Coin Talk

One of the great disappointments for the citizens of Dahlonega was that none of the local people were ever able to land one of the high paying positions at the mint. "Foreigners," as they put it, always ended up with the plum appointments, like Mint superintendent, assayer, coiner or clerk, who was the superintendent's assistant. The local citizens were lucky if they were hired as handymen. The superintendent's job, which paid $2,000 a year, was particularly vulnerable to local agitation and criticism because, unlike the assayer and coiner, it seemed to the citizens of Dahlonega that no specialized qualifications were required.

The first superintendent was Joseph Singleton. Singleton was not a strong manager, and the people who worked under him showed him little respect. In addition there were long delays in converting bullion to coins, which angered those who deposited gold at the mint for coinage. A good part of the blame for the long delays went to assayer Joseph Farnum, who...

I write these articles for my local club. Once they are done, there not much to do with them other than sit on my computer. Maybe you will enjoy some of them so here goes. This is the first part of a history of the Dahlonega Mint.


In 1828 Benjamin Parks stepped on a yellow rock in the woods in the vicinity of Dahlonega, Georgia. Parks quickly deduced that piece was large gold nugget, but he couldn't keep his discovery secret for long. Before the end of the decade 15,000 people invaded the area which became the site of America’s first gold rush. Nine out of ten of these prospectors would never "strike it rich," but they did create a colorful chapter in American history.



Benjamin Parks

Most of these men and women were a rough and tumble, hard drinking lot. They founded towns like Nuckollsville which was named after the owner of a hotel and tavern in the area. Some people thought that "Knucklesville" would have been more appropriate because of...

I have wanted one of these coins for quite some time. It is rare to find one with the any of the original silvering intact but this coin retains hints of the silvering on both the obverse and reverse. So far it is my only coin of 2019 so I can say with confidence it is my favorite coin so far this year!


Roman Empire
Julian II (AD 360-363)
AE1, Antioch mint, struck ca. AD 361-363
Dia.: 28 mm
Wt.: 8.7 g
Obv.: D N FL CL IVLI-ANVS P F AVG: Diademed, cuirassed bust right.
Rev.: SECVRITAS REI PVB; Bull, head facing, standing right. Two starts above
Ref.: RIC VIII 216, pg 532
Ex Frank S. Robinson (Auction 107 lot 389)

Julian the Apostate
Julian was a fascinating historical figure and is one of my favorite emperors of the later empire. He is best known as the last polytheist emperor of the Roman Empire but he was also a talented philosopher, intellectual and military leader. Those interested in reading an...

Normally I am just an armchair archaeologist, but this is a tale of a bit of coin sleuthing. This is about a pair of coins that I acquired at auction that came with their original tags. These coins were my first entry into making serious acquisitions into a more expensive level of collecting.

The two coins I acquired were Byzantine Hyperpyron gold coins. The coins were acquired at a European Auction and they were said to be from an old Swiss collector with original tickets.

I was happy with the coins sitting in my collection with the original envelopes from the dealer J Schulman. Something that made them special.

JACQUES SCHULMAN

NUMISMAAT

Keizersgracht 448

Amsterdam-C

Ticket numbers 2117 and 2104

I could have stopped there but in a moment of free time I looked up the original dealer on the internet. To my surprise I found this article.

http://www.numismaticmall.com/numismaticmall-com/schulman-jacques


In the article I found not...

Threads where people post images of their coins seem to be popular. Some go by date, some by country, others by theme, etc. Along the way I see occasional comments about not being aware of a country until a coin is posted. This got me thinking of the concept of a world tour, where we travel around the globe posting coins along the way. You never know, you may find out more about world geography!

If this seems interesting you then please play along. There are only three rules:

1. Your post must be a coin from a country which shares a border with the previously posted country. Date is not important.
2. If a country is on the ocean then any country across the ocean is acceptable as long as there is a direct, straight line between them with no intervening countries.
3. You cannot return to the previous country. That is, if the previous two countries are France and Spain you cannot return directly to France. This rules needs an exception only in the case of countries such...

Just received this neat Trajan Dupondius celebrating the the Via Traiana, constructed at Trajan's own expense between AD 109 and AD 113, replaced the Via Appia as the usual route between Brindisium to Beneventum, serving as an important link between Rome and the East.
Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ Dupondius (13.32 g, 6h). Struck circa AD 112-115. Radiate bust right, wearing aegis / VIA TRAIANA, female (Via Traiana) reclining left, holding wheel on knee and branch; S C in exergue. RIC II 641 corr. var. (no aegis); BMCRE 998 note. SR 3226. Purchased March 2019, Moneta (VCoins) Thanks Kenn.
A map below shows Trajan's new road Via Traiana branching off from Via Appia at Benevento.

One of the best investments ever made by the Romans was their road system, which included at least 250,000 miles of roads designed for high-speed travel that was reliable virtually year-round. No less than eleven of these major roads entered Rome, giving rise to...

Something interesting that I cannot remember seeing on medieval billon deniers outside of the Holy Land - a very nice iridescent golden glow:



This is a denier of Bohemond V (cf. Malloy 126, Metcalf Class O, Allen Type 6), one of the last billon coins of the Principality of Antioch.

AE16mm, 0.49g, billon denier, minted in the Citadel of Antioch or at a secondary location in the Principality(?), cca. 1235/1240 and later.

+ BOAMVNDVS; helmeted bust l., mail composed of crescents, crescent and star flanking the bust l and r.
+ ANTIOCHIA; cross, inverted crescent in second quarter.


The type is called "Late Style" and is recognizable by the smaller flan and low weight. These late issues are of very fine craftsmanship, have complete legends and correct spelling with clean and fine lettering. The type was probably minted well into the 1240s and even later, but its terminus post quem of cca. 1235 is based on the analysis of the al-Mina hoard (Malloy p.191,...

Most of us find the Oregon Trail half dollar one of the best in the entire early commemorative coin series. I've probably owned two or three thru the years. This is one I just purchased:




Here is how it all began:


1930 Association Logo. Courtesy of the “Idaho State Historical Society, Museum Collections.”


ing the city of Washington.


...

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

Here I want to talk about Kadmos, the founder of Thebes. The coin shows him in the typical founder attitude, looking back to his comrades and pointing forward asking them to follow him to new shores.

The Coin:
Phoenicia, Sidon, Trajan, AD 98-117
AE 24, 8.72g, 0°
struck year 227 of Sidonian era = AD 116/7
Obv.: [AVTO NEP TPAI[ANΩ KAI ΣE]
Laureate head r.
Rev.: [ΣIΔΩNOΣ NAV] - APΞIΔOΣ
Kadmos, nude to hips, stg. l. on prow, lookong r., with outstretched r. hand pointing l.
in l. field LZKΣ (retrograde, year 227)
Ref.: BMC 218; SNG Copenhagen 252; Lindgren-Kovacs 2329
rare, F+, green-red patina
(missed legend parts completed according to Sear GIC 1087)

Note:
NAVAPΞIΣ = Mistress of a Fleet, epitheton of several important maritime cities


Mythology:
Kadmos was the son of the Phoenician king Agenor, son of Poseidon and Libye, and his wife Telephassa. His sister was Europa and his brothers Phoinix and...

Yesterday or today, the son of Philip II (the first man to be a United King of Europe), student of Aristotle and all around THE baddest dude on the planet... EVER (only man to be Greek King, Egyptian pharaoh and Persian King of Kings), Alexander the great died 21 July 356 BCE – 10 or 11 June 323 BCE.
Here's some of my favorite coins to remember the life of a God by:


Lysimachos
Kings of Thrace. Pella. 305-281 BC. Tetradrachm AR 27mm., 15,95g.
Head of the deified Alexander the Great to right, wearing diadem with fluttering ends and with the horn of Ammon around his ear / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ, Athena, wearing robes and helmet, seated to left on throne, holding Nike on her right hand and resting her left elbow on large round shield adorned with a gorgoneion; to left monogram. very fine. Thompson 253; Müller 471.



MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Alexander III the Great (336- 323 BC). AR tetradrachm (15.98 gm). About VF, countermark, graffito....