Giving up coins is like giving up cigarettes..

Last time I posted a coin here, I claimed that I was buying coins far too often especially considering the current economic climate and job insecurity. And I did well. Initially at least... I was almost a month without a new coin and I felt really proud about myself and my determination to keep away from temptation. Not that there was much of it going around, I noticed that in the last couple of months the number of good higher grade coins hitting the market reduced drastically. Naturally I lowered my guard thinking I did well and saved some money by not spending on coins... So when a coin that I really liked grabbed my attention, I managed to persuade myself that I 'earned' the right to buy this little gem. It is a Byzantine gold solidus though... What is the point on trying to hold back on coins when I end up buying a gold one only a month on? Back to square one, I guess...



Having said all that, there are plenty of reasons not to feel guilty here. This was a very good deal, even for a retail coin. The way things are going in auction nowdays, I would probably spend even more if I had to compete with other bidders. I thought that there might be something wrong with it, but in hand I cannot find any issue apart from a couple of tiny scratches. By the way, this was a notoriously difficult coin to photograph. It looks way better in hand. Another reason to get this one, is that Byzantine gold is the last remaining somewhat affordable gold when it comes to ancients. It is a good idea to grab some while we still can, as I think they are starting to get more popular. Lastly, it is gold. Gold will always be attractive, ancient or not, and the prices are currently very strong due to the economic instability. Not that I bought it for the base value, but at least it has one!

Historically wise, this is a mid-period solidus. The empire was more Greek than Roman by that point, and it was still strong in both military and economical terms. The emperor depicted in the coin is Heraclius, the man credited for bringing the imperial beards in fashion. Apparently of Armenian heritage, he replaced the unpopular Phokas. He led many military campaigns with the most important one the war with the Sasanian (Persian) Empire. Things looked rather gloomy at one point as the Persian reached the walls of Constantinople, however in the end he managed to drive them completely out of Asia Minor. He eventually lost big chunks of territory in the levant to the emerging forces of Islam. He is regarded as a succesful emperor. He learned from his mistakes and he matured as an emperor as the years went by. He changed the official language of the empire from Latin to Greek and he managed to recover the True Cross from the Persians. He is also credited for fighting the corruption from the previous administration, and for building good realtions with the newcomer Slavs in the Balcans and introducing the Christian faith to them. There was some controversy about him marrying his niece, but overall he left a great legacy. He was actually popular with the Western Europeans due to him recovering the Cross, and he was regarded as the first crusader. He was even popular and respected in the Islamic world, even though he was an enemy. He is actually mentioned in the hadith, and apparently he wrote once to the prophet Muhammad but this is unlikely to be true. There is another face on the coin, and this is of Heraclius Constantine, his son from Eudokia. He only ruled for 4 months after his father's death (641 AD), so he is a very minor historical figure. He died of tuberculosis.

Show me your golds Byzantine or ancient Greek/Roman. Or anything Byzantine, Arab or Persian from that turbulent period of history.

 

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Augustus aureus - RIC 206 (c. AD 1) - Lugdunum

Banker’s test mark under chin

 

@panzerman is the expert on these I believe? Nice coin and story btw, thanx

 

Nice Goldie!
My only solidus:


Maurice Tiberius AV Lightweight Solidus
Constantinople mint
582-602 CE
4.12 Grams

 

What a beauty! Maurice has a soft spot in my heart; imagine what the empire would have been had not Phokas foolishly usurped his rule. The thought is maddening.

 

I'm not into Ancients, but your coin just piqued my interest. I really like the detail in the left photo. Is there an obverse and reverse to Ancients? Beautiful coin.
Now, don't go crazy with your CC.

 

CARTHAGE EMPIRE


CARTHAGE, ZEUGITANA
AV GOLD 1/10 STATERor Trihemiobol.
350-320 BCE Carthage mint
7.50 mm, 0.94 g
Obv: Palm tree with two date-clusters
Rev: Horse’s head right
Ref:Jenkins & Lewis Group III, 138; GC.6461-Müller II,87,81; Sear 6455; SNG Cop (Nordafrika) 132, MAA 8; SNG Lloyd 1613; Pozzi 3290-1; Boston MFA 500

 

Thanks!
That coin is a bit rare, being a light weight Solidus of 22/ 23 siliqua. It probably was used in international commerce rather than domestic use.

Maurice is definitely one of the most underrated Roman/Byzantine Emperors.

 

ACHAEMENID EMPIRE


PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire.
Darios I to Xerxes II.
Circa 485-420 BC.
AV Daric (14mm, 8.30 g). Lydo-Milesian standard. Sardes mint.
Persian king or hero, wearing kidaris and kandys, quiver over shoulder, in kneeling-running stance right, holding spear in right hand, bow in left /
Incuse punch.
Carradice Type IIIb, Group A/B (pl. XIII, 27);
Meadows, Administration 321; BMC Arabia pl. XXIV, 26.

Twenty-five drachmas equals one Daric

 

you are showing off with that one Brian- wow

 

Thank you. It was my first Ancient in Gold.

 

You're right. They are good value... Hang on, don't provide a good reason to give in to temptation... I already went off-piste this month. Byzantine coins have a very strong, direct personality that's hard to resist...

 

... and then I stopped reading, to give me an excuse to post my Celtic AV stater

CELTS, Ambiani celts.
AV Stater, minted: Ambiani region, (current France, near Amiens); 58-55 BC

Obverse: Blank
Reverse: Disjointed horse right with remains of charioteer above; crescent above pellet below, intertwined lines pattern in exergue
Weight: 6.02g; Ø:17mm. Catalogue: Evans 1864 Pl.B8; Scheers 1977 series 24, class IV (type) . Provenance: Ex private collection (Found in France, ca. 2000); acq.: 08-2019
Details: The Ambiani Celts were Belgic people of Celtic language. In 57 BC, when Julius Caesar started his Belgic campain, they were able to muster 10.000 armed men. However, when Julius Caesar came close to their capital Samarobriva (probably the modern Amiens), they submitted to Caesar. This gold stater was probably minted to finance the war against Julius Caesar.

 

@Only a Poor Old Man , I am not an "ancients" collector but THANKS for your very informative post; most interesting indeed.
Now, have you "sworn off" again?

 

Based upon the coin he purchased, I think it is unlikely.

 

I smoked sporadically and lightly from 1944 until 1964 when I quit “cold turkey”. I haven’t smoked at all since then - so there is hope!

I have been far less successful in drastically reducing the size of my Roman Imperial coin collection however.

 

It is very detailed (all the facial hair, lol) and the detail is a lot more evident in hand. The photo I took doesn't do it justice. It is never too late to get into ancients... It is not scary even if you don't know much about them, and in any case this ancient forum section is very active with some very knowledgeable members that are happy and willing to give advice. One of the bonuses of collecting ancients is that you get more familiar with ancient history and especially little fascinating details that weren't taught in school history books.

Byzantine golds as I said before are a very interesting area for collecting. Their prices are still good and they can only go up. If golds are still too expensive for your coin collecting budget, Byzantine bronzes are pretty afordable. They are not to everyone taste's though and are usually in worn condition. This is actually my second Byzantine gold. The one below is my other one and it has a portrait of Jesus Christ. The Byzantines were the first to put Jesus on coins.

I would like to think that I will stay strong.. I may have no choice anyway, the economy seems to be going down the hill. But as I said, I don't feel guilty about this one as it won't lose its value.

 

Is that a horse on the design? I thought that celtic coins were primarily copies or based on earlier Greek coins, primarily Macedonian.

I am surprised at the lack of solidi posted. Only Magnus Maximus posted one. Are they not popular with members? They are costly, but not as Greek or Roman gold which can be found in good numbers in this forum

 

I am surprised at the lack of solidi posted. Only Magnus Maximus posted one. Are they not popular with members? They are costly, but not as Greek or Roman gold which can be found in good numbers in this forum

There's a good story in "Fun While It Lasted", (great read, recommended on CoinTalk more than once already) about McNall recommending Byzantine gold as representing the best value in ancient numismatics to the Hunt brothers, who then asked about buying all the Byzantine gold, not what McNall had with him, but all the Byzantine gold coins in existence.

Anyway, I haven't cornered the market in Byzantine gold, but have three solidi - two Constans IIs and a wavy Zeno.

Constans Solidus
Obv. DN CONSTANTINUS PP AVG - Crowned facing bust with long beard, holding globus cruciger
Rev. VICTORIA AVGU H - Cross potent on three steps
Exergue:
Mint: Constantinople (652 - 654 )
Wt./Size/Axis: 4.40g / 20mm / -
References:

• Sear 956

Acquisition: Baldwins London Coin Fair 9-Jun-2007




Constans II Solidus
Obv. DN CONSTANTINVS C CONSTAN - Facing busts of Constans, on left with long beard, and Constantine IV, beardless, each wearing crown and chlamys; between their heads, a cross
Rev. VICTORIA AVGV Θ - Cross potent on three steps
Exergue:
Mint: Constantinople (654-659 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 4.40g / 20mm / 7h
References:

• SB 959
• MIB 26

Acquisition: Roma Numismatics Auction Auction VII #1369 23-Mar-2014




Zeno Solidus
Obv. DN ZENO PERP AVG - Helmeted, diademed and cuirassed bust facing three-quarters right, holding spear and shield with horseman and enemy motif
Rev. VICTORIA AVGGGΔ - Victory standing left, holding long jewelled cross; in right field, star
Exergue:
Mint: Constantinople (ca 476 - 491 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 4.46g / 21mm / 6h
References:

• RIC 910
• Depeyrot 108/1

Acquisition: Naville Numismatics Auction NN Live Auction 1 #211 15-Jun-2013


ATB,
Aidan.

 

....when you mix smoking and coins...ahh...what a combo~~!!