Coin Talk

Rivalling Rome: Parthian Coins & Culture. Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Alexandra Magub. London: Spink and Son Ltd., 2020. ISBN 978-1-912667-44-4.

This slim volume (118 pages) is intended to accompany a special exhibit at the British Museum, which was scheduled to run from April 2nd to September 6th, 2020. For obvious reasons (note to posterity: the COVID-19 pandemic) the exhibit has been postponed (the British Museum website says only that it is "coming soon") but meanwhile we are able to enjoy this book. Firstly, I will summarize that I found this book very enjoyable to read, and a useful overview of Parthian coins, history, and civilization. While I have a few minor quibbles, the book as a whole is very worthwhile, and I would suggest anyone with an interest in Parthian coins and history should purchase it.

While the book does include many clear photos of Parthian and related coins, it is not a comprehensive catalogue or identification guide (and is certainly not intended...

So I acquired something that Attila the Hun (probably) never got, a solidus of Eastern Roman emperor Marcian. The thread title refers to what he allegedly said, in reference to his ending his predecessor Theodosius II's policy of appeasement towards Attila and his Huns. This had included annual gold payments to keep them away from the Eastern Empire (and offering iron AKA war instead).

Marcian, Eastern Roman Empire
AV solidus
Obv: D N MARCIA-NVS P F AVG, diademed, helmeted and cuirassed three-quarter facing bust, holding spear over shoulder and shield decorated with horseman
Rev: VICTORI-A AVGGG, Victory standing left, holding long jeweled cross, star in right field
Mint: Constantinople
Mintmark: CONOB
Date: 450-457 AD
Ref: RIC 510
Size: 4.46 gr., 21 mm wide
Provenance: Ex Roma Numismatics E-Sale 55, 23 April 2019, lot 1203 (the same auction I won my Athens tetradrachm from!)

...

The Bank of Korea and the South Korean Mint, KOMSCO, have announced a 2020 Proof Set of the nation's circulation coins to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Bank of Korea.

70,000 mint sets will be made and the sale price is set at 30,000-won a piece.

Each person will be allowed to register for five sets from Woori Bank and Nonghyeob Bank or at the KOMSCO site itself (https://www.komsco.com/kor). The registration begins at 9 am (South Korea time: GMT/UTC + 9h during Standard Time) on April 28th and runs to May 18th. An automatic random lottery will be triggered when the number of reservations placed exceed the number of sets for sale. The sets will be distributed in June.
More info here: https://www.bok.or.kr/portal/bbs/P0000559/view.do?nttId=10057606&menuNo=200690 Bring up the pdf. for info in Korean. Unfortunately, they aren't translating this issue announcement in English, and probably due to...

In 1928, Al Smith, “the happy warrior,” finally got to run for president. It had not been an easy road. He had been a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1924. That year Smith and William Gibbs McAdoo, who was Woodrow Wilson’s son-in-law and a coin collector, fought it out for 100 ballots to get the nomination. After ballot 100, both of them withdrew. On the 103rd ballot, John W. Davis won the nomination. Given that the party was split so badly, it was a foregone conclusion that Davis would lose to Calvin Coolidge.

In 1928, Smith won the nomination. He got a big boost from Franklin D. Roosevelt who was now crippled by polio. FDR managed to make his way to the podium, dragging his paralyzed legs, supported by braces, on a pair of crutches, to give Smith’s nominating speech. Smith had been the Governor of New York and Roosevelt would succeed him.

Smith was the first Roman Catholic to be nominated for President, and it was a major issue. Many false statements were whispered...

Hi everyone,
In this post I will try to rank the first six rulers of the Seleucid Empire in terms of success of their respective reigns. The Seleucids in my opinion are are one of the most underrated kingdoms in antiquity.
My ranking system consists of six letter categories with S being the highest and F being the lowest. Feel free to agree or disagree with my assessments in the comments below.

So lets start!

Seleucus I Nikator(The Victor)
-First known command was during Alexander's Indian campaign where he played a relatively minor role.
-Married an Bactrian woman named Apama, he was also the only known Macedonian officer that didn't divorce his wife.
-Murdered Perdiccas in 321/320 BCE
-Granted the Satrapy of Babylon, then lost said Satrapy when Antigonus I invaded his territory.
-Assisted Ptolemy I against Demetrius I at the battle of Gaza, then regained his satrapy with the assistance of 500 loyal supporters.
-Successfully fought off both Antigonus I and...

I recently added an interesting piece of cast bronze to my collection of Roman Republican coins, cast bronze money from Central Italy and Roman scale weights. The marks of value, if that is what they are, are the same as a 2 As Roman scale weight found in excavations of Pompeii - II. The weight, 559 grams = 280 gr equivalent As, is close to two Roman pounds, 654 grams. Only a few of the early cast Asses weigh over 280 grams. This piece was advertised as - Of the greatest historical interest and apparently unpublished. A description of the piece and how it fits my collection is below.


Roman Republic / Central Italy – Cast Bronze with Marks
Cast bronze was a form of money before Rome and Central Italy issued coins. This triangular piece looks like it was broken from a pie shaped circular ingot. Two marks “II” on this piece could indicate it had a value of two...

There's been a little loosing of restrictions here in Virginia. Not sure that's a good thing. Too many people not wearing masks. I have some medical concerns that will affect me if I catch the virus.

A very interesting history lesson here about the New Rochelle half dollar. That's what I think anyhoo...




In my Numismatic Library.




25,015 pieces coined at the Philadelphia Mint with 13 pieces reserved for annual assay and 9,749 melted. Initial design given to Lorillard Wise who then resigned his commission. Miss Gertrude K. Lathrop of Albany, N.Y., finished the design. Distributed by the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Committee, Mr. Pitt M. Skipton, chairman. Image courtesy of Stacks Bowers Galleries, Guttag Family Collection Part I, 2011 Chicago ANA Coin Auction.


Approved by Congress on May 5, 1936, and issued in commemoration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the...

In ancient Mesopotamia, doves were a prominent symbol of Inanna-Ishtar, the goddess of love, sexuality, and war. In classical antiquity, many of the attributes of Inanna-Ishtar were incorporated into the goddess Aphrodite, including her association with love, sex, and doves. Quite naturally, Aphrodite's association with doves influenced the Roman goddess Venus, and she become associated with doves as well.


Early fifth-century BC statue of Aphrodite from Cyprus, showing her wearing a cylinder crown and holding a dove. Neues Museum, Berlin.

Aphrodite appears here with a dove on this volute krater of The Iliupersis Painter, ca. 365-355 BC, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston:



In Roman numismatics, Venus and her dove appear on an anonymous quadrans from the time of Domitian to Antoninus Pius.


Anonymous--Domitian to Antoninus Pius.
Roman Æ quadrans, 12.9 mm, 2.37 g, 4 h
Rome, A.D. 81-161.
Obv: Bust of...

With the shelter in place still in effect, at least where I live, and having a lot of time to actually use my brain, something that has been a prime activity for me since retiring at the end of 2015, I was wondering the other day, insofar as I wonder, whether this shutdown, which has been in effect for most of the country since at least March, will be the death knell for the old local bricks-and-mortar coin shop.

There was a time, in the not-too-distant past, when collectors would gather at the local coin shop to swap stories, to look at coins and generally consume time immersed in the culture of coin collecting. The shop would often be small, somewhat dingy, crowded , often located in a rundown strip mall, with stacks of magazines and catalogs strewn in piles resembling small geological formations, with old copies of Coin World in another pile, rows of Whitman coin folders on back shelves, half consumed cups of coffee, and cases covered in a decent layer of dust, mostly...

Here is another article from the archives. I wrote this in 2014.

I've been working on a very general collection of English coinage. My goal has been to locate at least one piece for each British monarch who issued a coin in his or her name. Where it has been financially feasible I have bought a gold coin. Recently I completed a collection of the three of the four kings who held the British throne during the 20th century. For reasons I will explain later, acquiring an example of any coin for the fourth king is virtually impossible. Each of these kings led a unique, interesting and sometimes scandalous life, and each of their coins was struck using a different minting process.

Edward VII was king from 1901 to 1910. Like Charles, the current Prince of Wales, he had to wait many years before he became king. For a time it appeared that his mother might outlive him and that he would never become king. Like Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria a long rule, from 1837...