Salomons Cat

Hello @Ter, Welcome to the forum. I completely understand this problem, as I’ve experienced it myself several times. There have been occasions when I failed to win a coin in an auction, and I still feel as though I need exactly these coins and no others. Once, I even thought I had won a coin during a live auction, only to be completely shocked after the auction when I realized I had apparently been outbid without noticing. To this day, I suspect there may have been an issue with the auction house’s app. As suggested here, I reached out to auction houses twice, but unfortunately, this wasn’t successful. I'm considering @JayAg47's input that this approach to collecting might not be healthy. Maybe it’s not the coins I truly need, but rather some spiritual guidance to help me learn how to let go 🤔

Having watched a documentary on home burglaries a while ago (unfortunately only available in German), I can say this with confidence: The purpose of a safe isn’t to be entirely uncrackable. Most burglars don’t carry heavy equipment or explosives and instead go for items that are easily accessible. The average break-in lasts 8–10 minutes in the USA, and it’s similar in Germany. In any case, a safe is an effective way to protect valuables and significantly reduces the risk of theft. However, I also find your display beautiful. But depending on the burglary risk in your area, you might want to consider some safety measures. Is this a cat in your video? 🙂 If it gets along with dogs, that might be an option…

Theft might not seem like a serious issue, yet Switzerland faces a significant problem in this regard—and that’s where I live. For instance, so-called 'criminal tourists,' including some from Romania, specifically target Switzerland. The rate of home break-ins here is around 900 per 100,000 people, as shown in the graph. Apologies for the German, but I’m sure the numbers are clear. (source) So, statistically, over a 30-year period, the chance of a home break-in is around 25-30% here. This aligns with my experience, as someone has already attempted to break into my parents' home—they failed to break through the front door but left it covered in scratches. I’m not sure about the situation in your area, but I wouldn’t overlook this risk. I just realised that my fear of theft wasn’t even paranoid after all...

@JAZ Numismatics and @ominus1, how about 'Suspicious Galba looks sulpicious'? That's a compromise. @Homer2, I'm sorry about this...

Oh, by the way, my comment about the Instagram followers was indeed a joke 😀 I knew they were bought, but I often forget to use emojis. That said, I’m pretty sure ‘NFA’ are serious, and I’d give them a chance rather than judge them too harshly based on their name - or Instagram followers.

All of this doesn’t mean they’re untrustworthy. But it doesn’t seem like a good start to me. I’ve never heard anything negative about The NumisPlace. In fact, I don’t understand why they didn’t just continue as The NumisPlace.

I believe they are trustworthy. Why else would they already have 5,170 Instagram followers?

Okay - I respect your opinion; however, I observed the auction from the start, and prebids were low compared to the final bids on almost all lots. For shill bidding to impact the final prices, the bids would have had to be placed during the live auction on biddr. I doubt any auction house would risk assigning an employee to place the second highest live bids on nearly all items, especially on a platform they do not control. Shill bidding is illegal in many jurisdictions. I did not find any published cases from the Swiss Supreme Court concerning shill bidding. However, it would be extremely risky to face an accusation of fraud simply because they failed to explicitly state their right to shill bid. Please let me know if I’m overlooking something.

That contrasts nicely with my paranoia about needing a wall-mounted safe.

No, how could you do that?! Of course he got mad; Roma was such an honest auction house 😄 Anyway - I don't know if I'm just naive to believe that most people are honest.

Thank you! And also thank you for not bidding it up 😀 It was the only one I wanted, and I still can’t quite believe it worked out. I feel like I've been a bit lucky in auctions lately.

Yep, apparently. Many people here have speculated about why it’s so rare to win anything at Leu significantly below your maximum bid, and they accused Leu of unethical practices like shill bidding. There has never been any evidence or clear indication to support this. For me, it went a bit too far to make such claims so publicly, as was done here, here, or here. Although I understand that people wanted to make sense of the situation. However, since this auction took place on biddr, it seems rather difficult to make the same accusations again.

Incidentally, today’s auction was held on biddr, and it seems to me that the accusations made here earlier were unfounded, though I doubt they influenced the decision. However, congratulations, @Mucius Scaevola! Beautiful coins. I also won the coin that I wanted to have 😊 Julius Caesar, 49-44 BC. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 3.86 g), military mint moving with Caesar in Spain, 46-45. Diademed head of Venus to right; behind, cupid. Rev. CAESAR Trophy of Gallic arms; at base to left, draped female captive seated to left, in mourning attitude; at base to right, bearded Gaulish captive seated to right, his head turned back toward trophy. Babelon (Julia) 11. Crawford 468/1. CRI 58. RBW 1639. Sydenham 1014. Beautifully toned and with a spectacular and perfectly centered reverse. Struck from a slightly worn obverse die, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

I must admit I’m a bit surprised that you didn’t choose Faustina II to see which portrait suits her best and what hairstyle she is wearing. Are you sure?!

Imagine you could choose a Roman emperor to appear in your living room on a Sunday afternoon for a cup of tea. You miraculously speak the same language, he stays for three hours, and then returns to his own time. One of my first thoughts, was Brutus—hoping he might have an Eid Mar denarius in his pocket. After all, he referred to himself as imperator on the coin, so he could be an option. But perhaps there would be a way to have a positive impact on the course of history during this three-hour conversation? Therfore, I settled on Hadrian. Some time after his visit to Judaea, the second Jewish-Roman revolt began, leading to its brutal suppression, including a massacre of the Jewish population and the renaming of the province to Syria Palaestina. I suspect the timing of the revolt, so soon after Hadrian’s visit, may have contributed to this particularly harsh punishment for the Jews. And although I wouldn’t underestimate the narcissism of any Roman emperor, I believe Hadrian was receptive to reasonable arguments. Besides the fact that the massacre of the Jews continues to shape our view of Hadrian to this day, perhaps during a three-hour conversation, I could explain to him the long-term consequences of his actions and how the region still suffers from ongoing conflicts. Who knows how the world might look today if those events had unfolded differently? That said, many here are far more knowledgeable about history than I am, and I’m curious to hear your opinions. Which Roman emperor would you like to meet, and how would you make use of the meeting?