Coin Talk

This past week I had the opportunity to acquire an example of a 1793 Bermuda Penny, which is a highly sought after and particularly rare issue. In doing a little research before its arrival, I stumbled upon an excellent article written by Mark A. Sportack (Link to article). For those of you who wish to learn more about this one-year type coin, his article is an invaluable asset.

Most of you are probably familiar with the modern coinage of Bermuda, such as the 1970 coinage or the odd triangle-shaped collector’s coins issued in the recent past; however, you are likely much less aware of their earlier coinage. Like most other British colonies, one might assume that Regal coinage was issued in a sporadic fashion that provides a handful of examples to collect. This assumption, however, would be incorrect. In fact, the 1793 Penny would be the first Regally sanctioned coinage issued in Bermuda during its first...

IN THE YEAR OF THE PLAGUE
(It is known that some ancient Roman coins have medical instruments on them. My only image of a microscope on a coin is a Zeiss commemorative that I do not own. My Zeiss commemoratives are postage stamps, a different collectible entirely. Just to say that these examples are circulated world banknotes but the topic is open.)


Darwin is iconically famous. Pasteur is well known but well worth reading more about as you wish. He was a chemist who took an interest in a problem with wine and went from there to anthrax and rabies.

Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz is less well known.
"Cruz found the seaport of Santos ravaged by an epidemic of bubonic plague that threatened to reach Rio de Janeiro and engaged himself immediately in the combat of this disease. The mayor of Rio de Janeiro authorized the construction of a plant for manufacturing the serum against the...

BRONZE MEDAL - HAMBURG GREAT FIRE OF 1842 COMMEMORATIVE
Hamburg

City of Hamburg Bronze Medal Commemorating the Great Fire of 1842 / Phoenix Rising and Detailed Map of City / From the Loos Medallic Establishment (Gaed. 2075)


This bronze medal was minted for the city of Hamburg, a sizable German city of commerce situated on the Elbe river. This medal was minted to commemorate the loss of about a quarter of the city in the "Great Fire" of 1842. This fire started on the night of May 4th, 1842, quickly spread through the heart of the city, and was finally extinguished on May 8. It destroyed three churches, the town hall, as well as many other buildings. It killed 51 people, and left an estimated 20,000 homeless. Reconstruction took more than 40 years.

Having more spare times lately, I'm revisiting some old friends (coins). I'd like to present you my 2 Augustus twins. As you can see, they are not really twins: one has the bust facing left and the other one facing right. But they have the same obverse legend, ditto for the reverse legend, both asses with the same size (25mm) and almost same weight (8.05g vs 8.35g). One is a RIC 428 and the other RIC 427 ; Cohen 446 and Cohen 445. So let's say they are at least brothers, aren't they ? They both bare the name of the same moneyer: P LVRIVS AGRIPPA.



These magistrates were responsible for the production of the Roman coinage. They were not simple mint workers (monetarii), they were officials who controlled the process, including the design on the coins themselves. Membership in the vigintisexvirate was for most of them the first step on the cursus honorum, the age when the post could be held appears to have been...

Greetings fellow inmates. I't about 80 degrees here in Florida, and I spent the afternoon by my pool in the backyard, well away from other humans, except my wife. Please don't hate me for that.

At any rate, it's time for another article from the archives. I hope you enjoy it.


Richard Bland and William Allison are names that are not familiar to most Americans. Only the most dedicated of political items "junkies" might know anything about Richard Bland, and hardly anyone could recall William Allison. Yet in 1878 they got together to craft a compromise bill that would have a profound effect upon coin collecting, the Bland - Allison Act. For coin collectors it was the legislation that authorized the Morgan dollar.

Our story could begin with the Coinage Act of 1792, but in the interests of brevity, we will start with the Coinage Act of 1873. That law did many things, but the most important change it authorized from the political perspective was that it demonetized...

I'm finally getting around to working through my late dad's coin collection (I posted about his hoard of wheat cents here).

The adventure has sparked some thoughts, and I figured some of you might enjoy them...and relate!

I was into coins as a very young kid. That's why I was given his coins when he died. That was a long time ago, and I've been too busy to even crack it open. But with the virus quarantine, I have some downtime, so I dragged the big heavy box up from the basement (man, coins weigh a ton!).

The main reason I've put this off is that I know there are a handful of valuable coins, plus a ton of "enthusiast" stuff. I didn't want to just ferret out the valuable stuff, sell it, and apply the few hundred bucks to my next mortgage payment like it was nothing. That's not why he left me this stuff. It would feel like grave-robbing.

However, not being 7 years old anymore,...

One of my most exciting recent purchases showed up a couple weeks back and I am in LOVE!
I think I now know what young Octavian (recently having changed his name to Caesar) must have felt when he came across the striking, and married to an opponent of the heir to Rome, beauty of Livia Drusilla:


(This bust was made after Tiberius ascension when Livia would’ve been between 72-87 years old #hotmom)

Whether due to her beauty, the fact that she was known for her virtue or that I’ve just read far to much of the individuals and circumstances I just cannot subscribe to the rumors that she had anything to do with the wild “slay” ride that led to her awkward son Tiberius becoming the second Augustus. Nor do I believe for a second that she killed her ailing hubby at his very advanced age to make way for Tibs.



You can save that nonsense for the folks that think COVID will be gone by Easter. All that silliness aside, who was she...

Here's a new arrival that caught my eye in a recent Savoca auction. It has enough wear that, at a casual glance, you might think the reverse legends have completely worn away. It's actually anepigraphic, and seemingly a rather rare type. If I'm not wrong (and please feel free to correct me here, @Okidoki), it's in fact the only anepigraphic reverse type issued on a denarius in Hadrian's name.


HADRIAN
AR Denarius. 3.12g, 18.9mm. Rome mint, AD 134-138. RIC 294d; Sear 3551; BMCRE III p. 338, *. O: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate head right. R: No legend, Hadrian standing right, wearing military garb, inverted spear in right hand, parazonium in left hand, left foot on crocodile (?).

RIC, BMCRE, RSC and Cohen all describe the reverse as depicting Hadrian standing with one foot on a prow, but Sear in RCV II calls it a crocodile. The detail is unfortunately not clear on my example, but here's a coin that's a...

What is an RPM or OMM?

Two exciting varieties to collect. Two formidable tasks that require a steady stream of knowledge, information and most importantly, help. If you decide to explore their potential enjoyment and challenge then here is some information and perhaps a little, help.

You should be familiar with the minting process before you dwell to deeply into acquiring RPMs and OMMs. It would be wiser to have more than just a cursory knowledge of the minting process of course, so it is recommend that you try to obtain a book or...

Greeks and Scythians were different cultures, my most recent coin comes from the intersection at Olbia. Plutarch shares an anecdote of Atheas writing to Philip II of Macedonia: “You reign over Macedonians, men that have learned fighting; and I over the Scythians, which can fight with hunger and thirst.” (1) In 340 BC, Philip II defeated Atheas and “twenty thousand young men and women were taken, and a vast number of cattle, but no gold or silver. This was the first proof which they had of the poverty of Scythia.” (6) Philip II married the daughter of Atheas and she is found in his tomb with him. (2)

Where is Olbia?
The town of Olbia gets its name from ὄλβος (ólbos, “happiness, bliss”) and...