A Honorius solidus for less than $100 over melt?

[JayAg47]

Tempting! 

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Indeed.

[DonnaML]

Yes, it's cheap, but just look at it! Honorius's face is grotesquely misshapen. And then there's the reverse.

The upcoming Leu auction has large numbers of solidi with starting prices of a couple of hundred CHF or less. I'm not sure what kinds of actual prices they're expecting. I would not be pleased if I were a consignor.

 

[ela126]

ive noticed that ugly gold does terribly at larger auction houses. when everyone is focused on 4+ figure coins, no one wants to buy the least attractive piece in the auction. Good places for more budget focused collectors to watch. At Nomos a few weeks ago, i watched 3 of the byz Solidi go for just about melt, after the AH fees. they were scratched, clipped ugly things, but still gold.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Is that a result of tooling/smoothing?

[JayAg47]

5 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

Is that a result of tooling/smoothing?

I think it just weak dies. 

[JayAg47]

No surprise it got sold overnight! 
Now I regret not purchasing, just for the gold content itself! I mean even a generic half sovereign cost nearly 600 aud nowadays! 

Edited December 3, 2024 by JayAg47

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

That makes me feel old. I remember when Jon Kern dumped out his pick bag of (nice) solidi of the same type and they were c. $500.  This was c. 2000.

[rasiel]

17 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

Is that a result of tooling/smoothing?

No, this is post strike wear and tear. This is 24 karat gold which is very soft and thus susceptible to physical damage.

Rasiel