Coin Talk

The Jefferson Nickel replaced the Buffalo Nickel design in 1938. The Mint held a design competition that year for the new Jefferson Nickel which was ultimately won by Felix Schlag. However, after winning the design competition, the Mint required Schlag to make revisions to his original award-winning reverse design of Monticello. In 2002, the Jefferson Full Step Nickel Club commissioned the production of Jefferson Nickels in .999 fine silver which featured Schlag’s original award winning design. Two types of nickels were made, one with a regular proof finish and the other with a matte proof finish. A total mintage of 1,938 sets were produced, encapsulated by SEGS and individually numbered on the SEGS labels.

So, what do you all think about these tokens? Just a gimmick for SEGS/JFSNC to make some $$? Or, something that Jefferson collectors would want? I picked these up when they came out back in the early 2000s, but it was...

Why revolt against Nero, last of the Julio/ Claudian line? And what was the straw that broke the legions back?
Was it fiddling while Rome burned? He may have done it. But just having the bad press and some believing it, even if he didn't, couldn't have helped.



Could it have been soccer kicking his preggers wifey, killing her and his unborn child? Again, he may or may not have done it. Either way, makes it pretty easy to despise the guy.
Or maybe having his own mother killed?!


(Devito would've played a pretty hilarious Nero!)

Which by all accounts DID happen. Those Roman's might've treated their women poorly. But when it came to moms. They sure revered them. Some of the bigger mommas boys of ancient history.
But what may have been the final straw, which ironically Hadrian had no problems nor bad press with, was his incessant love of all things odd those effeminate Greeks!



Whatever the...

I recently added another historical medal to my collection. When making additions I have some vague (only make sense to me) requirements. The most important is eye appeal, followed closely by historical importance.

The obverse of this medal certainly didn’t catch my attention. The name Abercromby didn’t ring any bells and the portrait is, well, just another dead guy. The classical look of the reverse is what caught my attention. The horse is beautifully done but having the Egyptian pyramids in the background sealed the deal. I immediately decided I had to have one and after a quick search of all the available ones online ended up back at the first one I saw.

After a bit of research, I realized it ticked off both requirements.



Sellers Description:

1801 Great Britain, British Army Arrives in Egypt, AE Medal, Mudie's National Series, Mudie-8, BHM-504, By Webb, Plain Edge. Deep toned brown bronze in color with some underlying surface...

A recent acquisition of mine is by no means the prettiest of coins, but it does have an interesting story behind who has owned it. The coin is a Denar from Bohemia minted under the authority of the recently named king Přemysl Ottokar I. Ottokar was initially named the Duke of Bohemia in 1192, but due to political intrigues he was ousted from power, but was able to regain the duchy in December of 1197. He was then named the King of Bohemia by the Holy Roman Emperor, and was able to establish a primogeniture line to rule over Bohemia as kings for the first time. The coin is one of the first issues minted after Ottokar became king, and depicts a winged man/angel fighting a dragon on the obverse (likely St. Michael), and a bust of Ottokar flanked by two towers on the reverse. This particular coin has flat edges which unfortunately obscures the otherwise charming dragon, but this flatness is typical of the issue.

Bohemia
Přemysl Ottokar I, r....

Part of this is a duplicate of a former post but it was suggested that I start a new post on Goetz medals. Let's see what happens and please share yours.

My collection of world medals increased by one a few weeks ago. Karl Goetz was a controversial man due to his political beliefs but his numismatic accomplishments shouldn't be over looked. In addition to his medal output, he designed a number of German coins after WWI.

This medal depicts "The Bismarck Mausoleum (Bismarck Grabhaus)", Cast Bronze Medal, 356.00g., 105mm, by Karl Goetz, 1919. As you can see it is a big medal measuring over 4" in diameter.

Obverse: Bismarck in the heavens, defiantly clenching his fists with clouds swirling around him.

Legend: Was ich mit Hulfe des deutschen Volkes schuf in grosser Zeit - das hat der Wahn eines einzelnen zerstort • Das deutsche Volk hat sich durtch Unterzeichnung des Friedens von Versailles selbst aus der Reihe der Grossmächte gestrichen • War es fruher...

I recently acquired this coin of Phokas. But before sharing the coin I wanted to go into some of the history behind this lesser-known, and often poorly understood ruler who was able to topple the author (or benefactor) behind the Strategikon of Maurice military treatise.

Phokas (Latin: Flavius Focas Augustus; Greek: Φωκᾶς, Phokas; c. 547 – 5 October 610) was Byzantine emperor from 602 to 610. The early life of Phokas is largely unknown and buried in obscurity, but he rose to prominence in 602, as a leader in a revolt against Emperor Maurice Tiberius. Maurice had ordered the troops in the Balkans to campaign against the Avars across the Danube during the onset of winter, a very unpopular move. Also, there were deficiencies in their pay. Declaring the standard of revolt, a low ranking military officer named Phokas was raised on a shield and acclaimed emperor by the soldiers.

Phokas marched on Constantinople with his army. He captured Constantinople and overthrew Maurice on 23...

My new arrival is a coin I have been wanting by a person I consider interesting for several reasons. In the first century BC, pirates operated freely off the southern coast of Asia Minor in the region of Cilicia. Most famously, Caesar reported being captured by pirates who offended him by not seeking a high enough ransom for his safe return so he returned later with a force and crucified them. My coin is from a pirate who fared better largely by associating himself with sequence powerful Romans from Pompey to Octavian. Those interested in the subject can research the matter using the usual search engines.
https://www.google.com/search?q=cil...i57j0j69i60.8734j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

When Pompey set to cleaning up the pirate problem, the (retired) pirate Tarkondimotos joined him and went straight (the difference between a pirate and a Roman Imperator can seem a fine line in some cases). After changing allegiances as...

For the first time ever, the newest addition to my collection is not a coin, but a medal. This medal was designed by the Medallic Art Company and issued by the General Dynamics Electric Boat Division to commemorate the launching of the USS Nautilus. The Nautilus is famous for being the very first nuclear powered vessel of any kind, and represented the first significant development with nuclear power since the atomic bomb. The obverse shows the Nautilus superimposed on a uranium atom, and the reverse shows a nautilus shell superimposed on the Nautilus and the General Dynamics logo. This particular medal was given out to Electric Boat employees who helped to design and build the Nautilus. This medal was issued for an “H. Ford.”











Decades before the advent of nuclear power, submarines had diesel-electric propulsion systems that...

Roman, Imperatorial Period. Military mint, probably at Patrae. AR denarius (15 mm, 3.60 g). Marcus Antonius, (ex-)triumvir. Issued autumn 32-spring 31 BC. Obverse: Galley right, legend around ANT AVG IIIVIR R P C (Antonius Augur, Triumvir Rei Publicae Constituendae) (Antony, Augur, [One of] Three Men for Establishing the Republic). Reverse: Legionary eagle between two standards, legend below LEG III (Legion 3). Crawford 544/15, RSC 28. This coin: Purchased from Marc R. Breitsprecher, 2020.

Marcus Antonius (usually Anglicized as Marc Antony) is, like his mentor Julius Caesar, such a towering figure that he almost seems to be a fictional character. Indeed, if I say the names "Antony and Cleopatra", you will probably first think of Shakespeare's play (or Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor) rather than Julius Caesar's henchman and the last Ptolemaic queen of Egypt. Marc Antony led such an eventful (and well-documented) life that I can't do it...

The last 12-15 months have been the most interesting and rewarding in my 30 Year+ EAC collecting journey.

Over this time period, I was first able to add a very nice 1800 Draped Bust cent, variety Sheldon-205, Rarity-4, a fortunate eBay find which would be difficult to repeat.

Just a few months later, I made what is, and will probably forever remain the best (and luckiest) find I ever made in my Early Copper collecting journey: a 1766 William Pitt Farthing. A very scarce and historical coin/token which is currently rated Rarity-6, with about 25 examples known. It is now coin # 13-15 in the latest census of this rare issue.


A little later, in September 2019 and purely by chance, I "discovered" in my own collection a very rare 1837 Feuchtwanger Cent, Variety 3-D which is currently rated Rarity-7, which had lain dormant in my collection since 1986. I say "discovered" because I originally put this coin aside as part...