Coin Talk

The coins I get the most excited about adding to my collection are those that tell the most compelling story. Those coin types that can be traced to long distant events that inspire the imagination. I feel very fortunate to have acquired just such an ancient coin recently. This coin was very likely struck from silver looted from some of the most famous cities of the ancient world and then used by the Roman Republic to pay for the soldiers and supplies needed to fend off the assaults of the mighty Hannibal. This denarius was the first of its kind (Crawford 44/5) and would go on to become one of the most iconic and influential issues in numismatic history. Be aware that this is likely to become a long (even for me) two part post.


Roman Republic, Second Punic War (218-201 BC)
AR Denarius. Anonymous, struck ca. 211 BC
Wt.: 4.2 g
Dia.: 20 mm
Obv.: Helmeted head of Roma right. X in left field
Rev.: Dioscuri galloping right. ROMA in exergue and...

Although I do collect coins from other Roman Mints, and from other historical periods, the major thrust of my Roman Imperial Coin collecting for the past sixty years has been the folles produced at the London Mint from circa. 296 until 313. That was a very convoluted and complicated period of Roman Imperial coin production -- and history -- often hard to figure out and follow by even experienced and dedicated coin collectors and researchers. A frequent complaint by my own family members and friends is that it is sometimes hard to follow the historical associations of my London Mint coins whenever I discuss them -- and I admit it is sometimes hard for me to try and explain them!

In my next post I will include a somewhat lengthy time-line historical overview that I hope my fellow collectors on this Forum will find of some use. I am really hoping that all of those who are interested in this subject will contribute suggestions, corrections, additions .... and so on ..... in subsequent...

This is one of my favorite coins because its reverse depicts a famous statue that has been lost to us over the centuries.



Tranquillina AD 241-244
Roman provincial Æ 24.1 mm, 8.06 g
Thrace, Deultum, AD 241-244
Obv: SAB TRANQVILLINA AVG, diademed and draped bust, right
Rev: COL FL PAC DEVLT, Marsyas as Silenus facing right, carrying wine skin over left shoulder and raising right arm
Refs: Moushmov 3757; Youroukova 425, 4/II; cf. SNG Cop 549

The statue of Marsyas in the Roman Forum came to symbolize the city's libertas and was associated as well with the notion of abundance and fruitfulness (ubertas). It is only known to us on coins and on the plutei of Trajan, two marble reliefs discovered in 1872 and which now are sheltered inside the Curia. They date from the time of Hadrian.

One of them commemorates Trajan's program of food relief (alimenta) for children of the poor; the other depicts the burning of records...

The following thread showcases 5 of the 12 antique coins of Imperial Japan or 皇朝十二钱 （kochou junisen). These were the first official circulating coins minted in Japanese history. The emphasis on official is noted as only recently in 1998 did researchers dug up what is now regarded as Japan's earliest coins, the Fuuhonsen 富本钱 in the ancient rural capital of Fujiwara ko by half a century. However unlike the 12, the Fuuhonsen was not recorded as official issues for trade and circulation. References to David Hartill's excellent book "Early Japanese Coins" were made and illustrations within for specimens outside of my collection were provided for illustrative purposes. Due to their limited issues and habit of one to ten exchange rates every susbequent issues, they are very to extremely rare.

Prior to the issuance of the 12 antique coins, the Japanese economy relied heavily on a barter system. Semblances of a circulating currency lies in the import of the Kaigen Tsuho 開元通寳 (Kaiyuan...

I've been wanting to scan some of my specimens stocks for a while and I finally got to it tonight. Imho, this is the most intriguing area of my collection. A few of these have already been posted on another thread, but I decided this would make a good stand-alone article.

Specimens are considerably rarer than most issued stock certificates (often only a handful were printed), but until the last decade or so, prices did not reflect this. In the '80s and '90s you could still find some specimens for $5 and under. They were produced for a variety of reasons, but usually surviving examples are those that were kept in the files of the issuer or the bank note company.

Most of the specimens I own were printed by the American Bank Note Co., which printed the vast majority of engraved U.S. stocks and bonds over the last century. But there were also many smaller bank note firms, most of which...

Welcome back to another issue of “COINS - AS SEEN ON TV!” The last issue in March featuring Rick Tomaska and his RCTV - Rick’s Collectible Coins, was a huge hit with readers given it was a Featured Article. If you missed it, do a search here on Coin Talk or copy and paste the following link into your browser.

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/coins-as-seen-on-tv-featuring-rctv-rare-collectibles-tv.293380/

Likely the last place you would consider when buying coins, is none other than the TV retail behemoth, Home Shopping Network. There are some I'm sure in the hobby, that didn't even know they (HSN) sold coins, but they've been doing it for 30 years now. So it's time for “COINS - AS SEEN ON TV!” to pay a visit to the “HSN Vault - Coin Collector,” to see what's going on and assess the “good” and the “bad,” and their prominence in the Coin TV world. Enjoy...

Want variety? If you're looking for that high grade Morgan Dollar or Kennedy Accented Hair, you've come to the...

Hello to you all CT friends

As some of you may already know, I’ve been on the process of assembling the series of antoniniani struck by Trajan Decius in honor of the « good emperors » of the past, also called « the Divi series », for some years now. On the occasion of the arrival of the 21st of them out of 22 in my trays (from the last Gemini XIII auction), I thought it might be entertaining and educationnal to our community to write something on the subject. The following is a translation of an article I wrote five years ago for a french numismatic review. Thank you so much to @TIF for reading it and pointing out big mistakes or when my words have failed to express my thoughts and have the whole un- or mis-understandable (I sometimes feel translating from french into english more difficult than writing in english from the begining because I would then use a more basic level of language). All the coins illustrated are from my personnal collection....

This is a brief write-up on my trip to the Gallery of Numismatics, which houses the National Numismatics Collection for the Smithsonian Museum. You can find this collection at the Museum of American History. This is by no means a comprehensive overview of the entire exhibit, as it is too vast for just one thread in a forum. But I do hope it gives you an idea of what awaits you if you ever find yourself in Washington D.C. and decide to check this exhibit for yourself.

The entrance to the exhibit is quite imposing, mimicking a bank vault. The exact location is on the second floor, left hand side of the building, at the Museum of American History, which is right next to the National Mall.



I know this is a coins forum, but if you also like paper money then you will not be disappointed. There were denominations there that I had never seen in person, only in catalogs and books. Again, keep in mind that these are but a few pictures...the full collection is...

The story behind the manufacture and release of these two South Korean commemorative coins is a roller coaster ride of tight deadlines and inadequacies at the South Korean Mint; all thrown in with a meddling big-shot friend of the president of the country. And if it had not been for a last-minute policy exception, the whole thing might not have happened at all. Such instability surrounding South Korea’s commemorative coin production was apparently the modal state of affairs in the late 1970s.

The 42nd World Shooting Championships were the biggest international sporting event to have been hosted in South Korea before the 1988 Summer Olympics came 10 years later. The Chairman of the Shooting Championships, Pak Jong-gyu, was the former chief of presidential security in South Korea, and had helped President Park Chung-hee take power in the country's 1961 military coup d'etat. Riding on these coattails, Pak was able to intrude into the coin-design team's...

I acquired this coin recently from @John Anthony and I have to say that I am very pleased with it. It is my first coin of the so-called Diadochi, or successors, of Alexander the Great and it is very interesting for a great many reasons not the least of which is its’ depiction of Alexander III the Great. Warning: This post might run a bit long.

Lysimachus is one of the most fascinating and mysterious of the Diadochi largely because there is so little literary information on his life relative to the other companions of Alexander. Lysimachus was born sometime between 361 BC and 351 BC which makes him roughly the same age as Alexander. According to some sources Lysimachus’ family was from Thessaly and therefore not from the Macedonian nobility [1]. Regardless, Lysimachus’ father seems to have been a close adviser to Philip II and Lysimachus spent his youth being educated among the...