Coin Talk

I had mentioned before that I was interested in FEs, and this monthly coin show was my first stop. I first went to a dealer that I have a relationship with, but I knew he likely didn't have the coin since he has a small inventory and seems to be leaning more to selling supplies. Anyway he didn't have it but pointed out two other dealers he said might have one. One didn't have one and the other was busy. While I waited for the one to get freed up, I wandered around and came across this quarter in a half-price bin.



I thought it was a nice off-centered strike, but even though it was going for half the $25 it was marked, I wanted to wait until I knew how much the FE would cost. So when the dealer was free, I asked what he had. He brought out about 15 FE coins from behind the counter and told me to look through them. Out of those, this one was the best as far as having better defined feathers....

I bought the hand wrought coin silver ashtray pictured below in Santa Barbara, CA in 1971 along with 6 sycee ingots for the melt value of silver . The ashtray was probably made in the 1920s, is 3.875 in. in diameter, & weighs 76.5 gm. It has a one yuan (silver dollar) coin dated 1914, & pictures Yuan Shikai, 1st president of the Republic of China. The reverse has the stamped hallmarks of the silversmith to the left of the coins denomination. Collectors affectionately call these "Fat Man Dollars."
When the Qing Dynasty was overthrown on February 12, 1912, two factions fought for control of the new republic, the Kuomintang (KMT) lead by Sun Yat-sen, & the Nanjing Provisional Senate lead by Yuan Shikai. Yuan managed to gain control & conducted a rigged election making himself 1st president of the republic. Yuan cracked down on the KMT & forced Sun Yat-sen to flee to Japan. Yuan turned out to be the wrong man for the job . He was well known among the public for his...

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

Today I would like to present Atargatis:

1st Coin:
Syria, Cyrrhestica, Hierapolis, Caracalla, AD 198-217
AE 27, 12.8mm, 26.97mm, 135°
Obv.: [AVTOKPATΩP KA]I MAPKOC AVPH ANTΩNINOC CE
Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r.
Rev.: ΘEAC CVPIAC - IEPOΠOΛITΩN
Atargatis, in long garment, std. l. on throne with high back, r. foot set on
footstool, holding with l. hand tympanon on her l. knee, resting with r. arm on
arm of throne; before and behind the throne a lion std. r. with wide open mouth.
Ref.: Butcher, Coinage in Roman Syria, p.451, no.53, pl.27 (same obv. die)
rare, about VF, dark green glossy patina, nice rev., highlighted by sand patina
I was particularly taken with the opened throat of the rear lion!


2nd Coin:
Syria Cyrrhestica, Hierapolis, Severus Alexander, AD 222-235
AE 28, 18.3g, 0°
Obv.: AVT KAI MAP A[VP CE AΛEZANDPOC]
Bust, draped and cuirassed, radiate, r.
Rev.: [ΘEAC CVPIAC IEPAΠO]ΛI / TΩN...

Ok, I’m a complete novice at macro photography of coins, so please be kind (well, you don’t have to – I’m a big boy – I can handle it!)! Up to now, my only coin pics have been either from my cell phone (hand-held) or my point-and-shoot (w/ tripod). Not conducive for really good pics, for sure!

I don’t need to be a professional, but I want to learn to take pretty good pics of my collection. My camera is not the best (Pentax K100D), but it’ll have to do for now. I just bought a new macro lens (Phoenix 100mm F3.5 – didn’t want to spend a ton, since I may end up getting a new camera at some point in the next year or so), as my zoom lenses were not doing the trick at all. I have a copy stand and 2 goose neck lamps, which I set at about 10:00 and 2:00 to the coin. Put the camera on macro mode, with manual focus, and a 2-second delay, auto white balance (could probably do custom white balancing). No other settings, yet. Not sure if I can hook the Pentax K100D up to my laptop with...

Part of the fun I get with collecting ancient and medieval coinage is attempting to clean encrusted coins, or restore damaged coins. There is a certain learning curve to this, and deciding whether or not a coin actually improves from it beforehand is difficult and, in my opinion, also differs per individual.

This project was something I never tried before: unbending a hammered medieval silver coin. This coin has been posted at CoinTalk before (https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-fun-lot-of-silver-roman-and-medieval-coinage.343992/). In my opinion, the coin has three issues:

1. It's bent quite badly
2. There is a deep scratch, probably caused by digging the coin (and thus causing problem 1)
3. The patina is uneven and 'spotty'

So, first a detail image of problem 1:


A high-definition image of the obv/rev (note the deep scratch and the uneven patina)...

At the beginning of October, I bid on and won a Titus As with SPES reverse. Though it's rough/gone-through-many-hands, it has a simple beauty about it... The flower, the gentle holding of hem.

Titus as Caesar, AE As
Struck by Vespasian in 77-78 AD, Lugdunum Mint
Obverse: T CAES IMP AVG F TR P COS VI CENSOR, Head of Titus, laureate, right; globe at point of neck.
Reverse: Spes standing, left holding flower in right and raising skirt with left (anepigraphic), S-C across field.
References: RIC II (Vespasian) 1273
Size: 28mm, 8.7g

Since then, I've seen a few other coins come up (or now I've just noticed them more), I've bid on most, and won some. I guess this deity reverse type is becoming a collecting sub-group in now into.

The same time I got that Nero I cleaned, I also got this worn Aelius with - you guessed it - Spes reverse.

Aelius as Caesar, AE As
Struck by Hadrian in 137 AD, Rome...

Took the day off today and went out and bought "$1000" (which turned out to be $900...but that's another story) in CWR all bagged up and ready to deliver to Loomis today. Came home and pulled out another American Memorial "W" quarter and then this came out.
I did a quick google search and found @dcarr 's moonlight mint website and saw that he designed it and it was minted by National Collector's Mint. To make it even cooler, it is the 0.999 Silver version!
I love Daniel Carr's designs but unfortunately they are out of my price range. Glad I was able to find an affordable example for 25 cents

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

One of the most famous events in ancient mythology was the discovery of the love couple Ares and Aphrodite by Hephaistos.

The Coin:
Pontos, Amaseia, Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180
AE 34, 19.6g, 33.6mm, 165°
struck AD 163/4 (year 165 of the era of Amaseia)
Obv.: AVT KAIC M AVP A - NTΩNINOC CEB
Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r.
Rev.: AΔP AMAC NEΩWK.K.MHT K.ΠRΩ ΠON / ET PZE (year 165)
Left, Ares in armour, stg. frontal, head r., holding spear in right hand, left hand resting on shield; right, Aphrodite, nude, stg. l., covering with r. hand her breasts and with l. hand her private parts.
Ref.: SNG von Aulock 22; Rec. Gen. 18a; Imhoof-Blumer G.M. 560, 3
rare, F+

Note:
Expansion of the revers legend: AΔPIANAC AMACIAC NEΩKOPΩN KAI MHTPOΠOΛEΩC KAI ΠPΩTHC TOV ΠONTOV =
(issued by the people) of Adriana Amasia (the city) of the Neokoros and the Metropolis and the First of Pontos

Mythology:
Ares...

Minted in 1930 to commemorate the 1000-year anniversary of the Althing this is one of the more stunning coins ever made (in my humble opinion). I find it hard to fathom a 1000-year anniversary of anything. This coin was minted at the Saxon State Mint in Germany at the request of the Icelandic Parliament, the Althing, to commemorate their anniversary. It is one of the oldest parliamentary institutions in the world and a forerunner of the Western Democracy style of governing.

The obverse of the coin is a magnificent relief of the King of Thule on his throne, with his hands on the heads of kneeling children; it bears the initials EJ, for designer Einar Jonsson.




The reverse is the Icelandic coat of arms with a sailing ship, shield, and crown surrounded by four mythic creatures. It bears the initials B.B. for designer Baldvin Björnsson.



There was a total mintage of 10,001 pieces. This piece is 45mm in diameter and about...

( This post is expanded & reposted [by request] from last year's Imperator tournament... hopefully enough time has passed that it will seem fresh again! Plus I'd really like some feedback on the theory...)

Here is one of the most famous and most enigmatic issues in ancient coinage:


Julius Caesar, denarius 49-48 BCE, military mint traveling with Caesar
Obv: Pontifical implements (simpulum, aspergillum, securis, and apex)
Rev: Elephant advancing right, trampling on serpent, CAESAR in exergue
References: Cr 443/1; Sydenham 1006; RSC 49

Note: Most dealers have obverse and reverse the other way around, but since exergues are otherwise exclusive to the reverse on Republican silver, I have gone with the minority opinion. BTW, it's not a fourrée. The dark stuff in the edge crack at the top is dirt, not base metal.

First, some historical context for this coin, which I think of as a numismatic Darth...