I recently, just in the last few days, had the opportunity to visit with a gentleman who is slowly dissolving his collection after more 40 years of study. Besides his numismatic interests, he is also a true scholar, deeply involved with ancient history and manuscripts and books related to both Greek and Roman history. He was also involved in the archeological excavation and evaluation of Roman settlements around his home town and currently works in a museum cataloguing their manuscripts collection. This was truly a visit to the past, and a great experience for me! He was agreeable to let me acquire some of his remaining coins, as we sat and discussed his collection assembled since the 1960's. This is one of the coins I acquired from him, a sestertius of Trajan commemorating the appointment of Parthamaspates to King of the Parthians by Trajan during his campaign in the east circa 115-116. I fell in love with the patina on this coin which my picture fails to capture fully. It is a beautiful hard, turquoise green. Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ Sestertius. Rome mint. Struck AD 116-117. Obv: Laureate and draped bust right / (REX PARTHIS) DATVS. Rev: Trajan seated left on daïs, presenting Parthamaspates to Parthia kneeling right; behind Trajan, prefect standing left. RIC II 667
No doubt, should I ever get the opportunity for something like that I'd think I died and went to Heaven.
Like Pish, I wish I could find an acquaintance like that... And, that's a fabulous sestertius---I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT!!! Hmmm, perhaps he may wish to consign some coins to JAZ and give us all a chance to snag some
Sounds like a wonderful opportunity to meet this man, and that's a very nice example of the Rex Parthis Datus sestertius. Here's my example:
Lucky you! Lovely coins guys. Interesting that both have similar patina. Wonder if they were buried together once upon a time?
Sweet looking coin, Its even better to have a pleasant experience like that. Talking to someone about ancient coin collecting, I wonder how that experience really is.
Fantastic coin! I'm sure your collector friend also feels reassured that his coins are going to a good home - to a collector that will respect them properly.
Thank you all for your comments. This was a really great experience for me, and one I hope to repeat soon. We plan to meet again at a local show in a couple of months, and I am already looking forward to it. Like I said, it was not just the coins, but also the experience he shares, not to speak of his wonderful book and manuscript collection, some of them quite old, written between 1700-1750 in latin with line drawing of coins. I particularly enjoyed hearing about his experience working alongside the archeologists in charge of excavating and studying the remains of Villae Rusticae and military settlements in the Rhine area. Many interesting items, as well as coins were found. The coin collection proper was assembled along thematic lines, with the main focus on Buildings, on the Travel series, on Ships, and on coins related to the roman presence in Germania. These are also my main interest. Looking forward to the next time we meet!
