Coin Talk

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...

Dear Friends of ancient mythology,

I think it's time for a new article!

The Coin:
Sicily, Syracuse, c.475-450 BC
Silver litra, 12.4mm, 0.653g
Obv.: ΣVPA
Head of Arethusa, with pearl-diadem, r.
Rev.: Oktopus
Ref.: SNG ANS 183; SNG München 1003; SNG Copenhagen 641; cf. Boehringer S.196, 450ff.
about F, slightly toned

Mythology:
Arethusa, daughter of Nereus, the sea-god, and Doris, was a well-nymph on the Peloponnesos, but a passionated huntress and compaignon of Artemis too. Once she came heated from a hunt in the Stymphalic woods to the river Alpheios, took off her clothes and entered the water. At this moment the river-god approached her and shouted she should not flee from him. But she did without her clothes and Alpheios followed her until they came to Elis. Here exhausted she called Artemis for help. Artemis wrapped her in clouds to hide her from Alpheios. But nevertheless he hold her embraced. So she was transformed by...

Hi CT friends

Most probably, only a few people among us know about Peggy Delme-Radcliffe, at least out of the United Kingdom. I discovered myself her existence not long ago.

The story starts more than 25 years ago, as, feeling some interest in parthian coinage (@Alwin's bad influence I presume ) I was looking for a copy of Sellwood's "The coinage of Parthia" at Spinks. Back then the book was quite difficult to find in France. I thus asked my british good friends whether they could do some research for me in their country.



Lucky they were (and I was then) they found in a second hand bookshop a 1971 edition copy and sent it to me. As often, there was a handwritten dedication on the book's frontpage, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I then almost left the book apart as I didn't pursue my parthian coins collection.

A few weeks ago, for some reason, I took the book from the shelf and opened it. For those familiar...

What do Perseus, St. Paul, and Antoninus Pius have in common? My coin of interest this week is another AE from Asia Minor, the Roman region of Lycaonia and the capital city of Iconium. Lycaonia was part of the larger Roman province of Galatia. Iconium a wealthy town on fertile land in the central plains, north of the Taurus mountains, along the Roman Via Sebaste (a nice photo here of the road).

In 25 BC Augustus established a colony in Lycaonia by setting aside a portion of the ancient city of Iconium for veterans. Under Claudius the city was called Claudiconium and the colony Colonia Julia Augusta Iconiensium.

The Apostle Paul visited Iconium on three of his missionary journeys between AD 48 and 57:

Here's another coin procured in the recent FSR auction.

A nephew and close adviser of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, Justin II became emperor in November 565 following his uncle’s death. He began his reign on a note of resolution and common sense; he paid state debts, remitted overdue taxes, and reduced expenditures.

In the early part of his reign, Justin allowed a measure of toleration to the dissident miaphysite Christians. Initially, he hoped to bring about a union of the miaphysite factions and then to unite them with the orthodox church. In March 571, however, he inaugurated a policy of persecution and issued a lengthy antimiaphysitic creed that all clergy were required to sign under penalty of imprisonment.

In the West, despite an alliance with the Franks, Justin was unable to prevent the Lombards from entering Italy in 568, and parts of that country were soon permanently lost. His relations with the Avars and Persians were marked by similar, though less serious,...