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V23 2020 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 23, Number 2, January 12, 2020, Article 18

SELECTIONS FROM DAVISSON'S E-AUCTION 34

Here are some items that caught my eye in the Davisson's E-Auction 34 closing February 5, 2020. First, here's some new year commentary from Allan Davisson's January 10, 2020 email blast. -Editor

Davissons E-Auction 34 cover Welcome to another decade! Marnie and I have been reminiscing…. The last ten years have seen momentous changes in our lives, as we welcome grandchildren, and as we continue to experience the remarkable remaking of our business by our son and partner Lief, who has orchestrated the building of our internet auction platform and brought our business into the 21st century in many different ways.

Our enthusiasm and approach to numismatics is rooted in the centuries-old enthusiasm for art and history of coinage that began with Romans collecting Greek coins, but the presentation to a world-wide community of coin enthusiasts via the internet is far beyond anything we could imagine in the early 1990’s when we were still doing black-and-white photography with a Polaroid camera mounted on a copy stand. My first effort at publishing color photographs involved working with a professional photographer whose gang-shot images could be converted to color after we paid a pre-press shop to do the work. (My memory? It was expensive and a bit disappointing when we finally got the print catalog in hand.)

We still use the copy stand, but Lief has mastered the art of coin photography, going well beyond my experience. He uses pre-press programs on our own computers to bring the color photographs to our catalogs and our website that show you much more than the black-and-white images we presented early on. But we still favor the detailed written descriptions we used in those old black-and-white days, so that you have a clear idea of what you can expect.

This catalog? Ordinarily we begin the calendar year with our largest sale of the year, filled with some of our choicest material. That sale is well along in production and will close in March. But we have some things for you to consider now: a New Year Store Sale, some good and some great pieces that slipped through earlier sales and deserve a second look (and at lower estimates); some coins that have come to us looking for new owners, keepers of these bits of history; and some select pieces that could have fit in the bigger sale but seem particularly suitable for our first E- Auction of the new decade.

Lot 2: 1913 French 20 Francs

1913 Franch 20 Francs

FRANCE. AV 20 francs. 6.46 gm. 21 mm. .1867 oz AGW. 1913. Liberty head right / Rooster left. KM 857. Friedberg 596a. Uncirculated.

What's not to like about a pretty gold coin? -Editor

To read the complete lot description, see:
E-Auction 34 Lot 2 (https://davcoin.com/lot/e-auction-34-lot-2)

Himera Gorgon Head Hemilitron

Himera Gorgon Head Hemilitron

SICILY. Himera. Circa 430 B.C. Æ hemilitron. 15.03 gm. 23 mm. Cast coinage, reduced standard. A facing Gorgon with protruding tongue and furrowed cheeks / Six pellets (mark of value). CNS I p. 34, 24. SNG ANS 180.

I have a soft spot for goofy Gorgon heads. -Editor

To read the complete lot description, see:
E-Auction 34 Lot 9 (https://davcoin.com/lot/e-auction-34-lot-9)

Lot 62: Coenwulf Penny

Coenwulf Penny

ANGLO-SAXON. Kings of Mercia. Coenwulf. 796-821. AR penny. 1.29 gm. 18 mm. Tribrach type. London mint, Pendwine moneyer. Circa 797/8-805. A Mercian M with a short horizontal line above, a pellet circle around / A tribrach moline; PEN | DVV | INE in angles. S. 914. N. 342. Naismith L14a (this coin). Very Fine; rare moneyer.

Ex Delgany Hoard (1874).
Ex Evans (1908).
Ex Lord Grantley (1944).
Ex Blunt, Lyon and Stewart 1963, Coenwulf 17.
Ex SNC XCVIII.6: 4230.
Ex Patrick Finn (1997).
Ex Triton II (1998).

Nice coin with a provenance from 1874. -Editor

To read the complete lot description, see:
E-Auction 34 Lot 62 (https://davcoin.com/lot/e-auction-34-lot-62)

Lot 86: 1818 George III Half Crown

1818 George III Half Crown

George III. 1760-1820. AR halfcrown. 14.17 gm. 31 mm. 1818. His laureate small head right; GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA 1818 around / Crowned shield in garter; REX FID: DEF: — BRITANNIARUM. S. 3789. ESC 2099 (628).

A strong portrait and bold legends. Nice coin design. -Editor

To read the complete lot description, see:
E-Auction 34 Lot 86 (https://davcoin.com/lot/e-auction-34-lot-86)

Lot 158: Vigo Bay Medal

Vigo Bay Medal

GREAT BRITAIN. Anne. 1702-1714. Æ medal. 17.46 gm. 37 mm. Expedition to Vigo Bay. By J. Croker. 1702. Her crowned bust left; ANNA DEI GRA MAG BR FRA ET HIB REGINA / View of ships in Vigo Bay, the Spanish and French ships burning; CAPTA ET INCENSA GALET HISP CLASSE around, AD VIGVM XII OCT MDCCII in two lines below. Eimer 395.

Vigo coins too dear for your budget? How about a Vigo Bay medal? -Editor

To read the complete lot description, see:
https://davcoin.com/lot/e-auction-34-lot-158 (https://davcoin.com/lot/e-auction-34-lot-158)

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Wayne Homren, Editor

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