK said:

 

I didn't place any bids this time. One thing that dampens my enthusiasm with his auctions is that the photo quality is so poor that it's hard to tell exactly what the coin will look like in hand. I don't want to risk high bids on a coin that might turn out to be a disappointment.

 

I agree the photo quality could be much improved.  That said I’ve never gotten an item where the photo looked better than the coin did in hand.  So I discount my bid amounts slightly compared to what I would have bid with ideal images — this builds in a cushion against disappointment (and leaves room for being pleasantly surprised.)

My coin arrived today, looks to be RIC 332, Sear 8207.   It looks very nice in hand.

Here is Frank’s auction lot description:  “JULIA MAMAEA, Den, FECVND AVGVSTAE, Fecunditas stg l, small figure at left; Choice EF, virtually as struck, nrly centered on sl ragged flan, strong strike with fantastically sharp portrait; good metal with rich colorful toning”

I await the arrival of the one item I apparently won, not here yet.  Not as much caught my eye this time around.  My bids this time tended to be on the low side, but in fairness I showed restraint after all the auction activity earlier in the month.  
 

I have made a number of impulse purchases in my day, which hardly makes me unusual as a collector.  But tonight’s the first time that I bought at auction simply because I liked the portrait’s hairstyle!  
 

This Parthian Kingdom AR Drachm of Vologases V (191-208 AD) brought together the man-bun of a Brooklyn barista, the side-buns of Princess Leia, and the pointy beard of Frank Zappa — don’t see that every day!  It’s in pretty great shape and the tone is pleasing, but truly it was all about the hair tonight.  AR 19mm 3.68g, Sellwood 86.3, Shore 448  

I have fought this addiction in recent years.  But I still like my Wild friends. 

That is an astounding and wonderful acquisition.  Congratulations!!

And… I got the other two target coins as well, happily.  My first coin from Hameln (think Pied Piper, no?), and the second is part of a growing set of Lubeck coins (out of affection to its U.S. namesake Lubec, in scenic Downeast Maine). 
 

3 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

Have to especially like that mohur for the iconically South Asian take on Arabic calligraphy.  No idea what to call that style, or how far afield it shows up (maybe wider Central Asia?), but just esthetically, it really pops.

Thanks, that’s what drew me to the coin!  That and the fact that my wife and I just booked a trip to India that will take us into Jaipur and greater Rajasthan — I cannot wait.  

Picked up 3 items from Steve Album (and counting!)  Fingers crossed on 2 more later today   

The pleasure was mine Donna, it was great to see you.  

The prices on last year’s FPL seemed aspirational too, but all of those seemed to sell.  A lot of exuberant buyers are out there, perhaps.

I won the two pictured here (out of 6 target coins).  Prices seemed damned strong to me.  

I hope I wasn’t in a bidding duel with any Forum members!

I will be there again this year, for the bourse on Friday and Saturday as well as the Saturday ONS presentation that Ed capably facilitates. (Also I am going to see Spamalot on Friday, my wife deserves that and more for coming with me.)  I had enormous fun when attending NYINC last year, which was my first major show.

Will be placing a bunch of stuff with several auction houses and dealer-sellers as part of my ongoing “thin the herd but upgrade the quality” project.  I hope to find a couple of higher end (for me) additions.  

Welcome to the forum!  

Basics to be sure, but they fill a gap in the collection!  Especially intrigued by the Republic book  🙂

My wife and my 2 sons are a little intimidated buying me coins, but they totally came through in the numismatic literature department!  I’m pretty pleased 😄 

if the difference between a numismatist and a coin collector is in the quality of their numismatic library, I am very happy that i have become a better numismatist tonight!

Sadly I’ve done it a few times.  The last time it was 2 of the same coin within a month of each other.  That was a hard lesson.  I always consult (and update) the collection spreadsheet now before buying anything.  

On 10/11/2023 at 9:57 AM, Sulla80 said:

@panzerman, you have all of the best coins 🙂 always fun to see what gold treasure will show up next! well outside of my time period, so I have nothing to add other than a general curiosity about a time period that is unknown to me and world events such as the Frisian peasant rebellion and the Guelders Wars with the Duke of Burgundy.

 

Agreed!  I for one would travel some distance to someday linger over the exhibits at the Panzerman Museum. 

Tougher to find in mint state than one might expect.  Alluring coin. 

USPS has become more and more a service for online shopping delivery, and it shows.  First class letters take longer, 6-day-per-week delivery does not exist anymore (though they won’t admit that on the record), and even the pricing structure promotes mass shipments of packages.  What’s a poor Priority Mail envelope to do in the face of this trend?