Coin Talk

After giving a presentation about this piece some time ago, I thought I most post it here since the facts are still fresh on my mind.

I believe that this was the first U.S. coin that was issued for circulation. It is not a pattern as some have claimed over the years. I’ll defend that position momentarily, but first I’ll put a hole in a couple of myths.

First, these coins were not made from melting George Washington’s silverware, but the real story is almost as good. Thomas Jefferson provided the silver, and he distributed most of them.

Second, Martha Washington was not the model for the lady on the obverse. That story got started in the 1850s, more than 50 years after these coins were made.

On July 10, 1792 Thomas Jefferson withdrew $100 in silver from his personal account at the Bank of the United States in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The bank was located in Carpenters’ Hall at that time because it’s permanent home, which...

One game that professional and amateur historians like to play is rate the presidents. Abraham Lincoln gets the top spot in many polls, but the bottom spots have changed over the years. When I was junior high school, Warren G. Harding and Ulysses S. Grant got the bottom spots because of the scandals that marked their time in office. Today Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan get the lowest marks because of their inability to deal with the issues that lead to the Civil War.

Here is a rare campaign piece that was isued on behalf of candidate "General" Franklin Piece. This piece is made of white metal and there are very few original examples like this one. This variety is most often find as in bronze. Those pieces, which are scarce, were made for collectors in the 1860s



Franklin Pierce was a political "boy wonder" in his youth. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1833 when he was 28 years old. He moved up to Senate...

Show your coins depicting altars or altar enclosures -- real or imagined. Comments and anything you feel is relevant are most welcome.

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Researching the supposed subject of this coin, an as of Faustina I depicting an altar enclosure, uncovered one of the great misconceptions in the history of classical art -- that the temple enclosure depicted on this coin actually existed as the Ara Pietatis Augustae (The Altar of Augustan Piety). I wish to share some of what I've learned. But first, here's the coin:

View attachment 900370
Faustina I, AD 138-141.
Roman Æ as, 9.21 g, 26.5 mm, 11 h.
Rome, AD 141-142.
Obv: DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA, bust of Faustina I, draped, right, hair elaborately waved and piled in bun on top of head; a band of pearls round hair in front.
Rev: PIET AVG S C, rectangular altar with door in front; no flame on top.
Refs: RIC 1191Aa; BMCRE4 1464-65; Cohen 259; RCV --; ERIC II 294.

A NUMISMATIC MYTH

Phillip Hill[1] fell prey to the...

This year I am not focusing on collecting, but intent on photographing my coins as best I can. I have a very small dark side collection, and no real goals for a specific set. Rather I am eclectic in this and will eventually maybe find my way to a particular grouping.

Although I have photo'd some of my coins already and shared them, my goal is to systematically go through and re-photograph as best I can, and then update and create an album. In the end, I may re-do some if I feel I can represent them better as to what they actually look like as far as color, depth, etc.

Any I post with info you thing is not quite right, let me know. I really do want to also know my coins and find out what I should be learning about them to really appreciate these.

My first one for 2019 photographing on Ancients in this endeavor:



Philip I (Feb 244- Aug or Sep 249 AD)

Ref Philip I AR Antoninianus, RIC 52, RSC 239, SEAR 8974
Philip I AR...

While following a live auction with my little son, we saw a shiny coin with a hole in it.
As it was coming up for a minimum bid of just 10 Euros, we decided to bid on it for fun or as possible present for grandma´s birthday, so maybe by her wearing it as jewelry the family could see some practical use in ancient coinage .

It was labelled as uncertain imitation by an uncertain mint with no indication of who or what was shown on it.
I tried a little research on this "mystery purchase" and this is what I came up with:

Fourée Aureus, gold-plated AE, Chernvyakhov culture, Ukraine, ca. 295 a.D.
19 mm / 2,57 gr



IIIEIT (alliterate legend) - Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Diocletianus left

The left facing obverse bust is obviously inspired by Diocletian´s Aureus RIC 308 (Antiochia, 290-292, but not draped or cuirassed), which would mean the inscription originally read DIOCLETIANVS AVGVSTVS.
A specimen from the same pair of dies has been interpreted...

In the earlier years of our nation, cents and nickels were much more important than they are today. The main reason for that was that they actually had buying power, unlike today. You could buy something for a cent and the old time five and dime stores actually had goods that were priced at five and ten cents.

This made me wonder, why didn’t the branch mints strike cents and nickels until well into the 20th century? The Readers’ Digest answer to this is that the branch mints were all set up specifically to strike gold and silver coins. There was either no legal authorization for them to strike base metal coins, or tradition forbid them to do it.

In 1906 Congress voted to given the Director of Mint the power to authorize the coinage of cents and nickels in the branch mints. He started to exercise that power in 1908 with the 1908-S Indian Cents.

The 1908-S Indian Cent is sort of the "little brother" to the 1909-S which...

Dear friends of ancient mythology!

Today I want to share some notes on Nemesis, one of the most interesting ancient deities. And not the goddess of revenge as you will see.

Coin #1 (my first aureus):
Claudius, AD 41 - 54
AV - Aureus, 7.71g, 18mm
Rome 46/47
obv. TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG PM TRP VI IMP XI
laureate head r.
rev. PACI AVGVSTAE
Pax/Nemesis advancing r., holding with l. hand winged caduceus and points with it at snake, coiling r. at her feet; drawing with r. hand fold of her drapery to the chin
ref. RIC I, 38; C.57 (Lyon AD 45!); von Kaenel 628 (this specimen!)
scarce (R2), about VF
Pedigree:
ex coll. Moritz Simon, Berlin (1930?)
ex Glandining & Co., London 1929, Nr.666
ex Cahn, Ffm. 1930, Nr.232
ex MuM, Basel


Note:
Cahn in Frankfurt was one of the leading German coin dealers. Herbert Cahn, at that time 20 years old, has to emigrate from the Nazis to Basel/Switzerland, where he foundet Münzen&Medaillen Basel. The catalog from 1930 I...

Dear friends!

This article I have published years before on FAC in my thread "Mythological interesting coins". But I think it could be of interest here too. This article contains nearly all information I could get about this subject. I bet some of it will be new for you. Enjoy!

The coin:
Ionia, Miletos, Nero, AD 54-68
AE 18, 2.44g, 18.3mm, 330°
struck under magistrate Loupos
obv. CEBA - CTOC (left side from above, right from below, A and T upside down)
Laureate head r.
rev. EΠI ΛO - VΠOV (left side from above, right from below)
Cult statue of Apollo Didymeus, nude, stg. r., holding bow in l. hand and in his
extended r. hand stag, turning head back to the god.
ref. cf. BMC 148 (different magistrate); RPC comments p.449, 5a
very rare, F+/about VF, dark green patina



This coin belongs to the few objects which show us a model of the famous statue. It should be noted that the usual Apollo head on Milesian coins - showing a lion on...

Here is a chain of events that changed English history. During his reign, Edward the Confessor (ruled 1042 - 1066) told the future William the Conqueror that he should be the next king of England. William took him at his word, but when Edward died in January 1066, Harold Godwin grabbed the throne and became Harold II.

Edward the Confessor penny



Harold II had family problems. His brother, Tostig, opposed him and cast his lot with the Viking invaders. In the fall of 1066, Harold and his forces defeated Norse invaders and Tostig's forces. The Norse king and Tostig were both killed in that battle which was called the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

Harold II penny



Harold barely had time to celebrate his victory when he heard that William had invaded England. Harold's forces were naturally beaten and tired from having just fought a battle, but now they had a new foe to face....

Let's see your coins of Faustina I with veiled busts or anything you feel is relevant!

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Specialist collectors know that it makes no sense to hold out for "a better example," when a certain coin comes up for auction that is the only example. Such was the case with this dupondius of Faustina I when it recently came up for auction.


Faustina I, AD 138-141.
Roman orichalcum dupondius, 16.5 mm, 10.61 g.
Rome, AD 147-161 (probably AD 150/51).
Obv: DIVA FAV-STINA, diademed, veiled and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Fortuna standing left, holding globe and rudder.
Refs: RIC 1160b; BMCRE4 1557 var. (bust); Cohen 9; RCV 4640 var. (bust); ERIC II 356.
Notes: Beckmann (Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the provinces. American Numismatic Society, 2012, pp. 63-69) makes an argument, based on die-linkage studies of Faustina's aurei, that a massive issue of coins in all denominations bearing the reverse legend AETERNITAS took...