Coin Talk

During the 17th century, Sweden would become a major European power, led by King Gustavus II Adolf. Referred to as Gustavus Adolphus the Great, it was during his 21 year reign that he would lead Sweden into the forefront of the thirty years war, enjoying great military success. Often celebrated as one of the finest military commanders in history, he is posthumously remembered as having a large influence on Protestantism in Europe, with many landmarks and buildings named after him in modern Europe.

Gustavus was born the eldest son of Charles IX, inheriting the throne at just sixteen in 1611. He was so young that congressional concessions had to be made to the Riksdag (the Swedish Assembly) in order to be granted full governmental control. Along with the throne, Gustavus inherited a number of wars from his father. Charles IX had usurped the throne from Sigismund III, his nephew and also the king of Poland. This resulted in intermittent war with Poland for over 60 years, until 1629....

TGIFF, everyone! I've posted a lot of articles recently about Faustina the Younger, many of which are jam-packed with information. We're going to shift focus today to a coin of Faustina the Elder, and instead of providing a lot of answers, we're going to raise a lot of questions because not much is known about the coin.



There are a couple of reasons we have a lot of questions. The first is that the coin was issued in the middle bronze denomination only and thus falls outside of the scope of Beckmann's die-linkage study of the posthumous aurei and sestertii of Faustina the Elder and its date or purpose of issue has not been established with precision.[1] Secondly, the identity of the divine figure depicted on the coin's reverse is ambiguous, and has been...

SKYTHIA, Geto-Dacians
Koson
AV Stater, struck mid-1st century BC
Dia.: 20 mm
Wt.: 8.35 g
Obv.: ΚΟΣΩΝ; Roman consul accompanied by two lictors advancing left; monogram to left
Rev. Eagle standing left on scepter, holding wreath.
Ref.: RPC I 1701A; HGC 3, 2049; BMC Vol. III Thrace 1 (pg. 208)
Formerly slabbed by NGC

The mystery of who struck this coin has been discussed at length for centuries. Instead of making up my mind and trying to argue for one point of view or the other I figured I would use this thread to lay out my current understanding of the various theories as best as I can. I anticipate that I will be coming back to this thread in the future to make updates and to add links to sources as I find them.

As such please bear with me if you find a mistake or if I miss an important point here or there. Understanding this coin will be a work in progress and many of the references I would like to read on the subject I have been...

These types of tokens were produced from 1832 to 1843 but the Hard Times were from 1837 to 1842. They were mainly produced to support commerce as times were hard. To understand what happened, what occurred at that point in the history of the United States and how they came into usage in commerce, it is essential to involve political understanding of the events.

There is no political statement here and remember the time frame. This took place 185 years ago. It’s history that helped produce tokens that today, have become very collectible. It is that understanding that I’m aiming for.

So what are Hard Times Tokens (HTT)? They are copper, Large or Half Cent sized and they were struck from around 1833 through 1843. They served as unofficial currency in the US. The HTT are privately made comprising merchants, political and satirical pieces. They were used during a time of political and financial crisis in the United States.

The year was 1832 and President Andrew Jackson ran for...

I recently purchased this siliqua of Flavius Victor and researched his quite obscure history.






Flavius Victor. AR Siliqua, 1.99g. Trier. c 383 - 388 A.D. DN FL VICTOR PF AVG. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust of Victor to right / VIRTVS ROMANORUM Roma seated left on cuirass, holding globus and reverted spear, TRPS in exergue. RIC IX 84d.1.

In fact, one cannot really write much about Victor, as there is almost nothing to say. Historical sources are few and fragmentary. One can tell Victor’s story only through that of his father, Magnus Maximus (c. 335 – 388). Maximus was a capable general of the Roman army, scoring victories in Africa and in Britain, where he defeated the Picts and Scots in 380. Seizing an opportunity while the Emperor Gratian struggled with popularity issues, Maximus accepted the position of emperor when proclaimed so by his army in Britain in 383. He marched into Gaul whence his forces soon...

Victor just posted his Top 10 2021 LRB list, including a great specimen of one of these interesting IOM (Ivpiter Optimvs Maximinvs) types issued by Licinius.

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/my-top-10-lrbs-for-2021.389747/

There are numerous points of interest to these coins, obviously starting with these highly unusual dual confronted bust obverses, usually of the Licinii (Sr + Jr).

These types were issued from three mints, Nicomedia, Cyzicus and Antioch using differentiated designs at each mint.

At Nicomedia Fortuna is featured, with a reverse legend of IOM ET FORT[VNA] CONSER DD NN AVG ET CAES, and a reverse design of IOM & Fortuna, mirrored by an obverse of the Licinii holding a mini Fortuna.



At Cyzicus Victoria is featured, with a reverse legend of IOM ET VICT[ORIA] CONSER DD NN AVG ET CAES, and a reverse design of IOM & Victoria, mirrored by an obverse of the Licinii holding a mini Victoria.



At...

I am happy to have added this prutah struck in Jerusalem during the First Jewish War to my collection this year. Because I think the context is what makes these coins so interesting I will spend some time in this write up discussing the relevant background and how that relates to the coins.


Judaea
First Jewish War
AE Prutah, Jerusalem mint, struck ca. AD 67/8
Wt.: 2.13 g
Dia.: 16 mm
Obv.: Amphora; Paleo-Hebrew inscription: "Year Two"
Rev.: Vine leaf; Paleo-Hebrew inscription: "Freedom of Zion"
Ref.: Hendin 1360
Ex Tareq Hani Collection

Year 1: Outbreak and Early Success
In AD 66 the Roman procurator of Judaea (Gessius Florus) forcibly removed 17 talents of silver from the temple treasury in Jerusalem causing widespread Jewish unrest. Florus responded to the unrest in such an incompetent and heavy-handed manner that Josephus...

My "normal" favorite list will come later at some point in December, but for the newcomers and bargain hunters among you, this thread might be more interesting. In 2020 and 2019, I posted lists of my favorite ancient and medieval coin purchases under $25. Although the price tags on ancient coins have risen during the pandemic, I still found enough attractive coins to continue this small tradition in 2021.

The reason for this list is simple: each year, new members looking for advice and inspiration are joining this board. Many of our favorite lists could give such new collectors the impression that ancient numismatics is a hobby only suitable for people with substantial piles of disposable cash. To prove this wrong, I'll try to illustrate what is possible on a budget, and I’d like to...

I am very excited about this coin but it was a hard one to write up because it has so many different points of interest in its favor. I chose to break the write up into 4 parts: The Moneyer, The Trial, The Temple and The Provenance. Thanks for reading!


Roman Republican
Q. Cassius Longinus, moneyer
AR Denarius, Rome mint, struck 55 BC
Dia.: 20.2 mm
Wt.: 3.95g
Obv.: Head of Libertas right, wearing hair collected into a knot, decorated with jewels, and falling down neck, and wearing single-drop earring and necklace of pendants; LIBERT upward to left, Q • CASSIVS downward to right.
Rev.: Temple of Vesta, circular, surmounted by figure holding scepter and patera, flanked by antefixes; curule chair within; urn to left, tabella (voting tablet) [inscribed AC (Absolvo Condemno)] to right.
Ref.: Crawford 428/2; Sydenham 918
Ex Prof Dr Hildebrecht Hommel Collection, acquired from Hirsch, Auction 63, 1969, lot 2454, Ex Minotaur Coins...