Coin Talk

This antoninianus is neither the best preserved nor the most skillfully engraved coin of Postumus in my collection – but it probably is the most historically interesting one:

Postumus, Gallic Roman Empire, AR antoninianus, mid–end 260 AD, Trier mint. Obv: IMP C POSTVMVS. P. F. AVG; bust of Postumus, radiate, draped, cuirassed, r. Rev: SALVS PROVINCIARVM; river god reclining l., head horned, r. hand resting on knee, and holding pitcher and anchor in l. hand; to rear, l., forepart of boat. 23mm, 3.15g. Ref: Mairat 14; RIC V Postumus 87.

On the reverse of this coin struck in the first months of Postumus' reign, we see a bearded and horned river god reclining in front of a ship. He holds a pitcher, symbolizing a river source, and an anchor. The anchor typically is an attribute of Laetitia and points to safety and stability. Its horns allow us to identify the main figure as Rhenus, the personification of the river Rhine, which constituted a...

I have finally accepted that I'm probably never going to get further in writing up these three coins -- all purchased at least a few months ago -- than I have already. And since I've already gone past them by posting the write-up of my recently-purchased Lucretius Trio denarius (Sol/Crescent moon & 7 stars), I might as well go ahead now and post the three with their incomplete write-ups. My apologies in advance for omitting additional information, such as different interpretations, that may be relevant and that I may (or may not) have originally intended to include -- but have utterly forgotten by this time!

58. Roman Republic, P. Nerva, AR Denarius, Rome Mint, 113-112 BCE. Obv: Bust of Roma left wearing crested helmet with feather or aigrette (instead of wing) and single-drop earring, holding shield (ornamented with image of horseman galloping) against left shoulder with left hand, and spear over right shoulder with right hand, crescent moon above, star (*) [= monogrammed XVI;...

On 8/13/2021 my coins and silver were stolen , around 8:10 pm my neighbor saw 3 dark skin color guys two wearing mask were heading to his house driveway and he look them through the window ,and those guys also saw him so they turn off and went to my house , my neighbor saw them went to my backyard and he call 911 around 8:20 PM , the operator ask him if he saw them breaking into my house, and he say he lost sight because he can't see well on his side of house , but he saw them went to my backyard , and police were never coming check out . I was arrived home 8:45 PM and I saw my front door were open , and I immediately checked my bedroom , my bedroom was totally mass , I call 911 at 8:47 PM told them my house were being burglary and they said gonna send police over , but after 12 hours later finally they send two police officers to my house that was next day morning 9am . Now I am done with coins habbit if I am lost all those coins . Here is what I lost during my house...

This is rather long but it describes how I was able to build my collection of 20th Century and earlier. It is not as impossible as many think. Of course, it is out of the range of possibility now. Several of these comments have been posted before. This is kind of a consolidation - the rest of the story.

Building a collection of circulated coins in “the good old days” was not all that difficult. All you needed was determination and dedication. If you think about it the total face value of 20th circulation coins is about $275. There were a max 5 different coins produced by each mint: Penny, Nickel, Dime, Quarter and Half. That is 91 cents. Given that most years there were three mints operating, that makes it $2.73 per year for a complete set for one year. Of course, some years there were 4 mints operating and some years only one or two. So, let’s just say that the face value of a complete Twentieth Century Circulation Set is $300. You now have determination and dedication but need...

A legionary denarius of Mark Antony is one of the many ancient coins I would love to have. But examples in really nice condition are too expensive for me, and the one time I bought what I thought was a decent example, from a reputable dealer, it turned out to be a fake -- one of many fake legionary denarii that flood the market. (Fortunately, the dealer gave me a refund.)

So at least for the time being, I'm settling for this "restored" Mark Antony legionary denarius, issued by Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus two centuries after the original. It's certainly not in what I'd call excellent condition (the galley oars can no longer be individually distinguished), but it otherwise shows a lot of detail, and the price was probably considerably less than half of what an original in equivalent condition would have cost me. Plus, there isn't the same concern about purchasing a fake!

Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, AR Denarius [Restored Issue of Mark Antony Legionary Denarius Leg. VI,...

One of these Elagabalus with “horn” coins has been on my want list for years. I was very happy to pick up a wonderful example from AMCC 3. This coin has great centering, toning, detail and a very respectable provenance that is made all the nicer by its connection to a fellow CTer (@Shea19).

But what really makes this coin interesting is a question:

What is Elagabalus wearing on his head?


Roman Empire
Elagalabus (218-222)
AR Denarius, Rome mint, struck AD 221.
Dia.: 19 mm
Wt.: 2.84 g
Obv.: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG; draped and “horned” bust right
Rev.: PM TR P IIII COS III PP; Emperor standing left, sacrificing over altar, standard on either side
Ref.: RIC IVB 51
Ex Shea19 collection, Ex CNG E-Auction 465, Lot 722 (part of), Ex Mike Vosper FPL 112 (11 March 2000), no. 35a


Answer #1: It’s a horn.
This...

TGIFF! And I got ...



Martin Beckmann's die-linkage study of the aurei of Faustina the Younger[1] has provided us with substantial clarity regarding the relative – and in this case the absolute – chronology of many coins issued for this popular empress. The sequence of die links documenting Faustina's earliest coinage ends with several examples of the VENVS reverse type depicting the goddess holding an apple and rudder, as on this denarius below.



This reverse type links...

Visited the Durham Western Heritage museum in Omaha today. The big traveling exhibit was a James Cameron deep sea exhibit about the Titanic exploration. But my main interest was a permanent display of the Byron Reed coin collection featuring the King of American coins a 1804 silver dollar. Also many ancient coins and pattern pieces. Just a few pictures for now.
If your ever in the area this museum is a pleasant way to pass a few hours It is housed in the old Union Train station and also features many train/rail exhibits that would interest a few of the members here ( @dwhiz ).

Travels through time (sorry, never enough room in the title)

Pretty geeked to win a coin that I didn't know about, that tied into something I've long been intrigued by aaaand...


In @dougsmit 's thread: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-monsterous-little-coin.274896/
, on the subject of some of the coins with the KETOS MONSTER!


@zumbly points out a recent retribution of this very popular, and wonderful coin!
Of the earliest types, it WAS believed, they derived from Kindya... but now, not so much. Due to a different type then I'm building up to showing
You can read my latter version on the subject here:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-a-kinda-scary-monster-from-kindya.245487/

from when I was attacked by this BEAST:

CARIA, Halikarnassos (reassigned...

I think I have officially hit the point where I can no longer justify the expense of new additions. There have been some stellar coins offered for sale already this year, but more often than not, these pieces realize prices that are just a bit out of my comfort zone. Consequently, I have only added four new noteworthy pieces to my collection, which pales compared to last year. On any note, I am delighted with my latest purchase which brings back memories of a much simpler time. A time before COVID, before insane auctions prices, and before I was thoroughly infected with the bug of collecting Soho pieces.



We can probably all think back to the first piece that eventually became the foundation of a new collecting pursuit. For me, this took the form of a 1788 Great Britain pattern Halfpenny (P-945) struck at the Soho Mint (pictured above). I remember being sucked into the history and immense conflict between Jean Pierre Droz (the engraver of this coin)...