I don't collect Byzantine coinage, and I don't really intend to go deep into Byzantine coinage.....maybe a gold Solidus of Justinian and that's about it. But I can make an exception for Zeno....after all, he was emperor while the Western Roman Empire still existed. Granted, it was basically a fragmented territory on the verge of collapse, but technicalities count and Zeno was still emperor of the east then . So I will file this coin under Eastern Roman Empire....even if it was struck after the collapse of the west. It's probably nothing special to most of you, and it does have some condition issues if I'm honest....but I still like it and I'm glad to have it. My budget was already blown to oblivion to fund my upcoming trip to Europe, but I just had to have this. Probably my last purchase of 2019 due to the future expenses of my trip to Switzerland, Spain, and Germany, but I'm not complaining. This is a nice coin to wrap an an excellent 2019 coin hunting season for me....one which has resulted in the acquisition of some of the most beautiful coins in my entire collection. Zeno, 474-475 CE, 476-491 CE Eastern Roman Emperor AU Solidus, 2nd reign, Aug 476 - 11 Apr 491, 5th issue 10th officina, Constantinople Mint, weight 4.449g, maximum diameter 20.0mm, die axis 180o obverse: D N ZENO PERP AVG, helmeted bust facing, pearl diademed with trefoil ornament on crested helmet, cuirassed, spear in right hand over right shoulder, shield on left arm decorated with horseman riding down and spearing enemy Reverse: VICTORI AVGGG I, Victory standing left, long jeweled cross in right, star right, CONOB in exergue DOCLR 643 (also 10th officina), Tolstoi 24, Ratto 284, RIC X 910, Depeyrot 108/1, SRCV V 21514, Post whatever you want.
A lovely coin @Sallent Congrats on adding this one to your collection. I think I read that you are going to Munich on your trip. If so, have you thought about a visit to Dachau? It is not an easy visit but it is worth it.
Yes, but I'm only going to be briefly in Munich. literally the only reason I'm going there is because that's where I'm taking my return flight to Miami. So I'm only going to be in Germany for 24 hours. I'll save Dachau for a future visit with more time. The bulk of my trip is going to be Spain. I'm in Switzerland for 2 days, Spain for a week and a half, and Germany for a day. Part of the reason why I'm going to Spain this time around is for hiking. Last time I was there I decided I wanted to go back one day and hike a few mountain trails. Nothing crazy, won't be hiking anything taller than 5000 feet, but for someone like me in Florida, a 5000 foot mountain may as well be the Himalayas.
I am sorry to hear that. Munich is lovely. Hopefully you will have time for a pretzel and and a beer.
My Zeno's more battered than yours, but I like him too (also RIC 910 - delta on reverse). With Augustus, Zeno nicely bookmarks an A-Z of the Roman Empire. Where are you going in Spain? Obviously, plenty of Roman ruins there - fairly near Madrid, Segovia has a great aqueduct; Italica near Seville is worth a visit, the town of Merida in Extremadura is the old Augusta Emerita and very interesting. The mint in Madrid has a museum which is free and worth a look. I spent a very drunken weekend in Tarragona once and saw nothing Roman except, possibly, a wall (it was dark). Some of the more interesting things I've seen in Spain have been encountered by chance, by making detours when seeing roadside signs - "Ruinas" led to Empuriés/Emporiton and "Villa Romana" led to an excavated Roman villa somewhere between Burgos and Leon (I think). You'll need lots of money in Switzerland ATB, Aidan.
[ LOL. Not buying any Swiss watches while I'm Switzerland. That's an easy way to get ripped off by paying premium boutique prices. I've already been in Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Salamanca, and San Lorenzo del Escorial. This time around I plan to briefly explore Barselona and Andorra, and then hit some mountain side hiking trails for a week. Being a Florida man, I'm tired of all the flatness. I've been looking forward towards a little European hiking for a long time. Lots of nice hiking trails in northeastern Spain.
Everything is expensive in Switzerland! I've only been in Andorra once - stayed in La Seu d'Urgell and went in for a look for a day and can't remember anything about it. I have friends in Barcelona, so get there fairly often. Hiking sounds good - I've walked the Camino de Santiago 3 times, but only the last stages, mostly in Galicia. Anyway, hope you have a great time. Aidan.
Have a great time in Spain. Visit the Great Mosque in Cordoba if you get the chance. Great architecture.
Sallent, Aside from a couple of light scratches your Zeno solidus is a nice looking coin . I have yet to get a regular issue of Zeno to go with my two barbarian coins. What's been written about Zeno is fascinating. He managed to form positive relationships & gain the respect of the western barbarian chiefs because he also came from barbarian stock . Save some money for ancient coins when you get to Germany. When I was there 50 years you could by ancient coins for peanuts . I was buying choice XF Tets of Alexander the Great for $35.00 in American money, & near mint state late Roman bronze coins for $5.00 each !
My Zeno, I admit, rarely posted. Zeno (476 - 491 A.D.) Æ4 O: Pearl-diademed, draped bust right. R: Monogram Constantinople mint 14mm .89g Cf. RIC X 958
Thank you. I agree, it is a nice coin despite the scratches. Also remember the photos of coins always tend to blow them up and stuff that is barely noticeable with the naked eye might really stand out when displayed on a 27 inch monitor. At any rate, I'm a different person than when I was a newbie. These days I have some coins with scratches, or countermarks, or edge splits (things I hated as a newbie.) I guess I've matured a lot and learned to love all sorts of ancient coins, even if they are less than perfect. Those prices you quoted are mind blowing. If only I had a time machine and a few hundred dollars in money from that era. I'd have so much fun buying coins I wouldn't want to leave.
You bring up some good points . Looking at a quality photograph of a coin on a large monitor accentuates the flaws & reveals what you may have missed with your naked eye or even using a 10 X lupe. I've bought many coins & after photographing them & viewing them on a large screen asked myself, why did you buy that ? Then I'd view the coin in hand or using a 7 X lupe & say, that's why I bought it . When I was a beginner collector finding the near perfect or high grade coin wasn't important, but as I grew older it was. I think being a QC tech & inspector in the machine tool trade for many years along with experience as a precision machinist influenced that trait.
That's a pretty sweet Zeno, Sallent! A lot sweeter than my only Zeno coin , an AE3 from Cherson which is green with envy!
LOL. Let's look at the bright side, a green with envy Zeno is better than no Zeno at all. And hey, I really like the style of the figure in the reverse of your coin. It's still a neat coin, even if it's not made out of 23k gold.
I am in your boat. When I first was introduced by my Dad to collect, I was happy getting Sovereigns/ French 20 Francs etc., in EF quality. Then, when I started collecting in ernest (20 years old) I went for MS/ FDC quality. Unless, its a CNG coin, their EF=NGC MS. John
Nice way to end the year! It's a beautiful coin and I hope you will enjoy your vacation! I owned a Zeno tremissis until about a week ago. Didn't expect to sell it, but someone made an offer I had to accept (More than double what I paid). I highly suspect that it was a Germanic imitation, rather than an official issue anyway. So, I guess I'm in the market for a Zeno solidus as well - the larger coins do look much nicer in my album pages anyway! Hole filler for now; almost no bust left, but a really nice monogram