Coin Talk

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...

The Coinage Reform of Anastasius

Just about all of us late roman bronze collectors have accumulated or handled late 4th and 5th century Roman bronze coins known as AE 4’s or a nummus. While it is difficult to quantify the purchasing power of the nummus, it is clear that the relationship between the nummus and the other coin that was minted in quantity, the gold solidus, is difficult to establish by the end of the 5th century. The latter Roman rulers up until the time of Romulus Augustus, the last emperor in the west, as well as the eastern emperors, struck these often miniscule coins. And the tradition was maintained by Odoacer, the Germanic chieftain who deposed Romulus.

Meanwhile, the minting of the solidus in sufficient quantities to finance the economy in the east continued, whilst the silver coinage represented by the siliqua basically disappeared.

In 494 Anastasius reformed the coinage [1], issuing a much wider range of bronze coins, which had previously...

I recently stumbled across this coin quite by accident, courtesy of Mr. Google. As soon as I saw the fantastic portrait I knew I had to 'add to basket'.



Vespasian
Æ Sestertius, 24.02g
Rome mint, 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: SALVS AVGVSTA; S C in exergue; Salus std. l. with patera and sceptre
RIC 245 (C2). BMC 574. BNC 533.
Acquired from Golden Rule Enterprises Coins, February 2020.

A fairly common sestertius Salus type from the great bronze issue of 71. According to Mattingly in BMCRE II this Salus type may perhaps represents 'the salvation conferred by the imperial system', presumably after the upheavals of the Civil War. Salus here symbolises the health and welfare of the Roman state, not the person of the emperor himself.

The die engraves working on Vespasian's early bronze issues were an extremely talented bunch. They were likely the same engravers that had produced many of...

For those who collect and study the numismatic or financial history of the Roman Empire in its Third Century crisis, it can sometimes be bewildering to us just what was going on. Well, it might have been just as mystifying to the Roman man in the street then as it is to us today. Originally the Roman state was put in good order by Augustus with a good gold and silver coinage of consistent weight and fineness. Even the token Aes coinage was of good weight and inspiring image. Nero's fiddling with the weight and purity of the aureus and denarius did not cause undue alarm and prices remained fairly constant. Through most of the Second century AD, even though the Good emperors gradually reduced the fineness of the silver denarius, prices remained fairly constant or rose slowly enough that few seemed alarmed. By the Severan Era of the early Third Century the debasement of the silver in coins was sufficient for us to notice it and the increase in the salary given to Roman troops may have...

Mn. Fonteius
Obverse: MN FONTEI C•F, laureate head of Apollo (?) right
Reverse: Cupid (?) on goat right; above, piles; in exurgue, thyrsus; surrounded by laurel wreath and dots
Crawford 353/1c, 20mm, 3.85g, minted at Rome in 85 BC

I’d had my eye on one of these for a while, and when I finally saw one in good condition at the right price, I pulled the trigger. Feel free to share your own examples of this coin or other goat coins, as well as your thoughts on their symbolism.

When I actually started researching the coin, always one of my favorite things about buying a new coin, I discovered that there was quite a bit of debate over what it actually depicts, and what the significance of it might be. The discussion below is more to organize my research than anything else, but I thought I’d go ahead and share it as well.
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The winged child atop a goat on the reverse is identified as everything from a symbol of Vejovis, young...

About time I shared a little more history:




The centennial of the enunciation of the Monroe Doctrine was celebrated on July 2 thru August 5, 1923, at Los Angeles, California. The motion-picture industry was the force behind the celebration as an historical revue and motion-picture exposition commemorating events in our national history were shown, and the proceeds from the sale of half-dollars contributed toward financing this project.

enunciation: To state or set forth precisely or systematically: enunciate a doctrine.

“To Produce Historical Exposition

One Hundredth Anniversary of Monroe Doctrine to be Commemorated

Plans for the First Annual American Revue and Motion-Picture Industrial Exposition, under the auspices of the Motion-Picture Producers’ Association of Los Angeles, are rapidly nearing perfection.

In brief, it is the intention of the...

It's been nearly two days since I last posted a Parthian coin, so enjoy this:


Parthian Kingdom. Mithradatkart mint. Mithradates III (Sellwood, Shore) aka Mithradates IV (Assar) (c. 57-54 BC). AE tetrachalkous (3.20 g, 17 mm). Obverse: Diademed bust of king left. Reverse: Pegasos flying right, 8-line Greek legend around, Mithradatkart mintmark under front of Pegasos. Sellwood 41.18-19v. (different mintmark). This coin: Pars Coins Auction 4 (December 23, 2019), lot 85.

(Note: Historical background section below contains reused text from a previous post. What do you expect from a sequel?)

Mithradates III (renumbered Mithradates IV in recent work) and Orodes II were two sons of the Parthian king Phraates III. In 57 BC, they teamed up to assassinate their father and take over the throne. The assassination part worked, but unsurprisingly the two brothers soon quarreled, and Mithradates was forced to flee to Roman Syria. (Mithradates was said to...