Coin Talk

Saturninus; a name that makes all collectors of Roman Coins salivate. This usurper has been known for centuries by the stories of Zosimus and also of Historiae Augusta. Here is how its story is described:

Saturninus was a Gaul by birth, one of a nation that is ever most restless and always desirous of creating either an emperor or an empire. To this man, above all the other generals, because it seemed certain that he was truly the greatest, Aurelian had p399 given the command of the Eastern frontier, wisey charging him never to visit Egypt (Hist.Aug. Vol.3, 17,1)

Zosimus 1,66,1 : While Probus was thus employed, Saturninus, a Moor, the most familiar friend of the emperor, and for that reason entrusted with the government of Syria, threw off his allegiance, and rebelled against the emperor. When Probus learned this, he resolved to frustrate his designs, but was anticipated by the soldiers in the east, who destroyed Saturninus and all...

DENIER - PRINCE BOHEMOND III
Born: 1148 (est)
Prince: A.D. 1163-1201



Obverse: Portrait helmeted head right with crescent moon to left and star to right - BOAMVNDVS

Reverse: Cross with crescent moon top right of cross (Five pellets on A) - ANTIOCHIA

Easily one of my favorite, and probably one of the most recognizable, coins of the middle ages. The use of crescent punches to make the chain mail is a great low tech way to to represent armor. They really utilize the tools they had well to make a very recognizable, really iconic coin design that embodies the crusader states of the kingdom of Jerusalem in the Levant often refered to as Outremer.

This coin was minted for the Principality of Antioch, a state established during the first crusade that was at various times, and for most of its history, a vassal to Constantinople, The Kingdom of Jerusalem, or the...

Seventeen a beauty queen
She made a ride that caused a scene
In the town

Her long blonde hair
Hangin' down around her knees
All the cats who dig striptease
Prayin' for a little breeze
Her long blonde hair
Falling down across her arms
Hiding all the lady's charms
Lady Godiva

Peter and Gordon’s 1966 single celebrates the world’s most famous tax protest, the 11th century ride of Lady Godiva, wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia in Anglo-Saxon England. While Godiva was very much a real historical figure, modern historians view her fabled unclothed ride through town as implausible.[1]

The story of the lady’s naked ride was first recorded in Roger of Wendover’s 13th century book Flores Historiarum. The fable has been embellished over the centuries by such figures as the chroniclers in the Benedictine abbey of St. Albans, Daniel Defoe, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson,[2] but its plot is simple:

Earl Leofric, who was the Lord of Coventry, England, was...

This is a strange situation -- one I've never faced before -- and will take a while to explain. So please excuse the great length of this post.

I recently bought, from a reputable dealer on VCoins (Herakles Numismatics), what certainly appears at first glance to be a genuine example of Crawford 378/1c: the 81 BCE C. Marius Capito denarius with Ceres on the obverse and a husbandman plowing with two oxen on the reverse. It's a type with a control number appearing on both the obverse and the reverse (the numbers go from I to CLI, and the same number should appear on both sides), as well as a control symbol on the obverse.

At the time I bought the coin, I could see the reverse number CXXIII very clearly from the seller's photo, but the obverse number was partly off the flan and difficult to read, and I simply didn't notice before I bought the coin that there was a different number (CIIII) on the obverse from the one on the reverse. I don't think the seller noticed either. I noticed...

About 30 years ago I wanted a 'real' Vetranio. I find it upsetting now as I did then how many dealers peddle coins of Constantius II 'issued by Vetranio' as if they were 'real' Vetranios because they share the types and branch mint. In my book, coins of a person need to have the name or at least the portrait of the person. There are coins inscribed with the name of Vetranio.

I found a very worn but clear Vetranio AE2 with clear legends and the best of his reverses HOC SIGNO VICTOR ERIS Which was the then current way of saying By this sign, you will conquer. I wish I could show you a photo of that coin but I made a mistake and overwrote that file when I got the higher grade coin below. I was thrilled with the upgrade and quickly sold the lower grade coin seeing no reason to keep both.


My thrill with the above coin disappeared when I discovered it was a fake. There are quite a few of these on the fake reporting pages although there does seem to...

USA BICENTENNIAL COINS​

The Bicentennial coins of 1976 are connected in three ways:

1. The mint announced in October 1973 it was holding an open contest for the selection of suitable designs for the special Bicentennial reverses of the quarter, half dollar and dollar coins. $5,000 would be awarded to each winner.

A. Jack L. Ahr's design of a colonial drummer boy facing left and a victory torch encircled by 13 stars positioned at the upper left was selected for the quarter.

B. Seth G. Huntington's design featuring Independence Hall in Philadelphia won out over all the competition for the half dollar.

C. Dennis R. Williams won the Dollar contest with his artistic rendition of the Liberty Bell being superimposed over a full moon.

2. There are no quarter, half dollar or dollar coins dated 1975. All quarters, halves and dollars were dated 1776 - 1976 even though many were struck in 1975. 1975 mint and proof sets included a...

ln my search to further understand (and obtain) Macedonian shield coins I have recently acquired a true "key date" coin of the bronze type (your welcome modern collectors, I've dumbed it down for you to understand I kid, I kid).
Not easily acquired, only 1 of the type has been shown here on coin talk. So I have every right to blame @zumbly for this superb acquisition (thanks for sharing, buddy).
But first a little history:
As Greek power waivered during the rise of Rome, it seemed natural that Rome would pick off the descendants of the diadochi, with Macedon first. However, Rome would not fight an unjust war. And genuinely appeared not to have desire nor reason to fight the Greeks. Nevertheless, history unfolded in a way that Rome couldn't have planned better had they set out for complete conquest of Greece.



Reason came for the first Macedonian war with Rome, 214 BCE, thanks to Philip V taking sides with Hannibal. It was...

I have been working on another variety of deceptive struck fakes actually for quite some time- another pattern besides the 1836 Gobrecht dollar I have previously written about, now an 1871 pattern silver dollar, known as Judd 1146.

The 1st example is the believed genuine source coin, NGC 1951038-011, certified in 2005 and recorded as sold in major auctions in Aug and Sept 2011.

This example appears to have turned up again as NGC 2791432-009, resubmitted by one of the known bad sellers of the time in June 2014. Like many of the other documented deceptive struck fakes the counterfeiters purchased a genuine example to use to make the counterfeit dies and then later resubmitted it for recertification and sale along with the struck clones...

The 1st two images show a comparison of these two highlighting the major common attribution marks including some rim disturbances.




The next lower resolution image is of an example...

@AnYangMan was kind enough to offer his expertise on my thread about Margaret of Constantinople and he also launched an invitation for me to delve deeper into the feudal coinages of the Netherlands.

I have to say, I find this area extremely interesting and often rewarding, as I have mentioned in my Hainaut threads: here, about Margaret and here about Willem III and Albrecht van Beieren as Counts of Hainaut.

Unfortunately, outside the high profile auctions of Elsen, I don't really know where to search for a more deeper understanding first hand of the Low Countries coinages -- that is outside the feudal and royal sections of the French ebay or the regional/provincial sections of the Dutch and Belgian ebay plus some Flemish independent collector and...

Here is a coin of Isaac Comnenus (1185-1191), usurper on the island of Cyprus. I like Byzantine AE but hadn't expected to seek such a rare ruler, but I got one anyway.



Tetarteron. 19 mm. 3.60 grams.
Christ pantocrator, enthroned. EMMA NOV...
Virgin, nimbate, crowning the emperor. ΙICAAKOC [off the flan to the left] DECPOTIC to right.

Sear 1998 "Extremely rare" although acsearch shows some have been found since Sear was published in 1987.
DOC 4.1, #10, page 363 and 4.2 plate XIX (images from coins in the ANS, not DO). Sear noted that it was not certain this type was not of Isaac II, but by 1999 when DO 4 was published Grierson was able to assert that find spots make it clear this was correctly attributed as a coin of the usurper Isaac Comnenus.

Here is the location of Cyprus from Google maps:



This Isaac Comnenus (there are also two other Byzantines of that name) was a grandson of the brother of emperor Manuel...