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| Passion Investments: Collectibles |
Currency of the Realm
Catherine Curan
11/01/2007
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For BCD, collecting is an act of scholarship, not a search for
something flashy or for a steep return. He focuses on coins from spots in
mainland Greece, including Corinth, Boiotia, Macedonia and Thessaly. One might
expect such a collection to include coins from Athens, Greece’s leading city,
but he chose to ignore Athens because these coins have already been extensively
collected and studied.
 | COLLECTOR PETER Weiss became enthralled with ancient Greek coins
when he first saw—and bought—this tetradrachm depicting Alexander the Great. |
Now in his late 60s, BCD is selling the coins partly to leave a
legacy of published scholarship in the form of comprehensive auction catalogs.
The catalog for the May 2006 sale of his coins from the Peloponnese is
illustrative of his approach. A hardbound book totaling more than 400 pages, the
catalog covers examples of nearly every coin struck in the region from the
archaic period until 260 BC. He added notes to the detailed descriptions of
coins by Zurich-based LHS Numismatik. At times BCD offers evidence to contradict
LHS’ dating of a coin, or a rumination on why a certain coin is so rare. BCD
even gently mocks himself, well aware that such minutia is of interest only to
aficionados.
"For me, the objective was to see the particular area appear in
print—as complete and as interesting and as exciting as possible," BCD says,
adding that he also wanted the pleasure of knowing that, in the future, people
are going to refer to it.
Weiss also takes a scholarly approach. Though he never studied
Greek culture in college, he has since learned ancient Greek in order to read
the inscriptions on coins. He also writes academic articles and sits on the
board of the American Numismatic Society.
Magnificent Mints
The thrill of discovery drives many collectors, and Weiss and
BCD are no exceptions. For Weiss, the excitement comes from getting the first
call when a dealer has an unusual coin. That happened a decade ago when a Swiss
dealer, cleaning out his desk before a move, unearthed a coin in a paper
envelope from the bottom of a drawer. The client who deposited it there in 1960
had long since died, and the coin was for sale. The dealer sent Weiss a
photograph of the coin, covered in crud. It seemed interesting, though, and
Weiss haggled to a price of $60,000.
It was a risky purchase. Ancient Greek coins are sometimes
brittle, and cleaning may cause damage. When a friend who handled the cleaning
called Weiss and told him to pick up the coin in person because it seemed too
valuable to ship, Weiss knew he had scored big. The coin turned out to be a
Syracuse tetradrachm from the ruler Gelon, circa 485 BC. It is the first coin
known to depict a human figure looking at the observer, rather than in profile.
Weiss estimates its current value to be at least $500,000. "I took a chance on
it and could have lost," he says. "That’s what made it fun."
BCD has most enjoyed discoveries that contribute to numismatic
scholarship. At press time, he was planning an October sale of coins from
Akarnania and Anatolia, two areas often neglected because the coins are not
pretty or common. He says he discovered a previously unknown mint from Anatolia
and was able to put a name to it.
"It is in such areas that, if one involves himself, the rewards
are waiting," he says.
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