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The Dioscuri Collection


Coinmaster

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18 hours ago, Coinmaster said:

Hi all,

Did you see this incredible collection? Many coins are for sale at this moment (and I'm hoping to get at least one).

http://thedioscuricollection.com/index_en.php

Is the owner present at this forum? 

Would you mind deleting this thread? I had hoped that this collection wouldn’t get too much attention and that I could buy 1 or 2 coins… 😂
Just kidding. Whoever built this collection certainly deserves that it gets some recognition.

I don't think that the owner is an active member of this forum. I have never seen any of the coins from this collection here.

Edited by Salomons Cat
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Wow. That may be the best collection of Roman Republican coins I've ever seen together in a single present-day auction. In terms of the quality of the individual coins as much as the collection's comprehensiveness. I very much enjoyed scrolling through it, even if there are only a couple of coins that I can even think of bidding on given the starting prices. And probably none that I would have a realistic chance of winning! 

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That sale has a whopping 605 lots, and every one of them is EF or close thereto. All silver or gold. Simply. Amazing. The NAC catalog says the seller is anonymous, but maintains a website www.thedioscuricollection.com.  Worth a look!

The starting prices align with the condition. What I don't know is whether the hammer comes down at NAC at multiples of the estimate. I've never watched, much less bid, a NAC auction.  Here's one rarity: Gordian I denarius, with a cringe-worthy starting price of CHF 4,000 = US$ 4,400. 

image.png.37c4c31de2529e187a632ca337a84140.png

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15 minutes ago, Anaximander said:

seller is anonymous

But Catalan and presumably filthy rich. If this is a billionaire, based on value, there aren't that many of them there, but Thyssen's widow  springs to  mind, and she's on all sorts of relevant boards. Seems an obvious  choice were it not for the fact that she should donate them given that. Also got to be a megalomaniacal billionaire as  the Credits page is empty. She is also an art dealer.

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Posted · Supporter

Not me! Just placing a bid was something of a novelty. I was interested in one of the Trajan denarii that just sold, but as expected it hammered for about double what I bid.

The prices seem pretty strong. The coins are utterly magnificent though.

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Posted · Supporter
48 minutes ago, Phil Davis said:

Anyone successful here? I did win nine coins, about as expected.

No - I threw in six proxy bids a long time ago and when I checked, one hammered at my bid, but I don't seem to have won it and one more at one bid above mine and that's it 😞

Anyway, I've spent a lot on non-coin things recently and a couple more trips coming up, so maybe for the best - though I'd have liked all of them 😄

Congrats on your haul!

ATB,
Aidan.

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35 minutes ago, akeady said:

No - I threw in six proxy bids a long time ago and when I checked, one hammered at my bid, but I don't seem to have won it and one more at one bid above mine and that's it 😞

Anyway, I've spent a lot on non-coin things recently and a couple more trips coming up, so maybe for the best - though I'd have liked all of them 😄

Congrats on your haul!

ATB,
Aidan.

Thanks Aidan. I've only bought one coin all year before today and who knows what the rest of the year will bring, so I didn't want to hold back. I've heard you can't take it with you...

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1 hour ago, Phil Davis said:

Anyone successful here? I did win nine coins, about as expected.

I ordinarily wait to post until I receive the coins to avoid taunting the shipping gods but feel like sharing anyway. I was outbid on several but happy to get two for under my max, a pleasant surprise in a fairly-strong-but-generally-not-stupid sale: https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378555 and https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378532

 

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16 minutes ago, AncientJoe said:

I ordinarily wait to post until I receive the coins to avoid taunting the shipping gods but feel like sharing anyway. I was outbid on several but happy to get two for under my max, a pleasant surprise in a fairly-strong-but-generally-not-stupid sale: https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378555 and https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378532

 

Nicely done Joe! Both of those iconic Augustus types are absolutely as good as they come! I take it you weren't the underbidder on the 65k Octavian? Lol, I'm sure you weren't. I rarely find super strong prices on genuinely great coins inexplicable--and of course it IS a truly great coin--but that one has me shaking my head... I dunno, for 65k I think I'd insist on full borders!

I'm on my phone on the porch and don't have my list in front of me (and can't easily post links), but I'm most pleased to have won lot 273, "my" Erato. It seemed since I sort of wrote the "book" on these I really should have one. I  didn't expect to win it really; I was literally sitting on my hand after my last bid.

I don't think even the most malign shipping gods would dare to eat the entire bulk shipment to NAC USA. (Now I've really done it...)

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Phil Davis said:

Anyone successful here? I did win nine coins, about as expected.

These had extremely high prices, no? But congrats on successful wins anyhow 

Edited by El Cazador
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8 minutes ago, El Cazador said:

These had extremely high prices, no? But congrats on successful wins anyhow 

Prices in roughly the first half of the sale were solid certainly, but pretty much as expected. The hammer on the later stuff was mixed. Some prices on "popular" later types were indeed surprisingly strong, for excellent examples which were imo definitely not unimprovable.

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Posted · Supporter
1 hour ago, AncientJoe said:

I ordinarily wait to post until I receive the coins to avoid taunting the shipping gods but feel like sharing anyway. I was outbid on several but happy to get two for under my max, a pleasant surprise in a fairly-strong-but-generally-not-stupid sale: https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378555 and https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378532

 

Congratulations! I watched the AEGYPTO sell - it's one of my favorite types for Augustus. Both coins are beautiful and worthy of your collection. I hope we get to see your photos of them sometime!

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Phil Davis said:

Nicely done Joe! Both of those iconic Augustus types are absolutely as good as they come! I take it you weren't the underbidder on the 65k Octavian? Lol, I'm sure you weren't. I rarely find super strong prices on genuinely great coins inexplicable--and of course it IS a truly great coin--but that one has me shaking my head... I dunno, for 65k I think I'd insist on full borders!

I'm on my phone on the porch and don't have my list in front of me (and can't easily post links), but I'm most pleased to have won lot 273, "my" Erato. It seemed since I sort of wrote the "book" on these I really should have one. I  didn't expect to win it really; I was literally sitting on my hand after my last bid.

I don't think even the most malign shipping gods would dare to eat the entire bulk shipment to NAC USA. (Now I've really done it...)

Thanks Phil! And I wasn't although I had briefly considered that Octavian (I know the buyer but I wouldn't be surprised if Gasvoda bid strong on it considering how much he loved it in the description when his collection sold). The obverse style is beautiful but it has a few too many issues to justify anywhere near that level in my eyes. My main miss, 158, the ex-BM Social War, was disappointing to watch go by but also not cheap at that level. Prior to the auction, I managed to convince myself 419 was juuuuust worth the open and then watched it soar to 3x... I don't mind when I'm not remotely the underbidder!

Your Muse is excellent and certainly all around better than the legacy attributed 271. Based on the video, that is going to look absolutely stunning in-hand. Congrats!

 

Edited by AncientJoe
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Posted · Benefactor
Posted (edited)

Congrats Phil and Joe, those are some beautiful coins. I wonder what the other eight coins are Phil? My main miss was the 20 asses, a stunning coin but it went beyond my budget.
On the bright side, and to my surprise, I ended the day with exactly what I wanted going in.

 https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378142

 https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378262 

 https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378322

(This also marks my first posting on this forum. Newbie here 🙂)

Edited by Jabes
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The auction prices were truly absurd, often ranging from 3 to 10 times the regular market value in my opinion. The auction room seemed to be filled with millionaires, bidding against each other with gusto, which was bizarre.

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