Auction mistakes that you kind of like

[kirispupis]

Thought I'd start a thread for coins that you didn't really intend to purchase, but you still don't mind.

Eresos had been a major target for me. Over time, I'd collected all the other cities on Lesbos that minted coins in the 4th + beginning of 3rd centuries: Mytilene, Methymna, Pyrrha, Antissa, Pordosiline, and Nasos. Aeigiros is reputed to have minted coins then, but I could find no examples ever sold at auction and my understand is the attribution is controversial. That left only Eresos, and I'd been outbid in my last two attempts to obtain one.

So, when two different auctions listed an example, I made it a priority to obtain one. Since one auction occurred on a Friday and the other on a Saturday, I felt my odds were pretty good.

For the Friday auction, I had to work that day, so in the late evening I placed my bid. It was relatively strong, but not too much since I knew if I lost out on this example there was another one. The next morning, I woke to see the result.

Doh! Not only had I for some stupid reason mixed up the auction date, but also the time! The auction would occur on Saturday and I would be up when it happened. So, on Saturday, I tracked both auctions live and noticed that both coins seemed to be tracking for near the same time.

With only a few minutes to go, I realized the Biddr one would come up first. I'll discuss it more shortly, but this appeared to be a very rare example. I could find no similar examples online, nor in any online references. It clearly looked unpublished and maybe even unique. Already in that auction I'd run into a guy who didn't seem to care about price. Several of my targets I'd bid up to crazy numbers and he immediately responded. Eventually I had to tell myself that there were other examples of these coins and there was no sane reason to bid this high given the condition, so I let them go. I lost three targets that way. If this guy knew his rare Greek coins, there was no way I'd stand a chance.

Still, my competitive streak gave in and I wasn't about to let him steal this coin. I also wanted to prevent any dealer from grabbing it and marking it up. That had happened in a previous auction. So, I put in roughly the same bid as at the other auction. I expected to lose, but with no regrets.

It was a bit agonizing to watch. Whoever went against me would constantly wait until the coin was almost sold, then place another bid. But he gave up shortly before my max bid and I got the coin! Since this was the rarer of the two, I was very happy.

I then switched over to the other auction, which wasn't on Biddr. It had a minute to go and I was still winning, but now I figured that I was likely to be outbid and was fine with it. Bidding had been predictably fierce and pretty much everything I was keeping on eye on went over what I thought it should.

To my surprise, I won that coin too, though a last second bid brought it up to exactly my max, so I was a bit sick to the stomach.

So, without further ado, here is my haul (note: photos are the dealers'). Below is the common example from eresos. I wouldn't call it overly common since ACSearch lists only 33 results for all of Eresos, and 13 of those are this type. However, of the coins sold for Eresos - this is the most ubiquitous one and the condition is above average for the type. The general consensus is the obverse is of Hermes wearing a petasos.

 

 

Here is the first one that I won. On the obverse, it appears to be Hermes again with his petasos. However, the reverse is less clear since there are no other types I found from Eresos with two portraits. I did find this one sold by CNG. The reverse of my coin does look similar to the obverse of theirs.

 

The reverse also resembles the obverse of my Pyrrha coin below. Various attributions of the Pyrrha coin have mentioned Aphrodite or perhaps the 'nymph Pyrrha'. I did wonder whether my coin is actually from Eresos, but the verbiage appears to clearly spell 'Eresi' - similar to CNG's coin. Since I'd just finished a book about Sappho, I dreamed that it may be she (she is reputed to have come from Eresos) but I highly doubt that. It could be Aphrodite but we'll probably never know.

Lesbos. Pyrrha
circa 400-300 BCE
Bronze Æ 10 mm, 1,12 g
Obv: Female head left, wearing sphendone.
Rev: ΠΥΡ.
Filleted goat standing left.
SNG Copenhagen 428.

 

So, I now have two coins from Eresos. When I have the coins, I'll create a separate thread to discuss Lesbians. Although my bank account will complain, I'm pretty happy with the result. Let's see your similar 'mistakes'!

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I only buy from fixed price dealers, but one messed up and sent me the wrong coin, a Thasos Tetradrachm of around the same price.  I liked it so much, I arranged to keep it and reordered the original one, a large posthumous Alexander.

[DonnaML]

26 minutes ago, kirispupis said:

Already in that auction I'd run into a guy who didn't seem to care about price. Several of my targets I'd bid up to crazy numbers and he immediately responded. Eventually I had to tell myself that there were other examples of these coins and there was no sane reason to bid this high given the condition, so I let them go. I lost three targets that way. If this guy knew his rare Greek coins, there was no way I'd stand a chance.

Still, my competitive streak gave in and I wasn't about to let him steal this coin.

Very nice coins, but how do you know this guy was a guy? Some women bid on ancient coins, after all!

Edited March 12, 2023 by DonnaML

[JAZ Numismatics]

27 minutes ago, kirispupis said:

I'll create a separate thread to discuss Lesbians.

🤔

[kirispupis]

9 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

Very nice coins, but how do you know this guy was a guy? Some women bid on ancient coins, after all!

I was using the gender neutral version of 'guy'. After all, 'him or her' may still be incorrect, since the buyer may identify as gender neutral.

[Ryro]

Ooh! I like the sphendone/sakkos on that last one😘 But great bunch of coins!

Not to brag but I've got a diverse collection of non el lesbians and am eager for your post. I've always had a hard time keeping them out of my hands. 

Happy accidents...

Not a total accident but when I won my Maximinus upgrade I then needed a travel buddy for him and ended up getting my Marius, which I like even more!

Until I found one of these for sale recently, at a crazy amount, I didn't even realize mine had s little owl hiding before the helmet!

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

One time I won a Galerius that actually was Maximinus Daia, Alexandria mint

[ambr0zie]

A pure mistake was me buying this coin. 

 

I had no interest in it and when browsing an auction on my phone, waiting for my targets, that were arriving in 30 mins - 1 hour, I wanted to minimize the browser. I don't have sausage fingers, but somehow I managed to hit Bid. Won the coin. Cursed a little. Then I checked the coin and the example, without being a top one, is not bad and the price wasn't a disaster. 

 

This was more like a gamble, so could have transformed into a mistake. 

 

Original attribution - possible Otho. 

I noticed it when the auction was live and the coin did not have much success. It was a little expensive for a common Antioch coin, but still a bargain for an Otho coin, even if not in the best condition. I didn't have enough time to check it so I said, let's do it. Won it. It is an Otho. Sure, nothing spectacular, with the legend missing, but good portrait, good countermark, you can't ask for more at the price of 36 euros + fees. 

Syria, Seleucis and Pieria. Antiochia ad Orontem. Otho. A.D. 69. Æ 14.97gr

IMP M OTHO CAE(S) AVG (clockwise), laureate head of Otho, r. / S C, inscription in a laurel wreath of eight leaves. Countermarked - Howgego 245 - Athena facing right with shield and spear

RPC I 4318, BMC 207, 209–11, McAlee 321c

[seth77]

 

21 hours ago, ambr0zie said:

A pure mistake was me buying this coin. 

 

I had no interest in it and when browsing an auction on my phone, waiting for my targets, that were arriving in 30 mins - 1 hour, I wanted to minimize the browser. I don't have sausage fingers, but somehow I managed to hit Bid. Won the coin. Cursed a little. Then I checked the coin and the example, without being a top one, is not bad and the price wasn't a disaster. 

 

This was more like a gamble, so could have transformed into a mistake. 

 

Original attribution - possible Otho. 

I noticed it when the auction was live and the coin did not have much success. It was a little expensive for a common Antioch coin, but still a bargain for an Otho coin, even if not in the best condition. I didn't have enough time to check it so I said, let's do it. Won it. It is an Otho. Sure, nothing spectacular, with the legend missing, but good portrait, good countermark, you can't ask for more at the price of 36 euros + fees. 

Syria, Seleucis and Pieria. Antiochia ad Orontem. Otho. A.D. 69. Æ 14.97gr

IMP M OTHO CAE(S) AVG (clockwise), laureate head of Otho, r. / S C, inscription in a laurel wreath of eight leaves. Countermarked - Howgego 245 - Athena facing right with shield and spear

RPC I 4318, BMC 207, 209–11, McAlee 321c

These Antioch big bronzes for Otho and Galba are remarkably similar to the coinage of Antiochus IV of Commagene, supposedly minted at Samosata, but possibly made, at least the dies, at Antioch for the client king of Commagene. A lot of the coinage holding different ethnics in Syria were likely either products of Antioch or minted after dies produced by Antioch die cutters.