Twelve Caesars Set Version 1.0

Otho might be the most surprised. It looks like he no longer needs a wig.

 

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Every EVERY time I encounter the name OTHO, I harken back to my gardening days... (sorry Pishpash, maridvnvm, et. al... this is an American brand...may not be on your shelves...)

Even the sub-brand Bug-Geta is reminiscent of a Latin name! And SteveX... I don't think there has been a SNAIL or SLUG on a coin??? Animals...

 

Ummm, does the conch-shellfish count as a snail? (I've seen one or two of those babies, but yah, not too many banana-slugs on ancient coins, eh?)

 

Now you are getting me hungry...

 

=> well, they do make fantastic bread!

 

Oh but there are... time to add this to your animal list, SteveO!

(from CNG's archives)

SICILY, Akragas. Circa 420. Tetradrachm (Silver, 17.01 g 3). ΑΚΡΑΓΑΝΤΙΝΟΝ Eagle with spread wings to left, perched on dead hare lying on a rock and tearing at it with its beak; on rock, cockle shell and murex Rev. Crab; to left, cockle shell; to right, sea snail; below, a large fish with open jaws, probably a Mero. Basel 257. Gulbenkian 163-164. Kraay/Hirmer 174. Rizzo pl. I, 16. Seltman pl. I, 1. Extremely rare. Slightly porous surfaces, otherwise, good very fine.

"Beginning with this issue in circa 420, the mint of Akragas embarked on an ambitious series of artistically important coins, which continued until the sack of the city by the Carthaginians in 406. The eagles become ever more naturalistic and the traditional crab initially shares the reverse with another type, as with this large grouper or the famous Skylla, but is then relegated to being a mere symbol near a rushing quadriga. This first type must have been both quite popular and issued in small numbers since most surviving specimens are not only rare but often very worn: the present piece is well above average and is most desirable. The late Silvia Hurter, a great expert on Sicilian Greek coins (among other things) always enjoyed this coin: she used to tell me that the selection of sea creatures on the reverse reminded her of a wonderful fish soup she had on one of her visits to the area!"

 

Nice TIF, I'm jealous of that sweet seafood Akragas ($378 Canadian dollars) ... maybe one day? ("after August vacation")

 

The hammer price is a typo. The estimate was 50,000 CHF. You'd better hope for a dramatic improvement of your exchange rate .

(It is not my coin; I just pasted it from CNG's archives.)

 

=> $67,500!!!

... that's almost as much as my entire collection!! (that coin sucks for that amount!!)

Oh, and I can't even tell where the snail is?? (below the big fish? ... it says to the right, but I don't see it)

Wow, the price-tags rise pretty exponentially, eh? (again, I feel far more comfy sitting in the $100-$700 range than the $10,000-$70,000 range for a coin!! ... a coin!!)

 

Thanks for trying to bring it back to coins, TIF. From Twelve Caesars to otter keychains, slug-killer and banana slugs? I was wondering where this thread was going...

Apart from the coin itself and the CHF280 hammer price, I really liked the cataloguer's (Alan Walker?) tangential reminiscing note on Silvia Hurter and her fish soup. I reckon he would probably enjoy himself here on CoinTalk.

 

Hey, new endless thread possibility? Someone posts a coin, the next person posts something related in the most tangential way possible, explaining the oblique connection,... etc.

 

I am a big fan of CHOP LOGIC.

 

I really like your 12 Caesar set, Zumbly! I have not collected ancients in many years, but I always wanted a 12 Caesar set, too. After seeing yours, I may just have to start looking for one now. By the way, your Otho denarius looks like an expensive coin.

 

Thanks! If you were to start collecting ancients again, you can be sure everyone here will look forward to seeing your new acquisitions .

Otho would seem to be the main stumbling block for those making a Twelve Caesars set. Mine came by way of a lot, along with 6 of the other coins you see in the group. The rest were earlier purchases. The Julius Caesar was by far the costliest... almost twice the other 11 combined.

 

Great idea! I don't think we want for the ability to make tangential oblique associations here. I see the thread just going on, and on, and on... until the mods shut it down .

 

A highly prized and sought-after coin -- a portrait denarius of Julius Caesar minted just a few months before his assassination.

Holding it in your hand makes you feel attached to one of the most significant events in history. In whose possession was it when Caesar was assassinated? What was being purchased with it?

 

Well said! Many of these don't look like much, but it truly is one of those coins that can give you the shivers when you hold it.

 

I recently saw a few Julius Caesar coins in Heritage as dictator. Are these coins more common? (Pardon my question if it doesn't make sense, still learning about ancient Roman coins and the 12 Caesars set)

 

Julius Caesar was dictator from 49-44 BC and struck a variety of types during this period. Many were struck in vast quantities and are quite common. These include the issues that bear his portrait and his title of Dictator in Perpetuity (DICT PERPETVO).

Even though they are not outright rare, Julius Caesar portrait denarii tend to be the most desired type and hence the priciest. Some of them were struck only a couple of months before his death, and broke Roman taboo by showing his living portrait on a coin (an honour typically reserved for gods or revered ancestors), a fact which may have contributed to his assassination.

 

I'm always a bit curious why Julius Caesar is considered anymore awesome than any of the previous Greek rulers and/or any of the following Roman rulers and/or Byzantine rulers, etc ... and/or JFK ... ummm, or Trudeau ... or David Letterman



... ummm, but I'm pretty sure that a couple of you will tell me why ...



... *self-edit* ...