Coin Talk

I have been looking for an example of this piece for a number years. This piece was issued during the Columbian Exposition which opened in 1893, and is listed in the so-called dollar book as HK-214. It is listed as an R-6 in that series with an estimated surviving population of from 21 to 75 pieces. I would estimate that the number of surviving pieces is much closer to 75 than 20, but finding one does involve some vigilance and effort. It is also listed in American Political Badges and Medalets 1789 – 1892 by Edmund B. Sullivan.

On June 2, 1886, Grover Cleveland, 49, a lifelong bachelor, married Frances Folsom age 21 at the White House. He was also the only president ever to be married at the presidential residence. The difference in age would have been enough to get start more than a little gossip, but the story gets juicier. Frances Folsom was the daughter of Grover Cleveland's law partner. When he died in a...

GILT SILVER MEDAL - CITY OF STRASBOURG / DEKAPOLIS (Décapole)
Year: 1655 - 1678



City of Strasbourg Silver (gilt) Medal with City Coat of Arms and Ten Coats of Arms of the Cities of the Dekapolis.

This beautiful medal was possibly minted some time between 1655 and 1678 when other similar medals were created on a similar theme, showing instead the crests of the Stettmeisters (Masters of the City), Ammeisters (Magistrates) or crests of the different guilds of the city. It depicts two lions on the obverse supporting the behelmte stadtwappen (the city's coat of arms with a helmet). The coat of arms is encircled by the arms of the 10 cities of the Dekapolis. On the reverse is the city of Strasbourg with an angel flying above holding palms in one hand and an olive branch in the other and the initials R.G. below.

I bought a tetradrachm from the Seleukid king Antiochos VII Euergetes that I was so astonished about I had to get it, for some time I could not figure out what it was. I could find absolutely no other coins on the web with the same style, so I just stamped it as a "barbarous imitation". However, I knew there were official imitations minted by Cappadocia, but these were MUCH better in style. I therefore contacted Catharine Lorber (an expert in that area), and she shared an article with me where she investigated these 'obscure' imitations: Early Cappadocian Tetradrachms in the Name of Antiochus VII by Elke Krengel, and Catharine C. Lorber.

Tetradrachms in the name of the Seleukid king Antiochos VII Euergetes (138-129 BC) were discovered that were in fact minted in the Cappadocian kingdom under Ariarathes VII, Ariarathes VIII, Ariarathes IX, and Ariobarzanes X. The first of those series is die linked to the portrait tetradrachms of Ariarathes VII, and all three series bear secondary...

Oftentimes we write about our favorite ruler, king, emperor queen or empress and their numismatic connection or significance. I like it when we combine our hobby with other interests. Several times I have seen posted things like the most able ruler of Ancient times, the best Byzantine emperor, the worst Roman ruler, that sort of thing. I would like to propose that we write about the most underrated ruler of Ancient Rome, Republic or Empire. Tell us why you think that person was a great but unrecognized, uncelebrated, ignored ruler and then, if you have any, post some coins associated with that personage.

Before I mention my choice, a few words about getting noticed or ignored in history. Historians write for an audience. They like to be published, read, quoted, cited and, if they have learned one thing, from Herodotus to Gibbon, it is that human beings want to read about the odd, bizarre, the weird, even the despicable, the dissolute, and the wicked. Human nature at its finest....

One of our members, @Ike Skywalker, asked if I might write a piece about the Eisenhower Dollar. I have never been a big Ike Dollar collector. I have the clad Proof sets, and some certified coins for my NGC Registry set, but that is about it. I didn’t end up keeping my “Blue” and “Brown” Ikes. I sold them when I was a dealer.

At any rate, at the risk of leaving something out of which the experts and Ike Dollar enthusiasts consider important, here goes.

In March of 1969 General and former president Dwight David Eisenhower died. In July of the same year, two of three the Apollo 11 astronauts became the first men to step foot on the moon. To mark those events, the United States Congress considered ways to commemorate them on a coin.

The authorization of a commemorative coin was still off the table. Problems with the previous series of commemoratives still cast a shadow over those proposals. The cent through the quarter were considered...

This thread contains informations that some members may find disturbing. Readers discretion advised.

"they saw them, torn by the whips, to the point where you could see the innermost veins and arteries, and the innards and the most hidden parts of the body appeared..." Eusebius Historica Ecclesiastica book IV, 15.



20 centuries ago, If you were a lictor suffering from a "sadistic personality disorder", the flagrum would certainly be your favorite working tool. It was what we call today a whip or a scourge. But what is its origins and its link with the Roman coinage ? Let's explore the answers together.

The history
The ancient historian Eusebius (and close friend of Constantine I) drew a horribly realistic picture of the torture of Christians in his times (see excerpt above). But Romans were not the first to use it. In Egyptian Antiquity, a symbolic whip,...

This is the story of a small hoard, but it is a bit speculative.


I purchased this group of coins because, based on patina, they seem to have been deposited together.





They are all from Lyons (in Roman times it was called Lugdunum and was named after the Celtic sun-god, Lug or Lugh) and the two soldiers types and Constantinopolis were struck early A.D. 330's. The Crispus VOT was struck a bit earlier around A.D. 324. The really interesting coin is the Sol; which was struck between A.D. 315- 316; almost 20 years before the latest coin in the group - the mintmark star PLG was struck in A.D. 333- 334.

The SOL coin (circa 2% silver) was demonetized by the monetary reform of A.D. 318 which introduced VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP (circa 4% silver) and the two standard GE's were replaced by one standard type by the A.D. 335 reform when the number of nummi to a pound was raised to 196. (According to Harl's "Coinage in the...

I apologize on two counts - first there is the poor photographs which I took with my phone camera. The problem is that my coins are not in the same place as where my photo equipment is - long story - this is a temporary situation and soon enough I will exchange these terrible photographs with good photographs. Second, I had trouble finding out where to do my write-up, so this is going in as a reply. I should also add another apology - that I am not certain whether it is "FRUGIF" or "FRUGIFERO" in the inscription since I wrote this up literally minutes after receiving the coin and have been unable to find another example of it except on this site.

As I have mentioned, I collect the sestertii of Septimius Severus, and I am trying to put together as complete a collection as I possibly can - no limitation on condition, I just want one of every one he struck. It is a project that I very much doubt I will ever finish -...

I'm taking tomorrow off of work, so tonight is like my Friday night and I've been using the time tonight to look at a few new Alexandrian tetradrachms: 1 Valerian, 2 Gallienus, and 1 Valerian II. I decided to pull out the other tets of this family and explore the group (10 in total) chronologically.


Here are two of father and son, Valerian and Gallienus, RY 3 with matching Eirene reverse:


Next is grandfather and grandson, Valerian and Valerian II, RY 4 with Homonoia and Eagle, respectively. The Valerian II came with the original handwritten collectors tag where he had the correct obverse legend written, but sadly he had the wrong ID (Saloninus).


Valerian II was killed in 258 AD, not long after those 2 coins were struck.

Next comes my RY 9 of Gallienus with Eagle reverse with palm. This was issued about 1-2 years after the...