Coin Talk

Ex-David Queller/Mass. Historical Society - 1810 50c Pickup

David Queller (1921-2014) was a passionate collector of US coinage, probably most famous for his acquisition of the 1804 “Reed-Hawn” Draped Bust Dollar, known as “The King of American Coins” and one of 15 known examples for $475k in 1993 and its subsequent sale for $3.7m at Heritage Auctions in 2008. (NGC’s article on the history of that coin and Queller here, and a 2008 video interview with Mr. Queller by Heritage here.) He was urged to keep bidding at the time by his son, and the collaborative efforts of his family members in his numismatic pursuits led to what became the Queller Family Collection.




I came across this bust half and loved it for its own sake immediately, but as I was intrigued by the flip I started digging and was...

Greetings fellow inmates!

I just learned to day the governor is going to make our house arrest offcial. I hope that I will be able to go out for food.

Given all the doom and gloom, I decided to dust off another old article from 2010. I never published this one so I "fattened it up" a little.


In the late 1780s a glut of circulating, light weight copper coins was damaging the fragile United States economy. Some of these coppers were legitimate pieces that several states were issuing under the provisions of the Articles of Confederation. Under that form of government, which preceded the U.S. Constitution, each state was allowed to establish their own monetary system and issue money to support it. There were also foreign coins in circulation, which had been the standard practice since the colonial period.



The 1887-8 Massachusetts copper coins were the best made of the pre-Constitution state coinages....

This post will probably scare most of those Coin Collectors that think all coins are Doubled Dies and every mark on them MUST be a MInt error. And it may make experts ponder when they see a light zincoln, what actually happened to it.

So even though the story starts out nice and kind it does turn into a nightmare for some, nah, a devilish nightmare. So turn away now whilst you still can.

So for this year I finally broke down and "processed" my circulation change, and more specifically the cents/pennnies as my cent tub was overflowing.


I normally separate them by decade and then store them away. I may or may not in the future actually search them That's a plan but you never know.

But first, as I thought about this for a few days I noticed whilst exercising that I had a few cups of coins in them on a desk next to my stair stepper? Odd, as I keep the cups for separating coins and they are in a different location. Of course, then I noticed I had...

In another thread, @Limes gave me a good suggestion :"If you still have more time, how about writing a background story on each coin?" So with more time lately for my favorite hobby, I revisited some old friends. I found a similarity between a provincial coin of Caracalla from Alexandria Troas and an Imperial one from Antoninus Pius struck in Rome. At first look, it seems they don't have nothing in common. Can you find the "likeness" between the two specimen ???





They are both featuring the same ichonographic detail: a Cippus. But what is it exactly ?
It is a low column of stone, sometimes round but often of rectangular shape, and used as a mark of division of land, for indicating the distance of places or as a sepulchral monument. On many Cippi are found the letters TTL meaning "Sit tibi terra levis" (May the earth rest lightly on you) which is a latin funerary inscription. On...

Since there was recently a thread for Art Deco coins and medals, I thought I'd start one for coins and medals from a slightly earlier period -- covering Pre-Raphaelite and Art Nouveau and related styles -- and post some of my own from that period.

Great Britain, 1882, AE Commemorative Medal for the Corporation of the City of London (No. 17), The Dedication of Epping Forest, by Charles Wiener. Obv. Bust of Queen Victoria l., wearing the small diamond crown, sash and Orders/ Rev. Londinia standing facing the seated Queen within a forest setting, holding gate open to winding pathway, IT GIVES ME THE GREATEST SATISFACTION TO DEDICATE THIS BEAUTIFUL FOREST FOR THE USE AND ENJOYMENT OF MY PEOPLE FOR ALL TIME. EPPING FOREST, 6 MAY 1882. Eimer 1689, BHM 3128, Welch 17. 75 mm., 268 g.





Great Britain, 1837-1897, AR Official Royal Mint Medal to Commemorate 60th Anniversary of Victoria's Reign. Obv. Bust l., crowned, veiled and...

A Roman Republican as with a Janus obverse and a prow reverse has been on my want list for quite some time, and I have been waiting for the right coin to come up. Two weeks ago, I finally found a nice specimen for a price I was willing to pay, and it arrived this morning:


Roman Republic, As (uncial standard), 169–158 BC, moneyer: C. Cluvius Saxula, Rome mint. Obv: head of Janus, I above. Rev: prow right, C·SAX (ligated) above, ROMA below. 35 mm, 25.98 g. Ref: Crawford 173/1.

A couple of ancient writers discuss and explain these coins in detail, which is the main reason I wanted one. (EDIT: Just to clarify, what follows is a little account of the reception of this type of coin by some writers during the Roman Empire. For a historically more reliable origin story of the devices on the coin, see the informative post by @Carausius below.)

In his Saturnalia, the 5th century philosopher Macrobius tells us...

Hey all. I live in Virginia and yesterday the Governor issued an Executive Order to "Stay at Home." I'm retired Navy so I've been trying to do that anyway.

I hope most are also heeding that warning as much as possible.

Figured I'd share some history to take our minds off of current events for now.





Above courtesy of the Maryland Manual.

“MARYLAND TERCENTENARY COMMISSION

Act 1929, Chapter 470

To consider plans for the appropriate observance by the State of the Tercentenary of the founding of Maryland and to submit a full report with its recommendations to the General Assembly of 1931. Members of the Commission include:

Name and address

Dr. Joseph S. Ames, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

Mathew Page Andrews, 849 Park Avenue, Baltimore’.

Rev. Joseph J. Ayd, S. J., Loyola College.

Arthur Barneveld Bibbins, 201 Park Avenue, Baltimore.

Van Lear Black, Fidelity...

Denier - OTTO V (Brandenburg-Salzwedel)
Mint - Spandau



Born: 1246 (est)
Margrave: A.D. 1267-1298

Obverse: Seated Figure - OTTO V

Reverse: Plumed Helmet - OTTO

This is a silver coin, a denier, of Otto V the Margrave (Margraf) of Brandenburg-Salzwedel who, with his brothers and cousins shared the rule of a partitioned Margraviate of Brandenburg in modern north eastern Germany and western Poland. Brandenburg formed from what was known as the Northern March, established in 936 by King Heinrich der Vogler (Henry the Fowler) and Emperor Otto I, which eventually became a major principality (electorate) within the Holy Roman Empire. It was originally establish to serve as a north eastern border during the Ostsiedlung, a movement of Germanic-speaking peoples into neighboring areas, in this case Slavic eastern Europe.

Otto V, called the Tall / Long (der...

On many coins of Roman Egypt you will find the personification of Alexandria. The history of the personification of Alexandria is somewhat obscure, though it originated after the accession of Ptolemy I Soter in the 330’s B.C.

Perhaps the first depiction of the nascent goddess is found in a mosaic in Thmuis (Mendes) created by the Hellenistic artist Sophilos, now in the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria.



The woman depicted is Queen Berenike II, who ruled jointly with her husband Ptolemy III Eurgetes, as the personification of Alexandria, with her crown showing a ship’s prow, while she has an anchor-shaped brooch for her robes, symbols of the Ptolemaic Kingdom’s naval prowess and success in the Mediterranean Sea. [1]

The first Roman emperor to portray Alexandria on his coinage was Nero, who struck so...

Since our "prison sentence" just got extened for another month, it's time to dust another old article. I hope you like it.


In 1933 President Franklin Roosevelt issued his Gold Surrender. The order required American citizens to sell all but a small portion of their gold to the Federal Reserve at a rate of $20.67 per troy ounce. Those who failed to comply with this executive order were subject to a fine of up to $10,000 or a prison term of up to 10 years. Exemptions were made for "customary usage for industry, profession or art," which covered artists, jewelers, dentists, and sign makers among others. There was also a provision for citizens to hold up to $100 in gold (about 5 ounces) and for "gold coins having recognized special value to collectors of rare and unusual coins."

Given the broad sweep of this executive order, which was supported by an act of Congress in 1934, you might assume that The United States mint did not produce any gold pieces for an...