Denomination preferences

Al, that is a gorgeous weinbrand bottle. I like brandy=weinbrand filled chocolates. Remember first trying them at Christmas when I was four years old.
I think the Habsburg Arms are ultra beautifull/ I love Eagles!
Ferdinand V died young While Franz Josef lived till 1916.
That coin appeared in Spink/USA auction, and I saw it was absolutely perfect/ prooflike fields/ no marks. Thus, I figured it was a unaffordable piece, I had tried to get a Stempelglanz ex. from Rauch/ Fruhwald auctions....every one went into the 12K++ euros.
This one started at 4KUS/ seemed not much interest in Foreign coins, luckily my bid of 5K held up. That 1931 Yugoslavia 4 Dukaten is a close second. This little gem from Basel is also stunning. I got it from Elsen/ AV Quarter Dukat ND (1750) Basel. They also struck AV 30 Dukaten (to die for) went for 1.6 M Sfrcs My dream coin.....I wish!

 

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For me it is the larger diameter coins such as Greek tetradrachms and Roman Imperial sestertii. With the large diameter coins you get to see much more of the abilities of the ancient die cutters as they have the room to execute more complex designs. Having said that I do like denarii ( much easier to collect). Big does have some other advantages. Last week I brought some of my coins to a coin club for elementary school kids Grades 3 to 6. I let them hold and examine this guy my Libral standard cast as 225-217 B.C. Crawford 35 272.48 grms 65 mm As these are young children this coin is so much easier to keep track of

 

I wish I was one of those kids, I'm love to be able to handle one of the early big cast asses! Stunning example.

 

Nevermind kids, I am leary when adults handle coins in flips/ much more at ease with slabbed coins.

 

Even with my humble coins, I sometimes wince when someone is less than gentle when looking. I have a couple in the 'don't touch too much' category, but it's due to porosity and a big flan crack rather than being in mint state like your golden beauties.

 

John, That 1/4 ducat is a little gem ! The Swiss don't get enough credit for the beauty of their mint products. The central Europeans had a real appreciation for the ducat coinage. Not only did they get a maximum practical diameter from the planchets, but by using a fineness of .986 you get to see the real color of gold. The red or pink colored gold most other countries use by alloying with copper isn't nearly as attractive.

 

Terence, That giant Libral cast as is the finest I've seen ! I too like a larger size coin like a tetradrachm versus a drachma or denarius size coin .

 

Stupid me
I never looked up Ferdinand V/ thinking he died and Franz Josef(his nephew)took over. He actually abdicated, the 1848 Revolution prompted this. He died in 1875, Hradcany Palace in Prague (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) You are right though, they made him look younger on his coins/
kinda like Victoria on her Y.H. sovereigns from 1880s when she was an old lady.

 

I am a student of the denier tournois but I pretty much like interesting puzzles from the late roman period onwards -- like could the large AE1 of Magnentius have originated at Rome? Maybe some new types of Palaiologoi or even better local trachea/stamena issues? Or how could we more accurately date the medieval coinages? Or how can we make sure we can assign certain emissions to certain short-lived reigns?

Here is a denier tournois of Philippe III of France, minted around 1271-1280:

 

A little help please. I bought this coin as a souvenir in Jerusalem. I am sure it was minted elsewhere, just found there.

Pardon the pic, too much light on the silver so I darkened it.

 

It's a Philippe de Taranto as Despot of Epirus, minted at Nepanti/Naupaktas cca. 1295-1307 cf. Malloy 111b, de Saulcy XV, 12. It's a very interesting type with a most intriguing privy mark on the obverse, that I have had my eye on for some time.

Very interesting that you got in Jerusalem, curious where in Jerusalem?

 

In a coin store Old Jerusalem in the Christian section, I was looking for late Byzantine, they had none, he had two Deniers, I bought the nice one of the two. This was not this year but last ( 2018 ).

They really overcharge on coins in the city, so you have to really be picky.

Thank You for attributing it. I will get a better pic for your files. TY

 

Would be excellent if you could PM the new images, hopefully the privy marks on the obverse will get clearer. As for the coin shop, was it perhaps the small one on Latin Patriarchate St, coming down from New Gate to the Citadel of David?

 

Surely the interesting question is rather - why did pre-modern governments choose the suite of denominations they did?

What was it about Alexander, Augustus, Abd al-Malik and Akbar that they all chose to strike the full suite in gold, silver and copper?

Is it because they all begin with A?*

Rob T

* recommended - has the merit of getting it wrong in a prompt and efficient manner.

 

If I had written this posting it would have come out pretty much the same. It is not just that dupondii are big enough for some excellent optics but that they are often lighter in color, thanks to the zinc in the coins, and for that reason easier to see. Unfortunately they do not seem to have been minted in large quantities or at least do not seem to have survived time as well as other denominations, and for that reason do not appear in sales as much as either the as or sestertius. Thanks for posting that question.