Frank Robinson's auction is now up!

[Roman Collector]

Frank's latest auction is now up and running. Looks like a lot of interesting Judean stuff this time around.

[shanxi]

If you are looking for an angry Trajan, you need Lot 116 😉

[Kali]

Hope no one is planning on bidding on lot #604, I plan on putting a strong bid on it.

Just a warning.🤨

[kirispupis]

Hope no one bites on #20. The evidence is strong against the attribution and even the starting bid is too high.

[sand]

1 hour ago, Kali said:

Hope no one is planning on bidding on lot #604, I plan on putting a strong bid on it.

Just a warning.🤨

LOL! What in the world, is this contraption?

"604 COIN Restoration Machine, the device you've always dreamed of, combining the latest in AI,

3-D printing & quantum computing technology; just place a coin in the slot, press the button, and

the coin comes out as new, minus any corrosion, nicks, wear, etc. Satisfaction guaranteed $199.95"

[sand]

P.S. : After thinking about it, I'm guessing, that Mr. Robinson has a sense of humor.

I wonder, what the shipping cost would be?

Edited July 27, 2022 by sand

[Kali]

2 minutes ago, sand said:

P.S. : After thinking about it, I'm guessing, that Mr. Robinson has a sense of humor.

I wonder what the shipping cost would be?

 

Not sure, but I bet it will use up the majority of the old stamps he has left.😁

[sand]

I wonder, what would happen, if someone were to bid on it.

[Kamnaskires]

31 minutes ago, sand said:

I'm guessing, that Mr. Robinson has a sense of humor.

Back in July 2017, this was the emailed announcement about his latest auction:

"It is with inordinate pride and pleasure that I announce my landmark 101st auction of ancient and early coins, closing August 15. The sale boasts 558 lots, of superlative quality for the most discriminating connoisseurs. Enter the catalog and you will be transported on wings of angels into a veritable dreamworld of numismatic treasures.

Your portal to bidding ecstasy opens at: http://www.fsrcoin.com/t.html"

 

I quoted, at CT, a selection of Frank's coin descriptions from another FSR auction, this one back in 2020:

"97 Orodes II, 48.9, VF, off-ctr, edge split, bright silver, sharp portrait.
(A VF+ sold for $500, CGB 11/09, bought by an alien from the planet Xorgon who didn't know any better.) MB $40"

Lot 132 is a didrachm from Segesta, Sicily. From Frank's description: " A nice bold coin. I segesta strong bid."

From lot 173: "...insignificant imperfections that only an OCD nitpicker would notice. But of course you are not one of those"

Frank's sales pitch for 176: "A pretty ugly coin."

251: "Ops std l...(Ops was the goddess of wealth, still widely worshipped today. Not to be confused with Oops, the goddess of errors.)"

281: "a thoroughly ordinary Joe Sixpack everyday coin, forgotten by the complacent elites of numismatics."

291: "Uberitas stg l;...Uberitas was the god of chariot-hailing services."

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by Kamnaskires

[DonnaML]

This is the link to Frank's auction on biddr: https://www.biddr.com/auctions/fsrcoin/browse?a=2789 . I find the lots easier to scroll through on biddr than at the five different links on Frank's website.

[DonnaML]

4 hours ago, kirispupis said:

Hope no one bites on #20. The evidence is strong against the attribution and even the starting bid is too high.

To be fair, he does acknowledge the "more prosaic Syrian attribution."

[DonnaML]

Speaking of questionable attributions, please do not bid on this lot if you're looking to buy Judaica:

 

Assuming that the piece is actually from Fatimid Egypt, then it's almost certainly not a "Jewish" star. The six-pointed star had no particular association with Jews or Judaism prior to the mid-14th century CE, and did not become universally associated with Judaism until even later than that. In the ancient and early medieval worlds, the universal symbol of Judaism -- on coins, on tombstones, in synagogues, etc. -- was the menorah.  And sometimes the lulav, the etrog, and/or the other Species associated with Sukkot. But not the six-pointed star. 

[Parthicus]

My favorite bit of FSR humor was in the lot description for a group of well-worn bronzes, which were said to be in "vomitous putrescent condition."  He went on to explain that he just didn't want anyone to complain that the coins were overgraded.  I actually placed a (low) bid on that lot, just to see what "vomitous putrescent" coin would look like, but didn't win.

That coin restoration  machine... hmm, I don't know if I trust it.  It doesn't have blockchain. 

[CPK]

Looks like there's some interesting stuff in this auction.

I'm a newcomer to FRS auctions but I must say, I really, really like the 0% "buyer's premium". I'll gladly overlook the photo quality for that. 😄

I won a really nice Constantius Fallen Horseman on his last auction. Perhaps I will get lucky this time too.

 

[DLTcoins]

5 hours ago, DonnaML said:

Speaking of questionable attributions, please do not bid on this lot if you're looking to buy Judaica:

 

Assuming that the piece is actually from Fatimid Egypt, then it's almost certainly not a "Jewish" star. The six-pointed star had no particular association with Jews or Judaism prior to the mid-14th century CE, and did not become universally associated with Judaism until even later than that. In the ancient and early medieval worlds, the universal symbol of Judaism -- on coins, on tombstones, in synagogues, etc. -- was the menorah.  And sometimes the lulav, the etrog, and/or the other Species associated with Sukkot. But not the six-pointed star. 

In Islam, it's known as the Seal of Solomon.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_Solomon

[DonnaML]

2 minutes ago, DLTcoins said:

In Islam, it's known as the Seal of Solomon.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_Solomon

But from the article, not necessarily this design, at least not this early.

[DLTcoins]

1 hour ago, DonnaML said:

But from the article, not necessarily this design, at least not this early.

It's likely not as early as suggested. A check of acsearch shows several similar hexagram jetons attributed by Steve Album as "Mamluk, 1260s-1500". 

There is a long tradition of glass jetons in Egypt, going back to at least the late Roman/ early Byzantine period. Most have Arabic inscriptions, often naming a ruler ('Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, etc).

Edited July 28, 2022 by DLTcoins

[Constantivs]

6 hours ago, Parthicus said:

My favorite bit of FSR humor was in the lot description for a group of well-worn bronzes, which were said to be in "vomitous putrescent condition."  He went on to explain that he just didn't want anyone to complain that the coins were overgraded.  I actually placed a (low) bid on that lot, just to see what "vomitous putrescent" coin would look like, but didn't win.

That coin restoration  machine... hmm, I don't know if I trust it.  It doesn't have blockchain. 

My favorite bit of humor was his description of a Roman Republic coin featuring a rat - I think it was this Quinctius denarius I show below (not my coin).

His description was something like "Most Romans depicted on coins were rats.. this one features an actual rat"

Roman republic, Ti. Quinctius, 112-111 BC, AR denarius

[Severus Alexander]

Some more gems from Frank:

[Herodotus]

Frank has purchased a few coins from me over time.

#16 in this upcoming auction used to reside in my collection.  My photo is closer to its actual appearance in hand.

 

ZEUGITANIA, Carthage. Time of the Second Punic War. (215-201 BC). Æ20. Shekel(?) (20mm, 3.88 gm). Sicilian mint?

O: Wreathed head of Tanit left.

R: Horse standing right, head reverted.

[Furryfrog02]

huh... I didn't even get an email that this auction was coming up. 

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

I haven't seen an email either and it's not in my spam folder....hmmm,

[DonnaML]

I didn't get an email either, but I haven't bought or even bid on anything in Frank's last few auctions. Maybe I'm off his mailing list?

[seth77]

Maybe there's some lichen encrustation in the mailbox hiding the notice.

[Nap]

Frank’s humor is on even more full display in his newsletters for the Albany Numismatic Society.