Latest ugly coin purchase

I know it doesn't look like much, but let me explain.

First, its sogdian, (Chach more precisely). Second, its the rarer of the two "snow leopard" type that exist. I have only ever see 5 or 6 of this type for sale, versus literally dozens of the other type. Third, I bought this coin because of the cross on the reverse. I have other types of Sogdian coins with a random cross, they appear rarely, (VERY RARELY), on the series. I understand that sometimes a cross is just a cross, but during this period Sogdia was Eastern Christian, a branch of christianity basically destroyed today. As such, coins like this, which I believe the celator put a symbol of his faith on serruptitiously, are some of the few tangible pieces of evidence of this once former major branch of Christianity.

This coin with a cross does not appear in Smirnova, zeno.ru, SH&K, or any other reference I have.

So, sometimes you have to buy an "ugly" coin. I am probably the only person in the world intentionally buying sogdian coins with a cross element on them, so thankfully not a ton of competition, so I got it fairly cheaply. But, to me, its worth probably more than to any one else around.

This is probably the major reason I like ancients. Everyone can find a niche, and I believe every coin, no matter how ugly, can be coveted and loved by SOMEBODY.

Btw, this is a cast coin, which explains a lot of the roughness. I am sure this coin didn't look that fantastic BEFORE it was buried in the ground for 1300 years.

Chris

 

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You have an eye for these Chris. Great job on the research and beautiful acquisition.

 

Pays to know your coins. If it was on ebay or vcoin listings I would have just quickly scrolled right over it.

Interesting history/coin though.

 

Is the left the reverse? I can't make out a cross on the 2nd picture. Is the leopard on the obverse (2nd picture)? Otherwise I can't really see it.

 

Yes, the tamgha side, (left pic), is the reverse. The right pic is usually called "snow leopard?" because we are not sure if its supposed to be a leopard, lion, or what.

The cross is at the top on the tamgha side. This tamgha reverse is rare, usually its a tamgha that looks more like an arrowhead, rather than a pitchfork. The "arrowhead" reverse of a snow leopard coin is one of the most common Sogdian coins, (which still makes it rarer by a factor of 10,000 than a roman coin). Thankfully for me, not many people collect these coins.



Here is a pic of another one of these coins I have, so you can see a little better of what its supposed to look like. I buy any example I see if I can, since its pretty scarce, so I own two of these before this last purchase.

 

Oh ok I see it now. Yeah that is definitely cool. It definitely seems possible that that cross has been placed there as a subtlety and not an accident.

 

Wasn't that place the farthest eastern outpost of Christianity during that time, well into Asia?

 

Its in modern day Kyrgystan, other "stans", and western China.

The Eastern Church was in the middle east, central asia, and China. In China there was ethnic uprsisings against all foreign religions, and then Islam put an end to the church in the middle east and central asia.

Probably the worst thing that ever happened to this church was the fact that one of the wives of the mongol leader, (not chengis), was Eastern Christian. When the mongols went to sack baghdad, she pleaded to her husband to spare the christians there. He did, but all muslims remembered that fact, and in part blamed the mongol atrocities on Eastern Christians. After that, even though muslims are supposed to respect other faiths "of the book", most Eastern Christians were forcibly converted, (or worst).

 

I had heard of the place, seen a map of it in a historical almanac, but I have to admit I had no idea they issued coins.

 

This Roman of Arcadius is pretty gastly and uninspiring.....

 

Ummm...

I am certainly no expert on Arcadius or even Roman coins in general. I know nothing at all about sogdians beyond what has been said here (and a skimming on Wikipedia). So someone will have to explain the connection to me. :smile

 

Even though I have no idea what that coin is. I have to say, its pretty impressive you can get that much info. from it.

 

Great job Chris!

 

Nice find! I got an ugly coin a couple days ago too lol not worth showing and not all that rare. A sestertius of Claudius/Spes . Got it cheap, but almost regret getting it lol.

 

Coin just arrived in the mail........broken. &*(&^$(@^@*(&%#*@&%@#!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone have a suggestion for a glue to use on coins?

 

Aaaargh! Was it poorly packaged?

 

It was in a mailer, but the coins were not in individual flips. I mentioned that to the dealer he should put them in flips for extra protection.

It was much nicer in hand than this photo too.......

Figures, I bought other coins from him that were not so rare, and only the rarest one broke.

I hate Murphy sometimes, I really do.

 

The dealer ought to know better, Murphy not withstanding. Send it back.

 

Ive bought 6 coins from him & had nothing but good experience.

Shame yours broke though. I'd contact him about it. Take pics too.

LANZ on the other hand..3 strikes and he's out :dead-horse:

 

I think he was referring to Murphy's Law?