My answer to displaying coins

I'm pretty sure it's a coin of the Chola dynasty from southern India, probably Rajaraja Chola (985-1015, though coins with his name were issued later too).

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

It's a Chola "octopus" man coin from Sri Lanka! my pic here is actually a tad to dark...

 

what @Severus Alexander said! I thought this coin was only from Sri Lanka, but he is right, he was in Southern India as well. I'm not sure where mine was minted?

 

They are also known as 'monkey man' coins.

 

I'm so looking for a wooden case with nice velvet and pits for my capsules. Not a fan of slabs at all.. I only have 1 such maple box with a small key but it only has 4 trays and 12 pits each. Not enough to really put in the rest of my stuff..

 

I've shown this before, but it's been a while. The case was made by Meadows Display cases, Oakwood, TX (800)362-9773, and was a gift from one of my sons

 

Three ring binders for me with the PVC pages designed to hold those PVC coin folders and the little white cards you insert behind the fold with the attribution information. That way I can flip through quickly and find the coin I am looking for. I've organized them chronologically from Augustus to Romulus Augustulus - oops I don't have that Romulus Augustulus solidus yet!

I have another binder for Byzantine coins starting with Anastasius and ending with some of those trachy types. I've got about 400 coins which I don't display because they are very worn, uncleaned, or just too crusty to deal with. Every so often I go through the pile and find something interesting, though.

What's amazing is the lack of interest exhibited by others around me when I take out the binders. You'll get a "oh, that's nice" but that's about it. For me there is something almost magical about holding an 1800 year old piece of metal that passed through many hands, soldiers, merchants, widows, children and more. It's living history. Oh well, at least I can enjoy them.

 

Thanks to all who provided background on the "monkey man" coin!

 

Great way to display the 12 Caesars!

 

Ancient Coin Hunter - Agree that coins are a way to "interact" with history. For some, they spark curiosity and interest.

 

I think so, but, no one seems interested when they see it. I get to look at each coin every day. Sometimes I have to wonder what others find interesting.