I've been trying to stay away from problem coins but I just couldn't resist this one. Minted during Hannibal's occupation of Tarentum during the 2nd punic war. Although the Carthaginians couldn't take the citadel they did control the city and Hannibal installed his own magistrates. Coins were minted using the Punic shekel standard. Although chipped the detail and strike is impressive! http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-153346 Punic occupation half shekel Nude youth on horseback to left, crowning horse with wreath; IΩ to right, ΣΩΓENHΣ below Taras astride dolphin to left, holding cornucopiae and Nike who crowns him with wreath; TAPAΣ below. Calabria, Tarentum ; Punic occupation, circa 212-209 BC AR Reduced didrachm or Half-Shekel. 2.69g chipped otherwise VF+ Vlasto 975-7; HN Italy 1079. Ex-ANE Extremely rare! Let's see your so-called problem coins, chips, scratches, holes...
I can see why you couldn't resist. I have a couple of "problem" coins I couldn't resist as well. Claudius GELA, SICILY
Nice catch Jay! I love historically important coins. Here is one of my chipped coins. Caligula denarius
Dagnabbit, another type for The List and I still don't even have a common type of Tarentum nomos! Curses, Jay .
A broken Domitian quinarius. Domitian as Caesar AR Quinarius (Broken), 1.04g Rome mint, 75 AD (Vespasian) RIC 791 (C). BMC 158. RSC 634. Obv: CAES AVG F DOMIT COS III; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: VICTORIA AVGVSTI; Victory std. l., with wreath and palm Acquired from GB Collection, June 2016
Here's a problem coin. In addition to is horrid condition, this week I took a closer look and realized it is a fake . I think it's a beat-up cast of a cast! I bought it in 2013, not long after starting to collect ancient coins, and I didn't know about the fakes databases and also I wrongly assumed that dealers on Numisbids/Sixbids wouldn't have any fakes . Somehow I never went back and took a closer look at the coin, despite posting it on CT several times . It was from Ibercoin, the only coin I've purchased from them. I'll contact them Monday and see what they say about a refund. It's tiny and I'd never taken a magnified look at it . That "crack" looks like it was made with a tool, or like someone attempted to deepen a filled crack on a cast. It does not resemble a real die crack. That's just one of the red flags. It matches the composite of fakes posted below the coin. The obverse is different but only in the centering. See how the bottom of the bust is curved? It matches where the bust ended at the bottom edge of the flan on the cast fakes. Someone tried to re-center it on mine but they didn't get it quite right under the bust. The obverse should have a dotted border too and there is no trace of it whatsoever under the bust on my coin even though it would be on flan with this centering. Also, there is a hint of a die crack or mold flaw behind the elephant on all of these fakes. Barcids of Spain, Carthago Nova 237-209 BCE AR 1/4 shekel Obv: laureate male head left (Herakles? Hannibal?); club over far shoulder Rev: Elephant walking right. Ref: MHC 47; CNH 15; SNG BM Spain 102 Further condemning the coin, I can't find any other presumably authentic examples which die-match this elephant.
Sweet and historic coin, @Jay GT4! The Chinese equivalent would be something along the lines of this spade; Chipped foot, as well as harshly cleaned, but an extremely rare inscription (大陰 Da Yin) in combination with the square feet (the only one I have ever seen on the western market...)
I am really trying to kick the habit of buying such coins but I have several from the old days. I believe the one I would find hardest to leave behind is this chipped Commodus of Flaviopolis with Isis and Serapis. I paid $30 for it which seems like a lot for a broken coin. CNG has sold three, all intact and more expensive. Such is life among the broken coin collectors. https://www.cngcoins.com/Search.asp...1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1&VIEW_TYPE=0
Here is my really bad coin... From Galerie Numismatique AV Hyperpyron ND Constantinople Mint 5.22g. 24mm. Johannes V Palaiologos/ Johannes VI Kantakuzenos 1347-53 Bought it because its very rarely seen, and it was graded EF, but most of these are crudely struck. I got it by a proxy bid of 1050 euros Even the auction house photo is bad, looks way better in hand.
I think modern US coins with such clips, given they were made at the Mint, are classified as "Mint error coins". They actually worth more than the originals.
Nice! I really need one of those Punic occupation half-shekels. While I like holed coins, chipped or broken coins I'm not so fond of. I was, however, very glad to find this exceptionally rare hemiobol of Pherai in a small, affordable group lot. A little bit at the edge broke off and was glued back on, but in this case, I really can't quibble. While I like the coins of Thessaly, it's unlikely I'd ever be able to bring myself to upgrade to a non-damaged example (the most recent one sold in a Dec 2018 auction for a whopping CHF 950 before fees). THESSALY, Pherai Very Rare. Repaired. AR Hemiobol. 0.27g, 8.3mm. THESSALY, Pherai, circa 360s-350s BC. BCD Thessaly II 694; HGC 4, 563; Imhoof-Blumer 1908, p. 93, 277, pl. VI, 38; cf. Nomos 4, 1306 corr. O: Head of Ennodia right: R: Φ - E, hunting dog sitting right. Ex BCD Collection
@zumbly nice one! Here's another chipped from my collection. Beautiful toning Lucania Sybaris drachm Bull standing to left on dotted ground line, head turned back to right; all within border of dots VM in exergue Bull standing to right, on dotted ground line; around, border of dots; all incuse. LUCANIA, Sybaris Circa 550-510 BC. 2.04g HN III 1736. SNG ANS 847 ff. Chipped. Old cabinet toning. Ex-Londinium
I only have two chipped/broken and both weren't cheap even with their problem. Curia Julia senate house denarius 29 BC, Octavian. 3.5gm. Roman Provincial. MACEDON. Koinon of Macedonia. Pseudo-autonamous 222 AD to 249 AD . Æ (27mm, 11.19 g, 6h). Beroea mint. Unpublished.
My first Nero. A broken Qi knife which I repaired. Shattered extremely rare round Chinese coins. Two halves of two different coins. A broken rare hollow-handle spade. It’s not pretty, but I won’t complain for $30! Another damaged hollow-handle, but I like this one.