zadie

19 minutes ago, expat said:

Apologies for posting in this thread but it is germane to the subject. I have had my eye on a cistophoric but knowing nothing little about them, could you cast an eye over this one and give some opinions on whether it would make a good first start.

No apology needed. I personally do not collect these types of cistophori, often called "civic" types because they were issued by civic mints, in this case Pergamon. This is an extremely common coin, even when going by the monogram placement between the snakes. Depending on your budget I think you could do much better than this with a little patience. If I were you, I'd look towards the cistophori issued by the mints at Tralles and Ephesus. Tralles usually employs a lot of interesting control symbols which I think can easily transform a rather "dull" cistophor into something spectacular. At Ephesus, you'll often find dates on the coins, making them quite interesting as they are so easily tied to the time period in which they were struck.

Here are a few coins that sold recently-ish that I think are representative of what I mean.

4 hours ago, kapphnwn said:

Congrats. You actually got one of my coins which I had placed in  CNG E auction 540 Lot 326. This is my pic of that coin Photo by W. Hansen

Good to see that it remains in the community 

Wow, that's great! Had no idea there were others on here who collected these coins. Your pictures are way better than CNG's in my opinion, the coin looks way better than I had expected

I was lucky enough to acquire a bunch of new cistophori this last week. It's not often that so many come up at once! Three of the coins are plated in the Metcalf's work The Later Republican Cistophori published in 2017. Besides Stumpf, this is the primary reference for these coins.

Promagisterial Cistophori. Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther as Proconsul and Imperator in Cilicia. AR Cistophoric T etradrachm. Apameia, 56-53 BC. Kastor, son of Apollodoros, magistrate. Serpent emerging from cista mystica; all within wreath / P·LENTVLVS·P·F·IMPERATOR. Two serpents entwined by a bow case. In the left field, AΠA. In the exergue, KAΣTOPOΣ - AΠOΛΛOΔΩPOY. 27 mm, 12.20 g. Stumpf 73; Metcalf V (Apameia). Ex Lanz 157 (9 December 2013), lot 182.

Promagisterial Cistophori. Gaius Fabius Hadrianus as Proconsul in Asia. Demeas, magistrate. AR Cisto phoric Tetradrachm. Pergamon 55-53 BC. Serpent emerging from cista mystica; all within wreath / C·FABI·M·F·PROCOS. Two serpents entwined by bow case; In the left field, monogram of Pergamon. In the right field, Asclepius' staff. ΔΗΜΕΑC in exergue. 12.18 g. Stumpf 28; Metcalf 114 (This coin, O2R/14). Ex NAC Auction 59, April 2011, Lot 799

Promagisterial Cistophori. Gaius Septimius as Proconsul in Asia. Polydeukes, magistrate. AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm. Tralles 56-55 BC. Serpent emerging from cista mystica; all within wreath / C·SEPTVMIVS·T·F·PROCOS. Two serpents entwined by bow case; In the left field, TPAΛ. In the right field, Pileus of Pollux. ΠOΛYΔEYKHΣ in exergue. 28 mm, 11,98 g. Stumpf 42; Metcalf 333 (This coin, O6/R32).

Promagisterial Cistophori. Titus Ampius Balbus as Proconsul in Asia. Theodoros and Aratos, magistrates. AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm. Ephesus, dated 58-57 BC. Serpent emerging from cista mystica; all within wreath / T·AM-PI·T·F·PRO-COS. Two serpents entwined by a tripod surmounted by cult statue of Artemis; In the left field, EΦΕ. In the right field, flaming torch. ΘΕΟΔWPOC - APATOC in exergue. 27 mm, 11.69 g. Stumpf 4; Metcalf 11 (This coin, O2/R11).

I use one of these portable "lightboxes" from Etsy. It's basically a plastic box with an LED-strip mounted on the roof. It comes with a removable black backdrop that I think looks quite decent in video. 

Here's one of my videos using the lightbox, shot with a Samsung S22:

[Edit]

Forgot to add a link to actually buy the thing: https://www.etsy.com/se-en/listing/1457727677/portable-folding-lightbox-photography?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=Portable+Photo+Studio&ref=sr_gallery-1-7&organic_search_click=1

Thank you so much for sharing. Would love to see more of this on the forum. You should really let them know though, regardless if they're responsive or not depending on how they act afterwards will better inform all of us as to what standing Rauch should have in the community.

Terrible news. I've enjoyed his acting immensely but I suppose his depiction of Titus Pullo is most pertinent here. Extremely talented actor. RIP.

Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius. Legionary issue of Legio XIII. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right, ANT·AVG·III·VIR·R·P·C / Aquila between two signa; LEG XIII. 3.58 g, 19.5 mm. Crawford 544/27.

1 hour ago, hotwheelsearl said:

A rule of thumb I’ve learned is that, if you have to crowdsource an opinion on authenticity, it’s probably not worth your time to begin with.

I disagree. Despite it being good practice to familiarize yourself with forgeries of coins that you collect/want to collect, it never hurts to ask others what they think. Not all forgeries are tourist fakes that are easily disregarded. For example, if you had handed me the coin below I would probably not  have questioned it's authenticity in the slightest. However, after sharing it with friends it became apparent that it was a transfer die forgery. This particular forgery is absolutely rampant and has been offered by most of the bigger firms at some point. 

15 minutes ago, Tetradogma said:

Sorry, who's Brent Easter??

He's the HSI agent in charge of the case: https://www.ice.gov/features/hsi-special-agent-featured-espn-documentary

For everyone's convenience:

On 11/9/2022 at 3:41 PM, SimonW said:

Anonymous, Tessera (20 mm, 1.20 g), Asia Minor, uncertain, 3rd-4th century AD (?).
Obv. Julian-Claudian head, laureate, left (Tiberius?); left, crayfish (?); right, dolphin. Rev. Blank.

 

I wasn't able to locate any of them in the major literature. Does anyone here have another piece of this highly interesting series or has ever seen any in any numismatic publication?

I saw this example in the sale where you got it. I thought it was a little intriguing but quickly dismissed it as a forgery. Really cool to finally learn what it actually is. Did the Numismatikforum poster say anything about what seal capsules are? I've never heard about it before

7 minutes ago, Phil Davis said:

Congrats! Wonderful provenance. Falten was a really first rate collection, with one of the worst catalogues ever produced. I eventually got rid of my copy, because it hurt my eyes to look at it.

I was a little disappointed with the lack of information about Falten himself, would have been interesting learn more about him.

Roman Republic. P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus. 50 BC. AR Denarius. Rome. Bare head of M. Claudius Marcellus right; triskeles to left, MARCELLINVS / M. Claudius Marcellus advancing right, carrying trophy into tetrastyle temple, MARCELLVS - COS · QVINQ. 19mm, 3.82 g. Crawford 439/1. Ex Harry Strickhausen Collection (Triton IX, 10 January 2006), lot 1312; Dr. John A. Sawhill Collection/James Madison University Foundation (Stack's, 15 March 1979), lot 539; Reinhold Faelten Collection (Stack's 20 January 1938, Lot 1046).

Inspired by numerous friends annoyingly sharing their old and coveted provenances I've recently been giving it my all to find some of my own. The idea of sifting through old catalogues and hoping that something can be found sounds very boring. However, I've actually had tons of fun looking at old sales, their hammers and rare coins that just are not offered in trade anymore. Last week as I was going through old Stack's catalogues when I noticed in the corner of my eye a familiar piece:

Needless to say I'm quite proud at having rediscovered the 1938 sale and the name of the previous owner. Despite it already having a very nice provenance in my opinion. Please feel free to post your own rediscovered provenances, preferably with a picture from the old catalogue!

I have posted this coin before however I got an itch to post something and this coin was the first thing that popped into mind.

Promagisterial Cistophori. C. Fabius M.f (Hadrianus?) as Proconsul of Asia. Aristoboulos - Iereous (priest?), magistrate. AR Cistophoric tetradrachm, Tralles, 57-56 BC. Serpents emerging from cista mystica; all within wreath / [C•FABI•M•F] PROCOS, Two serpents entwined by bow case, eagle above. In the left field, zebu standing. TPAΛ. In the right field, Hermes standing left, holding caduceus. ARIΣTOBOΥΛOΣ / IEΡΕΥΣ in exergue. 
28.10 mm, 12.41 g. Stumpf 31; Metcalf 329 (O5/R28)
Three known examples: Gorny & Mosch 130, 1256; Hauck & Aufhäuser 6, lot 262 and this coin.

C. Fabius is not attested for in the historical record. He evidently served as Praetor in 58 or 57 and was subsequently granted the proconsular command of Asia. Fabius might have been the son of M. Fabius Hadrianus, a legate of Sulla active during the Third Mithridatic War. There is very little information to go by when it comes to Fabius' proconsulship. Brennan claims in The Praetorship of the Roman Republic that there is no mention for Fabius outside of his coins.

Fabius minted a variety of cistophori during his tenure as pro consule in Asia. The present coin was struck at the mint in Tralles, from which there are three different types known under Fabius. The series seems to have been small in scale. In total, only two obverse dies were used. This is accompanied by 14 reverse dies catalogued by Metcalf. The coinage of Fabius deviates somewhat from the standard civic-style cistophor. Above the bowcase, between the serpents, stands a legionary aquila meant to convey Roman military strength. The mint at Tralles employed an extensive array of symbols for their coins. This makes the design appear quite a bit more busy than issues from other mints. This coin features a cult statue of Hermes holding a caduceus. In the left field is a Zebu, a symbol often used at Tralles. Another type, issued under the magistrate Pammenes mirrors this design almost completely. The only differences being the appearence of a cult statue of Apollo instead of Hermes and an added meander under the Zebu (3. see below).

When cataloguing Roman provincial coins from Asia Minor, Stumpf was only aware of one example of this type (1. see below) but since then two more have shown up in trade. He seems to have missed that beneath the name of the magistrate (ARIΣTOBOΥΛOΣ/Aristoboulous) the legend continues. In full it reads ARIΣTOBOΥΛOΣ / IEΡΕΥΣ (2. see below). A second example of this type was sold at Gorny & Mosch in 2005, revealing the complete legend.

1. Hauck & Aufhäuser 6, lot 262

2. Gorny & Mosch 130, 1256

3. Ex NAC Sale 52, 2009, 832

9 minutes ago, Ryro said:

They sure can. 

Are you sure that without a shadow of a doubt your friend can see proxy-bids on biddr? Not just pre-bids, but proxy bids as well?

1 minute ago, El Cazador said:

How come?

How come auction houses can see pre-bids? They need to know of them in advance in order to execute them. This is exactly why a mechanism such as proxy-bidding exists

26 minutes ago, Ryro said:

I have a friend who has auctions on biddr and the sellers can see your pre bids. 

I can't say this enough, pre bidding is for suckers. Don't do it at all costs. 

This should surprise exactly no one and is common practice for every single auction house that you bid with

1 hour ago, Captch said:

Is this the first coin with a (almost) three standards reverse? Or were they seen in previous times of strife? I want to know who to blame for my least favorite LRB reverse type...

To my knowledge, the iconography employed here was first used by Gaius Valerius Falccus in 82 BC. Minted not during Caesar's civil war, but Sulla's. 

Sulla's Civil War. C. Valerius Flaccus. AR Denarius. Massalia, 82 BC. Draped and winged bust of Victory right / Legionary eagle between two standards inscriped H[astati] and P[rincipes], C·VAL·FLA to left, IMPERAT to right. EX·S·C below. 17 mm, 3,67 g. Crawford 365/1b; Syd. 747a. (Mine)

Bertolami 87 December 2020, Lot 347 (For reference)

What a find! Well done, so satisfying finding something like this without other bidders catching on

12 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

I've never defended Beale in this thread. Just the opposite. I was amused by the quotation from Chris Martin in artnews.com, but it's an unjustified leap to think I believe established dealers set out to bring Beale down. One has nothing to do with the other. 

And no, you can't make the analogy. I suggest that you delete, and stay away in the future, from irrelevant and inflammatory comments like the one about President Obama and George Soros. Or people will think you're an anti-Semitic conspiracy mongerer. Or maybe that you're Viktor Orban! Because that's who tends to brings up George Soros out of left field in that way. We wouldn't want that, would we?

I was peeved by the Soros analogy too. However, I really don't think he was implying anything other than that strong actors generally do not come out of nowhere unless they have powerful connections (as in Beale's case). Let's not stray further into politics, I'm sure @SeuthesOfOdrysia can clarify what he meant and then we can move to issues that are actually on-topic.

3 hours ago, akeady said:

If you read the document on the first page of this thread, it says the Eid Mar was shipped to the US  on 29th Nov. 2020 (i.e., a month after the auction).   Therefore, I assume it had a US-based buyer and indeed that US Customs seized the Eid Mar then.

ATB,

Aidan.

The Eid Mar was purchased by a US-based dealer on behalf of the buyer. Roma does not know who the end-buyer is and it might have ended up somewhere else after that. To my understanding of this whole affair, prosecutors are not currently aware of where the coin is located or if its even in the US.

3 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

Please explain what you're implying. You're being far too cryptic for me.

A new addition to the collection. This Legio II denarius is one of the most surpising purchases I've made in a while. As can be clearly seen, it has been overstruck on a previous denarius of an uncertain legion (perhaps Legio II). I quite like overstrikes and this coin has the interesting distinction of showing a clear undertype whilst suffering minimal loss of detail.

Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius. Legionary issue. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right, ANT·AVG·III·VIR·R·P·C / Aquila between two signa; LEG II. 3.68 g, 16 mm. Crawford 544/14.

To my surprise, when I received the coin in hand it was obvious that the coin was much better in hand:

3 hours ago, CPK said:

Nice coin! Do I get a commission? 😉

 

 

Ahah, of course!

Excited to have "hammered" out a deal for this coin from LAC on VCoins. Flatness and scratches aside, this is a fine example of this important legionary issue.

Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius. Legionary issue. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right, ANT·AVG·III·VIR·R·P·C / Aquila between two signa; LEG XIII. 3.58 g, 19.5 mm. Crawford 544/27.

One of the most famous legions in Roman history, Legio XIII was formed in 57 BC by Julius Caesar to fight in the Gallic Wars. The 13th would be used extensively during the conflict and saw combat at the Sabis, Gergovia and perhaps most importantly, at Alesia. However, what followed Caesar's victory in Gaul was not only repudiation from his political rivals in the senate, but also strong threats of legal action stemming from Caesar's blatant disregard of the law during his consulship some seven years prior. As the end of his term as pro consule in Gaul drew ever near (and thus his immunity from prosecution) Caesar grew more and more brazen in challenging the senate's authority. The situation finally came to head in January 49 BC when Julius Caesar, now a rebel, crossed the Rubicon with the 13th under arms. In complete defiance of the senate Caesar thus started the civil war that would decide the fate of Roman Republic.