Coin Talk

I was very pleased to have recently acquired a Domitian obol from Alexandria featuring the Great Sphinx on the reverse. It has been a dream coin of mine ever since @AncientJoe and @TIF posted their examples here on CT.




Domitian
Æ Obol, 4.26g
Alexandria mint, 91-92 AD
Obv: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΔΟΜΙΤ ϹƐΒ ΓƐΡΜ; Head of Domitian, laureate, r.
Rev: LΙΑ; Sphinx, r.
RPC 2645 (11 spec.). Emmett 326.11.
Acquired from Athena, February 2021.

In Domitian's 11th regnal year at Alexandria the city's mint struck a most fascinating obol featuring the Great Sphinx of Giza on the reverse. The monolith of a mythical beast with a pharaoh's head and lion's body was carved out of solid limestone during the reign of pharaoh Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC) and sits on the west bank of the Nile in front of the Great Pyramid. During the Roman era the monument was a source of wonderment and awe. Pliny the Elder in the late first century wrote -...

We had some discussion here about a website called coinshx.com. It was apparent they were selling fakes so I purchased two pieces for educational reasons. Both for myself and any newer collectors here that may be attracted by the apparent bargain basement prices.

I paid $20.00 for the Morgan and $10.00 for the ASE. An experienced collector knows that these prices are far below silver melt value. So lesson #1 is that if it appears too good to be true, then it is probably bogus.

I’ll start with the ASE. A genuine ASE is on the left. This is probably visually the more convincing of the two pieces. The fields of the piece are stunning. That I am sure is a ploy to get you to overlook the flaws. The piece has a medal orientation. Genuine ASE’s are oriented like any other coin. The reverse is fairly convincing however the obverse is a hodgepodge of mistakes. A quick look at the greenery in Lady Liberty’s arm isn’t even close to the genuine ASE. Take a close look at the stars and folds...

The Great Britain Farthing of 1860 imaged below appears to be an interesting candidate for a new variety. All comments welcome.

OBVERSE


'I' doubled at top left.
'

'R' doubled at top left, bottom left & bottom right.


1 1/2 stops after 'D'.


'R' doubled at top left, outside lower
left of the upright & outside right
of the upper loop.


REVERSE


'6' doubled at top right, '0' imbedded into inner circle.





The '1' is imbedded into a strongly
reworked inner circle. Note
splitting of circle with one part
extending into juncture of the
upright and left foot of the '1';
the other part extending below
the '1' through two...

Rarity is an odd concept in ancient coins, where, as I have mentioned elsewhere, even collectors of modest means can own coins that are unique. Not that rarity is meaningless, with popular coins and types rarity does mean higher prices. But, to put the issue in more focus, consider the sestertii of Caracalla, in fact, the sestertii of the direct family of Septimius Severus generally. Sometime on or near 200AD, the Rome mint all but ceased the production of imperial bronzes, not striking these types, except in extremely small numbers, until 207AD or so. There were some imperial bronzes struck during this period of inactivity, but sestertii are extremely rare - despite close to 15 years of diligent searching I have not been able to buy a single example of a Caracalla sestertius struck from 200AD to 207AD - not one - and have all of one example as an As (RIC 415(c) - INDULGENTIA AVGG IN CARTH - to be posted).

The early sestertii of Geta as Caesar, are all extremely rare, since...

Until a couple of months ago, my earliest royal woman portrayed on a Roman Imperial coin was Hadrian's wife Sabina (unless one believes that Pax on the reverse of the Tiberius "Tribute Penny" = Livia). Since then, I've acquired coins depicting Domitia (Domitian's wife), Julia Titi (Titus's daughter), and now, Antonia, known as Antonia "Minor" or "the Younger" (36 BCE - 37 AD) (her older sister was Antonia Major/the Elder). Antonia Minor was the daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor (Augustus's sister) and, therefore, Augustus's niece. She was the wife of Nero Claudius Drusus; the mother of Claudius I and Germanicus (as well as Livilla, whom she allegedly punished for her plot with Sejanus by locking her in a room until she starved to death); the grandmother of Caligula (Germanicus's son); and the great-grandmother of Nero through her granddaughter Agrippina the Younger, daughter of Germanicus and mother of Nero. Her death was either a suicide or the result of poisoning by...

This will be a random and sporadically updated thread- so apologies in advance!

But, in the past few months I have bought up quite a few large lots of coins, ranging from $2 per coin to nearly $50 per coin. Obviously most lots will have plenty of ugly/cull coins, but I felt the need to start a thread for the keepers and cream of the crop as I work through imaging them. Apologies in advance for the lack of verbose write-ups; short on time and sleep these days

That some of these were deemed unworthy of individual listings baffles me!

First up, some Romans
Tiberius, "Livia as Salus" AE dupondius - pretty worn, but still a highly coveted type!


Caligula for Germanicus, AE Dupondius, SIGNIS RECEPTIS type, also rough, and desirable in pretty much any grade!


Vespasian Dupondius / Roma - this is IMO the definition of honest wear - and I had already been feeling the itch for some nice Flavian AE...

I find the coins struck at Magnesia on the Meander under Themistokles in the later part of his life to be fascinating. When I began to research this coin I found that information on Themistokles after his ostracism is not very easy to find. This is especially true of his coins since many of the primary references are in languages other than English. Therefore, I decided to put together this write up in order to provide a general historic background for the life of Themistokles after his exile and especially to give a more accessible means of categorizing and understanding his fractional coinage and in particular the “tight-cap” head type.

I caution that I am not claiming that this write up is anything close to a comprehensive or a completely accurate treatment of the subject. It is simply a compilation of my own understanding after my research. I will also warn you all ahead of time that this is going to be a loooooong post… even for me.

...

My one year anniversary in Coin-Talk is fast approaching. In a couple weeks it will be a year since I discovered this wonderful site that opened my eyes to the wonderful world of coin collecting. In fact I purchased my first coin this time last February, so it is a year proper since I started collecting ancients, even though I hardly knew at the time it would turn into a full-time hobby. It has actually come to the point that I can comfortably call it an obsession, but I am not here to point any fingers. I am fully to blame as I always had the tendency to surround myself with beautiful things. As I am writing this, I can hear the voice of Angela Gheorghiou singing "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca in my stereo, and I realise that we are a privileged few, for we have chosen to become guardians to treasures of humanity which is exactly what these ancient coins are. They are not our belongings, we are simply their custodians, making sure that we safeguard them for the generations to come. Or...

Happy New Year! Well, in Russia at least, where 14 January is ‘Old New Year’, since the Orthodox Church still uses the Julian Calendar. As if Russians needed an excuse to drink, they’ve given themselves two New Years, split by Christmas on 7 January.

The Russians have often done things their own way. The Cyrillic alphabet. Onion-domed churches. Vodka made from potatoes. And while other nations cast their planchets, the Russians sliced theirs from wire and beat them flat. That produced strange, misshapen flans that rarely fit the coin’s design.

Dmitry Shemyaka Denga, 1447

Moscow. Silver, 0.5g. Head right, barbarous unreadable legend around. Prince with a crown, К-H in fields, KHѦZЬ ВЕЛИКИ ДМИТРЕИ, ‘Grand Prince Dmitri’ (Huletski, Petrunin and Fishman No. 605B). Dmitry Shemyaka was twice Grand Prince of Moscow and a cousin and rival of Vasily II the Blind, great-grandfather of Ivan the Terrible. He was the second Muscovite Grand Prince...

Large Capped Bust Quarters Collection

I have tentatively completed my large sized Capped Bust quarter date set! Many are aware that bust quarters tend to be less plentiful than their other bust-style counterparts, and I definitely got to experience that first hand over the past couple years. While these are all in the Good to Good+ range, for the most part they are pretty decent when you consider how coins of this type have been abused over the years. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of large capped bust quarters are either lower grade than my coins or damaged. It should also go without saying that I don’t have (and likely will never have) either the 1823/2 or the 1827/3/2, and at the moment I don’t have an 1824/2 (hence “tentatively complete”), but that may change in the future. That said, I did do my best to get respectable examples for the grade for each date, so I am overall very proud of the set. All mintages and rarity ratings are from Steve Tompkins’...