I really enjoyed taking a close look through this
collection as it was going to
auction. Especially seeing how many of the coins contributed to the numismatic literature, either while in the ETB
collection (to
RPC &
RIC, among other publications) or in past
collections (e.g.,
Dattari, about a half dozen illustrated in the 1901 photographic plates, and at least 96 in the 2007
Dattari-Savio rubbings).
I
hope that the galleries remain here for reference. (Even better, it would be nice if Leu or someone also produces a print or PDF
catalog!)
I was glad to get a couple of Alexandrian coins from the sale. For reference, I've just added an ETB
Collection entry to the "
Provenance Glossary" on my
collection site (I'd be glad to know of any corrections/suggestions from anyone):
LINK (alphabetically under "Brink").
As I've said, I think of a
collection (at least a serious one) as a piece of literature in its own right, with the same properties as any other artistic/scientific project. I enjoy seeing how coins move from one
collection and publication into another over the generations, and this
collection was particularly rich in such material. So, while it's bittersweet to see a major
collection dispersed, I'll be watching to see what tributaries its contents flow into, and how they contribute, moving forward.