Some very impressive prices for a few Roman Alexandrian coins in yesterday's Naville Auction

[DonnaML]

Some examples, with the prices realized (in descending order) and the Naville Numismatics descriptions.

Lot 375

Starting price: 1800 GBP
Price realized: 7500 GBP

Egypt, Alexandria Antoninus Pius, 138-161 Drachm circa 144-145 (year 8), Æ 32.50 mm., 26.84 g.
Laureate head r. Rev. Venus in Taurus: draped bust of Aphrodite, l., wearing stephane; below, bull, head lowered, stamping ground, left; before, star; in exergue, LH. RPC 863. Dattari 2960.

Possibly the finest specimen known if this rare and intriguing issue, lovely brown tone and uncirculated Extremely Fine.

Possibly the finest specimen known.

Lot 374

Starting price: 1800 GBP
Price realized: 4600 GBP

Egypt, Alexandria Antoninus Pius, 138-161 Drachm circa 144-145 (year 8), Æ 35.60 mm., 27.31 g.
ΑVΤ Κ Τ ΑΙΛ ΑΔΡ ΑΝΤⲰΝƐΙΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ ƐVϹ Laureate head r. Rev. Zodiac, Sun in Leo: radiate-headed and draped bust of Helios, r.; below, lion running, r.; before, star. RPC 858. Dattari 2968.

Lovely bold portait of fine style and superb brown patina, amongst the finest for the issue, Extremely Fine.

Next, it's the Snake Cowboy!

Lot 308

Starting price: 150 GBP
Price realized: 2800 GBP

Egypt, Alexandria Domitian, 81-96 Diobol circa 91-92 (year 11), Æ 23.70 mm., 6.00 g.
Head of Domitian wreathed with corn r. Rev. Serpent on back of horse r.; below, LIA. RPC 2634. Dattari 565.

Possibly the best specimen known for this issue, attractive brown patina and portrait of lovely style, Extremely Fine.

Lot 419

Starting price: 400 GBP
Price realized: 1800 GBP

Egypt, Alexandria Hadrian, 117-138 Dichalcon Tentyrite. Circa 126-127 (year 11), Æ 15.10 mm., 2.13 g.
Laureate bust r., drpery on l. shoulder. Rev. ΤΕΝΤΥΡ Hawk standing r.; in r. field, LIA. RPC 6328. Dattari-Savio -.

Extremely rare and of an exceptional quality. Lovely brown tone and Good Extremely Fine.

I didn't bid on any of them -- no surprise! -- but put in bids on number of others. I lost out on these three, my first choices, on all of which I had placed pre-bids:

After I lost these three, I put in three more bids on less expensive types that came up towards the end, by which time I suspect a lot of bidders were running out of steam. I won all three, two of them for hammer prices of 36 and 20 GBP, respectively -- the lowest hammer prices for which I've ever won coins at an auction, outside of Ebay! I'll post them after they arrive.

Edited Tuesday at 02:48 AM by DonnaML

[JayAg47]

I bet Romans who happened to come across Alexandrian coins (despite the closed economy) were just as amused as we are for its weird imagery. As always my favourite is the man-headed snake riding a horse, although mine's a humble example that cost me 1% of the hammer price that you posted. 

 

Edited Tuesday at 10:03 AM by JayAg47

[Qcumbor]

Wow !

The one I prefer by a mile is the Domitian/snake cow boy diobol, it's stunning, with a fantastic portrait and incredible reverse !

Thanks for showing them

Q

[CPK]

13 minutes ago, Qcumbor said:

Wow !

The one I prefer by a mile is the Domitian/snake cow boy diobol, it's stunning, with a fantastic portrait and incredible reverse !

Thanks for showing them

Q

Yes, my thoughts exactly! That is one beautiful coin!

[David Atherton]

Unfortunately, I was the underbidder on lot 314. I got in slight bidding war with another bidder, but gave up the chase when I realised it could go crazy high. I hope the winner enjoys it.

[Al Kowsky]

8 hours ago, DonnaML said:

Some examples, with the prices realized (in descending order) and the Naville Numismatics descriptions.

Lot 375

Starting price: 1800 GBP
Price realized: 7500 GBP

Egypt, Alexandria Antoninus Pius, 138-161 Drachm circa 144-145 (year 8), Æ 32.50 mm., 26.84 g.
Laureate head r. Rev. Venus in Taurus: draped bust of Aphrodite, l., wearing stephane; below, bull, head lowered, stamping ground, left; before, star; in exergue, LH. RPC 863. Dattari 2960.

Possibly the finest specimen known if this rare and intriguing issue, lovely brown tone and uncirculated Extremely Fine.

Possibly the finest specimen known.

Lot 374

Starting price: 1800 GBP
Price realized: 4600 GBP

Egypt, Alexandria Antoninus Pius, 138-161 Drachm circa 144-145 (year 8), Æ 35.60 mm., 27.31 g.
ΑVΤ Κ Τ ΑΙΛ ΑΔΡ ΑΝΤⲰΝƐΙΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ ƐVϹ Laureate head r. Rev. Zodiac, Sun in Leo: radiate-headed and draped bust of Helios, r.; below, lion running, r.; before, star. RPC 858. Dattari 2968.

Lovely bold portait of fine style and superb brown patina, amongst the finest for the issue, Extremely Fine.

Next, it's the Snake Cowboy!

Lot 308

Starting price: 150 GBP
Price realized: 2800 GBP

Egypt, Alexandria Domitian, 81-96 Diobol circa 91-92 (year 11), Æ 23.70 mm., 6.00 g.
Head of Domitian wreathed with corn r. Rev. Serpent on back of horse r.; below, LIA. RPC 2634. Dattari 565.

Possibly the best specimen known for this issue, attractive brown patina and portrait of lovely style, Extremely Fine.

Lot 419

Starting price: 400 GBP
Price realized: 1800 GBP

Egypt, Alexandria Hadrian, 117-138 Dichalcon Tentyrite. Circa 126-127 (year 11), Æ 15.10 mm., 2.13 g.
Laureate bust r., drpery on l. shoulder. Rev. ΤΕΝΤΥΡ Hawk standing r.; in r. field, LIA. RPC 6328. Dattari-Savio -.

Extremely rare and of an exceptional quality. Lovely brown tone and Good Extremely Fine.

I didn't bid on any of them -- no surprise! -- but put in bids on number of others. I lost out on these three, my first choices, on all of which I had placed pre-bids:

After I lost these three, I put in three more bids on less expensive types that came up towards the end, by which time I suspect a lot of bidders were running out of steam. I won all three, two of them for hammer prices of 36 and 20 GBP, respectively -- the lowest hammer prices for which I've ever won coins at an auction, outside of Ebay! I'll post them after they arrive.

The prices realized for lots 374 & 375 don't surprise me 😉. The big bronzes that are well struck, in near mint state, that haven't been over-cleaned or smoothed will always do well at auction 🤩.

[John Conduitt]

How much are people here swayed by the "Possibly the finest specimen known" tag? It seems to work very well as a marketing tool and I can understand why anyone with enough money would want the finest known. But I would also be wondering how hard the auction house looked for another, or how subjective 'finest' is.

Edited Tuesday at 11:24 AM by John Conduitt

[CPK]

40 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

How much are people here swayed by the "Possibly the finest specimen known" tag? It seems to work very well as a marketing tool and I can understand why anyone with enough money would want the finest known. But I would also be wondering how hard the auction house looked for another, or how subjective 'finest' is.

For me it's a little bit like rarity ratings - of course it's a good selling point - who wouldn't want the finest known? but I don't take the auction house's word for it. I like to check for myself in references, archives, etc.

Edited Tuesday at 12:05 PM by CPK

[Qcumbor]

2 hours ago, John Conduitt said:

How much are people here swayed by the "Possibly the finest specimen known" tag? It seems to work very well as a marketing tool and I can understand why anyone with enough money would want the finest known. But I would also be wondering how hard the auction house looked for another, or how subjective 'finest' is.

The best way to make sure yours is the best known is to buy only unicums 😄
BTW it might also be the worst known !!

Q

Edited Tuesday at 02:02 PM by Qcumbor

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

I'm sure you had some nice pick-ups. Will look forward to seeing them. 

 

My fave is the Taurus example. As I have mentioned before I have bid on these zodiac types a few times when they come up for auction and have never won.

As a consolation, I am about to pull the trigger in the coming couple of days on a sestertius of a somewhat rare figure, a one-time Caesar. But I don't want to leak any info about it for obvious reasons.

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:17 PM by Ancient Coin Hunter

[thejewk]

There were some real stunners, made me want to start looking seriously at Alexandrian coinage. 

That sale was actually my first real non-ebay auction experience, and I won what I was after, although at the higher end of my budget. 

[DonnaML]

4 hours ago, Al Kowsky said:

The prices realized for lots 374 & 375 don't surprise me 😉. The big bronzes that are well struck, in near mint state, that haven't been over-cleaned or smoothed will always do well at auction 🤩.

By contrast to Lot 374, here's my own extremely modest example of the Antoninus Pius Zodiac Series drachm with Leo and Helios, purchased for well under 10% of the price of the Naville specimen. And yet I'm perfectly happy with it:

Antoninus Pius AE Drachm, Zodiac Series, Sun in Leo (day house), Year 8 (144-145 AD), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, ΑYΤ Κ Τ ΑΙΛ ΑΔΡ ΑΝΤѠΝƐΙΝΟϹ ϹƐ-Β ƐYϹ (legend begins at 8:00) / Rev. Lion springing right; above to left, bust of Helios, radiate and draped; above to right, 8-pointed star; L H (Year 8 ) below.  RPC IV.4 Online 13547 (temp.) (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/13547 ); Emmett 1530.8 (ill. p. 74A); BMC 16 Alexandria 1084 at p. 127 (ill. Pl. 12); Milne 1813-1815 at p. 44 (No. 1815 has same obv. legend break as this coin, i.e., ϹƐ-Β ƐVϹ); Dattari (Savio) 2968; K&G 35.278 (ill. p. 173); Köln (Geissen) 1495.  Ex Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger, Auction 428, Lot 555, 28 Apr. 2021; ex Heidelberger Münzhandlung Herbert Grün e.K., Auction 79, Lot 1284, 10 Nov. 2020.* 33 mm., 20.95 g.

*See Classical Numismatic Group, Triton XXI Catalog (“The Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection of the Coins of Roman Alexandria,” Jan 9. 2018), Lot 124, p. 68 (available at https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=349280) , quoted in footnote to previous coin, explaining Great Sothic Cycle 

I have seen no explanation of why it took five years to issue this series after the beginning of the new Cycle in the third year of the reign of Antoninus Pius. It should be noted that the Zodiac series is based not on the ancient Egyptian “Decan” system of 36 star groups (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decan), but on the 12 Greek (originally Babylonian) signs, and depicts associated Greco-Roman deities -- although the additional “Zodiac Wheel” coin (see Triton XXI catalog, Lot 124) depicts Isis and Serapis at the center of the reverse. 

In total, according to Emmett, there are 16 basic drachm types in the Antoninus Pius Zodiac Series, all issued in Year 8 of his reign, listed and depicted in Emmett at p. 74A: Ares (Mars) in Aries [ram] (Emmett 1461.8), Aphrodite (Venus) in Taurus [bull] (E. 1450.8), Hermes (Mercury) in Gemini [with the twins represented by Herakles and Apollo rather than the Dioscuri] (E.1576.8), Selene (Moon) in Cancer [crab] (E.1681.8), Helios (Sun) in Leo [this coin] (E.1530.8), Hermes (Mercury) in Virgo [Demeter] (E.1575.8), Aphrodite (Venus) in Libra [female holding scales] (E.1452.8), Ares (Mars) in Scorpio [scorpion] (E.1460.8), Zeus (Jupiter) in Sagittarius [centaur as archer] (E.1693.8), Kronos (Saturn) in Capricorn [capricorn] (E.1598.8), Kronos (Saturn) in Aquarius [youth swimming with amphora] (E.1451.8), and Zeus (Jupiter) in Pisces [two fish] (E.1692.8). There are four additional coins variously depicting Helios and Selene, Serapis and Isis, or Serapis by himself in the center, surrounded by either one circular band showing the Zodiac, or two bands showing respectively the Zodiac and the five planets together with the Sun and Moon (Emmett 1705-1708). 

[DonnaML]

4 hours ago, David Atherton said:

Unfortunately, I was the underbidder on lot 314. I got in slight bidding war with another bidder, but gave up the chase when I realised it could go crazy high. I hope the winner enjoys it.

Do you mean Lot 308, the "snake cowboy"? Lot 314 was this one: https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=8168&lot=314 . It hammered for 320 GBP.

[DonnaML]

2 hours ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said:

I'm sure you had some nice pick-ups. Will look forward to seeing them. 

 

My fave is the Taurus example. As I have mentioned before I have bid on these zodiac types a few times when they come up for auction and have never won.

As a consolation, I am about to pull the trigger in the coming couple of days on a sestertius of a somewhat rare figure, a one-time Caesar. But I don't want to leak any info about it for obvious reasons.

 

Thanks! I assure you they're nothing special, but even the 36 and 20 GBP coins are perfectly decent specimens of types that have typically sold for several times that amount.  And the third coin is actually quite a scarce type, with a long-standing dispute over the identity of the figure on the reverse, issued by an emperor for whom none of the Roman Alexandrian issues is seen very often.

[David Atherton]

5 hours ago, DonnaML said:

Do you mean Lot 308, the "snake cowboy"? Lot 314 was this one: https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=8168&lot=314 . It hammered for 320 GBP.

Lot 314, the unlisted Domitian in quadriga. 

[Michael Stolt]

CNG sold this not too long ago in their shop. In much better shape than the one that Naville offered, just to show what a huge price increase quality can do for coins like these.

 

[DonnaML]

1 hour ago, Michael Stolt said:

CNG sold this not too long ago in their shop. In much better shape than the one that Naville offered, just to show what a huge price increase quality can do for coins like these.

 

Wow. I'm not sure this one is "much better" enough than the Naville example to deserve a price 6 times higher than what I thought was a pretty high price in the first place!

[Michael Stolt]

26 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

Wow. I'm not sure this one is "much better" enough than the Naville example to deserve a price 6 times higher than what I thought was a pretty high price in the first place!

Looking at the coins side by side makes the difference a bit more clear. The CNG specimen has sharper detail, less wear, better centering, and in my opinion a far more attractive patina. This makes an enormous difference for coins like these, where you have very deep pockets bidding. Thankfully the vast majority of Alexandrian coins do not even come up into the four figures, so plenty to collect for everyone.