Coin Talk

Last year one of my favorite acquisitions was my follis of Maximinus Daia showing what is referred to as the “Farnese Hercules” type. This design was based on a Greek statue made by one of the most renowned ancient artists of all time. I recently re-photographed another Roman coin in my collection showing the same theme but with some subtle differences that I think are important and interesting to note. Additionally, last year I had the good fortune to see many of the sculptures I discuss below in person.

View attachment 980835
Roman Empire
Maximinus Daia (AD 308 - 313)
AE Follis, Antioch mint, struck ca. AD 313
Dia.: 19.3 mm
Wt.: 2.65 g
Obv.: IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMINVS P F AVG; Laureate bust right
Rev.: HERCVLI VICTORI; Hercules standing right, leaning on lions skin and club
Ref.: RIC VI 170b, Scarce
Ex FSR, lot 370 (Jul. 2018)


Roman Empire
Gordian III (238-244)
AR Antoninianus, Rome mint
Dia.:...

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

I want to start a series of Roman mythology. Here is the first coin:

Roman Republic, P. Accoleius Lariscolus, gens Accoleia
AR - Denarius, 3.90gm, 19.7mm.
Rome, 43 BC
Obv.: P. ACCOLEIVS - LARISCOLVS
Archaized bust of Diana Nemorensis, draped, r.
Rev.: Triple cult statue of Diana Nemorensis (Diana, Hecate, Selene) facing,
supporting with their hands and shoulders a bar; behind them a grove of five
cypresses; the figure on the left (Diana) holds a bow in her outer hand, the
figure on the right (Selene) a poppy.
Ref.: Crawford 486/1; Sydenham 1148; Accoleia 1
gVF, light toning, with a reasonably unobtrusive banker's mark.

Note:
(1) According to Andrew Alföldi this coin is a type from the later time of this issue recognizable by the hairdress of Diana Nemorensis on the obv.: The first type has a double row of knob-like curls bordering the flatly combed hair which clings closely to the skull. An intermediate...

Folles of the tetrarchy are large, common, and often in pleasing grade. Some collectors and scholars feel the portraits of the four tetrarchs of the first tetrarchy are too much alike to regard them as individualized. I must agree the stark realism seen on the early and mid third-century coins has been replaced with a different artistic convention. Also, after Diocletian's coin reform there are many mints, not all with the same style, so they cannot all have photo-realism. Long ago the acquisition of this coin made me think it would be interesting to try to find that style on that type for all four tetrarchs from that mint:



Maximian. Look at the small face on the massive, nearly circular (spherical), head which squeezes up against the legend.
27 mm. 9.82 grams.
SACRA MONET AVGG ET CAESS NOSTR
Moneta holding balance and cornucopia
V in right field
AQP in exergue.
RIC VI Aquileia 31b, "c. 301". Sear IV 13300.

The above coin was acquired in 1991 and...

It strikes me w have been seeing a larger than usual number of coins of the Lycian Dynasts lately. Two weeks ago, I had none but two coin shows and the Robinson auction changed that to three. All three have the typical triskles reverse. The first two show a lion scalp from above.

From the Richmond show was a tiny 9mm, 0.27g coin shown here before which I believe may be a 1/32 stater but have absolutely no understanding of the various weight standards at play here. The seller called it a hemiobol. It can be identified to Dynast Mithrapata c.400 BC by the first three Lycian letters of his name on the reverse. It retains the 'find' patina but would be dangerous to clean to match the other two below.


From Baltimore is a 17mm 2.72g 1/3 stater or tetrobol of the same types but bearing the Lycian letters of Dynast Perikle (380-360 BC). Many of these coins are struck off center on very ragged flans. This reverse is 'normal' but the obverse is...

Hello fellow numismatics!

Lately I decided to move my completed collection of Norwegian 5 krones (I'm collecting all Norwegian coins pre-1875) from a display I had, to proper storing units.

I wanted these storing units to offer easy access to the coins, and also protect them against light. As you can see on the pictures below, they are all stored in capsules which should be pretty air-tite.

You probably wouldn't think that this average collection is worth capsules, but I plan on having these coins for many many years, and the capsules costs a few cents. They are also in mint condition, which in my opinion warrants proper handling and the best available holder, which in this case is a capsule. Plus the box I have just made!

So what I did to make this:

First off I found my collection and started doing some measurements. When it comes to 3d-printing, it's very precise. You usually print at 0.1mm to 0.2mm. The...

Apparently, a slightly-curved clip, unstruck 10 cent planchet was laying directly on top of another 10 cent planchet directly and completely inside the collar, and were then struck by dime dies.

I have never seen something like this before, and it almost caused me to question its authenticity.

You can also see some phantom designs from both sides that bled through and appear on the mostly unstruck reverse, albeit slightly.

Notice on the obverse by the date you can tell where the raised details on the other side are. Looks damaged, but it is not (at least not numismatically speaking).

Very cool and a neat find. I guess this would be considered a "full ireverse indent from a curved clip"? Or would it be a "partial indent from a curved clip"? (To me, a "partial indent" means only a portion of the curved clip was struck into it, which is not the case).

My understanding is that "indents" are technically not "strike throughs." Not sure why though.

...

A few sites are selling these, including Etsy, though they state they are copies. But that doesn't mean someone won't then try to resell it as a genuine piece.

In my experience, if you see one that isn't certified, it is a fake unless it is sitting on a well-known error specialist's table. But I imagine even they would want to protect them in a slab. Never saw a genuine raw one in my life.

The problem is many of these are even 90% silver, have the same diameter, and sport some pretty darn good reeding. The same goes for Trade Dollars.

However, I actually recommend acquiring some known fakes to study and compare them for yourself. Reading books is always good, but testing your skills is also important.

Beware and be smart.

~Joe Cronin

Post your coins minted in Nisibis or anything you feel is relevant!

Nisibis (Νίσιβις; modern Nusaybin in southeastern Turkey, along the Syrian border) was ancient even in the Roman period, having been founded as an Aramean settlement before 900 BCE. It is situated in the region of Mygdonia, in northern Mesopotamia, on the frontier between the Greek and Roman empires and the empires of the east: Babylon, Achaemenid Persia, Parthia, and the Sasanians.



The city was conquered by by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE and coin production first began in the Seleucid period, with the first issues struck under Antiochus IV. Being on the crossroads between the great empires of the west and east, Nisibis was often taken and retaken. It was captured by Lucullus in 68 BC; however, this first Roman occupation was exceedingly brief. During the reign of Nero, Corbulo seized Nisibis during his Armenian campaign, but this second Roman occupation was also of short...

I had mentioned before that I was interested in FEs, and this monthly coin show was my first stop. I first went to a dealer that I have a relationship with, but I knew he likely didn't have the coin since he has a small inventory and seems to be leaning more to selling supplies. Anyway he didn't have it but pointed out two other dealers he said might have one. One didn't have one and the other was busy. While I waited for the one to get freed up, I wandered around and came across this quarter in a half-price bin.



I thought it was a nice off-centered strike, but even though it was going for half the $25 it was marked, I wanted to wait until I knew how much the FE would cost. So when the dealer was free, I asked what he had. He brought out about 15 FE coins from behind the counter and told me to look through them. Out of those, this one was the best as far as having better defined feathers....

I bought the hand wrought coin silver ashtray pictured below in Santa Barbara, CA in 1971 along with 6 sycee ingots for the melt value of silver . The ashtray was probably made in the 1920s, is 3.875 in. in diameter, & weighs 76.5 gm. It has a one yuan (silver dollar) coin dated 1914, & pictures Yuan Shikai, 1st president of the Republic of China. The reverse has the stamped hallmarks of the silversmith to the left of the coins denomination. Collectors affectionately call these "Fat Man Dollars."
When the Qing Dynasty was overthrown on February 12, 1912, two factions fought for control of the new republic, the Kuomintang (KMT) lead by Sun Yat-sen, & the Nanjing Provisional Senate lead by Yuan Shikai. Yuan managed to gain control & conducted a rigged election making himself 1st president of the republic. Yuan cracked down on the KMT & forced Sun Yat-sen to flee to Japan. Yuan turned out to be the wrong man for the job . He was well known among the public for his...