Rediscovery

Well this coin looked a lot better when the photo is crappy...the cheek scratches are very hard to see in hand, but detract from the coin in this photo, yet it is an honest photo...

Africa
Kyrencia, Kyrene
AR Didrachm (Stater/Nomos)
s. 308-277 BC
19.4 mm x 7.62 grams
Obverse: Karneios, horned head right.
Reverse: Extinct Silphium plant, KY-PA in fields.
Ref: SGCV 6319, BMC 52
Note: Rare, Nicely centered, VF


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Very nice image Anoob. The camera catches it all.

 

Are the cheek scratches from cleaning, and that is acceptable for ancients? (Learning Mode)

 

Its possible. I totally cool with it, others may not be. At arms length you could not see scratches.

The question are YOU ok with owning this coin with these faint scratches on it?

 

You could have this one for a small sum...

http://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/bar...ica_ar_didrachm_300277_bc/548621/Default.aspx

Here is a cheapo!

http://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/anc..._ar_nomos__silphium_plant/432648/Default.aspx

 

I am TRYING to stay focused on RR, but kind folks keep me drifting into other areas...

 

Scratches? Really? These are coins that have been buried or whatever for God only knows how long. It's pretty hard to find a proof set of these. Yes, the scratches may have happened with the cleaning and that should be avoided if possible. But I have tried to clean some Roman coins that it nearly takes a stick of dynamite to get the crude off. That is a beautiful coin just the way it sets.

 

Bing, if you are asking me, I was trying to validate what I understood: scratches are perfectly acceptable, and that CLEANING scratches are perfectly acceptable cuz they may be THOUSANDS of years old...

I've given up on the modern collecting...too many needs for perfection on a product that is DESIGNED to be circulated!

 

Yes, hand it over. Very nice pic/coin overall AN. "Bingle" hurry up and reshoot some more coins?

 

No, sorry Alegandron. I know you know. I didn't mean it to sound so harsh. I just love most of Anoob's "Western" collection.

 

Agreed on the Western Collection... and SOME of the Eastern collection is VERY intriguing...

 

Agreed, the nations of the Western world produced SOME neat coins...

The East has SOME intriguing coins for sure the rest are off the wall...

 

=> Ummm Noob, it does look a bit like two dudes (I think you may have purchased the slightly more rare, yet less desirable Double-Satyr version?)

 

Been waiting for your comment little brother.

 

I was seeing who else would pick up on that!!!

 

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SEVERINA
Antoninianus
OBVERSE: SEVERINA AVG, diademed, draped bust right on crescent
REVERSE: PROVIDEN DEOR, Fides with standard and Sol with globe standing facing each other, VXXT in ex.
Struck at Ticinum, 275 AD
3.6g, 22mm
RIC 9

 

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VABALATHUS
Antoninianus
OBVERSE: VABALATHVS VCRIM DR, laureate, draped bust of Vabalathus right
REVERSE: IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust of Aurelian right. Officina letter Epsilon below
Struck at Antioch., 271-2 AD
3.6g, 20mm
RIC 381, Epsilon

 

This thread reveals the conflict of good and evil. It was evil that took away Bing's photos but out of the ashes rose not only his better images but those of others here that were inspired to reimage. I am working on a web page on the philosophical concept of beauty through the acceptance of what seems to be imperfection (Wabi Sabi). Where does patina stop and corrosion begin? Is my hair gray or platinum blonde? It is all in the way we look at things. Those few with unlimited funds compete for the fewnperfect ancients but my favorite coins are not all my highest grade ones. They are, like me, a bit raggedy. I do not go as far as some here in terms of accepting poor condition coins that are easily found better but I cherish many that have weathered their 2000 years no more gracefully than I have my 69.

I must add, however, that accepting a less than perfect coin does not mean paying an exorbitant price to have it. Dealers who want us to pay extra for ugliness may have a long wait.

 

May I offer a couple photo concepts:
Light falls off in intensity by the square of the inverse of the distance. That means if one edge of the coin is one inch farther from the light it will be dimmer than the near edge by that ratio. If the light is placed a few inches away, this difference can be a real problem. If the light is several feet away, it is less so. If the light is 93,000 miles away we call it natural daylight. Consider this when shooting.

Light from a low angle grazing across the surface of the coin emphasizes texture and leaves shadows behind raised parts of the design. Light from a high angle tends to reflect back into the lens as glare. Light from a large, diffuse source tends to soften the contrast between too light and too dark areas of the image. These facts conflict and need to be balanced with each other avoiding extremes in any direction. Chances are good that you will over correct when you see photos ruined by any of these opposing forces. Sometimes tilting a coin one degree will make a big change in what we see and photograph. That is why photos of coins held in hand are so popular. We tilt to get the best look easily in hand but most of us just plop coins down and shoot them as they lay on our backgrounds.