Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted May 31, 2023 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted May 31, 2023 As you may know, Frank Robinson's auction ended last night at 10 pm Eastern in the U.S. Checking the list of winning bids I see that I won two pieces I had bid on, an antoninianus of Gallic emperor Tetricus and a nicely silvered follis of Galerius. I have a tortured follis of Galerius with bronze disease so it's a good upgrade. I had actually purchased what purported to be Galerius by a dealer two years ago but it turned out to be Maximin Daia when I received it. It was the old GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS problem, whereas the legend actually read GAL VAL MAXIMINVS from Alexandria. Meanwhile, I had never got around to buying a Tetricus, though I have a Tetricus II. Two small steps closer to my goal of having every emperor/personage (with a few exceptions). I'm next going to focus on obtaining sestertii of Gordian I and II. Pictures of these two will be posted once I have had a chance to photograph them. What did you win??? 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor kirispupis Posted May 31, 2023 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted May 31, 2023 I've never participated in an FSR auction, but I did win two nice coins in today's CNG auction! Lately, I've taken a number of losses and had been shut out of the last several CNG auctions, so I wasn't planning on winning much. I bid on four coins and won two - both key pickups for my Kingdoms After Alexander collection. For that collection, I've identified 32 coins and now I only have one left! Of course, I also bid on the last kingdom remaining, but I didn't get that one... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Conduitt Posted May 31, 2023 · Supporter Share Posted May 31, 2023 I haven't bid in his auctions either, although he doesn't usually cover much I collect. I'm not used to bidding like that either. Tetricus I and Gordian I? Those are far ends of the spectrum. I seem to acquire Tetricus I coins even when I'm not trying to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted May 31, 2023 · Benefactor Author Benefactor Share Posted May 31, 2023 20 minutes ago, John Conduitt said: I haven't bid in his auctions either, although he doesn't usually cover much I collect. I'm not used to bidding like that either. Tetricus I and Gordian I? Those are far ends of the spectrum. I seem to acquire Tetricus I coins even when I'm not trying to. Yeah a bit of a variance in value for posterity. Somehow I just never had picked one up (Tetricus, that is). Gordie I and II will be tough 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted May 31, 2023 · Supporter Share Posted May 31, 2023 There were a couple coins I was mildly interested in, but didn't end up placing any bids. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kali Posted May 31, 2023 · Member Share Posted May 31, 2023 I didn't bother this go around. Didn't see anything that jumped out for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Snible Posted May 31, 2023 · Member Share Posted May 31, 2023 Three lots. I would like to see them before I post them here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ominus1 Posted May 31, 2023 · Supporter Share Posted May 31, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said: Gordie I and II will be tough ..i've been finding them quite frequently....but i ain't got enough poop on the bid...they are very expensive....i'm selling other coins so maybe i can get those with a few others....^^,,oh and i did bid in Franks last auction, but didn't win...he has a good system i think just different..:) Edited May 31, 2023 by ominus1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furryfrog02 Posted May 31, 2023 · Supporter Share Posted May 31, 2023 Didn't bid on anything this time. Usually there are some low-end coins that I will throw bids on but I didn't see anything that shouted "BID ON ME!" this time. Oh well... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parthicus Posted May 31, 2023 · Member Share Posted May 31, 2023 Won two lots, though neither of them ancient, both are Italian States coins, from Tuscany and Sardinia. I'll post photos once they arrive. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaleun96 Posted June 1, 2023 · Member Share Posted June 1, 2023 Might bid in an FSR auction when his photos get better. No excuse to be using 400x200px images for your lot photos these days. I can only assume it's done to make coins look better than they are or hide their defects. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted June 1, 2023 · Supporter Share Posted June 1, 2023 7 hours ago, Kaleun96 said: Might bid in an FSR auction when his photos get better. No excuse to be using 400x200px images for your lot photos these days. I can only assume it's done to make coins look better than they are or hide their defects. It is a little puzzling. I think the more likely reason is that that is probably the way he's been doing it for years and years and hasn't bothered to catch up with current standards. I think he should catch up, as you say you almost have to guess what the coin will actually look like, but I don't think he's trying to be dishonest. It's probably costing him bids, though. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted June 1, 2023 · Benefactor Author Benefactor Share Posted June 1, 2023 (edited) Yeah the photos should probably be enhanced. But as far as my experience after buying 15-20 coins from him and some scarce types (e.g. rare Lucius Verus As, Macrianus,. Marius, etc). I was pleasantly surprised by the coins in hand and they do tend to photograph well. I use a Pixel 6 phone which takes pretty high quality pictures. Edited June 1, 2023 by Ancient Coin Hunter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailathacl Posted June 1, 2023 · Member Share Posted June 1, 2023 Frank does a good job of identifying and describing coin flaws in his lot descriptions, even when those flaws don’t jump out at you in the photos. Over the years I have won about 30-40 lots from him. I think he keeps it honest, if old-school. Honestly, because the photos scare off some potential bidders, the competition is lower than it could be. So I often benefit from that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factor Posted June 2, 2023 · Member Share Posted June 2, 2023 I got two lots (and one on CNG), will see how they look in hand. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parthicus Posted June 4, 2023 · Member Share Posted June 4, 2023 I received my two coins in the mail late yesterday. On the left is an 1860 1 lira from Emilia (Tuscany); on the right is a 1794 20 soldi from Sardinia. The 1860 coin is especially interesting as a transitional piece to unified Kingdom of Italy coinage (which started in 1861)- Victor Emmanuel is named on the obverse as "King-elect" (that's not a title you hear very often), and on the reverse the denomination is "one Italian lira"- they had to specify that it's an "Italian" lira, not just some local currency unit. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor DonnaML Posted June 5, 2023 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted June 5, 2023 On 6/1/2023 at 2:34 AM, Kaleun96 said: Might bid in an FSR auction when his photos get better. No excuse to be using 400x200px images for your lot photos these days. I can only assume it's done to make coins look better than they are or hide their defects. That's the main reason I haven't bid in a while. It's just impossible to enlarge his photos at all without their becoming extremely blurry, and after a couple of occasions when coins I bought looked quite a bit worse in reality than in his photos, I've pretty much given up. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor DonnaML Posted June 5, 2023 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted June 5, 2023 15 hours ago, DonnaML said: That's the main reason I haven't bid in a while. It's just impossible to enlarge his photos at all without their becoming extremely blurry, and after a couple of occasions when coins I bought looked quite a bit worse in reality than in his photos, I've pretty much given up. One example. Here is FSR's photo of a Nero denarius I purchased: Here is my photo, which shows what the surface really looks like: 6 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted June 5, 2023 · Supporter Share Posted June 5, 2023 Those surfaces are definitely more porous in real life than the photo shows. Still, a nice coin. One thing that kind of annoys me, if I may complain about it, is the way he often includes the prices other, similar coins have brought in the past. Such as "a gVF hammered for $855 in Triton XVII..." The problem is, in most cases the comparisons are not apples-to-apples; or else they are wild outliers. I'm won't go so far as to say it's dishonest but it can certainly be misleading, especially for someone new to ancient coins. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtisimo Posted June 6, 2023 · Supporter Share Posted June 6, 2023 For the most part I don’t mind Frank’s less-than-optimum photos. He is old school and has stuck with his process going back to when folks were just happy to see a photo at all. I would like to say it keeps other bidders away but that is no longer true and that is the main reason I haven’t won anything from him in a while. I also like how he ships immediately and trusts you to square up with him if you are a returning customer. That kind of trust is mostly dead in the world. In the past I’ve found that it is possible to be pleasantly surprised by an FSR coin in hand. Can you guess which photo is mine? 🙂 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTrachyEnjoyer Posted June 6, 2023 · Member Share Posted June 6, 2023 On 6/1/2023 at 2:34 AM, Kaleun96 said: Might bid in an FSR auction when his photos get better. No excuse to be using 400x200px images for your lot photos these days. agreed here. Frank was offering an extremely rare andronikos IV basilikon that would have been right up my alley…perhaps two authentic ones in private hands. I wont trust low quality images when fakes are around. Its not worth the hassle to try and return a fake coin when most people wouldnt be able to distinguish 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol_Invictus Posted June 6, 2023 · Member Share Posted June 6, 2023 One thing I like about Frank’s photos is that they are scaled to the relative size of each coin. I enjoy browsing through his listings and seeing all the different coin sizes in comparison. I do agree though that it’d be nice if they were higher resolution. I’m reluctant to bid more than ~$100 on coins in his auctions for that reason. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted June 6, 2023 · Supporter Share Posted June 6, 2023 (edited) 38 minutes ago, Curtisimo said: For the most part I don’t mind Frank’s less-than-optimum photos. He is old school and has stuck with his process going back to when folks were just happy to see a photo at all. I would like to say it keeps other bidders away but that is no longer true and that is the main reason I haven’t won anything from him in a while. I also like how he ships immediately and trusts you to square up with him if you are a returning customer. That kind of trust is mostly dead in the world. I like that too. On the other hand, I don't really like receiving the coins in a plain paper letter envelope. Lovely coin, by the way! 👍 Edited June 6, 2023 by CPK 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor DonnaML Posted June 6, 2023 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted June 6, 2023 1 hour ago, Curtisimo said: For the most part I don’t mind Frank’s less-than-optimum photos. He is old school and has stuck with his process going back to when folks were just happy to see a photo at all. I would like to say it keeps other bidders away but that is no longer true and that is the main reason I haven’t won anything from him in a while. I also like how he ships immediately and trusts you to square up with him if you are a returning customer. That kind of trust is mostly dead in the world. In the past I’ve found that it is possible to be pleasantly surprised by an FSR coin in hand. Can you guess which photo is mine? 🙂 I was also very pleased with how my Julian II bull from Frank turned out. I'm not suggesting for a minute that I've always been disappointed! It's just that I don't like the uncertainty. The FSR photo: My photo: 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtisimo Posted June 6, 2023 · Supporter Share Posted June 6, 2023 2 hours ago, DonnaML said: I was also very pleased with how my Julian II bull from Frank turned out. I'm not suggesting for a minute that I've always been disappointed! It's just that I don't like the uncertainty. The FSR photo: My photo: I can see that. I once won a pi-style that I thought had a full pi from the photos but it didn’t. I asked if I could return it and he said no problem. Lately it seems his auction have become quite popular despite the unusual photo style. I haven’t won anything in a long time. Great coin btw! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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