Coin Talk

I recently added 2 new tetradrachms from Alexandria...I've just started getting into these this year after seeing so many posted here, and I really like these two new additions.

The first coin is of Commodus from the Dattari Collection, and it has a very interesting reverse.


Commodus, Alexandria, BI Tetradrachm,(24.2mm., 10.19g), circa 183-185 (RY 24 of Marcus Aurelius), Laureate head of Commodus, right/ Rev. Commodus, in priestly attire, standing left before bust of Serapis set on low cippus, sacrificing and dropping incense over lighted altar, L-K-Δ. RPC Online 16005, Dattari-Savio Pl. 207, 9553 (this coin)
From the Dattari Collection

I especially like the image of Commodus making a sacrifice to Serapis. It's interesting to see Commodus worshipping anyone other than, uh, himself. For political reasons, he may have been trying to show off that he was down with the trendy Eastern gods, and that he had their protection. I was also very...

Cappadocia, an ancient region that lies in the central heartland of Asia Minor, a plateau of atleast 1000m high, pierced by volcanic peaks, with Mount Argaeus being the tallest.



The Kingdom of Cappadocia was ruled by a prosperous family, the House of Ariarathes. The Kingdom however, was mostly under subject of two empires, first the Seleukid Empire until 250 BC when Ariarathes III (c. 255-220 BC) proclaimed himself king and afterwards it had been under the influence of the kings of Pontos since the reign of Ariarates VI (c. 130-116 BC).



However, his successor, Ariarathes VII (c. 116-100 BC) soon came to resent the intervention of Mithridates VI of Pontos in the affairs of the kingdom and prepared for war.


Ariarathes VII Philometor (c. 116-100 BC)

In c. 100 BC, the Cappadocian...

Canada
The Royal Canadian Mint for investment grade bullion. High security and standard designs. Excellent for full ounce gold and full ounce silver.

Australia
I have also grown to like the Perth mint for its variety: Lots of WWII stuff and lots of animals. Two of my favorites. Gold WWII stuff in 1/10 oz size and the animal stuff (Kookaburras, Kangaroos, Koalas, Spiders, Crocodiles) in 1 ounce silver size. Perfect.

UK
I tried to like the Royal Mint. But even though the Queen's Beasts designs are excellent, I have no desire to get 2 ounce silver bullion pieces or 1/4 ounce gold pieces. And for collecting, I can't afford full gold ounce size. So that means I'm skipping the series. I would have gladly purchased 1/10 gold pieces and 1 ounce silver pieces.

US
US Mint: Sorry, I just don't care for the Eagles or Buffaloes. I do love the gold Mercury and the gold JFK, but these enter a little bit more into numismatic territory with their premiums.

Austrian: boring

China: they use...

I purchased a 18x micro lens to attach to my Samsung Galaxy S10 just to see how well the camera performs. I'm impressed. I've spent a couple of hours this afternoon playing with lighting and angles and think I have a good handle on it. However, I wanted to ask the opinion of my CT family before I decide to keep the lens.

Below are two images. The first one is the image I showed when I first purchased this coin. To me it lacks depth/color. My wife likes it best. The second image was taken using my cell phone and macro lens. It may not be perfect, but I like that it is not all washed out like the first. The coin is shiny like a new dime, but there is some slight coloration in the fields. My wife says it is just dirty while I say it is just toning.

I would most appreciate input from the CT members.

Since I have been posting comments about Franklin Pierce, I thought that you might be interested see a few of the campaign pieces for man most historians rate as the worst United States president in history, James Buchanan. Here is one of his more humous tokens when you consider him in the context of history. The slogan on the reverse reasons, “The crisis demands his election.”



Along came James Buchanan, the man who had the perfect resume. You might say that the reverse of this token was like the perfect job application.



Every claim here was true. Buchanan had served in Congress and the Senate, had been the Minister to Russia and Great Britian and had served as secretary of state. Few presidental condidates have had such an impressive list of positions held. The trouble was he was an empty suit. He had held the positions but had mote done much of note during his...

This coin had been misidentified by the auction firm as being RIC 59 from the Rome mint. It is properly attributed as RIC 75, from what was previously considered to be the Mediolanum mint. Sear (RIC 5, vol. III, p. 227) notes there is considerable uncertainty about not only the location of the mint traditionally attributed to Mediolanum, but its actual operation during Gallus' reign. He writes,


I don't believe the coins...

This is hardly a new topic and it has been addressed here before. The common consensus is that it was a denarius of Tiberius, the reigning emperor at the time of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, circa 28 AD. Many of these denarii are specifically marketed as "Tribute Pennies", the English term, penny, as the translation of the Latin denarius. It seems like common sense. Tiberius was Caesar at that time and his image was on the coin.

But there are some doubts that it was this coin. As a matter of fact that coin might not have been a denarius at all. The term used in the Synoptic Gospels is denarius (denarios in the original koine Greek versions) and the term drachma was also used in the parable of the woman who lost a coin labelled a drachma, so a distinction between denarius and drachma was understood by the authors of those three Gospels. They wrote denarius when they could have used drachma. But, some have argued that the use of denarius was not for the exact denomination but...

After writing the previous “family” article about rather deceptive struck counterfeit half cents based on the genuine 1804 “C-6” variety (at coinweek.com ) I felt it timely to document another member of the family, the counterfeit large cents based on the 1833 “N-5’s”.

Just a note, I consider this type of counterfeit an intermediate level of deceptive “types”, better than the lower level fakes from the ones I refer to as “Chinese Cartoon” types up to the multiple lower level “Ali” offerings.

These struck fakes are documented in several different denominations and varieties and are fairly accurate as compared to the source coins, but the counterfeiters use the same layout and change the date to create a series of fakes, resulting in impossible die combinations/ states. These take a higher level of knowledge to discern, with being savvy with the series and variety...

Recently there has been some talk about the Continental Dollar, which now appears not be a dollar at all, but a small medal that commemorated the end of the American Revolutionary War. I mentioned the Libertas Americana medal as a less expensive (but it’s not cheap) alternative to the Continental Dollar. Here is an example that I have owned for many years.




The Libertas Americana medal was Benjamin Franklin’s private project that commemorated the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the Revolutionary War. Since the medal was struck at the time and in the city where the treaty was signed it would have been a popular collectors’ item in any case. The piece gained added significance for coin collectors because it was the inspiration for the Liberty Cap design that appeared on some early United States cents and half-cents.

The obverse features a goddess of liberty, facing left. A Phrygian cap, symbolic of...