Rand

I am unaware of a method to aggregate purchases from a bidder. Auction houses are unlikely to be keen on this, not to discourage underbidders. I used to like old-style CNG bidding with aliases. It was later removed.

During my collecting lifetime, there were a few new avid collectors who made some of my collecting areas suddenly too competitive. I had to buy coins, which I deemed too rare to miss, at multiples of the estimates. In contrast, after losing bids, I purchased a few coins much cheaper when resold.

My learning point was that enthusiastic, deep-pocketed collectors tend to lose their interest soon, and sometimes, I should accept this, shift focus, and wait. For example, early medieval Burgundian coins (especially with Gundobad’s monogram) are tough to compete for right now - I am waiting and focus on the Goths.

Given that the coins were found during diving, they were likely related to maritime trade unless the shoreline had changed. 30 or even 50 thousand bronze coins would still be a modest amount for bigger transactions. As such, it is less likely to be part of a treasury for military operations. 

Hopefully, its content will become available to the researchers and the public for analysis. The historical value of this find is more important than the monetary value.

I found where the idea came from.

Love Johnny English movies. Hope there are some agents left.

Further disturbing news about the safety of historical artifacts stored in public museums.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-6730397

I enjoyed his ANS Long Table 133 Presentation. The Joy of Die-Studies: Cataloguing the Coinage Of Gordian III. He acknowledged the major shift in the source of the research material from museum collections to sale coins, which were previously kept at lower regard.

This follows his long-term academic interest, which was the foundation of his PhD. THE COINAGE OF GORDIAN III FROM ANTIOCH AND CAESAREA. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10116536/1/Bland_thesis.pdf

Thank you. Hopefully the publication finds a new home.

Off topic, as I tend do, apologies. I struggle to find a copy of Bridge RN. Some unpublished Byzantine gold coins. Spink's Num. Circ 78 (1970). Keen to buy the issue if someone is aware of a seller or have an unwanted copy.

I have seen whole year Spink's Num. Circ bundles on auctions, but do not need every issue and others may need.

25 minutes ago, Al Kowsky said:

This coin has the ugliest portrait of all the coins in my collection, but I paid a fortune to get it 🙄....

It is beautiful for my eyes!

12 hours ago, John Conduitt said:

Many khans at this time were puppets of Edigü, a powerful leader who did not have the ancestry to be a khan. At times, however, he had competition from Vytautas the Great, ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. While Kerim Berdi was still ruling the Golden Horde, Edigü declared Chekre the new khan, while Vytautas named Jabbar Berdi. Jabbar Berdi killed Kerim Berdi and ruled until Sayyid Ahmad I, son of Kerim, deposed him. Vytautas and Edigü both continued to appoint new khans until 1419, when Kadir Berdi and Edigü were killed in battle.

This was an exciting and underappreciated period of history that influenced both the East and West.

Vytautas had poor taste in key allies. He married away his only daughter to the Grand Duke of Moscow, who still failed to turn up to the battle Battle of the Vorskla River, which ended up a major defeat for Vytautas. Still, Vytautas managed to hold Ukraine from Tatars and used their trick on him to defeat Teutonic Germans in the Battle of Grunwald. The Battle of Grunwald was the largest European battle of the century, which ended the German hope of expanding to the east.
It is a pity that the coins of Vytautas are so primitive. A child can probably imitate them.

28 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

The Russians (Muscovites) even made copies of silver dangs

Thank you. I did not know about Muscovites. Vladimir Olgerdovich imitated Gulistan mint coins after Lithuanians took over a big chunk of Ukraine from the Horde. Those coins are even smaller (0.3-0.4g). I am keen to buy one but am waiting for a nice one.

Thank you. This is very interesting. 

There are many types spread over time and the expanse of the Golden Horde with variable 'fonts', and they are often poorly struck. This can make reading the inscriptions difficult even for an expert. The size, weight, and styles also vary considerably. Can they be useful to narrow down the attribution?

Were the coins mainly produced for local use or circulated more widely through trade and military campaigns?

I agree with all the comments above that negative emojis are mostly unhelpful. 

Still, non-verbal communication is a huge part of human communication; emojis are meant to imitate this.

We do not always have to say something to support communication. We may nod of agreement, change expression (or say ‘pardon’) if we do not understand something or have a blank face if we disagree. It is hard to replicate this on a forum.

I hope the smile above is still acceptable - meant to be a friendly smile.

14 hours ago, Kaleun96 said:

This wasn't the "why aren't gangbangers doing 25 years to life instead of our lord and saviour Richard Beale" thread, was it?

This post reads sarcastic to me, irrespective of what the OP might have meant.

Personally, I do like debating and being disagreed with, and I am more than happy to clarify my point or writing. My best experience from this forum was the criticism of my ideas about some coins.

I am not offended by the current emoji. Previously, I clarified my writing with such emoji and saw the emoji removed. I deleted a post when I could not understand what caused the confusion and did not feel like debating further.

Still, the emoji looks rather non-friendly, and I can see how it may be used for confrontation.

I would prefer it to be replaced by three emojis
1. A friendly ‘I do not understand’
2. A friendly ‘I disagree’
3. A friendly ‘I quite disagree’
Their use does not always need elaboration in writing. We do not always explain what we like when we put a like.

While not putting a like is another option, this also includes other feelings like ‘boring’, or ‘too busy to reply’. Sadly, I do not have time to read every excellent post on the forum.

I went through the previous threads and removed two confused emojis that I placed: one meant ‘I disagree’, which was explained, and one ‘I do not understand’. I apologise if this upset the authors and if I missed any other such emojis.

I agree with @Salomons Cat that some comments are beyond what a friendly forum should have.

While I usually voice myself on the risks of collecting hobby addiction, pointing out the positives to prevent the thread from becoming too gloomy is helpful.

Close neurobiological links exist between feeling happy and the compulsion to seek further stimuli. It is hard to put the costs on feeling happy! I am not aware of robust research on the matter, but if the hobby helps mental health, money used to build a collection in happness are better spent than money spent for treatments in misery.

While forums and seeking likes may trigger irrational behaviours, the forums are excellent ways of communicating with same-minded people and the sense of belonging to a social group.

I do like the thrill of bidding, the desire, almost lust, for getting new coins. I feel sad when older friends dispose of their lifetime collections. This tends to be a grim sign.

Being a specialist collector, letting coins pass may be more difficult as many varieties are unique and may only appear once in my lifetime. The coin I desire most was last (and only once publicly) sold 40 years ago. For this reason, it is not uncommon for me to bid many times the estimate. However, the other side of specialist collecting is that when the amount of material on auctions depletes the allocated collection budget, there is plenty of joy in working on the database and literature and putting together historical puzzles.

15 minutes ago, Al Kowsky said:

The coin is without doubt issued by the Ostrogothic king Theodoric, & engraved by a master.

Master engraving, indeed. I have never been able to find another one from the same dies. This is mine closesed I have. Still, does not compare in stile.

They are likely from Mediolanum, likely earlier that the well recognised series from this city (which constinues rather lovely style). The second coin is from this later series - looks better in hand.

Roma Numismatics Limited. Auction 25. 22/09/2022

Solidus Numismatik. Auction 31. 30/06/2018

PS. A lovely solidus from Rome. I feel, we are still missing Ostrogoth types from Rome. Hopefully there are more to come.

The Rothschild family has been the most prominent donor of art ever. They have donated over 120,000 pieces of art to over 200 museums and libraries in France alone https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article-abstract/30/1/182/4584180?redirectedFrom=fulltext. Significant donations have been made in Britain, including the British Museum https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/waddesdon-bequest, US museums and museums everywhere.

The family's coin collection scope remains a mystery, and I hope it still contains many treasures preserved over centuries. Below is one of the most beautiful Anastasius solidi (likely minted by Ostrogoths), donated to Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b11350297w

1 hour ago, Hrefn said:

The possibly problematic feature is most notable here in the portions of CONOB where the curves of the letters were engraved with multiple straight cuts of the burin.

I am no expert in fakes!

The straight cuts on the curves of the letters on Byzantine coins concerned me for a long time. After a website suggested these were signs of modern machining, I stayed away from such coins, likely missing a few good purchases. I kept observing and noted that such cuts are very common on certainly authentic coins. Below is one of my such examples (also on reverse only).

I do not dismiss such coins for now unless there are other concerns (I may be wrong).

Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG. Auction 100. 29/05/2017

There are plenty of rare and important coins in Auction XXIX. For example, these two unbelivable rarities of Zeno's reign.

https://romanumismatics.com/243-lot-524-zeno-av-solidus?auction_id=143&view=lot_detail&lot_id=189394

https://romanumismatics.com/243-lot-525-zeno-av-solidus?auction_id=143&view=lot_detail&lot_id=189395

12 hours ago, panzerman said:

I recently got a nice coin from Sincona Auction.

Amazing coin. There has been a spike in prices for premium coins from the Papal state, like this one. The coins of Alexander VI seemed to attract extra attention since the Borgia TV series (2011-2013). In contrast, coins from the Papal state in average or lower condition attract relatively little interest, even when rare.

Today I was captivated by the beauty of two Syracusan Decadrachms signed by Kimon (according to description) in The Fitzwilliam Museum (CM.YG.III9-R, McClean Collection, CM.MC.2734-R).

The photos make no justice to their beauty and I could not find them in the online database.

Silenus from Naxos looked relaxed - not fearing deportation to Italy.

The collection is just amazing. They even have an impressive selection of early Meissen’s figurines, my soft spot.

12 minutes ago, Deinomenid said:

Went  into  Triton 12 years ago as  a $7k coin, then out of NAC 4 years ago as a $15k coin,  then  popped through Roma a few weeks ago as a  $24k coin and  now, just today re=emerging as a 50k coin for sale  in Chicago.

Quite shocking. Still, it remains to be seen what would happen to the coin. The Chicago seller is focused on high-end buyers, but some coins have been offered for a long time.

I watch one (in a much lower price bracket), for which I was the underbidder pushing rather high before letting it go. The coin was probably best for type at the time but not as unique as described by the auction. Since then, four more coins appeared from the same hoard (one probably from a different mint), of which I was lucky to get three. I still like the Chicago seller's coin but would not pay more that in the original sale. It has been on offer for well over a year now...

23 hours ago, Hrefn said:

Purchased 9/23 from CGB at auction.

This coin can also be from Milan/Pavia, having features of later coins from Pavia by Baduila, e.g. on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totila. I do not think we have a good study on coins from the period of the reconquest.

I have been trying to attribute my tremissis below. Its style is linked to similar coins in the name of Justinian (but not Justin), it could be from Baduila times. Baduilla produced many coins in the name of Anastasius in Pavia (I have a couple), but of different styles. The coin has features of Ravenna, but I understand Baduila never took Ravenna. I cannot see why the forces of Justinian would make coins in the name of Anastasius. Another possibility is Rome, which Baduila took. Unfortunately, I have not come across other Anastasian coins of this variety.

Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung. Auction 237. 07/03/2016

Below is my example of a relatively early, but not the earliest Burgundian VPW tremisses (the coin looks better than the photo shows). Burgundian VPW tremisses come at a premium. There is a nicer example on NM.

Pretty certainly Visigoths. Most certainly not Burgundian.

12 minutes ago, Prieure de Sion said:

A barbarised imitation of a Roman imperial gold coin of Justininus.

There were no imperial gold coins of Justinian with Victoria Palm & Wreath reverse. The type can be seen as an authentic type of the emerging post-barbaric nations in the Gaul. Burgundians likely introduced the type in 491-2 (in the name of Anastasius) during the Ostrogothic wars in Italy, possibly from spoils of invasion to Liguria. Visigoths, Franks and others followed the trend.

One of my rather unattractive examples of the VPW tremisses. I like it, though, as a die match of the BM piece and because it is part of a multi-die series, which can be both Visigothic or Frankish.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3358776&partId=1&searchText=anastasius+tremissis&page=1

Auktionshaus H. D. Rauch GmbH. E-Auction 37. 16/07/2021

This is a beautiful coin. 

I think it is from Ravenna based on the prominent 6-point star, the prominent border and the straight chest drapery lines (as opposed to typically curved lines on tremisses from Rome).
The tremissis is likely from the time after the beginning of the Justinian reconquest, based on the later style, and it could well have been produced under imperial authority. This would in no way make it less historically important and probably more valuable.