Coin Talk

The phrase, The Last of the Romans probably rings a bell for most readers and contributors to Coin Talk, except that if readers were asked just who the last of the Romans was, we would get very different answers. For some it might have been one of the commanders of the Roman Army desperately trying hold off the barbarians at the gates of Rome, maybe a Stilicho or an Aetius. Perhaps a late Roman emperor such as Romulus Augustulus fits the definition. For pious Christians that last of the Romans might have been Pope Gregory the Great. For Medieval Crusaders that last truly Roman ruler (and proto Crusader) was thought to have been the Byzantine soldier and emperor Heraclius. For students of early Medieval England it could have been the sub Roman warrior, Artorius.

Well, I have my own candidate for that role, though hardly a novel one, the late Eastern Roman Emperor, or Byzantine, if one prefers, the Illyrian peasant of the Balkans, Flavius Petrus Sabbatius better know to most by his...

BRONZE MEDAL - ANHALT AWARD FOR ARTIST CAROLINE BARDUA


Medal Depicting the Duke and Duchess of Anhalt-Bernburg, Oak Wreath, and Inscription Recognizing Artist Caroline Bardua for Achievements in the Arts and Sciences. The medal was created by the Loos Medallic Establishment, founded by Gottfried Bernhard Loos, and engraved by F. Staudigel.

Depicted on the obverse of this medal is Alexander Karl, Herzog von Anhalt-Bernburg of The House of Ascania, and his wife Friederike Herzogin von Anhalt-Bernburg. The reverse of the medal shows a wonderfully detailed wreath of oak leaves. The inscription attributes the medal as an award given to the painter Caroline Bardua for her achievements in the arts and sciences.


The Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg was located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe, now part of the German Federal state of...

I don't usually purchase fake ancient coins, at least not intentionally, but as a collector of Roman Republican coins I found this one attractive.


This Italian "medalet", 20mm, 11h, 3.7g, by an unknown artist is from the 18th to early 19th century, apparently issued for the Grand Tour trade. Although it reads "P. LEPIDVS" on the obverse, the portrait looks a lot like Mark Antony. The initial image of this post is from Babelon illustrating a denarius of Antony in 31 BC. The reverse draws from one of my favorite Roman republican denarii of L. Aemilius Paullus from 63-62 BC.


L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, 62 BC, AR Denarius, Rome mint
Obv: Veiled and diademed head of Concordia right
Rev: Trophy; to left,...

The Great Transformation.Civic Coin Design in the Second Century BC
(Plates XL-XLVIII)
Andrew M
MEADOWS
∗
In 2001 Jonathan Williams and I published an article in which we examined the phenomenon of the paradigm shift in coin design at the mint of Rome, which seems to have begun around the 130s BC. At this point the traditional designs of the denarius began to be abandoned in favour of an annually changing series of designs, which tended to be based on the familial history of the moneyers responsible for the coinage. This was something distinctly Roman, we suggested,to do on the one hand with the relationship between the concepts of money and memory inherent in the identity of Moneta, a word which meant both remembrance, mint (and by extension money), and on the other hand between the strongly familial nature of political competition in the Republic of the second century BC. The spur to this change at Rome is perhaps to be seen in the widening imperial horizons of the Republic in...

Today (like every May 15th) is International day of families. So why not take this opportunity to remember some ancient Roman families' characteristics? Family was an important part of Ancient Roman culture and society. Much of Roman law was written around protecting the basic structure of the family. The family you belonged to had a lot to do with your place in Roman society and whether you were considered a patrician or a plebeian.


A typical Roman family, Pompeii

The "familia" in Rome included more than just the basic family of father, mother, and children. It also included all the people who were part of the household such as the slaves, servants, clients, and freedmen. As a result, some families in Rome grew quite large. The emperor's family often included thousands of members. The legal head of the family was the father or "paterfamilias." He was...

No, I'm not talking about these guys ...



...nor this piece, though it's very nice to listen to while you admire the coins in your collection:



I'm talking about these little guys on the reverse of this denarius of Julia Domna in my collection:


Julia Domna, AD 193-217.
Roman AR denarius, 3.24 gm, 19.8 mm, 1 h.
Rome mint, AD 207.
Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: FECVNDITAS, Terra reclining l. under tree, left arm on basket of fruits, right hand set on globe, spangled with stars; in background, four children advancing right, representing the four seasons.
Refs: RIC 549; BMCRE 21; Cohen/RSC 35; RCV 6579; CRE 389.
Notes: Ex-FORVM Ancient Coins, item SH08039, Feb. 7, 2004.

J. C....

If you have a weak stomach, don’t look at the photos below.

You are about to see a photo depicting a really nasty staple scratch. It is bad enough that the scratch happened to a coin but this scratch basically trashed a classic key date Lincoln cent. Whoever did this, couldn’t have positioned the scratch any worse. It is right through the 1914 date pointing to the D mint mark.

This scratched 1914-D was purchased from Teletrade in an ANACS slab for my Dansco Lincoln Cent album. A few years later, it was removed from the Dansco & ANACS slabbed it again. ANACS gave it precisely the same net grade both times.

When your stomach settles, guess the ANACS grade. ...

This essay is bit long, but I decided to post it any way. These medals have been an interest of mine for a while, but it was hard to find out what the official set really looked like. I ended up over paying for this set which is in the original box of issue. I think these sets cost $11, which was a lot of money in 1876. The medals are hairlined because they have been stored in this velvet lined box for 144 years.




In 1876 The United States sponsored its first official world's fair in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the nation. State, local and national governments, combined with the private sector, to sponsor the event which was held in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The official name of the fair was the "International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine," but more often it is called "The Philadelphia Centennial Celebration."

The inspiration for the 1876 fair came...

The Moroccan Cast Money Tree
Or, A Journey to the Deepest Corners of Numismatic History
by Jason Poe

Any of you who know me know that I’m a fan of Moroccan coinage. The simple geometric patterns, the symbolism, the history, the story – it’s all fascinating to me. My latest endeavor was brought about by a recent Heritage auction purchase – and here’s the story about why it is so special. This is one of the rarest pieces in my collection, and also one of the most fragile. Funny story: when it arrived on my front doorstep, I came home to find the box bashed in. I knew what was in the box, so my heart nearly dropped because I knew how fragile the piece was. Luckily, Heritage has experience in shipping fragile items – inside the big box, was a smaller, sturdier box. Inside that smaller box was many layers of bubble wrap. Inside that was a cardboard reinforced envelope with the item inside. What was the item? Read on to find out!


You may be familiar with...

During the 1880s, the Philadelphia Mint produced some beautiful gold dollars. The mintages were generally low, and one result was that the dies often kept their die polish for much of the production run. One result of this was that it became difficult for many people to tell the difference between a Proof and a Proof-Like. Here are a couple of examples.

This 1880 gold dollar is a Proof-Like. It is quite lusterous, but there is some mint frost in the fields. Still if you don't know the difference you could scammed into thinking that this one of the rare proofs, which has a mintage of 36 pieces.



Here is an 1883 gold dollar that is a Proof. PCGS graded it PR-65, Cameo and CAC has approved it. Note the the mirrors in the fields are not subject to any frost and that the devices are all sharp and clear. The Proof mintage for this year was 207.



Here is a less deceptive...