Coin Talk

So, last week I bought this silver medieval penny, which was identified by the seller as "an English penny with a king". It was @AnYangMan who identified this coin as a silver penny of
Diederik van der Ahr, Bishop of Utrecht (the Netherlands) in 1197–1212.

The coin had some issues, but the price was right (€32, including postage), and as I was looking for medieval coinage of the Netherlands (which is where I live), I decided to buy it regardless. Also, as some of you may know, I enjoy restoring silver coins.

So, the coin:

This is a difficult combination of a nice patina (silver sulfide; Ag2S), with some copper oxides (the dark green parts) and beneath that, iron oxide. Also, there are some spots with metal-like horn silver. Care should be taken not to remove the patina.

Red arrows: horn silver >> dissolves in sodiumthiosulphate
Green arrows: copper oxides >> dissolves in synthetic citric acid...

Here's another coin I bought at the November 2019 Baltimore show, a scarcer Nabataean bronze:

Nabataean Kingdom. Damascus mint. AE 19. Aretas III (87-62 BC). Obverse: Diademed head of Aretas III right. Reverse: Tyche of Damascus seated left, holding cornucopia, river god below, Greek legend around "Basileos Aretou Philellenos" (Of King Aretas, Friend of the Greeks). SNG ANS 1421-1424. This coin: Purchased at the Baltimore coin show, November 2019 from Ephesus Numismatics.

The Nabataeans ruled a kingdom centered on the famous city of Petra in what is now Jordan, spending much of that time as a Roman client state until they were finally absorbed as a province by Trajan. Many here on the CoinTalk Ancients board are familiar with the later bronze coins that feature jugate busts of the king and queen together, however this type features just a "very Hellenistic" bust of the king, and is also notable for being struck at Damascus rather than at...

Greetings, fellow shut-ins! I decided that is time to dust off another old article to help pass the time. I hope that you enjoy it.


In January of 1848 James Marshall, who was an employee of John Sutter, discovered gold in the race of a sawmill that was under construction on Sutter’s property near Coloma, California. (Coloma is located about 36 miles northeast of the state capitol, Sacramento.) The men soon discovered additional gold deposits further upstream, and it was found that there was more gold in the area. Sutter and his men tried to keep their discovery a secret, but that was impossible. By spring dozens of prospectors were looking for gold with tools that ranged from a simple metal pan to a primitive trough-like device called a cradle.

In Monterey, California Colonel Richard B. Mason, who was the military governor of the U.S. territory, viewed the developments with concern and interest. “Gold fever” had prompted many of the enlisted men in his unit...

This coin is extra cool because it is a lifetime issue of Alexander the Great and because it used to belong to my friend @Severus Alexander ! It’s a humble coin at first glance but punches way above its price bracket in terms of cool historical interest.

These coins were made to circulate locally in western Macedonia and were probably struck at the ancestral capital city of Aegeae or possibly at the administrative capital of Pella. But who is shown on the coin and what does it reference? There are a few interesting possibilities.


KINGS OF MACEDON: Alexander III 'the Great' (336-323 BCE), lifetime issue.
AE15 “half unit.” Macedonian mint.
Dia.: 15 mm
Wt.: 4.13 g
Obv: Diademed head right.
Rev: AΛEΞANΔPOY, Horse prancing right; below, torch.
Ref.: Price 338.
Ex AMCC 2, lot 23 (Nov. 9, 2019)

Karanos: the First Macedonian...

ever thread.

Sorry. Just not enough room for my entire thread title.
Let’s get this straight. This IS gonna be a thread celebrating the myth of possibly one of, if not, the baddest dudes that ever picked up a club...



but not for the reasons you’ve predisposed in your logarithm of, “What’s Ryro gonna say next?” catalogue.



Alright, alright. It does have to do with a Macedonian shield. Don’t look so self satisfied. My newest avatar to be exact:


KINGS OF MACEDON. Philip III Arrhidaios (323-317 BC). Ae 1/2 Unit.
Uncertain mint in western Asia Minor.
Macedonian shield; on boss, head of Herakles facing slightly right.
Helmet. Controls: kerykeion to right, monogram to left.
Price 2803.
3,85 gr. 15 mm

I was thinking to mice elf, “This has gotta be one of the best looking 3/4 facing Herakles MSCs I’ve seen and am so pleased to have snagged it up... “
Others O mine for comparison:...

Hi,
I was bored so I went out today to do some detecting. I found some US Coins..
25C - 4 each
10C - 5 each
1C - 11 each
1 Sterling Silver ring


So now I have some more examples of Environmental Toning to the Clad Layers of Quarters and Dimes. Years of exposure to the elements will do this to the Cupro-Nickel Clad
Many times these are mistaken for missing clad errors by newbies -


I also found this 1974 Cent which was damaged by the blades of a grass cutter. Also can be mistaken as a mint error. DEFDAM indeed!


Finally my Sterling Ring!
What does Stering actually mean? What would be the silver content?


I found the ring on the internet -

A Wooden Nickel is a token. They were mostly issued by a merchant or a bank and at times redeemable for specific items. Scrip and tokens have often been issued locally in times of severe economic distress such as a financial crisis ir during the Civil War.

In the depression, a local bank in Tenino, Washington issued emergency currency printed on thin wood strips. Blaine, Washington did the same but included a five cent piece.

The 1933 Chicago World's Fair issued wooden nickels as souvenirs. This practice continues to the present day but not just confined to fairs. In recent times, wooden nickel trading has become very popular.

You can have your own personalized token made and trade or sell them. The phrase "don't take any wooden nickels" is American in nature and it's a lighthearted reminder to be cautious in your dealings. It also means "don't be a sucker".

Wooden Nichels can date back to the 1880s but they did not become abundant until the 1930s. The most valuable wooden...

Image - Creative Commons License from the British Museum
Mēn, illustrated in this marble Roman relief from the 2nd Century AD, is the Moon god of Roman Anatolia, perhaps connected with the Mesopotamian moon god Sin which was also a male lunar god. The Roman Luna was female. The deity is portrayed with a crescent moon behind his shoulders and wearing a phrygian cap. Strabo describes a temple of Mēn of Pharnaces:

"And the kings revered this temple so exceedingly that they proclaimed the "royal" oath as follows: "By the Fortune of the king and by Mēn of Pharnaces." And this is also the temple of Selenê, like that among the Albanians and those in Phrygia, I mean that of Mēn in the place of the same name and that of Mēn Ascaeus near the Antiocheia that is...

The town of Dioshieron, which means "sanctuary of Zeus" in Greek, in Lydia was located in the upper valley of the Kaystros River (Greek Κάϋστρος, modern Küçük Menderes), roughly midway between Sardis and Nycaea.



The city became part of the Roman Republic and the Roman province of Asia with the annexation of the Kingdom of Pergamon. It was an episcopal see from as early as the fifth century. It was renamed to Christoupolis in the 7th century and was known as Pyrgion from the 12th century on. Pyrgion fell to the Turks in 1307, and was renamed Birgi.

The mint in Dioshieron issued coins in the Roman imperial period from the reigns of Augustus through Gordian. This coin is one of two reverse types issued by the city for Faustina II: A type featuring Asklepios standing facing (RPC IV.2, 1236) and another with Hera standing left, holding a patera and scepter (RPC IV.2, 1432). The former features an...

One of my main interests is in obscure lords of the feudal West, especially those who can be tied to either crusading and/or taking the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Many times this interest leads to going through old compendia of often-times fragmented chancellery documents and/or histoire books that have the written story of certain areas, and often-times written long time ago, during the Ancien Regime. Finding and following lords who have also minted coins is a very welcome bonus.

Vierzon and Celles-sur-Cher in Berry.


Few areas have been so rich and diverse in feudal coinage and more decentralized during the medieval heydays than the old region of Berry, in Central France. The many local seigneuries here enjoyed such an extended autonomy in the 12th to early 14th centuries that minting their own coins, whether baronial or monastical, was the most normal of things.

...