Coin Talk

TROAS, Dardanos
c. 450-420 BCE
AR obol; 9 mm, 0.56 gm
Obv: cock standing left
Rev: cross-hatch pattern
Ref: Nomismata 3, 303; Demeester 98; SNG Ashmolean 1119 (all references unverified; I do not have copies of these reference books/catalogs)

Clearly this is the ancient inspiration for a classic dish of the US South


image source

Obvious joke aside, there is a reason these coins caught my attention several years ago (took me a while to win one; they are rare). The reverse type-- this cross-hatching design-- seems to be found only on this type of coin. Who really cares, you say? Probably no one. However, it made me wonder a couple of things about incuse punches used for the reverse of so many archaic and...

A scale weight arrived today from an interesting selling country: Cyprus. The price was modest, so I was not too worried about it being lost in the mail. I was interested to see what paper work would accompany an ancient item. Pics of the weight and package are below. You can see not much was said on the paper work.



Bronze Barrel Shaped Weight with I B
Late Imperial or Byzantine Commercial Weight, 500 -700 AD
Weight : 13.16 grams
Size : 15mm diameter x 10mm tall
VF, the weight has a brown patina with desert patina in the letters, both top & bottom have centering holes
References:
Ancient Scale Weights by David Hendin - # 335; IB = 12 scripula
Scales and Weights by Bruno Kisch
Table 5, Late Imperial Rome; IB = ½ ounce = 12 scruples
Table 6, Byzantine; IB = ½ ounce
Byzantine Weights by Simon...

Hey Folks,
I just purchased this book: Standard Price Guide to World Crowns and Talers 1484-1968 As Cataloged by Dr John S. Davenport. I have been bitten by the Taler bug, and while the only whole Taler I own is a Maria Theresia restrike, I hope to own more of these beauties. @micbraun and @Rheingold have been helping me look for one solid Taler to buy. Seems I’m pickier than anticipated and pickier than my budget allows. After sifting through over 5,000 Talers on Ma-Shops (@ma-shops love the Website), I decided I needed to buy the book and learn. Unfortunately, most of Davenport’s actual hardcover works are going for $100+, so I decided to start small with this 1984 2nd and final price catalog. I’m not sure what to expect, but I hope it’s a good start and for it being like new and $30 shipped, I felt I couldn’t go wrong. I made a list of “wants” and it seems my taste falls generally in the 16 and 1700s. Feel free to post any...

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

The coin:
Kingdom of Bithynia, Prusias I., 183-149 BC
AE 20, 6.38g, 45°
obv. (anepigraphic)
Head of Dionysos, with ivy-wreath, r.
rev. Kentaur Cheiron, stg. r., holding Lyra with both hands, waving chlamys behind
him
Monogram in lower r. field
ref. SNG Copenhagen 639; BMC 9; SG 7266; Waddington, 226, 26
about VF, Brown patina


Mythology:
Cheiron, or Chiron, was the son of Kronos and Philyra. When Kronos approached Philyra he was surprised by his wife Rhea. For fear of her he turned into an horse. When Philyra after the birth of Cheiron saw his shape as horse she was so ashamed that she was finally transformed into a linden tree. But it is told too that Cheiron like all other Kentaurs has Ixion as father.

So Cheiron was a kentaur, a creature mixed of horse and man. But he is said to have been such a good physician, musician and astronomer, that he was the educator of Herakles, Asklepios, Jason and...

Drachm. 14 mm. 3.70 grams.
Persian Satrap of Caria, Mausolos, 373-353 BC.
Apollo 3/4 facing right. Zeus Labraundos standing right with labrys (double ax) and spear, wreath in left field.
Sear Greek II 4956. SNG Danish V Caria 591-593. SNG von Aulock 2361-2365. SNG Finland Keckman I 276. SNG Turkey I Kayhan 874-879.
Minted at Halikarnassos, Caria, now Bodrum on the southwestern coast of modern Turkey.

We spell his name "Mausolos," but he spelled it with a double S and double L: MAYΣΣΩΛΛO
Take a look at the legend:


From Wikipedia under "Mausoleum": "The word derives from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (near modern-day Bodrum in Turkey), the grave of King Mausolus, the...

This is my third coin from last weekend’s coin hunt. I don’t normally go after Roman coins but this nice Republic spoke to me through the dealer’s glass case. Both the coin & the price were attractive. I'd like to learn why Victory is seated rather than the normal standing/flying/crowning postures.
Gaze away from the photos as the extremely sharp details might cut your eyes.


Roman Republic
M. Cato
AR Quinarius
ca. 89 B.C.
2.25 grams
Obv: Liber right
Rev: Victory seated
Grade: Pretty much as originally struck FDC(?).
NGC label states MS with 5/5 strike and 4/5 surface.
Other: Relatively common RR in unusually high grade of preservation.
Gaze away as the extremely sharp details might cut your eyes.

Please show your examples! Do you have something that looks today like it did the day it was struck? Do you have a seated Victory or maybe...

Liberalitas was the personification of the Roman virtue of generosity.

Liberalitas was employed as a propaganda vehicle by Roman leaders. From time to time, a political leader of the Roman Republic or an emperor of the imperial era would display his largess by issuing a congiarium or liberality. The leader would distribute money to the people for various reasons -- to ease economic hardship among the people, to increase the leader's "approval rating," etc. Tiberius gave a congiarium of 75 denarii (300 sesterces) to each citizen. Caligula gave the same amount of three hundred sesterces on two occasions. Nero, whose congiaria were the earliest known examples represented numismatically, gave four hundred.

A civil servant charged with the task would use a tessera, or counting board, to quickly count out a share of money to distribute to the people attending the congiarium (donative event). The tessera...

Mar. 1–3, 2019. Tennessee State Numismatic Society Spring Show, Camp Jordan Arena, I-75 Exit 1, Chattanooga, Tenn. Fri. Mar. 1 10 am–6 pm, Sat. Mar. 3 10 am–6 pm, Sun. Mar. 4 10 am–3 pm. Very large show, 200+ dealers. One of the best regional shows in the South. We will be at Booth 316, please come by and shop and say hi!

We have bought enough new material that practically everything we show in Chattanooga will be brand new! Be sure to come by.

More info at www.tsns.org


Matte 1909 VDB Lincoln Cent PR64RB PCGS

Kind regards,

George

A Young Numismatist is generally defined as a coin collector under the age of 18. A YN is also considered usually of lower numismatic budget, and compared to adults, are much an amateur in the field of numismatics. I am here to explain my views on numismatics specifically on the subject of YNs. For simplicity, adult numismatists will be the acronym “ANs” while young numismatists will be “YNs.”

I would first like to start off by showing how I can see both sides. For me being 16, adulthood is rapidly approaching, much sooner than some of my younger counterparts around the shops and shows. I would consider myself in the gray area of the two. I have the main resources, knowledge and abilities to keep up with ANs, to an extent, yet mainly I am still seen as a YN, which I do not mind. I have been given compliments on how my general and numismatic knowledge rival adults, which explains how a person should be less regarded on there age and more on their abilities.

So I will tell a short...

I bought this coin a few months ago cause I was fascinated about the cruel scene on this republican denarius. The Romans had no problem at all showing a severed head on the reverse of this coin. It's unthinkable that this kind of scenes would be displayed on modern European coins.

On this coin you can see the Roman general Marcus Sergius. In battle he lost his right hand. In two campaigns he was wounded twenty-three times . He was twice captured by Hannibal but managed to escape. He fought four times with only his left hand, while two horses he was riding were stabbed beneath him.
He was probably the first man ever with a prosthetic hand.
What a guy !

This coin makes me think how many different brutal, bloodthirsty, cruel scenes there are on the reverses of ancient coins. Mine is number one


M. Sergius Silus, denarius
3,84 g. 18 mm.
Obv. EX S C ROMA*, helmeted head of Roma right.
Rev. Horseman galloping left with sword & severed...