My kids were in close contact with a COVID19 positive patient recently, so we had to stay at home, quarantined. My wife, kids and myself became ill, but the tested negative. We didn't test the kids, who are toddlers. Unfortunately, my sister married last Friday, and this unfavorable combination of events led to me missing the wedding of my sister. Needles to say: it was a very unhappy week, and I felt (feel) down. A famous football player in the Netherlands once said: "Elk voordeel heb z'n nadeel" (every advantage has its disadvantage; it doesn't really translate well), and although I really don't have anything with football, I must say that these two new additions soothed the pain a bit. First, a very pretty, very small coin, with a lovely grey cabinet toning (it's from 'an old French collection, sold in 1987', whatever that may be): GREECE , Anonymous. Denomination: AR Diobol, minted: Lucania, Herakleia; 432-420 BC Obv: Helmeted head of Athena right; helmet decorated with Hippocamp Rev: Herakles kneeling right, strangling lion. Weight: 1.1g; Ø:11mm. Catalogue: HN Italy 1360. Provenance: From "a French collection, 1987"; acq.: 09-2020 Obverse slightly off-center Next, my first brockage. Recently, I visited @AnYangMan, who showed me his (really impressive) collection. It included a brockage Roman Republic, and I felt comfortable enough to ask how in fact this minting error occured. He readily explained it to me, imitating the slave that minted the coin c. 2200 years before, dropping the coin in the process. Upon asking, I ensured that it was now completely clear, and convinced him not to repeat the procedure. The next day, I saw this coin from the same seller: ROMAN REPUBLIC, M. Cipius. Denomination: AR Denarius, minted: Rome, Italy; 115-114 BC Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right, M. CIPI. M. F. before head, X behind head Rev: Incuse of obverse Weight: 3.84g; Ø:18mm. Catalogue: Crawford 289. Provenance: Jesus Vico (Madrid) 03-1993; acq.: 09-2020 Again, a nice coin, with provenance, some honest wear but good details. And: my first incuse coin. I showed it to my wife, who usually doesn't really care, but this time she asked me 'why is the other side impressed?". I couldn't really reproduce the story by @AnYangMan (who risked one of his priced denari to explain it), so I'll end this thread with two questions: 1) Please post coins that make you happy, so to make my week a bit better 2) Please post brockage denari, and explain it again like you would explain it my wife (or any non-numismatist in general) (and don't drop your coins). Cheers
I like both, but like the RR best. Cipius was my first brockage coin and one of my favorite RR stories.
This reminds me of the English saying "Even the darkest cloud has a silver lining" but approaches the thought from the opposite perspective. I have a few brockages. Most standard is the Republican. It seems that RR mints made more brockages than did the imperial. Since I specialize in the Eastern mints of Septimius Severus, I could not pass up this 'Emesa' brockage. There is no way of telling what reverse it lacks since that mint made a practice of using one obverse die with several reverses. AE coins are less common as brockages because the heavier coins would be more likely to fall off the top die. This is a barbarous/branch mint Claudius. Unusual is the combination of brockage and fourree on this Hadrian denarius. I have seen three fourree brockages but I'm sure there are others in junk boxes out there. Later coins probably used pincher dies so it became easier to get obverse brockages. This is COMES AVG of Victorinus? My most unusual is a Magnentius AE2 flipover double strike where the first strike was a brockage. That gives the coin one obverse and three reverses of which one is a brockage. There are easier coins to photograph. Here's hoping you get invited to your sister's fiftieth anniversary party.
I don't have any brockages, but I do have a few Parthians with double-struck errors, and those make me happy
Dear Roerbakmix, yes, some things are coming near that you want far away. Therefore I selected a coin that is a real pleasure for me, a Brit-Celtic one. Celtic coinage. Iceni (who were living in what's now Norfolk, UK). Uninscribed AR unit, quinar size. Circa 50-40 BC. Bury Diadem type ("Gallo-Belgic XD") type. 15 mm, 1.47 gr. I love the jolly mood of both obverse and reverse. By the way, here's a nice coin that I bought in June. I keep calling the person on the reverse 'Lady Godiva', but she might be indignant if she'd know. Arab-Sasanian AE pashiz, c.700-720. Kazirun, ND, Obv. Sasanian style bust right. Rev. Woman on horseback (Lady Godiva), holding vase-like object. 18.5 mm, 0.99 gr. A-40, Gyselen-35a. Error coins are a favorite theme for me. I have 10 or 15 of them, and I keep asking: what did people think about them in antiquity? They might not have been accepted as money. Did people put them on their altar, use them as a bauble? Don't know if you count this antoninianus as a brockage. It looks like an asteroid. Probus antoninianus brockage with a fitting patina Tetrarchy, follis Heraclea. Rev. Genius standing left, holding patera and cornucopia. 26 / 30 mm, 10.22 gr. A great coin with beautiful patina. Caracalla 211-217, AE tetradrachm. Thracia or Moesia. Obv. bust to right. 29 mm, 15.45 gr.
Roman Republic. L. Memmius. 109-108 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.88g). Rome mint. Obv: Male head right, wearing oak wreath; mark of value below chin. Rev: Incuse of obverse. Ref: Crawford 304/1; Sydenham 558; Memmia 1; RBW 1145.
Sorry you missed your sister's wedding, but glad that you and your family are safe! The reverse of that Herakleia diobol is really excellent, and the brockage is nice, too. ROMAN REPUBLIC AR Denarius, obverse brockage. 3.81g, 20.9mm. Rome mint, 108-107 BC. L. Valerius Flaccus, moneyer. Cf. Crawford 306/1; cf. Sydenham 565. O: Winged and draped bust of Victory right; mark of value below chin. R: Incuse of obverse. Ex CNG 63, 21 May 2003, lot 1128 A less common occurrence was when two planchets got stuck together and were accidentally struck at the same time. One planchet received the obverse, and the other the reverse, with each having a corresponding blank side. Maybe one day I'll find this coin's companion... ROMAN REPUBLIC AR Denarius, uniface. 3.96g, 19mm. Rome mint, 109-108 BC. L. Flaminius Chilo, moneyer. cf. Crawford 302/1. O: Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, ROMA and below chin, X. R: Blank.
My only brockage C. Vibius C.f. Pansa. Denarius 90, AR 18mm., 4.07g. PANSA Laureate head of Apollo r.; below chin, control mark. Rev. The same in incuse Crawford cf 342/5b.
