Coin Talk

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

Here I would like to present a provincial coin from Maionia in Lydia. It shows a motive which belongs to the legend circle around Heracles, but is rarer than the coins which describe the 12 famous deeds.

The Coin:
Lydia, Maionia, pseudo-autonomous, AD 145-175
AE 19, 4.57g, 180°
struck under strategos Appa (time of Faustina jun.)
Obv.: MAIO - NΩN
Bearded head of Herakles l.
Rev.: CTP TO Γ - AΠΠA (from upper right)
Omphale advancing r., holding with r. hand club over r. shoulder and in l. hand lion's skin
Ref.: BMC p. 130, 20r
are, about VF, brown patina with some earthen highlights


Note:
The rev. means "when Appa was strategos for the third time"

Mythology:
This myth takes us back to the time after the 12 famous deeds of Herakles. Eurytos, the king of Oichalia, had promised the hand of his daughter Iole to the one who could defeat him in archery. Herakles took over and defeated him. But Eurytus...

This is an article which I started a while ago, but did not get around to finishing it. Recent discussions have inspired me to finish it.

To begin, let’s define what a “cleaned” coin is. A coin is “cleaned” when any material is removed from the coin. This includes everything from using canned air to blow off dust to using iron wool to scrub a coin clean. There are two levels of cleaning: “proper” cleaning and “improper” cleaning. If an experienced collector/dealer/grader cannot tell that a coin has been cleaned, then it has been properly cleaned. If they can tell, then it is improperly cleaned and should be considered damage. From here on out, I will used the word “cleaned” to refer to “improperly cleaned.”

When I look at a coin, I use a three-step process each time to determine if the coin is cleaned. The three steps are as follows:

1. Grade the Coin

2. Look at the Color

3. Observe the Surface Quality

Here is a breakdown of each step:

Step 1: Grade the Coin:

Half of...

The Newman Numismatic Portal Dictionary (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/dictionary) defines a pattern as a coin which has not been approved for release, produced to evaluate a proposed coin design, or a term which includes a wide array of early strikes including die trials, hub trials, die adjustment strikes, experimental pieces and other trial pieces; anything that is different from the production run that is not a mint error.

I would not call a die or hub trial a pattern, nor would I consider a die adjustment strike to be a pattern (though you could have a trial or adjustment strike of a pattern). I feel like major sources seem to define what a pattern is differently from each other and there is not a consensus on this definition.

What do you all consider to be or not be a pattern?

To me, a pattern is a version of a coin that is proposed for release. I see several types, and think there is generally a consensus that what I've listed here as types 1-3...

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

I was on search of a coin showing the apple of Hesperides already for a long time. But mostly it is only Herakles who is depicted holding apples in his hand, often behind his back (Herakles Farnese). Luckily I found this coin from Tarsos which is showing the trree with the snake too. And now we have the whole scenario. In fact only the Hesperides are missing!

The Coin:
Cilicia, Tarsos, Gordian III, AD 238-244
AE 35, 21.04g, 180°
Obv.: AVT KAI M ANT ΓOP[ΔIANOC CEB]
Bust, draped and cuirassed, seen from behind, radiate, r.
in l. and r. Π - Π
Rev.: TAPCOV MHTPOΠOΛEΩ
Herakles, bearded(?), nude, stg. facing, head l., resting with r. hand on his club,
holding over l. arm the lion-skin and in the outstretched l. hand five apples.; l.
beside him a tree with twigs, entwined by a snake.
in the upper r. field A / Γ, in the lower l. field M / K
Ref.: cf. SNG Copenhagen 383
very rare, good F/about VF, usual rough state like all coins of...

Byzantine history is, well, Byzantine. The complicated reign of Constantine VII illustrates it. There are more twists and turns than I can recount here, but some events are key to understanding this coin which is clearly overstruck.



The overtype is Constantine VII, 913-959.
27 mm. 6.14 grams.
Facing bust of Constantine VII, holding globus cruciger in left hand
CONST BA - S ... around
Four line reverse legend:
CONST/ENOEbA/SILEVSR/ROMEON ["N" looks like "h" on all of these coins]
Sear 1761.

(This coin and the next came in the mail yesterday. It was great fun to sort out their story.)

You can skip the next paragraph which identifies the undertype as Romanus I, Sear 1760 (the second next coin).

Clearly the obverse is overstruck on a previous reverse, the final two lines showing:
SILEVSRW/OMEWN [Note: The omega form is like W here but like O on the Constantine VII.] Remembering that late Byzantine coins usually have 6:00 die-axis, flipping the coin...

Visited the Nevada State Museum today- a quality facility and well worth a visit. My favorites were the John C. Fremont and Comstock Lode exhibits... as they featured some coinage, I figured I’d share:



John C. Fremont (1813-1890) was an American explorer, soldier, writer and politician. His explorations, botanical findings and topographical contributions in the American West had tremendous influence on US history. Maps made based on his expeditions enabled pioneers to better traverse the frontier, helped miners to locate gold regions when the California Gold Rush began, and much more. (More on him here.)



His Colt .44 was just impressive. The “Grand Luminary” flag, made in 1856 when he ran as the first Republican candidate for President carried a star pattern that was a visual interpretation of the then national motto, E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One.)...

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

I'm happy that I can share this coin which I have searched after for a long time. I know that its state is not the best, but better coins are always very expensive.

The coin:
Moesia inferior, Nikopolis ad Istrum, Septimius Severus, AD 193-211
AE 27, 11.97g, 26.55mm, 210°
struck under governor L. Aurelius Gallus
obv. .AVT.Λ.CEΠT - CEVHP ΠEP
laureate head r.
rev. VΠ AV[P ΓAΛΛOV NIKOΠOΛIT]ΩN / ΠPOC ICTP
beneath: the bow
The Cretan Bull with uplifted forelegs and raised tail prancing l.; Herakles, nude,
running beside him l., embracing with both hands the bull's head to subdue him;
club on ground behind Hercules’ right foot
ref. a) AMNG I/1, 1309
b) Varbanov 2710
c) Hristova/Hoeft/Jekov (2018) No. 8.14.14.30 (plate coin)
d) Voegtli type 4m
rare, F+


Mythology:
Minos, king of Crete, has established his right of the throne by claiming that his rule over Crete was God-given. To prove that claim he...

Just who was Joseph W. Barr? He was born on January 17, 1918 and died on February 23, 1996. His place of birth was Bicknell, Indiana.

He received a BA from Depauw University and an MA at Harvard University in the field of economics. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945 during World War II with his duties assigned as a subchaser in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

He received a bronze star and was credited with the sinking of a submarine off of Anzio Beach.

After the war he worked in grain elevators, theaters, real estate and publishing businesses. In 1958 he was elected to Congress from the 11th district in Indiana but was defeated two years later.

During his two-year term he made friends with then Senator John F. Kennedy. After his defeat President Kennedy appointed him Secretary of the Treasury for Congressional Relations. In 1963 he was appointed chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the FDIC.

From 1965 to 1968 he served as...

Lysimachus was one of Alexander the Great's personal bodyguards. After Alexander's death, somehow Lysimachus worked his way up to general and eventually the ruler of Thrace. He ruled Thrace from 305 BCE until he was killed in battle in 281 BCE by Seleukos I Nikator.

Below is a drachm, typical of other Greek drachms of the period, until you look at the busy reverse. Talk about eye candy. Besides Zeus and the eagle, we have a lion, a pentagram, and a control mark that looks like an o with a spear through it.


AR drachm
Kingdom of Thrace
Lysimachus (305-381BCE)
Kolophon Mint (299-296 BCE)
weight 4.258g, maximum diameter 18.7mm, die axis 0o
obverse: head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck.
Reverse: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, eagle in right hand, scepter in left hand, right leg drawn back, lion-forepart left over Φ (control symbols) in left field, pentagram (control symbol) under throne, ΛYΛIMAXOY downward on...

Pleasure & Profit (Second Edition): 100 Lessons for Building and Selling a Collection of Rare Coins by Robert W. Shippee, Whitman, 2019, 318 +x pages, $19.95.

Robert W. Shippee found no profits and significant losses in his acquisitions of high-grade certified modern coins. A Deep Cameo Proof 69 Silver 1999-S Connecticut Quarter is just not rare; and it simply never excited him. He bought the coin (and four more similar Mint States and Proof, silver and clad 1965, 1976, 1999) and he lost half of his $370 investment at sale. He bought them only to complete a PCGS Registry set. He built the set only to sell it. He made a lot of money on the truly collectible and objectively rare coins from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, and he did it under ten years. This is his story.

He weaves numismatics with his other passion, golf. My complete disinterest in golf did not detract from the book. And I am not an investor. As a...