NEWPs - Ancient Texas, German States, GB, Sweden?

JCMhouston · August 17, 2015 11:11AM

I had a very bad week last week, everything I wanted to bid on got out of my price range in a hurry. I've had much better luck this week though. The first piece here didn't sell in the Heritage weekly so I made an offer on it and was accepted today, the rest went extremely cheap in todays Stacks sale, not the highest numerical grades but tough coins none the less.

Ancient Texas:

Ok, maybe not, but if we had coins in Ancient Texas I'm sure they would have included cows and horses. Too heavily cleaned obviously, hence why I didn't want to pay the price in the auction, but still acceptable for me.

THESSALY. Trikka. Ca. 440-400 BC. AR hemidrachm (2.52 gm). Bull wrestler grabbing horns of bull to right, petasos and cape fluttering behind / Forepart of bridled horse right in square incuse. HGC 4, 311. NGC XF 5/5 - 3/5.

1718 George I Shilling, NGC 63. I've needed one of the 1st bust coins but they are generally very expensive, this one was about half what the previous 2 sold for and looks just as nice.

1792 Saxony 2 Groschen, NGC 63. You know I like these German minors, and some of the 18th C. pieces are really tough to find in uncirculated.

1813 Zurich 40 Batzen, NGC 64. This particular coin ex-Grundy collection sold off starting in 2009, and purchased by Q. David Bowers.

1898 Sweden 10 Ore, part of my random collection of neat coins. NGC PF66, no mintages listed for these but seemingly tiny. Although I have seen proofs for various years this is the only one graded for 1898.

Zohar · August 17, 2015 2:03PM

Very nice lot Jeff.

Never seem the Thessaly piece which someone resembles my recent purchase in design.

PatAR · August 18, 2015 3:50AM

I'll admit that you pulled me in with the Ancient Texas bit.

Some nice pieces, Jeff. The toning on that 2 groschen, and the overall appearance of the reverse in particular, is exceptional.

nicholasz219 · August 19, 2015 6:38PM

You have a lot to be happy about there Jeff. That's quite a group.

Question though, what about the Thessaly makes you think it is too heavily cleaned? I don't deal in a ton of XF silver from that period so what am I missing? Sorry if that is a rank amateur question.

I love the GI shilling. I stick to copper but every time I see a piece of this quality I just want to collect all of the British. All. Of. It.

The Zurich piece is quite beautiful and the Sweden proof is really stunning in a subdued way with the gun metal and light blue toning.

Insta-jealous.

JCMhouston · August 19, 2015 11:38PM

Nicolasz, I don't have it in hand yet but from the brightness and granular look of the flan it appears to have been pretty harshly cleaned. But that's something that is pretty normal on the average coin of the period.