Coin Talk

After coming across a tin William and Mary halfpenny (1690), I was forced to learn something about the coinage of tin farthings and halfpence.

Charles II (1660-1685) started minting tin farthings in 1684 for very understandable reasons. First, he wanted to bolster the suffering tin industry. Second, the intrinsic value of tin was lower than copper. This would assure a greater profit for the Crown by replacing the more expensive copper with tin.

As an anti-counterfeiting measure, a square plug of copper was placed in the center of the coin. This effort to prevent counterfeiting with the copper plug did not increase the coins’ popularity (or aesthetic appeal), however.



(Charles II tin farthing 1684. Not my coin. Not my picture.)

His successor James II (1665-1668) ordered tin halfpence with a copper plug in 1685.



(James II halfpenny from 1687. Not my picture. Not my coin.)

After supplanting James in 1688, William and Mary...

You may already be familiar with the “Follow the Leader" threads in the World coin forum. Let’s start a similar thread here in the Ancients forum.

We will keep it simple. If you can post an item depicting the current theme, then you get to post a second item of your own to start a new theme. Post your coin & state the theme that goes along with your coin. The theme might be coins with owls, coins with COS II, or coins with severed heads. Anything goes (coin, token, medal, artifact, etc) but we should keep it to something ancient. The next poster then posts something containing that theme & then posts/declares some new theme.

Here is an example. If someone posts a coin with an owl on it, and declares the theme to be "owls", the next person has to post an ancient item with an owl on it. That person then posts another coin (or the same coin) & states the new theme. OK? Let’s try this for a few days & have some fun.

We can start this thread with my new Tarentum coin. I...

Hello friends! On a recent trip exploring the Adriatic coast of the Balkan Peninsula I was fortunate to be able to visit a site with a fascinating cultural and numismatic history. I decided to put together a write up about what I learned since I have a feeling many of you will also enjoy learning about the site and its connection to ancient coins (The coins shown are housed at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina).



Daorsi AE17, Daorson mint ca. 2nd cent. BC
Found at Doarson, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Wt.: 5.03 g
Dia.: 17 mm, 3h
Obv.: Male head wearing kausia facing right
Rev.: Ship, ΔΑΟΡΣΩΝ
Ref.: Basler 1971, 335

Perched on the peak of a commanding hill top location in modern Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the most fascinating archeological sites in South-Eastern Europe. The site was the capital and primary cultural center of a small tribe of technologically advanced Illyrians known as the Daorsi. However, the name of this tribe (and their...

Galba



Servius Sulpicius Galba was born on December 24, 3 BC in Terracina, Italy to a well-connected and very wealthy family. His paternal grandfather was Servius Sulpicius Galba, praetor in 54 BC and his maternal grandfather was politician Quintus Lutatius Catulus. In his youth, Galba was remarked by both Augustus and Tiberius to have great abilities and destined to be important.



He became a Consul in 33 AD, followed by a military command in Upper Germany, and then a proconsul in Africa. Just prior to becoming imperator, he was the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis (Spain). Suetonius describes his Hispania tenure as “…variable and inconsistent. At first he was vigorous and energetic… but he gradually changed to sloth and inaction, not to give Nero any cause for jealousy, and as he used to say himself, because no one could be forced to render an account for doing nothing.”

Galba would become the first emperor in the so-called “Year...

At the death of Thibaut IV de Blois, Count of Blois, Champagne and Brie in 1152, Sancerre became the inheritance for Thibaut's third son Etienne, who in turn became count of a rather small territory carved from the de Blois lands in the province of Berry. As brother of two of the most powerful barons of the realm -- Thibaut V de Blois and Henri II de Champagne -- Etienne became a key figure in the politics of both feudal France and the Holy Land.


In the Histoire de Berry, Gaspard Thaumas de La Thaumassière calls Thibaut IV de Blois: "le Grand, le Liberal, le Pere du Conseil, le Tuteur des Pauvres & des Orfelines, grand Justicier, Comte Palatin de Champagne & de Brie..."


Etienne's rule as count was in the same vein as his father's, and was marked by social and economic development, a stable and strong monetary system -- visible from the quality of the billon and craftsmanship of the coins and...

The coins I get the most excited about adding to my collection are those that tell the most compelling story. Those coin types that can be traced to long distant events that inspire the imagination. I feel very fortunate to have acquired just such an ancient coin recently. This coin was very likely struck from silver looted from some of the most famous cities of the ancient world and then used by the Roman Republic to pay for the soldiers and supplies needed to fend off the assaults of the mighty Hannibal. This denarius was the first of its kind (Crawford 44/5) and would go on to become one of the most iconic and influential issues in numismatic history. Be aware that this is likely to become a long (even for me) two part post.


Roman Republic, Second Punic War (218-201 BC)
AR Denarius. Anonymous, struck ca. 211 BC
Wt.: 4.2 g
Dia.: 20 mm
Obv.: Helmeted head of Roma right. X in left field
Rev.: Dioscuri galloping right. ROMA in exergue and...

Although I do collect coins from other Roman Mints, and from other historical periods, the major thrust of my Roman Imperial Coin collecting for the past sixty years has been the folles produced at the London Mint from circa. 296 until 313. That was a very convoluted and complicated period of Roman Imperial coin production -- and history -- often hard to figure out and follow by even experienced and dedicated coin collectors and researchers. A frequent complaint by my own family members and friends is that it is sometimes hard to follow the historical associations of my London Mint coins whenever I discuss them -- and I admit it is sometimes hard for me to try and explain them!

In my next post I will include a somewhat lengthy time-line historical overview that I hope my fellow collectors on this Forum will find of some use. I am really hoping that all of those who are interested in this subject will contribute suggestions, corrections, additions .... and so on ..... in subsequent...

This is one of my favorite coins because its reverse depicts a famous statue that has been lost to us over the centuries.



Tranquillina AD 241-244
Roman provincial Æ 24.1 mm, 8.06 g
Thrace, Deultum, AD 241-244
Obv: SAB TRANQVILLINA AVG, diademed and draped bust, right
Rev: COL FL PAC DEVLT, Marsyas as Silenus facing right, carrying wine skin over left shoulder and raising right arm
Refs: Moushmov 3757; Youroukova 425, 4/II; cf. SNG Cop 549

The statue of Marsyas in the Roman Forum came to symbolize the city's libertas and was associated as well with the notion of abundance and fruitfulness (ubertas). It is only known to us on coins and on the plutei of Trajan, two marble reliefs discovered in 1872 and which now are sheltered inside the Curia. They date from the time of Hadrian.

One of them commemorates Trajan's program of food relief (alimenta) for children of the poor; the other depicts the burning of records...

The following thread showcases 5 of the 12 antique coins of Imperial Japan or 皇朝十二钱 （kochou junisen). These were the first official circulating coins minted in Japanese history. The emphasis on official is noted as only recently in 1998 did researchers dug up what is now regarded as Japan's earliest coins, the Fuuhonsen 富本钱 in the ancient rural capital of Fujiwara ko by half a century. However unlike the 12, the Fuuhonsen was not recorded as official issues for trade and circulation. References to David Hartill's excellent book "Early Japanese Coins" were made and illustrations within for specimens outside of my collection were provided for illustrative purposes. Due to their limited issues and habit of one to ten exchange rates every susbequent issues, they are very to extremely rare.

Prior to the issuance of the 12 antique coins, the Japanese economy relied heavily on a barter system. Semblances of a circulating currency lies in the import of the Kaigen Tsuho 開元通寳 (Kaiyuan...

I've been wanting to scan some of my specimens stocks for a while and I finally got to it tonight. Imho, this is the most intriguing area of my collection. A few of these have already been posted on another thread, but I decided this would make a good stand-alone article.

Specimens are considerably rarer than most issued stock certificates (often only a handful were printed), but until the last decade or so, prices did not reflect this. In the '80s and '90s you could still find some specimens for $5 and under. They were produced for a variety of reasons, but usually surviving examples are those that were kept in the files of the issuer or the bank note company.

Most of the specimens I own were printed by the American Bank Note Co., which printed the vast majority of engraved U.S. stocks and bonds over the last century. But there were also many smaller bank note firms, most of which...