Coin Talk

The correct way to make a 5% solution (by weight) of sodium sesquicarbonate for bronze disease treatment.

I bought a group lot lately with a couple of nice bronzes that turned out to be infected with serious bronze disease. (I know it is not a “real” disease, but this is the name ancient collectors use for this condition). Looking up the directions for making sodium sesquicarbonate on the internet I found that many of the directions were not correct and would result in a solution that was 3x too strong. There are apparently a lot of copies of an incorrect article on how to make a 5% solution of sodium sesquicarbonate floating around, that continue to propagate through the magic of cut and paste.

See: http://www.accla.org/actaaccla/bronzediseasetherapy.html

I put this tutorial together to help people to make a 5% solution the correct way, that is the main thing I am trying to accomplish with this thread, not describe or debate all the ways there are to treat BD. I am no...

BUY THE BOOK BEFORE YOU BUY THE COIN is a famous saying in the hobby.

BUY THE BOOK BEFORE THE COIN headlined an advertisement in the March 1966 issue of The Numismatist. Aaron R. Feldman offered 25 titles, some of which were classics then as now: Sheldon, Beistle, and Bolender. Don Taxay’s book on counterfeits (1964) was a new addition to our knowledge base. The Friedberg family was still in its first generation with Paper Money of the United States.

Today, the self-styled "bibliomaniacs" of numismatics easily recognize Aaron R. Feldman (1894-1976) as an iconic literature dealer. He said,...

A string was laced through the holes, tied at the ends to make a loop. placed on each thumb and spin the coin until the string is wound up, then pull briskly making a "whizzing sound" rewinding itself and making another brisk pull to make another "whizzing sound.

I began collecting U.S. coins in the 1950s when stamp collecting was more popular than coin collecting. I bought a copy of the "Red Book" & the "Blue Book" along with a number of blue Whitman folders that showed only one side of the coin. In those days it was possible to find scarce, rare, & old coins in circulation. All my spare time was spent learning about U.S. coins & searching through circulated coinage. I had one big advantage most kids didn't have, my mother worked as a bank teller & every week would bring home rolls of coins for me to inspect. I was amazed at what could be found with a little searching; Liberty V nickels, Barber dimes & quarters, commemorative half dollars, & even Indian head pennies. Over several years I managed to fill most of the holes in those Whitman folders except for the key dates, & even built a complete collection of Peace dollars except of the 1921. With an allowance of $1.00 a week & a part time summer job of selling balloons, cotton candy, &...

I just bought this coin. Some had claimed that it was fake or a garage job, so I decided to buy it and examine it in hand.

This coin had a planchet defect that was hidden under the surface. It circulated for years until it was in F condition. Then one day something fell on the reverse at 2:00. The coin was sitting on another coin, so there was a design transfer on the opposite side of the hit. This caused the coin to ring and resonate with such vigor that the planchet defect exacerbated and nearly broke the coin into two pieces. The two pieces hung by a thread, but a slight bending force caused the bridge to break. In an attempt to put the coin back into circulation, the owner tried to crimp the two pieces back together, but it did not hold. I find it truly amazing that the two pieces managed to stay together for 150 years.

This is one of those rare coins where all of the marks and damage helps tell the story of this coin. Since I buy coins with interesting stories, this coin fits...

(Edit: I originally titled this story "A Christmas Wedding", because that's when Vesta McCurry and her soldier sweetheart were married. But read on - the story developed some interesting twists after I originally posted this!)

WW1 trench art engraved on 1918 France 2-franc coin: ("Souvenir [of] France") [for] "Miss Vesta McCurry, Hartwell, Ga"

I've had this World War 1 trench art piece in my box for a year or two. Was just photographing it and getting it ready for listing on eBay when I decided to do a little sleuthing on its backstory, which, as often happens, proved to be interesting.

This literally unique piece tells the story - a love story - which led to a Christmas wedding 99 years ago.

...

As I have been collecting coins of Septimius Severus, I have wandered into the provinces as I have noted in my posts about Nikopolis ad Istrum and Markianopolis in Moesia Inferior. I have also bought some interesting coins from Antioch in Pisidia in the last few months.

Ruins of Antioch in Pisidia:



Antioch in Pisidia is located in modern day Turkey. The western two thirds of modern day Turkey was known as Anatolia. Anatolia has been continuously inhabited as far back as the 24th century BC. An important center of trade and sandwiched between the Black, the Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas, there was good reason for many cultures to inhabit the area. Hittites, Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians all tried to wrest control of the area...

Hi everyone,

Are you ready to celebrate?!

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the Top Ten lists and Secret Saturnalia threads, some of my favourites!

I wasn’t able to participate in the Secret Saturnalia. But, one of our friends sent me a wonderful gift that is especially meaningful to me at this time of year.

Deacon Ray sent me this amazing Star of Bethlehem AE Trichalkon with Zeus on the obverse and a ram looking at a star on the reverse. This has always been in the top 5 coins on my wish list and I’m so so happy to have it. Thank you, Deacon Ray!



He also sent me an awesome card that I’ll post a picture of tomorrow.

This is a great coin with a fascinating theory behind what is commemorated on the reverse. You can read more about it here: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/data/cartwright/Star of Bethlehem Coins.pdf

A lot of...

I have obtained two more Epeiros additions which I am really happy about. First coin is a diobol from the Epeirote league. I have a drachm of this and a diobol is a great addition since it is a quite scarce denomination. The second coin is a rare municipal mint from Ambrakia during the Epeirote League.

Epeirote League Diobol (234–168 B.C.). Mint ?
Obverse: Head of Zeus Dodonaeus right wearing oak wreath, monogram behind.
Reverse: ΑΠΕΙ - ΡΩΤΑΝ; thunderbolt, oak wreath around.
1.41g; 14mm

The mint of these Epeirote League coins is a bit of a mystery. In what city is it minted? Is it Dodona, is it Phoenice or is it Kassope, or who knows another city?

Phoenice is the capital of the Epirote Republic and makes known municipal bronze coins and it is thought that the federal mintage occurs there as well, because after all it is the capital...

By edge of the world I mean for the areas of interest I collect in the Greek world. I'm trying to collect all rulers of the Seleucid kingdom for which I have 25. I also am interested in getting as many mints as possible for which I have 24 currently. My latest comes from a remote corner of the known Greek world.
As Alexander was conquering the territories of the former achaemenid empire he renamed as many as 60 or 70 cities after himself. He made it as far as present day India before returning to Babylon. After his death in 323 BC, wars were fought amongst his generals and his territory was eventually divided among them. The furthest reaches to the East went to Seleucus. One mint in particular was established by him around 285 BC now known as AI Khanoum, some also believe it is the site of Alexandria on the Oxus.
It is a very remote mint indeed being some 2500 miles from Athens. Located in Northern Afganistan near the border of Tajikistan, foreigners are forbidden to enter without...