Coin Talk

While large coins like dekadrachms are unarguably impressive, I find extremely small coins to be equally intriguing, showing off the talent of the ancient engravers. They're somewhat under-appreciated in my eyes, dismissed unfairly because of their size, but with digital photography, they can easily become dinner-plate sized with a decent macro lens. This coin is now my smallest, and I have a few other small electrum coins which I'll be sharing here soon.





IONIA, Phokaia. Circa 625/0-522 BC. EL Myshemihekte – Twenty-fourth Stater (6mm, 0.66 g). Helmeted head right; [below, small seal right] / Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt Em. 15; Boston MFA –; SNG von Aulock 1787; Weber 5732. Near EF. Very rare denomination, only four listed by Bodenstedt.

A coastal city of considerable importance, Phokaia was...

Here's a coin I first spotted two years ago, but at the time, I didn't have the opportunity to acquire it. I was delighted to find it back on the market recently, and didn't waste any time snatching it up.

In my opinion it represents the best of a very rare type, minted only for a period of several months in 9 BC. Syllaeus was a powerful and crafty minister during the reign of Obodas II (30 - 9 BC), and sought to usurp the throne from its rightful heir, Aretas IV. However, owing to his treachery against Rome in a truly stupendous and colossal feat of misdirection, Syllaeus was executed before his ambitions could be realized.

(Strabo's account of the affair is a compelling read, and I plan to post it later in this thread, along with a map I'm currently composing that traces the misadventure.)

Upon the death of Obodas II, Syllaeus took possession of the treasury at Petra, and began minting a few coins of his own. His political position, however, put him rather between a rock and a...

As I reported in my January FUN show report, as a result of winning the Best in Show award for my Penny Potpourri exhibit at FUN, I received an all-expense paid trip to the ANA Summer Seminar. This was my third time attending the Summer Seminar and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about numismatics. It is a fantastic way to learn more about whatever subject you decide to take, and the best way to meet and get to know other like-minded numismatists. What a wonderful experience it is!

I was looking through the Heritage archives and stumbled on this piece of history that sold for nearly 3.8 million dollars in January of 2010.

I did a little research and dug up this interesting history and thought I would share it with people that might not know the color surrounding this legendary coin.

The 1913 Liberty Head Nickel is one of the most prized and valuable coins ever produced. Only 5 Proof specimens are known to exist. Facts are sketchy on the minting of the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel. It is believed that 5 specimens were struck at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia sometime between July of 1912 and February of 1913.

One theory says the coins were struck as advanced test pieces in July 1912. Another theory says an employee was there after-hours and struck 5 specimens before the dies were destroyed in preparation for the change to the Buffalo Nickel in February 1913. This second theory seems a bit more likely to me.

In either case, the coins...

So I have seen a few threads about Accented Hair Kennedy's but I ran accross a Variety Type. It is not an Accented Hair yet has the same Reverse as the AH one. What I think to be the case is the AH Obverse Die was taken out of service yet the Reverse Die was continued for a while longer. I think that ANACS is the only TPG that will slab as such.

I just bought two of them. The pictures suck but when I get them in hand I will post better ones.



Here is an example of what I mean, found here..

http://www.ipotad.com/pages/ah2.html

AH


Normal Type



I saw these and thought why not? I had not heard of them and they look kinda neat and did not break the bank..


So I started looking and NGC will not label them but they have them...see
here..

1964 Kennedy "Transitional Die" NGC PF67 STAR CAMEO PR...

A wise woman once said that every ancients collector needs a Nero. Actually, she just said it today in another thread, but anyway my point is that sometimes even one Nero isn't enough. In fact, I have several bronzes of Nero, but have always felt a nagging disatisfaction with all of them. I finally figured that what I needed was a Nero in silver, and so when this relatively affordable denarius showed up, I kind of jumped at it. Only time will tell if another Nero will be needed at a later date

It's fairly worn and scratched up, but the portrait is still quite nice and I prefer this denarius reverse over the other common (SALVS) one. It has an interesting historical background as well - it is believed that Nero had this issue struck in recognition of the efforts of Jupiter the Preserver (IVPPITER CVSTOS) in preventing the success of Gaius Calpurnius Piso's conspiracy to have him assassinated in 65 AD. Over 40 people were implicated in the conspiracy, and some...

Octavian was the son of Julius Caesar's niece and Caesar himself sponsored his introduction into public life when Octavian accompanied his uncle in his triumph over the Spanish in 46 BC. Only twenty years old at the time, Octavian was studying in Greece when he learned of Caesar’s assassination. Caesar had adopted him as his son posthumously and Octavian returned to Italy with a strong desire to avenge his murder.

He leveraged his association with Caesar to gain the confidence of the troops and the Senate eventually granted him a consulship. In 43 BC, he formed the Second Triumvirate with Marc Antony and Lepidus. They defeated Brutus and Cassius and divided the empire into areas of operational focus, with Octavian holding most of the West and Antony the East.

Antony grew progressively closer to Cleopatra while Octavian worked to restore Italy. In 33 BC, the Second Triumvirate ended, leaving...

When this project started, I never realized just how educational and ironic this would become. I have chosen to write about David Rittenhouse for my Security Engravers Presentation. David Rittenhouse should not only be remembered for his contributions as an engraver, but more importantly his contributions as a Scientist, Philosopher, Patriot, Surveyor, Astronomist, Clock Maker, Mathematician, and successful Businessman. In 64 years of life his contributions to astrology exceeded all others living in this area of study. Rittenhouse later put aside his most accomplished scientific work to give his full support to the American Revolution.

My introduction to David Rittenhouse started in the summer of 2009 while studying coins. The Rittenhouse name came up in passing as the first Director of the US Mint while looking for other information. It immediately caught my attention because I have a coworker whose last name is Rittenhouse. I did not read much at the time but...

I've bought several coins that carried the CAC green bean and gladly paid a slight premium because they appeared very nice for the grade. I was impressed enough that I began to seek CAC coins over others as long as the premium wasn't too great.

I had seen enough CAC coins that I began to have great confidence in the sticker. So much so that even with bad pics online I would buy one knowing my experience to be a positive one. Then I got cocky.

In one week I bought MS66+ CAC Walking Liberty Half and an MS65+ CAC CC Morgan. I "assumed" that being a plus grade coupled with a CAC would border on making a next grade which could carry significant premiums. I was excited for them to arrive because they were bought off photos.

When they both arrived and were in hand I must admit I was disappointed. Neither impressed me much and certainly didn't appear worthy of a + grade, much less a + with CAC. Then I did what I should have done before hand. I researched CAC.

I found that CAC...

The Bugs Bunny Franklin

Children and adults alike have laughed at that wascally wabbit, and numismatists too have a good time with the buck toothed carrot-eater – as an interesting variety on certain Franklin halves.

B. Max Mehl, the great promoter of coins, was in large part responsible for the popularity of the “Bugs Bunny” variety on the 1955. Other dates also display this interesting feature, but Mehl focused his talents on the 1955 – in large part because it is the most common. The Bugs Bunny variety is so named because it appears like Franklin has buck teeth, like a rabbit. I’ve also heard some people refer to this as the Vampire Franklin, for obvious reasons. This interesting variety is due to clashed dies, as we shall see shortly.


(My 1955 Bugs Bunny)

NGC does...