EVP's NYINC 2023 report
EVillageProwler
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As in the past, this may seem like a blog to some. No matter its style, I hope you enjoy this post.
As past years, I take the train into the City to do lot viewing Sunday morning and return home when done. This year I mostly focused on CNG and NYS lot viewing because of the lots of interest. I'll talk about those lots later as part of the ongoing show report.
On Monday, I get a reminder from @Nap about HA Platinum Night; we have one lot in that session that greatly interest us: Ceowulf II Cross-and-Lozenge type. That coin is excessively rare and valuable, yet the lot opened and closed at a mere 10K. There is much more to be written about this coin that should not be done in an open forum; I do not mean to be a tease but ... oh well.
Anyway, Wednesday brings me into the City around noon and I settle in just in time for the start of CNG session 4 (I also had time to eat lunch at a nearby Luke's Lobster Shack!). In that session, I won 3 lots and lost 2. The two lost are: (1) lot 1107, an attractive scarce coin with an old cleaning and secondary toning, and grading possibly AU55, that is worth about estimate; and (2) lot 1230, and utterly gorgeous and scarce variation that, IMO, is worth between 2.5K and 3K. That both lots went above their worth, especially the Series QIIIA Sceatt (lot 1230), were head scratchers.
So these are the ones I won:
Lot 1050:
GERMANY, Landau. Besieged by Marshal de Villars, 1713. AR 2 Florin 8 Kreuzer (43mm, 21.50 g, 12h). Siege issue. Dated 1713. Stamped with the coat-of-arms of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, two rectangular stamps reading PRO/ CÆS : & IMP : and BEL : LANDAU/ 2 · FL : 8X, and four crowned monograms / Blank. Korchnak 314; Maillet pl. LXIX, 7; KM 13. Toned with traces of iridescence. EF.
Ex John Whitney Walter Collection (Stacks Bowers, 14 August 2018), lot 20580; Coin Galleries (17 December 2008), lot 638 (ticket now missing).
Lot 1226:
ANGLO-SAXON, Secondary Sceattas. Circa 710/5-720/5. AR Sceatt (12mm, 1.10 g, 10h). Series N, type 41b var. Mint in east Kent or lower Thames region(?). Two figures standing facing, each holding curved staves in outer hand; array of pellets between / Monster in flight right, head left; pellets in fields. Abramson 52-35 (same dies as illustration); MEC 8 Series N, 477; cf. SCBI 63 (BM), 609 (for similar series QIA sceat with beast left); SCBI 67 (Abramson) 571 (same dies); North 98; SCBC 806. Glossy find patina with hints of luster, minor areas of weak strike. EF. Rare Series N variety.
And lot 1228:
ANGLO-SAXON, Secondary Sceattas. Circa 725-735. AR Sceatt (13mm, 1.15 g, 12h). Series O, type 40. Mint in the Thames region. Figure with curved shoulders standing facing, feet right, holding cross pommée in each hand / Fantastic creature in flight left, head reverted; pellets around. Abramson 55-15; MEC 8 Series Od, 491 (same obv. die; there considered an imitation); cf. SCBI 63 (BM), 600-5 (for type); SCBI 67 (Abramson) 601 (same obv. die); North 114; SCBC 807B. Lightly toned, small spot of roughness on reverse margin. Good VF. Unusually fine for type. Rare.
After the Triton, I meet @Zohar at the hotel bar and we have drinks with some folks from Nomisma before heading out to dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant and return in time to see the Anglo-Saxon portion of New York Sale 58 go off. Through an agent, I won one lot and lost two. The early Anglo-Saxon lots went very strong. The two I lost really surprised me: (1) lot 1136, a well struck Two Emperors Thrymsa that I figured was worth 5K to 7.5K; and (2) lot 1149, a very nice Series T Sceatt that I figured was worth perhaps 3.5K. My max bids were substantial and yet I still lost those two.
The single lot I won in NYS58 is lot 1146:
Great Britain. Anglo-Saxon. Mercia, Aethelbald, 716-757. Silver Sceatta.95 g. Londonia Issue, "L" type 13, c. 720. London mint. Diademed bust r. sceptre before, LUNOONM around. Rev. Aethelbald enthroned holding hawk and cross. S.804A, SCBI Abramson 509. Very rare. Exceptional, one of the finest known. Extremely Fine. PCGS graded EF-45.
For rare and choice early Anglo-Saxon lots, prices seemed strong to me. But for the pennies in NYS58, prices were mixed.
Thursday started with breakfast with @Zohar and several dealers at a nearby diner:
And @Nap arrived at 11am and we made our way to the bourse at noon. I buy two lots from CNG's NYINC CNR:
DENMARK. Stridsperioden (Civil War). 1044-1047. AR Penny (17mm, 1.02 g, 3h). Lund mint; Ilontat(?), moneyer. + O ID IIIVDCO, bird standing left / + IL· ONT ΛT N LVD, voided long cross, with pellet at center and triple-crescent ends; crescent in first quarter. Becker rev. die 110; Hauberg 16 (Magnus the Good); Hede III, 43; Triton XVIII, lot 1496 (same dies). Toned, trace of double striking in obverse legend. EF. A very high grade example of this wonderful Viking type.
Ex Karsten B. Kold Collection.
(This coin is amazingly nice and much nicer than the image would suggest.)
SCANDINAVIA. Early 11th century AD. AR Penny (20mm, 1.27 g, 1h). Imitating a Hiberno-Norse Long Cross type of Sihtric III Olafsson. + ZIIITR F RX УFIHLLO, diademed and draped bust left / X F•Æ REM N M•O DУFL, voided long cross with triple-crescent ends and pellet at center; pellets in crescent ends. Malmer – (but cf. 196-7/1150 and 101-2/1151 for other imitations of Sihtric); SCBI 25 (Helsinki), 921 (Hiberno-Norse; same dies). Toned, slightly crimped. Near EF. Extremely rare.
Though the die duplicate cited in the Helsinki is given as Hiberno-Norse the anomalous style of bust, irregular lettering forms (eg the X instead of + in REX and the alignments of the initial crosses) and the fabric are all indicative of a Scandinavian origin.
(This coin is essentially a Scandinavian imitation of a Hiberno-Norse imitation of an Anglo-Saxon issue.)
Then I walk around and make my way to Numismatica Fiorentina and pick up this high grade Papal States Half Piastra:
Nap and I hung out briefly with @Iosephus in our room before heading back to the bourse. I also walk around some more, looking at inventory and chatting up dealers before finally making my way to Andy's table for wine, cheese and crackers.
For dinner, @Stork, Nap, Zohar and I ate at the hotel restaurant because it was raining outside.
Friday morning began with Nap and me having bagel sandwiches from a nearby Ess-a-Bagel joint. Yummy!!! On the bourse floor, I visit more dealers. Baldwin's have nothing for me. Sovereign Rarities did tempt me with an Anglo-Saxon coin and a rare Charles I Tower mint Crown. Ultimately, I settle on these two coins:
IRELAND, Hiberno-Norse. Phase IV. Circa 1055/60-1065. AR Penny (17mm, 1.09 g). Phase IV coinage, Long Cross ‘scratched die’ type. Draped bust left; two pellets to left, single pellet over quatrefoil of pellets to right; trefoil of pellets on neck / Voided long cross, with triple crescent ends; trefoil of pellets in first quarter, crude star in second, ‘hand’ symbol in third, scratched cross and pellets(?) in fourth. SCBI 8 (BM), 147 (same obv. die); SCBI 22 (Copenhagen), –; SCBI 32 (Ulster), 314/313 (same obv./rev. dies); D&F 25; SCBC 6134. Richly toned. Near EF. Rare. An excellent example of the ‘scratched die’ issue.
Ex Terenure (Whyte’s, 20 February 1998), lot 18.
And from Wolfshead Gallery I pick up this very nice Near EF Plegmund Penny. Ex Williams, ex Lockett.
Dinner was at the nearby Urban Space food court with Stork and Nap.
Saturday started with breakfast with Nap and the nearby diner. Milled about the bourse for a bit before taking Stork to Chinatown for some authentic Cantonese food and showed her around like a tourist, taking her to Five Points, Confucius Plaza and other bits of the neighborhood.
The evening was spent at the SB auction where I was just a spectator, before heading out to a nearby relatively authentic and upscale Japanese restaurant where we ordered Sashimi Omakase for Stork and me.
Tomorrow morning I will go home so I will write this show report now.
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
Comments
Some amazing coins and fantastic write up, thank you.
Thank you for the report, sounds like you are having a good time.
I saw the Denmark coin on CNG and had hoped that you were the buyer. Congrats on all
the new additions.
Thanks for the mentions EVP. Had a great time hanging out and encouraging each other to spend ever larger sums of money. Perhaps later I will write a show report as well. You made some tremendous additions to your collection!
I find myself often thinking that opportunities to spend money abound, and there is always another cool coin just around the corner, in a dealer’s inventory or in an upcoming auction. But, without being too sappy, I think the experiences shared and memories made during a show with other like-minded enthusiasts are really the biggest enjoyments of this hobby.
Ditto - glad you picked it up!
My current "Box of 20"
You had a prolific show EVP. The Denmark civil war piece is amazing.
Awesome looking omakase!!!
Great report EVP. Miss seeing you and Zohar at shows.
Thanks. Would love to see you again, as well as having access to your professional services!
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
Thanks for the comments everyone!
I am super excited to get that. That type generally comes nice -- not sure why -- but mine is unusually nice. I think I was the immediate underbidder of that lot at the Karsten Kold (Part II) sale. It went to such a level that fighting for it would be foolish rather than hoping it lands in a dealer's inventory where I'd have a shot at a not-too-scary price.
Awesome tasting too!
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
Thanks for the writeup, enjoyed it.
Nice report. Thanks
When I saw ex John Whitney Walter I was expecting to see something dated 1796. Wonderful report, glad you had fun.
www.brunkauctions.com