Coin Talk

The city of Milan is one of the most important urban centers of Italy and has been so for the past 2000 years, while also recognized as vital for the control of Italy at least since the third century. Milan was also (before Ravenna) at the center of a historical shift in the manifestation of power and politics. How?

In the summer of 268, while Gaul had been effectively separated and ruled by Postumus as an independent kingdom -- the "Secessionist Empire" -- Aureolus, a general and knight under Gallienus openly rebelled against the rightful emperor and, after a botched attempt at taking Italy, he retreated to Mediolanum, where he offered his support to Postumus. Besieged by Gallienus and his generals -- including the scoffing Claudius (the future Claudius II Gothicus 268-270) and Aurelian (the future emperor Aurelian 270-275) -- his political gambit manifested itself in the coinage he minted in Milan for Postumus. This coinage was a series of EQVIT coins (a nod to the cavalry he...

Here's my sole win from Frank S. Robinson's most recent auction:

Indo-Parthians. Abarshahr mint (?). AE drachm. Successors of Sanabares II (second half of second century AD). Obverse: Bust of king left, wearing diadem with triangular bow behind head. Reverse: Seated archer right, Abarshahr mint symbol (A above Pi) below bow, inscription behind (either badly blundered Greek or not-so-blundered Aramaic-Parthian). Sellwood 93.6-8, Shore 479, Sunrise 504, Koch Group 12. This coin: Frank S. Robinson Auction 111, Lot 114 (February 11, 2020).

This coin is part of the enigmatic "Sanabares" bronze coins that are part of the Indo-Parthian series, but are listed by David Sellwood as the last type (93) in his definitive work on Parthian coins. Sanabares I was apparently a rebel against the Parthians in the eastern part of the empire, though his exact dates are disputed (mid-to late-1st century AD seems to be the usual range). He may have been part of...

I usually stick to just the kings and queens when I add coins to my British collection. In this case I made an exception because this historical figure is interesting.



This piece has heavy "ghosting" on the obverse, but the wording is strong. Here is the legend:

Legend: “ED'PO'G'TR EG AGLE L” Full obverse legend in Latin: "Edwardvs primo genitvs Regis anglie Princeps Aqvitanie" Translation: "Edward, first born of the King of England, Prince of Aquitaine" Reverse "Princeps Aquitanie" for "Prince of Aquitaine."

The Hardi d’ Argent coins were struck in France during the Hundred Years War for use in English held France.

Here are the bullets from my book on the Black Prince:

· The Black Prince may not have been known by that name during his lifetime. The name first appears in notes by John Leland in the 1530s or early 1540s. He noted at the time that was in widespread use at that point.

· It has been suggested that the...

Coin photography still is relatively new for me. I started it only about a year and a half ago, largely due to the influence of this forum. Since I am also doing a tiny bit of landscape and animal photography, which mixes well with another favourite activity of mine, hiking, I already knew the basics of handling a camera but had never done any macro photography before. 18 months later, I’m still light-years aways from the coin photography masters on this board (@dougsmit , @Curtisimo, @TIF, to name just a few), but in most cases I manage to produce acceptable results.

Generally, I shoot all my coin pictures with the same DSLR (digital single-lens reflex camera) I also use for outdoor photography. For those of you interested in the technical details: it’s a Canon EOS Rebel T6s equipped with a Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens and a cheap 13mm macro extension tube. Mostly, I shoot in aperture priority mode with f/10...

A countermarked coin arrived this week and took me on a dive into Seleucid and Attalid countermarks on Attic tetradrachms. Why where these coins marked, and at what location? Can I more narrowly assign a date to my coin? while only touching the surface on this topic, this post is a summary of what I’ve found, so far, on this particular coin, and link with resources for more information.

The Coin
A 27-28mm, 16.25g, tetradrachm from Pamphylia – as I have mostly drachms and denarii, the scale of this coin already makes it a special coin in my collection. Reasonably well centered, even wear, pleasing style, light toning and the counter-mark, all add up to an interesting and attractive coin.

PAMPHYLIA, Side, c.205-150 BC, AR Tetradrachm, ST–, magistrate
Obv: Helmeted head of Athena (guardian deity of Side from its founding) right; countermark: Seleukid anchor within oval incuse
Rev: Nike...

I've been putting together a group of numismatic items showing Saint George slaying a dragon for a type collection with the intent of exhibiting. Just picked up one of the pricier pieces in that "series" - a Russian 50 Ruble from 2009 (a 1/4 ounce gold piece).



I'm wondering if you know of any obscure coins that have different variations on this theme? I got started a few years ago when I acquired a German silver medal showing Bismark as Saint George in a clear homage to the British Sovereign design by Pistrucci. I thought I might be able to find 3 or 4 interesting variations on that theme and put together a page in a binder.

20 or 30 pieces later, I keep finding examples of this design (from the Dutch Peace Corp commemorative medal for JFK to the Russian 1757 2 kopek, to the 2003 Gibraltar pound, the 1994 Italian 1000 lire commemorating Tintorreto, a Canadian $25 silver piece celebrating an old $5 bill, and more).

...

Historic Journey through Panama’s 1975 Proof Set

In 1975, the Franklin Mint produced quite an interesting proof set for the government of Panama. The 9-coin series is not a new concept to the Franklin Mint, as they recently had minted the Bahama 9-piece set. The Panama Proof set differed, however, by having each coin individually encased in a plastic to protect them and prevent any toning. Three of the coins are crown-size or larger and are made from sterling silver, five coins are a copper-nickel clad copper, and one coin is copper plated zinc. In 1975, Panama’s Balboa equaled the US Dollar; that remains unchanged today!



The reverse of each of these coins contains the country’s coat of arms below nine stars. The stars represent the nine provinces at the time. The new coat of arms holds ten stars, with the addition of the Panamá Oeste province in 2014. Below the stars is an eagle holding a banner with a Latin inscription that...

The modern Chinese counterfeiting problem cannot be overstated. They have made counterfeits ranging from BU 1794 dollars to the lowly XF 1958 Wheat Cent. Included in their repertoire are PCGS and NGC slabs. This article will cover the extent of the threat and discuss ways to potentially mitigate the threat.

I will preface this article by saying this is not a vendetta piece against PCGS, NGC, nor any other third-party grader. It is merely a statement of facts and implications of the scope of Chinese counterfeiting to inform potentially unaware collectors. All statements are true and have been verified to the best of my ability. If anything is factually incorrect, I will publicly apologize and request for a correction to be made. Please correct me if anything is incorrect. No opinions or assumptions are being put forth unless explicitly described as such. Gaps in my knowledge will be indicated as well.

The Scope

Counterfeit slabs have been around since 2007/2008, and have...

I chose 24 because that's how many slots this display case has.
The vast majority of these coins are general circulation issues and can be found for very low prices - usually $1 or less.
A few are nicer and more expensive. Enjoy!

In no particular order...

1. 1999 Portugal 50 Escudos.
I am a huge fan of ships, and this one certainly doesn't disappoint. A bit of toning on the edges doesn't show up, but is nice in hand.


2. 1947 Panama 1 Balboa. This nice, large 90% silver coin has a gorgeous female figure on one side and a pretty neat Balboa profile on the other.



3. 1876-S US Seated Liberty Quarter.
This is a severely damaged coin, but I love it. It has contemporary graffiti of four initials. I always like to think that some young man kept this around as a portable "notch on the bedpost," recording his sexual conquests. Who knows, though. The coin otherwise still...

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

The occasion for this article is this beautiful coin, which I could add to my collection. Here I will focus a bit more on Hippodameia.

The Coin:
Ionia, Smyrna, Antoninus Pius, 138-161
AE 35, 25.20g, 34.91mm, 0°
struck under the Strategos Theidianos, ca.147 AD
Obv.: [AV KAI T]I AI.AΔPI - ANTΩNEINOC Laureate head r.
Rev.: ΘEV [ΔIANOC] CTPA [ANEΘHKE] CMVP - NAIOIC
Hippodameia, in long robe and veiled, standing r., lifting fold of her robe on the
left shoulder, holding with her right hand the right hand of Pelops, who is
standing frontally beside her, naked except for chlamys over left shoulder, head
turned left, with his raised left hand resting on long sceptre, both stg. in biga
driving r.
in the upper right field ΠEΛO[Ψ]
Ref.: BMC Ionia, 342; SNG von Aulock 2213; Mionnet 3, p.230, nr. 1289; Klose
Series A (sixes)
S+, stripped

Note:
(1) The coin shows the moment when Pelops and Hippodameia get...