Coin Talk

Sample slabs, what are they, how did they start and are they collectible?

Sample slab collecting is not a new hobby. Slabs change all the time, just not as fast as the labels change. There are those that prefer the older designs while others prefer the newer ones.

Each slab has a place in Numismatic history and evolution. Prices are all over the place but as time goes by the values settle and collectors discover which samples are rare, and which samples are common.

There are many types of sample slabs just as there are many types of collectors. World coins are but one example. U.S. coin collectors often overlook World coins, and world samples are no exception. I am not a world coin collector so I'll deal with the sample slabs of US coins.

For any given coin I have no idea how many were produced. In my opinion production numbers are quite low, based on what I have experienced searching for additions to my own collection.

As you can see, the above...

Hostilian was the youngest son of Emperor Trajan Decius, AD 249-251, and Herennia Etruscilla. The eldest son of Decius, Herennius Etruscus was raised to the rank of Caesar in AD 250, and Hostilian was given the title of Caesar at the same time or shortly there after. Herennius Etruscus was given the title of Augustus in AD 251. Decius and his eldest son were both killed fighting the Gothic invaders at the battle of Abrittus, in the summer of AD 251. The leading general of Decius, Trebonianus Gallus, was immediately proclaimed emperor. It had been rumored at the time that Gallus was intentionally slow getting to the battle of Abrittus, knowing that Decius & his troops would be massacred and he would be chosen as emperor. Decius and his family were held in high esteem by the Romans, so to placate the growing foment Gallus gave Hostilian the title of Augustus and made him co-emperor. To strengthen the bond even more Hostilian's sister was married to Volusian, the son of Gallus. Later...

Hi all,
Felt like sharing a little history this week.


Image courtesy of Pinnacle Rarities. A coin I used to own.


Mintage numbers are in the body of the text. Designed by Augustus Lukeman and distributed by C. Frank Dunn. In 1935 the exploitation of collectors began.

Authorized by Congress on May 26, 1934 and issued in commemoration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Daniel Boone.

Design:

Obverse: Depicts Daniel Boone. Around the rim is UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – HALF DOLLAR.

Reverse: Depicts Daniel Boone with Shawnee Chief Blackfish. Boone is holding a scroll and rifle. Chief Blackfish is holding a tomahawk. To the left of Boone is Boonesboro blockhouse. To the right of Chief Blackfish is a setting sun. To the left it states DANIEL BOONE BICENTENNIAL. To the right it states PIONEER YEAR. In 1934 there is no date on the reverse above PIONEER YEAR. On coins minted from November of 1935 through 1938 a...

You already know of the Victory/Nike carrying godess. The one with the fanciful Corinthian helmet, spear and shield with the head of the gorgon Medusa on it: Athena, godess of wisdom and warfare.
Whom gave Athens its name and whom, to get revenge on her sister, Aphrodite, helped lead the Achaeans to victory in Homer's Illiad.


Here we see our action heroine at rest:

Lysimachos
Pella,305-281 BC.
Tetradrachm AR 27mm., 15,95g. Head of the deified Alexander the Great to right, wearing diadem with fluttering ends and with the horn of Ammon around his ear / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ, Athena, wearing robes and helmet, seated to left on throne, holding Nike on her right hand and resting her left elbow on large round shield adorned with a gorgoneion; to left monogram. very fine. Thompson 253; Müller 471.

From The Illiad' "Athena flung her richly embroidered vesture, made with her own hands… donned the shirt of Jove,...

July 29th 238
Balbinus and Pupienus are murdered by the Praetorians, and Gordian III is declared Augustus. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole legal Roman Emperor throughout the existence of the united Roman Empire. Sadly, he was not chose for his intelligence or his commanding habilities ; the greek historian Herodian wrote about his accession to the throne : " the praetorians took up Gordian Caesar and proclaimed him emperor, since at the moment they could find no other candidate for the office. (History of the Roman Empire 8.8.7)



He ruled for about six years and at the age of 16 he was married to Furia Sabinia Tranquillina, daughter of the newly appointed praetorian prefect, Timesitheus. His new father in law took quickly the control of the Empire. He spent the last three years of...

LMCC 3.01.024, RIC 37A
CONSTANTIVS NOB C
GENIO POPV - LI ROMANI
-/-//-
8.47g, 28mm 303-May 305 AD
Purchased from Asprey Coins, ex Spink Sale 8019 Lot 109


I've had my eye out for a nice Constantius from the London mint, for the obvious reason that it was his military action which brought Britannia back into the empire after the secessionist reigns of Carausius and Allectus, and it was under his authority that the mint was formalised and established.

I was pleased to find this example, minted towards the end of the period of the first Tetrarchy, and showing the fully mature style of portraiture that would become the relative norm for the remainder of the Mint's output until the rapid reduction in flan size could only support the smaller and less powerful portraits from around 313 AD onward. For example, compare the powerful and weighty bust above to a beautiful example of Constantine:


9.05.013 (cuirassed) or...

There is a trend from a few days ago talking about US collectors growing up wanting a Spanish Milled Dollar and the excitement of finally getting on. It is after all the first coin in the Red Book. Growing up in Canada I had a similar experience with Carltons. I don’t remember what was at the start of that book but I do remember what was the last regular issue... The Sovereign.

It was a strange coin. Gold. Different design (Benedetto Pistrucci fanatic St. George). Different head (Barehead v Crown head on coins of the day) . Mint Marked. Strange denomination (Pounds). Rare (~600k total)

As a Kid I can remember going up the Eaton’s coin counter in Pacific Centre Mall on Robison Street in Vancouver and window shop them. Sovereign were out of my price range but I have some proof sets and a Carson City Morgen I got from them. They had really friendly and knowledgeable staff its sad that the days of Department store coin counters are gone . It is now a...

Just received a new bit of fun today in the mail!
This is my 3rd Col Nems Chained Crocodile type with Augustus and his #1 general Marcus Agrippa BFF:

Nemausus Augustus Agrippa Crocodile 10,71 G/26 mm

I bought it primarily due to the countermark in front of/on Agrippa's nose! It may be "DD", Decreto Decurionum (The Decree). Though, it doesn't look entirely like the standard DD. Here are my DDs below (hopefully you wont be disappointed):


Augustus
Hispania, Julia Traducta. 27 B.C.-A.D. 14 Æ 25 (24.9 mm, 10.27 g, 4 h). PERM CAES AVG, bare head left / IVLIA TRAD, in two lines within wreath.
Countermarked “DD” (Decreto Decurionum) RPC 108; SNG Copenhagen 459.

It looks more to me to be the much more rare "PP", Pater Patriae (Father of the country). I have no examples of the "PP" to share.

Here is a pic from my phone which kind of makes it look like the double Ds, but for the fact that the countermarks circle is...

Damietta, in the Eastern Nile Delta, was a high prize captured by the crusaders of the Fifth Crusade in November 1219 and was recognized as a domain of the King of Jerusalem.

By this time, regnant King of Jerusalem was Jean de Brienne and the coinage of the realm was the reduced Holy Sepulchre denier, reintroduced at a lower standard and size and immobilized under Aimery de Lusignan around 1200:


Immobilization under AIMERY de LUSIGNAN (1197-1205) and successors, possibly to the first part of the reign of Holy Roman Emperor FRIEDRICH II as King of Jerusalem, around 1225 and briefly after
AR15x14mm, 0.45g billon denier, immobilized type, minted at Acre or Tyre(?) cca. 1200-1230.
AMALRICVS RЄX o; Cross pattee, annulets in 2nd and 3rd quarters.
+ DЄ IЄRVSALЄM; The dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Degenerate Type C).
Malloy 37c, Cox Class I.
Ex TimeLine Auctions, Session of September 10 2018, Lot 4796


But due to the...

The first of several coins I won at Pars Coins' most recent auction:

Sasanian Persian Empire. AR drachm. Kavad I, First Reign (488-497 AD). Obverse: Bust of Kavad I right, inscription before KaVAT (Kavad). Reverse: Zoroastrian fire-altar with two attendants star and crescent above, unclear date to left, mintmark ?ShY (either Shiraz or Takab) to right. This coin: Pars Coins Auction 7, lot 278 (July 14, 2020).

(note: historical section below contains recycled text)

Kavad was born in 473, the son of Peroz I (459-484). After Peroz' death, his brother Valkash was appointed by the nobles to rule, but proved unpopular and was deposed after just four years. Kavad ascended the throne in 488 AD, but as he was just 15 he was largely a figurehead for his advisors, particularly a Parthian-descended noble named Sukhra. In 493, by now more confident and worried about Sukhra's dominance, Kavad had Sukhra exiled to his native Shiraz. However, Sukhra still...