This is a long post - sorry, maybe just disregard..newbies may enjoy... ----------------------- In January ..a couple of weeks from now... I will be coming up to my 1st anniversary of collecting ancient coins. This has been a surreal journey. From reading posts many seem to have always been "collectors" all of their lives - from bottle caps, sports cards to milk bottles, to whatever... and this seems to be their next obsession. Very odd to me but kind of cool at the same time. I have never collected anything... and I certainly don't want to upset those of us who do... just wasn't my thing. History was my thing. But not a serious thing (I have 2 teenage kids!)... just always read books on ancient history (historical fiction a bit but mostly hard history.. 30 years of this but certainly no expert). When I stumbled (and I mean just weirdly found) a link to uncleaned Romans I took a chance.. and WOW. Then you look at your "cleaned" coins.. so awesome.. learn to identify - rejoice in the ones that have legends, learn about mint marks.. awesome! Then I found this site .... a friendly site with passion for these items.. it is truly amazing. Thank you! What I like most of all is the AMAZING examples displayed but also the encouragement to members who don't have expensive coins.. I look back at my year and I could have purchased less and gained more quality in my collection - there is certainly no doubt about that. That may have been the way to go...(perhaps in the future) But history is my passion and the chance of holding the coins in my hand from those historical figures was something I never dreamed was possible - the reality has been surreal . As I entered into this hobby I had no idea what type of collector I was ..and I still don't to be honest... but I thank members like @Alegandron, @Orielensis, @Justin Lee and many others (I am missing so many - sorry) who seem to have a passion beyond the next "perfect strike" or the next exclusive counter strike... they inspire me... their coins are much better than mine but just having a coin depicting a historically important ruler or from a region that is interesting to the owner in some way seems more important to me than the provenance or owning a plate coin. Anyway - I thank all of you. (and yes - show me your 12 Caesars set or weird counter strike - I love it and will drool.... but just not the reason I collect and not obtainable for me). I better add some coins..... from a historical figure or two...
Oh yes, @Clavdivs! I am also one who enjoys tidying up coins that are uncleaned. For me it is a way to learn and also build a modest collection. Here are a few photographs of coins that I cleaned and some of the tools I used. I keep dreaming about finishing an article I started about my process or even making a little video showing how I go about it. But, alas, real life, rent and other things keep calling my attention away... Thanks to @Victor_Clark for his generous contribution toward my effort to experiment with coin cleaning. Those identified as VC were donated to me by him.
That debate between quality over quantity is one every collector has to answer for him/herself. I am trending, as the years go by, for quantity over quality (many if not most collectors go in the other direction). My first foray into ancients 30 years ago was before the Internet, therefore I was reliant on dealer catalogues, which tended to feature higher-end and much more expensive stuff. With the same money I can go much wider, geographically and temporally. All the coins posted here so far are just fine, I think. I'd be happy to have them in my collection. And as Clavdivs mentions, there is just something about the connection between antiquity and myself that is just marvelous. I wish I had LaCointessa's patience, skill, and self-motivation to actually clean lots - I don't - but it is always a delight to see the hard work of others in action. The post gives me an excuse to post some recent acquisitions - first, to honor the original post's creator, Clavdivs - from a big lot of eBay junky stuff, this Claudius II antoninianus that has a very under-sized flan and a terribly off-center reverse, but also features the best portrait of Claudius II in my little collection - it shows, I think, the look of steely command that I'd imagine the real emperor had (or at least wished he had). A tiny masterpiece that cost me $0.64 and may not be worth even that numismatically, but just thrills me. (Note the XII in the field - said to be a "mint mark" from what I found online (OCRE), but I wonder if it was yet another attempt to assign value to the crumby little coins of that era. Perhaps someone out there knows?) Claudius II Æ Antoninianus (268-270 A.D.) Rome Mint [IMP CLAVDIUS] AVG, radiate head right / [PROVID]ENT AV[G], Providentia standing front, leaning on column, holding wand and cornucopiae. XII in right field. RIC V-1 92 rad.; Cohen 233. (2.90 grams / 15 mm) Almost a 1000 years later, another from this same batch is a first for me, a Byzantine trachy. As I'd never handled one personally, I was thrilled by how large and lovely it was (it has a pleasantly greasy-silver cast to it, from being made from billon I'm guessing). A coin featuring the Virgin Mary just before Christmas was appropriate too: Manuel I Bil. Aspron Trachy (1143-1180 A.D.) Constantinople Mint MP - ΘV to left & right of Mary, seated facing on throne back, holding head of Christ / / [ΜAΝϪΗ]Λ [Δ]ЄCΠΟ[ΤΗ] Manuel standing facing, holding labarum and cross on globe Sear 1964. (4.95 grams / 26 mm)
Thank you for your kind comments @Clavdivs . I have really enjoyed your posts over the last year, as you seem to approach the hobby like I do. I appreciate that many people enjoy coins for their numismatic reasons. I just enjoy taking a different tack in the hobby. Like you, I appreciate the Historical perspective. Humans created coins to facilitate their need for trade. And, they used those coins as tools to advertise, communicate, make a statement, etc. They become a record that are placemarkers in time. Sometimes, times were "boring" with nothing going on except peace and prosperity. Sometimes there were turbulent times with the coins recording those good or bad events. To me, it is fun to capture any of those historical events. I found that there were some amazing Human events with the emerging Egyptians, however Humans had not invented coinage yet. I discovered that Scarabs, which were used in everyday lives as jewelry, were similar placemarkers in History. I chose to capture some of the Royal Scarabs that recorded their Pharaohs and Royal families. Enjoy your Hobby! I am honored that you called me out... I hope we can reverberate off each others' collections, and inspire ourselves to chase our passions of History! India- Shakya Janapada AR 5-Shana 6th-5th C BCE Buddha Ref-Hiramo-I-8-29 RARE 19 known Akkadian 2350-2200 BCE Cylinder Seal Buff stone scene hero wresting antelope winged lion Ex J Tabot collection Egypt 21st Dynasty Scarab 16x11mm Pharoah Neterkheperre 986-967 BCE ex DeVries collection George Fraser pg 41 #329 Plate XII Good Luck! Brian
Like you, I oogle and awe over some (well, mostly all) of the beautiful coins posted in the forum, but many are unattainable for me right now (I long for the day they might be within reach). I find that I'm an opportunistic collector... Yes, I have my areas of focus but I'm always on the look out for the new and interesting and try to snatch up coins when they present themselves. And they are usually rather mediocre condition... I've only spent more than $100 on 1 coin and that was in AMCC. I love seeing the crisp strikes in FDC, but there's something about, like it's has a personality (I like the metaphor relating "used" ancient coins as foster kids who need a nice loving home). Do we find coins? Or do coins find us? I also like the hands on effort of cleaning coins... Especially after sitting at a computer all day, it's cathartic and rather soothing (I get in a flow state). I've cut my teeth on small LRBs, but lately have been lucky enough to have come cross some great deals on earlier AEs that need some love and attention to help them come into themselves, show their true self (can a coin self-actualize?). It's been fun learning all that I can! I also love to see coins you post, your journey and progress on your projects, and your stories and history you share. Both your kind words above and your presence is appreciated, @Clavdivs!!! Oh, and to keep it legal, here's a coin I haven't posted yet. Ephesos, Ionia. 202-133 BC. AE Drachm, Arkas magistrate. Obverse: Bee within wreath, E - Φ across fields. Reverse: Stag standing right before palm tree; monogram before, APKAΣ below. Reference: BMC 135 Size: 19mm, 3.59g
I really enjoy this post - collecting as a sort of organic process. I went through some photos of 2018 purchases and thought maybe this would be a good place to share a few of my favorites - favorites for appearance (which in my case has nothing to do with condition). Horses! A Macedonia Phillip II and one from Carthage. Common, scruffy, but nobody did horses quite the way Greek artists did: Colors! Here are two very common Byzantine Folli of Justin II & Sophia. Both turned colors over the centuries that give them their own unique appeal: Art for art's sake. Here are 2 of my favorites - a Severus Alexander Provincial showing a really nice Marsyas, and an Egyptian tetradrachm of Gallienus with a Nike that I find really exciting - the kinetic captured in stasis (huh? I'm no art historian - but looking at this I want to be). The Imperial Mug. Here is an Antoninus Pius and a Tacitus - run of the mill coins with the kind of portraits that make collecting Roman coins so exciting to me.
Thank you for the kind words! I feel similar, and am always glad when you or others show coins with visible traces of historical use and wear. There are some coins in my collection which I cherish exactly because they have fascinating imperfections, and it's good to be able to discuss those with like-minded collectors here on CT. Here is an example: This coin won't appeal to grade collectors: just a common Antoninus Pius denarius with a heavily damaged portrait. Yet, the damage looks intentional and the wear around it as well as the surface of the coin suggest that it happened in antiquity. Someone scratched out the emperor’s face. Last year, I’ve been to an exhibition at the British Museum titled “Defacing the Past”. It focused on the Roman politics of erasing faces and titles, especially after a damnatio memoriae (which never happened to Antoninus Pius). On exhibit were, among other items, Roman coins which had been altered or damaged as a means of political protest, and, speculating a bit, maybe this is what happened here? What might have motivated a person some 1800 years ago to deface this denarius? Was it a legionary's overdue pay, a grain-shortage, or a provincial's indignation against Roman rule? Or are we just looking at the random result of someone being bored and playing around with a knife and a coin? We'll probably never know, but the fact that it raises such questions makes this damaged denarius, at least in my eyes, more interesting than a perfectly preserved specimen.
@Marsyas Mike Doug Smith has a page on the subject of the XXI / KA here (edit: which reading your note more carefully has nothing to do with your officina XII) https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/feac73xxi.html
Thanks for that link Sulla80. As with all of Doug's webpages, it was very informative. But there's no Claudius II in Doug's examples - and Doug's are XXI (21), rather than XII (12). All these XII were slightly later (Aurelian onward). The Claudius II "XII" only shows up on three examples in Wildwinds, which leads me to believe it wasn't as systematic as a full-fledged mark of value or silver content - unless it was a limited experiment of some sort. It could be for the officina, as some sources suggest - but were there a full range of other numerals/letters for Claudian officina? I've only scratched the surface of the web on this topic, but I'm going to keep digging.
Sorry - misread the XII - can't help with suggestions other than the 12 officinae: A, B, Γ, Δ, E, S, Z, H, N, X, XI and XII. Have fun digging - will be curious if you turn up something else.
@Orielensis I love that Antonious Pius. I wonder if ours are from the same time-frame. Possibly brothers-in-minting. That is why I love coins that are a little "rougher around the edges". I love thinking of all of the hands it could have passed through. What these people, lost to history, were like. What did they buy with this coin that is now in my hands, almost 2,000 years later? Amazing thoughts.
Actually it's helpful to know there are 12 officinae with the list you provided. At least XII is in the list. I am really pretty new at this later-Empire mint organization topic.
I love imperfect coins of historical interest, and they make up a big chunk of my collection. Here is one of my favorites, a Republican denarius of Q. Minucius Thermus which has been pierced for some sort of mounting. You can see some remnants of the base metal mount around one obverse side of the hole. I believe it might have been worn as an amulet of some sort, and like to imagine it belonged to a soldier, since Mars is depicted on the obverse.
from RIC- " Rome. The mint continued to operate throughout both reigns in twelve officinae, using the Greek series to N, and the numerals X, XI, and XII, either in field or exergue."
It hurts me that I was unable to express myself clearly enough that someone thought my discussion of the XXI/KA metal alloy marks for Aurelian and later had anything to do with officinae under Claudius II. I simply do not know what can be done here. We try to explain the markings on our coins but we have to understand that a certain letter on one coin may not carry the same meaning on another coin issued at another time or place. The fact that XXI means something on one coin certainly can not be taken to define XII somewhere else.
Sorry @dougsmit - no need for you to take the blame for my poor reading skills . As a beneficiary of your excellent and interesting articles, I should have been slower to post.
