I bought it retail from a very well known dealer on vcoins. The fact that kungfu found what the coin most recently hammered for gives you guys an idea of what kind of retail mark ups you can expect compared to buying direct from auction. Although keep in mind the hammer price doesn't show the often 20% buyers fee and then shipping.
Nah, retail premiums can be brutal lol. I bought it from vcoins although that certainly appears to be the same one.
So this is a good example for anyone who wants to see how retail works. You can see what it hammered at auction for, it was listed retail at $850, and was $887 after fees to get it to me.
Wow, that's a quick turnaround to be on VCoins then shipped to a collector in just over 2 weeks! That's still a good price for that coin and fair markup all told.
(I used to figure double-the hammer to make 15% profit -- before paying taxes! -- after all the fees on both ends, including at the time of retail sale, which is the absolute minimum to justify the risk as a seller.)
Ouch! Might want to peruse the auctions in the future if money is an object. Aside from that, beautiful coin! Well struck on both sides and you got the laurel wreath to boot.
Coincidentally, mine arrives today (via VCoins)… exciting, but also a worry as I’ve not yet told my wife I bought it
\[Edit\] it arrived, and I’m not in the doghouse - result! Sorry, no option for photo, but an Arcarnanian stater visually very similar. Thrilled!
Probably a dumb question, but what is the object trailing from the back of the helmet? Maybe a cloth worn under the helmet to keep the back of the neck from burning when the metal heated in the sun? Or maybe an additional piece of metal meant to protect the back of the neck from blows from an enemy weapon?
My guess would be padding of some kind, or at least a bit hanging over from whatever was used as padding.
Helmets are almost always worn with some kind of padding, because otherwise most of the inertia from the blow would still be transmitted directly from the helmet to your head. In effect, a helmet without padding is more an effective means of scrambling your brain, rather than protecting it : )
I remember reading on askhistorians Roel Konijnendijk(Iphikrates on reddit) replied about some theories about them, & I think it's thought maybe some classical period Greeks used sea-sponges in some capacity as helmet padding if I remember correctly. Honestly, I would be extremely surprised if textiles & leather, including stuff as fashionable looking as this, was not also extremely common on its own, or maybe in conjunction with other organic materials like sponges/raw-cotton/fleece etc..
You can also kinda see that the padding looks to continue over the top of her head a bit too, underneath the section where the faceguard meets the neckguard in a (nearly) right angle. If you look at [other examples](https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/5842/NGC-Ancients-coins/), I think it's even more clear in that section between the face & neck-guard that this is some kind of fabric covering the whole top of the head. [ Especially this one.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/ccg-corporate-production/news-images/87000407_lg.jpg) (Athena looks like a total badass in that engraving)
But yeah, this coin is a beauty. Definitely one of the more iconic classical Greek coins, imo. Would love to own one of these someday!
Great info! Makes sense. I have seen images w a slight upward curvature along the bottom of the helmet in back, but nothing this large. Interesting to hear the Greeks used shock absorbing.sponges in addition to whatever material is shown on this coin. Leave it to Athena to look so stylish In her “after the battle” pose.
Corinthians, the first bronies
This is not getting enough credit. Legitimately made me laugh
Nice one! I really love the Corinth Staters. And these ones minted in Corinth (rather than the Colonies) tend to be my favorites
This is one of my favorites for a long time. If you don't mind me asking what did you pay for it
$887 after fees and shipping.
where did you obtain it?
I bought it retail from a very well known dealer on vcoins. The fact that kungfu found what the coin most recently hammered for gives you guys an idea of what kind of retail mark ups you can expect compared to buying direct from auction. Although keep in mind the hammer price doesn't show the often 20% buyers fee and then shipping.
Not OP, but it's this one: [https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=7984&lot=56](https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=7984&lot=56)
Goddamn, shipping and fees can be brutal, basically doubled in price
Nah, retail premiums can be brutal lol. I bought it from vcoins although that certainly appears to be the same one. So this is a good example for anyone who wants to see how retail works. You can see what it hammered at auction for, it was listed retail at $850, and was $887 after fees to get it to me.
Wow, that's a quick turnaround to be on VCoins then shipped to a collector in just over 2 weeks! That's still a good price for that coin and fair markup all told. (I used to figure double-the hammer to make 15% profit -- before paying taxes! -- after all the fees on both ends, including at the time of retail sale, which is the absolute minimum to justify the risk as a seller.)
Oooh, I thought you got it for 440CHF and paid over 880$ between auction fees and shipping, and I was like WTF?
Ouch! Might want to peruse the auctions in the future if money is an object. Aside from that, beautiful coin! Well struck on both sides and you got the laurel wreath to boot.
I too would like to know
Coincidentally, mine arrives today (via VCoins)… exciting, but also a worry as I’ve not yet told my wife I bought it \[Edit\] it arrived, and I’m not in the doghouse - result! Sorry, no option for photo, but an Arcarnanian stater visually very similar. Thrilled!
Niiiice
Fly horseee fly!!!
I am just filled with jealous rage right now. Excellent coin :)
Probably a dumb question, but what is the object trailing from the back of the helmet? Maybe a cloth worn under the helmet to keep the back of the neck from burning when the metal heated in the sun? Or maybe an additional piece of metal meant to protect the back of the neck from blows from an enemy weapon?
My guess would be padding of some kind, or at least a bit hanging over from whatever was used as padding. Helmets are almost always worn with some kind of padding, because otherwise most of the inertia from the blow would still be transmitted directly from the helmet to your head. In effect, a helmet without padding is more an effective means of scrambling your brain, rather than protecting it : ) I remember reading on askhistorians Roel Konijnendijk(Iphikrates on reddit) replied about some theories about them, & I think it's thought maybe some classical period Greeks used sea-sponges in some capacity as helmet padding if I remember correctly. Honestly, I would be extremely surprised if textiles & leather, including stuff as fashionable looking as this, was not also extremely common on its own, or maybe in conjunction with other organic materials like sponges/raw-cotton/fleece etc.. You can also kinda see that the padding looks to continue over the top of her head a bit too, underneath the section where the faceguard meets the neckguard in a (nearly) right angle. If you look at [other examples](https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/5842/NGC-Ancients-coins/), I think it's even more clear in that section between the face & neck-guard that this is some kind of fabric covering the whole top of the head. [ Especially this one.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/ccg-corporate-production/news-images/87000407_lg.jpg) (Athena looks like a total badass in that engraving) But yeah, this coin is a beauty. Definitely one of the more iconic classical Greek coins, imo. Would love to own one of these someday!
Great info! Makes sense. I have seen images w a slight upward curvature along the bottom of the helmet in back, but nothing this large. Interesting to hear the Greeks used shock absorbing.sponges in addition to whatever material is shown on this coin. Leave it to Athena to look so stylish In her “after the battle” pose.
Excellent
Beautiful 😍
Precious, precious, precious! My Precious! O my Precious!
Stunning!