Coin Talk

I think I have officially hit the point where I can no longer justify the expense of new additions. There have been some stellar coins offered for sale already this year, but more often than not, these pieces realize prices that are just a bit out of my comfort zone. Consequently, I have only added four new noteworthy pieces to my collection, which pales compared to last year. On any note, I am delighted with my latest purchase which brings back memories of a much simpler time. A time before COVID, before insane auctions prices, and before I was thoroughly infected with the bug of collecting Soho pieces.



We can probably all think back to the first piece that eventually became the foundation of a new collecting pursuit. For me, this took the form of a 1788 Great Britain pattern Halfpenny (P-945) struck at the Soho Mint (pictured above). I remember being sucked into the history and immense conflict between Jean Pierre Droz (the engraver of this coin)...

It's taken me a while to do the proper research to put this post together. You see, I found and purchased what I believed to be Ron Landis' Brasher Doubloon and Half Doubloon reproduction strikes.

The difficult part was attributing these pieces to him. Most photos I could find were of some other Brasher copy, and not Ron's. The other part was the sellers photos, as typical sellers photos go, weren't large enough or clear enough to verify. I had to wait until I had these in hand to begin.

The second hurdle was finding example photos of Ron's work. To me, the die engraving style was a dead giveaway, but unfortunately, that just wasn't enough. An opinion of style is just that . . . . .

Pouring through the old Gallery Mint and Vern Walfren's GMMNut websites were helpful with information, but not so much with images. Here is Ron's original article introducing the Brasher strikes, and a snippet from his sales catalog. It seems that Ron made these on "special order" so I suppose...

Although countermarked Byzantine coins are not usually something I seek out, I couldn't resist this one. It was described in the auction listing, described as "a glorious mess". It started out as a coin of Heraclius and his eldest son, Heraclius Constantine. Heraclius Constantine holds the Byzantine record for shortest reign (3 months). The underlying coin is clear, including date (X/X/I - year 21 == AD 630/1) , mint (CON - Constantinople) and officina (Γ). The countermark is nicely placed and nearly uncirculated.

A coin of Heraclius reauthorized by Heraclius
View attachment 1347439
Undertype: Heraclius, with Heraclius Constantine, AD 610-641, Æ Follis (26.5mm, 6.42g, 7h). Constantinople mint, 3rd (Γ) officina, Dated RY 21 (AD 630/1)
Obv: Heraclius, on left, wearing crown and military dress, holding long cross, and Heraclius Constantine, on right, wearing crown and chlamys, holding globus-cruciger; cross above, [monogram] to left, K to...

Theodosius, with Maurice Tiberius and Constantia. 590-602. AR Half Siliqua
Light weight issue. Carthage mint. Struck 597-602. Helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust of Theodosius facing DN TEODOSIVS PP A (Our lord Theodosius, eternal Augustus)/ Crowned and draped busts of Maurice and Constantia facing; long cross potent between; small cross to left and right; AGTI (Emperors) in exergue

Theodosius' reign was rather tragic. Although being the first heir born to a reigning emperor in almost 200 years, his sole reign never came to be. Theodosius was elevated to the status of coemperor in the year 590 at the age of 5 or 7. One theory for the dating of these siliqua is that during this coronation period, these siliqua were minted in carthage to celebrate the occasion. Theodosius is shown as emperor on the obverse with his father and mother on the reverse.

In 602, the general Phocas lead a revolt against the imperial...

You know what that means!! Another installment of "Faustina Friday"!!

This coin is neither new nor rare. Its reverse design appears unremarkable, even boring. It's one of those "just standing there" issues that would get a 1/5 on the @dougsmit scale.



But, as is often the case with ancient coins, there's more here than meets the eye.

The figure on the reverse has long been...

During the 8th and 9th emissions of Lugdunum under Probus the pietas reverse type was produced with two alternate spellings - PIETAS and PIAETAS. You will often see the PIAETAS coin sold as an error but it is more likely to be a spelling variation rather than an error. The PIAETAS spelling occurs over two issues and over multiple reverse dies and is generally as prolific as the PIETAS spelling variety.

I have been gathering some of these over many years and have just tracked down a new addition to my collection, which gives me all the excuse I need to frag out some of my coins and share....

Just for the sake of this thread I will combine the obverse legend varieties separated by dots..... which Bastien gives a separate id but RIC does not.

Emission 8

Obv:– IMP C PROBVS P F AVG , Radiate, cuirassed bust right
Rev:– PIETAS AVG, Pietas standing left by altar, holding patera and box of perfumes
Minted in Lugdunum (III in exe) Emission 8, Officina 3. Autumn to Late A.D. 281...

Revenues from the sales of the Pilgrim Tercentenary Commemorative Half Dollar were used to sponsor a celebration that marked the 300th anniversary of the founding of the settlement in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The coins were distributed through the National Shawmut Bank of Boston.

At the end of 1920, it seemed that the demand for the coin had not been exhausted. Given that the authorized number of pieces had not been struck, and additional mintage was struck in 1921. The sales were disappointing, and most of the 1921 dated pieces and some of the 1920 issue were returned to the mint and melted.

The obverse features William Bradford (1590 to 1657) who was the governor of the Plymouth Colony for all but five years between 1621 and 1657. He replaced the first governor, John Carver, who had died of influenza soon after the settlers landed in the late fall of 1620. He was a popular and effective leader who led the group though some of its most trying...

PAMPHYLIA, Aspendos
AR Stater, Aspendos mint, struck ca. 380-325 BC
Dia.: 22.1 mm
Wt.: 10.62 g
Obv.: Two wrestlers; the left one holds the left arm of his opponent with both hands, the opponent grasping with right hand his right wrist; no control in between legs.
Rev.: Slinger, wearing short chiton, discharging sling to right; Π in between legs; on right, triskeles to right, EΣTFEΔIIVΣ behind, all within incuse square; c/m: wolf running left in rectangular incuse.
Ref.: BMC 52; SNG Copenhagen 214; Tekin Series 4
Ex Harlan J. Berk; Ex Minotaur Coins


Aspendos
Apsendos was an ancient city located on the west side of the Eurymedon River in Pamphylia (modern southwestern Turkey). It was an important economic center in antiquity but played a much more modest role in political history.

As a Tekin Series 4 stater this coin is dated within a range of 380-325 BC...

Now when we use Roman numerals we write 9 with "IX". That uses a subtraction principle that is not frequently used on ancient Roman coins. Romans usually (not always) wrote 9 with addition "VIIII." The Greek numeral for 9 is theta, Θ. When the Romans used Greek numerals (they did, quite a bit) Θ was often avoided because it was regarded as bad luck, being the first letter of Thanatos, a word and letter used for "death" or "deceased" on military roles. When an late Roman issue had officina numbers in Greek with 9 or more officina, they usually wrote the officina number 9 with "ЄΔ" (5+4 = 9) and not with "Θ".



Diocletian, 284-305,
CONCORDIA MILITVM
emperor standing right, holding short scepter in left, receiving victory on globe from Hercules left, holding vertical long scepter in left with bow (hanging from his shoulder?)
ЄΔ, for 9, low in the middle field
•XXI
IMP C C VAL DIOCLETIANVS AVG
RIC V.II Diocletian 322 Antioch, p. 256...

In recent years one of my favorite collecting interests has been collecting notes from the states and cities that I've lived in previously. As such, growing up in a military family, I've never had the chance to set down long-term roots due to frequent moves before my father's retirement. Of the places I've lived at in the past, Pensacola was arguably one of my favorites due to my involvement with the Boy Scouts of America and the rekindling of my interest in numismatics that occurred while living there. Now recently, an opportunity presented itself courtesy of eBay that I couldn't pass up in the form of a National Bank Note from one of Pensacola's now-defunct banks. I couldn't be happier despite spending slightly more than I had planned originally.

Here is the note in question. These are the Seller's images:

Face:

Head of Hugh McCulloch, Comptroller of the Currency from 1863-1865; Secretary of the Treasury from 1865-1869 and 1884-1885....