Coin Talk

By the year 44 BC, Julius Caesar had shown an increased inclination towards royal power. This was much to the concern of several senators that belonged to the Optimates faction in the Senate. After - according to Suetonius - several fateful acts, the “Liberators” decided to step up their game and assassinate Caesar on the Ides of March, in the Senate house.

Without a doubt Brutus and his fellow conspirators (also called the tyrannicides) thought they were doing the Roman people a great favor by murdering the would-be-king. However, the populace - also incited by Anthony’s funeral speech - thought differently and after a funeral pire seeked out Brutus and Cassius to avenge Caesar’s murder. Both left the city and Brutus fled to Greece. To prepare for the inevitable war with the heirs of Caesar, Brutus pillaged his way through Greece, Thrace and Asia Minor, looting treasure to pay for his growing army. Brutus and Cassius’ armies met with the armies of...

At that time they say that the Emperor Honorius in Ravenna received the message from one of the eunuchs, evidently a keeper of the poultry, that Rome had perished. And he cried out and said, 'And yet it has just eaten from my hands!' For he had a very large cock, Rome by name; and the eunuch comprehending his words said that it was the city of Rome which had perished at the hands of Alaric, and the emperor with a sigh of relief answered quickly: 'But I, my good fellow, thought that my fowl Rome had perished.' So great, they say, was the folly with which this emperor was possessed."

Procopius, The Vandalic War (III.2.25-26)



After a very interesting thread by @seth77 about Theodosius I, why not talking about another Emperor in the category "low profile" : Honorius. He was in fact the younger son of Theodosius and Aelia Flaccilla. Born in 384 AD, he was named Augustus in 393 at the age of 8 years old. On...

I was metal detecting a couple of days ago and found a 1919 wheat penny, 1949 Washington quarter and a 1962 dime, all in pretty good shape. Added a flattened bowl from a large sterling spoon and it was a pretty good day.
Then I got a strong signal but could not find the target in the hole. I would remove a handful of dirt and it looked like the target moved within the hole. After chasing it back and forth I was getting frustrated and about to move on. I pulled the plug of grass and weeds over a bit and something banged my knuckles. I looked more closely and a big ring was caught up in the roots. Nice.

at home I cleaned it up a bit. My wife examined it and claimed to see a K stamp inside the band. Maybe it was gold. An acid test was inconclusive but heavily hinted it was indeed.

But the object mounted on it was mysterious. I was reminded of a Mayan calendar. I snapped some pictures then took it to my jeweler to be cleaned and possibly sized. Then I posted some pics and sent a...

1/4 CENT COIN 1890 - SRI LANKA (CEYLON) - QUEEN VICTORIA
(KM 90) - Low Mintage



Obverse: Portrait crowned head left inside key pattern border - VICTORIA QUEEN (small CM on bottom of bust Colombo Mint)

Reverse: Cocoa-palm tree and denomination inside border in Tamil and Sinhalese - Victoria- CEYLON QUARTER CENT 1890

Engraver: Leonard Charles Wyon

This Quarter cent was created late in the reign of Queen Victoria (but shows a decidedly young empress as was customary for provincial issues) by the British Empire who held the island of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) as the British Crown Colony of Ceylon between 1795 and 1948. Ceylon was a British crown colony for 146 years until gaining independence on February 4, 1948 when it became a Democratic Socialist Republic.

The obverse is rather simple with the crowned bust of a young Queen Victoria inside a decorative key pattern border with the...

Claudius counter-marked and issued sestertii, dupondii and asses in order to extend the supply of money after his invasion and conquest of Britain in 43AD.


BMCRE, Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 120, 41-45AD (38mm, 29.2gm)

Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right
Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP

Counter-marked PROB (Probatum - temporarily accepted)

Mattingly note - Cmk. in oblong incuse in front of neck and face; end of legend obliterated

Reverse depiction: Civic Oak Wreath
Inscription in four lines:

EX SC
O B
C I V E S
SERVATOS
(within Civic Oak Wreath)



BMCRE, Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 123, 41-45AD (35mm, 22.3gm)

Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right
Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP

Counter-mark NCAPR in oblong incuse rectangle behind head (unknown mark on head)

Reverse depiction: Triumphal arch surmounted by equestrian statue of...

Here is a new addition to my collection. I acquired this previously owned book from a friend who said he could not use it. The pages are in good condition even though the covers are missing.
It’s a nice piece of Error coin history I thought would others may find interesting.




C.O.N.E. Their motto is Sharing Information. I’ll let the register introduce itself.



The pages are in an 8½ x 5½ format, are kinda stiff with a smooth finish.
Mostly a list of common errors like die chips, die crack, partly filled die, but also has RPM’s , Clashed Dies & Doubled.




There is 86 pages of Lincoln cents. Only 1.2 pages for the Kennedy Half and 1964 is the only date listed for it. There is also a few pages in the back listing some foreign coins. I can take pics of any queries about certain date / coin....

A year ago this month I was elated to have acquired one of my 'dream coins' - a well provenanced Vespasian dynastic sestertius from Rome.




Unfortunately, despite the 100 year old provenance, it turned out to be a 19th Century cast.


Happily, a couple of weeks later I acquired an example struck at Lugdunum.


Vespasian
Æ Sestertius, 24.45g
Lyon mint, 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.; globe at point of bust
Rev: CAESAR AVG F DES IMP AVG F COS DES II; S C in exergue; Titus and Domitian stg. front, each with spear and parazonium
RIC 1132 (R). BMC 799. BNC -.
Acquired from Romae Aeternae, June 2019.


But I still continued to pine away for the Rome mint version of this special type ... until now. Finally, I have redeemed myself and added the Rome mint variant!


Vespasian
Æ Sestertius, 27.31g
Rome mint, 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAES...

Alexandria, Egypt was the 2nd most important city in the Roman Empire for a variety of reasons. Most of us are well aware of the long tradition of Alexandrian coinage going back to Ptolemy I, but how many of us are aware of the long tradition of glass making from that city that goes back nearly 4,000 years ? Where was the 1st crystal clear glass made? That mystery was finally put to rest by careful chemical analysis, it was Alexandria, Egypt , as described in an article by the New York times, see link below.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/science/alexandrian-glass-rome.html

In 1987 I hosted a class I was teaching at the Rochester Museum & Science Center to see a special exhibition at the Corning Museum of Glass, GLASS of the CAESARS, the most important exhibition of Roman glass ever assembled. The examples of Roman glass were breathtaking to say the least . The two most important pieces are pictured below.

...

AR Penny of Edward the Confessor
(Ēadƿeard Andettere)
Born: 1003 (est)
King: A.D. 1042-1066



Obverse: Portrait crowned head left with scepter - EDPER D'REX' (Edward King)

Reverse: Cross with quatrefoil and pellets in angles - PVLFPINE ON LVN (Wulfwine, London)

Although the art the coin had seen a significant decline over the centuries by this time, coins like these are still quite fascinating. What they lack in sophistication they make up for in their adaptation to the more rudimentary technology and their adaptive techniques to create interesting works. Coin of this time are reminiscent of cubism and other modern art movements in the way, out of necessity, they created the figurative from through the arrangement of geometric shapes and lines.

To create this portrait of the king, and the letter forms, on this coin they used punches, combined with rather crude etching, to hammer,...

All persons and situations depicted in this story are purely fictitious and any resemblance to existing persons and situation are totally coincidental.

June 276, Lugdunum mint, Gaul.

Discussion between the scalptores in chief of the workshop and his subordinates:

We just had fresh news from a messenger: our Augustus Tacitus just died , strucked down by a terrible fever.
How old was he ?
He was a venerable 76 years old
Did the Senate chose a new emperor?
Well, we heard that Florianus, his Praetorian Prefect, claimed the title, and is recognize by the Senate. We had received new instructions: we're gonna have to increase the production in our workshop. The new Augustus wants to secure the support of all his troops.
And what about Commander Probus in the East ?
That may be a problem.Rumor has it that he does not...