@seth77, those are very cool. I haven't landed one of Tancred yet, but since I collect the entire net milieu of Jean de Brienne, including his interregnum (between Acre / 'Jerusalem' and Constantinople), spent largely in Papal service in Italy, I've been wanting one for a good while.
I bought my first Alexandrian Tetradrachm last night from Romae Aeternae Numismatics. Probus Potin Tetradrachm of Alexandria. Year 7=281/282 AD. Obverse: A K M AVΡ ΠΡOBOC CEB, laureate cuirassed bust right Reverse: L-Z, eagle standing left, head right with wreath in its beak. Dattari 5555, Emmett 3984.
Me again with another dirham of Harun al-Rashid. This is from the year he became caliph. It calls him "Harun the Commander of the Faithful" and does not use the epithet al-Rashid. Abbasid Caliphate. Time of Harun al-Rashid. Dated 170 AH (786-787 CE). Silver dirham. 2.78g. Medinat es-Salam mint. Cites Harun al-Rashid, as "abd Allah Harun amir al-mu'minin" within inner reverse marginal legend. Letter 'ayn at bottom of reverse area legend. Album 219.6a.
@OutsiderSubtype, who can't see enough dirhams of Harun al-Rashid? I have one, sadly with no pics. I have to love the contrast between these and later dirhams (mostly Samanid ...and Ayyubid, but already on a completely different module), with which I'm only marginally more familiar.
Jonesin’ on that coin, @Clavdivs ! Well done. I have several from Carthaginian Sardinia, yours is a great one! Carthage-Sardinia 300-264 BCE AE Shekel Tanit Horse Head Palm 18mm 4.8g sprues SNG Cop 173 - no pellet below Left Even one from the Mercenary Army when they were royally ticked off with Carthage non-payment, and went to war for 3 years... Carthage - LIBYAN REVOLT Rebels 241-238 BCE 9.63g 24mm Shekel Sardinia mint Tanit 3 Grain ears Crescent SNG Cop 247 Second Punic War. Carthage 216-215 BCE Sardinia mint AE 3.3g Tanit L - BULL stndg R CNP 377a
I do not collect things like this but was attracted to this one at least partially by the 1001 Nights 'link'..... or was it his link to Charlemagne? Bagdad AH 185 (801 AD)? I regret my coin is a year before the elephant. (from Wikipedia)" Harun al-Rashid is reported to have sent numerous presents to Charlemagne, including silks, a brass candelabra, perfume, balsam, a tent with multi-colored curtains, ivory chessmen, and an elephant named Abul al-Abbas. The 802 Royal Frankish Annals briefly describes the arrival of the emissary referred to as Isaac the Jew, who brought with him the elephant Abul al-Abbas.[28] Abul al-Abbas is reported to have died suddenly in 810, while Charlemagne was on campaign in a town called "Lippeham".[29]
...Where has somebody Just been posting all of those Harun al-Rashid dirhams? --No, Really, I forget!!! Help!
Cilicia, Seleukeia ad Calycadnum. AE18. Athena/Helios Obv: Helmeted and cuirassed bust of Athena r. with shield and spear. Rev: Bust of Helios ? r. / SELEYKEWN EPI DHMIORGOY DHMH. 2nd Century BC-Imperial Times Gordian III. 238-244 AD. AE 29 of Edessa, Mesopotamia. AVTOK M ANT ΓOΡΔIANOC CEB, radiate, draped & cuirassed bust of Gordian III; star before / ABΓAΡOC BACIΛEVC, Bust of Abgar X right, wearing tiara, star in left field.
Two coins I was confident enough to post previously actually arrived yesterday afternoon.. whew!! Pretty exciting mail day when two coin envelopes arrive!!! The first is one very inexpensive - and a complete impulse buy - but the biga, the whip.. just the whole reverse scene is pretty special. For under $40 shipped, I am very happy I snapped it up! Sicily, Menaion. Circa 2nd Century BC. AE 18mm 4.3g, Pentonkion. Laureate & draped bust of Zeus-Serapis right / MENA-INΩN, Nike driving galloping biga right. Pi below The next was much more expensive - however purchased at a very reasonable price. Pretty much a dream coin for me.. although in admittedly rough condition. - to actually hold a coin featuring a Mark Antony/Octavian portraits is certainly a big achievement. I have been slowly collecting coins of the Imperatorial era but its expensive so slow going as other targets get in the way.. I will get there eventually. But today is a good day! OCTAVIAN & MARCUS ANTONIUS (Marc Antony) AR silver Triumvirate issue denarius. CAESAR IMP PONT III VIR R P C, bare head of Octavian right. Reverse - M ANT IMP AVG (MP and AV both in monogram) III VIR R P C M BARBAT Q P, bare head of Antony right. Struck at Ephesus mint, Spring - Summer 41 BC. 18mm, 3.4g. I hope you are all having a great weekend!!
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Septimius Severus Ae 27 195-196 AD Tyana Obv Head right laureate. Rv Brahma Bull standing right 13.66 grms 27 mm Photo by W. Hansen What I find really remarkable about this coin is the care and attention to detail in the presentation of the reverse. That bull is magnificent. Sometimes in the striking of provincial coins it is the reverse that gets the most attention not the obverse and this appears to be the case with this coin. That animal is so powerfully drawn you can almost feel its presence
Rephotographed this one: Volusian, AD 251-253. Roman provincial Æ 28.2 mm, 11.26 g, 7 h. Cilicia, Seleucia ad Calycadnum, AD 251-253. Obv: ΑV Κ ΓΑ ΟVΙΒ ϹΑΒΙΝ ΓΑΛΛΟϹ, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: ϹЄΛЄVΚЄ-ΩΝ ΤΩ Π|ΡΟϹ Κ-ΑΛV|ΔΝ, Athena advancing right, brandishing spear, holding shield, attacking serpent-footed giant hurling stone with right hand. Refs: RPC IX, 1336; BMC 21.141,54; SNG von Aulock 5851; RG 4480 (SNG France 1055); SNG Levante 780. Notes: Double die match to SNG Levante 780 and RG 4480=SNG France 1055 (BnF); obverse die match to BMC 54.
For the coin that kicked off this thread, I finally figured out some provenance (that may have been obvious to some as it seems a lot of these tickets are floating around out there with coins from the collection). I recognized a similar tag in a facebook post. It seems that this coin was part of the William C Boyd Collection that was auctioned by Baldwin's Auctions (Auction 42), on 26 September 2005. The partial date at the bottom of the tag is the date Boyd purchased the coin. So December of 1900 for this coin. I’d like to know what the WSI means... I’m assuming where it was purchased. Anyone have that Baldwin’s catalog that can look it up and post a photo of the listing and any information? I can’t seem to find it online. Thanks!
I'd been wanting a coin from Arados in Phoenicia for a little while. I ended up getting this first one ordered, the more typically seen type, then about a day later came across the second and had to add it. They both are really nice, better than most I see. I'd love to see others if you got 'em!
I'm half an hour late to the party, but I don't think I've shown this. I paid like $16 for this "sestertius-sized" provincial coin. I thought it was encrusted from the photos and could benefit from a cleaning. A failed cleaning later, I got absolutely nothing from it. The coin isn't worth the price, and i'll never be able to sell it. Oh well.
Still ancient and still identifiable! You can read CEV ALEX... = Severus Alexander! I’d look through his provincial coins.