Coin Talk

On April 5, 1815, in modern day Indonesia Mount Tambora began to erupt. The explosions were so loud, they could be heard over 800 miles away. In fact, troops on the island of Java (some 780 miles away) marched out, believing a neighboring post was under attack. For the next week or so, the eruptions intensified up to an estimated Volcanic Explosive Index (VEI) of 7, making it the largest observed eruption in recorded history. Mount Tambora spewed out so much material (an estimated 24 cubic miles) that it lost approximately 1 mile in height. Explosions did not cease until July 17, 1815, though aftershocks and fires were recorded even some four years later.

The smoke...

Augustus Saint-Gaudens was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Raised in New York City, he traveled to Europe for further training and artistic study.
Born: March 1, 1848, Dublin, Ireland
Died: August 3, 1907, Cornish

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Playground located on East 20th Street and 2nd Avenue was acquired by the Parks Department in 1954 and opened as a jointly operated playground in January 1966 to serve children from adjacent P.S. 40. A $720,000 renovation was funded in 1996 by Councilman Antonio Pagan. The design pays tribute to Saint-Gaudens through bronze and porcelain decorations that harmonize with the new gates, spray shower, garden area, and play equipment.

Here are some pictures I was able to take this morning of the neat features that can be seen.


This is...

I would like to share with you two recent acquisitions. They are both beautiful, rare, anepigraphic, enigmatic, classicizing, and quintessentially Renaissance issues, from the Northern Italian cities of Ferrara and Mantua, and issued by grandfather and grandson. In the following write-up I would like to give some account of their artistic and historical context, imagery, and relation to one another.

The Idra


Ferrara. Ercole I d'Este (1471-1505). Testone or Idra (Doppio Grossone). AG. g. 7.63 mm. 26.00 O: HERCVLES FERRAR DVX II Head facing right. R: Anepigraphic, seven-headed Lernean Hydra over burning embers. CNI 20. MIR 255. Rav. Mor. 4 RR



Ercole I d'Este by Dosso Dossi, Galleria Estense, Modena

I have written about the origin of the Testone before, but it is useful to note that before the...

A friend posted this apparent 1793 chain cent in another forum and asked if it were genuine; was looking to send it out for certification.


The 1st step I always quickly take in authentication is to try and attribute it as to the genuine variety- if I can't that is a 1st clue something is probably wrong. In this case this example is certainly "trying to be a 1793 S-2" but there are differences I couldn't get past.

The obverse resembles the S-2 obverse; the neck truncation is curved, not straight, and there is a lock of hair pointing straight at the 1 in the date like S-2.


The reverse is close too, especially the position of the lettering and chains but I couldn't get past the chain link "thicknesses/ openings" and couldn't explain these just due to the obvious wear.


And then there is of course the "other side", the edge. A genuine chain cent edge should look like the left image of the...

My newest acquisition is this anepigraphic (no legend) coin from Constantinople.



Constantine I
A.D. 327
21mm 3.2g
OBV. Anepigraphic: rosette diademed head, looking up to heavens
REV. CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE; Victory seated l. on cippus, palm branch in left hand and laurel branch in right hand, looking r.; trophy at front, at the foot is a kneeling captive with head turned being spurned by Victory; E in left.
in ex. CONS
Constantinople mint


The obverse is the famous “eyes to heaven” bust, likely inspired by Alexander the Great coins.


"How deeply his soul was impressed by the power of divine faith may be understood from the circumstance that he directed his likeness to be stamped on the golden coin of the empire with eyes uplifted as in the posture of prayer to God: and this money became current throughout the Roman world." (Eusebius IV.15)


The reverse has an interesting legend CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE; which translates as Constantinian Dafne. The...

Hardicanute (ruled 1040 to 1042) was the last Viking king to rule England. As you wiil see from my "bullet book" notes, he was not morned when he died.

There are English made Hardicanute pennies, but all of them are expensive. The Danish made pieces are a little cheaper and even got an entry in the Spink book as S-1170. Here is an example and my notes:



· Hardicanute claimed his English crown upon his arrival from Denmark on June 17, 1040. Since his half-brother, Harold I had died, he faced no opposition.

· Hardicanute arrived in England with a large force of sailors and raised taxes to pay for his expedition. He levied a tax of 32,147 pounds for the payment of his ships’ crews. His handling of the situation was clumsy and dictatorial.

· Two of his house-carles, who were sent to collect the money, were murdered in Worcester. In retribution, the town was burnt to the ground.

· Hardicanute suffered a seizure and died while drinking at a feast on...

Hello all! This will be the first of hopefully many small writeups featuring lovely coins obtained from @tenbobbit.

Constantine I is often considered the "first Christian emperor" although I do not believe that is entirely accurate. He did halt the vicious persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, but I believe he wasn't really a true, card-carrying Christian himself for a two reasons.

1. In these days, it was not necessarily uncommon for emperors to adhere to multiple religions, and worship multiple gods.
2. He was not baptized until death.

1. Legends say that Constantine had a dream in which a deity instructed him to paint the Chi-Rho symbol on the shields of his troops for a guaranteed battle victory. In hoc signo vinces - "by this sign you will conquer."
He did so, and won, and figured that maybe worshipping a Christian deity would be beneficial.
However, he did also patronize and adhere to some beliefs of the Roman religion;...

I’m rather excited by my recent acquisition, as I have been searching for a Scandinavian imitation of an English penny for some time now:

Scandinavia (?)
English Imitation, 11th c.
AR Penny, 17.53 mm x 1.7 grams
Obv.: Bust right, scepter right, imitating Æthelred II ‘Crux’ type
Rev.: Short cross pattée, imitating Æthelred II Short Cross type

This particular coin is somewhat enigmatic, which actually adds to the appeal to me. Unfortunately it’s find spot is now a mystery, but it is not unreasonable to assume this is a Scandinavian issue, as so many early Scandinavian coins imitated English types. Exactly which English type this imitates is also strange. The Obverse appears to be from the ‘CRVX’ type of Æthelred II:


Æthelred II Crux type. CNG Auction 105, lot 1197. NOT MY COIN

Obviously the clear difference here is that the bust is facing the wrong direction. Considering the crudeness...

Public Domain, Thanks to the Getty Museum Open Content Program

In a previous post, I shared a coin from Pergamon, Mysia. @Shea19 added a coin of Prussias II, King of Bithynia, who took territory from Pergamon....here's my new addition, a coin of Prusias II. Researching the coin has been a wandering path with stops in Pergamon, Bithynia, Thessaly, the Seleucid Empire, Rome and Carthage.

Kings of Bithynia, Prusias II Cynegos, reigned 182-149 BC, Nikomedia, Bronze Æ
Obv: Draped bust of Dionysos right, wearing ivy wreath
Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠΡΟYΣIOY, the centaur Chiron standing...

Coins are History. Coins are Art. This is an open call to anyone interesting in discussing advanced coin photography. I appreciate the interest across the coin community in photographing your collections, but I’m not talking about better ways to shoot coins with your cell phone. I’m setting the bar much higher. I want to share images, advice, tips, techniques, best practices, workflows, editing, software and equipment to achieve professional quality coin photography and push the artistic boundaries of coin image presentation.

I am a professional coin photographer and I understand there are many others here at CoinTalk as well. Let's share our best shots and ideas, and the story behind them with like-minded people. You don't have to actually be a pro coin photographer, just shoot coin images like one, and I believe there are more of you out there than actual professionals. Perhaps others will be inspired to improve by seeing how pros do their jobs, and the difference a little of...