http://www.perthmint.com.au/catalogue/the-battle-of-thermopylae-480bc-1oz-silver-proof-coin.aspx I'm SUPER excited about this set, I have two coins on order... anyone else looking forward to this set? I always buy two sets when I order from the perthmint, I have 2x Treasures (all 3 coins), I have two Captain Cooks, two Piracy Sets, now I plan to stack atleast two of this new "Battle Series".
It is produced by the perth Mint for the country of Tuvalu. Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City—0.44 km²; Monaco—1.95 km² and Nauru—21 km². Not a real coin. If you want to spend $100 bucks for a one ounce silver round. Fine. It is your money.
Its actually $55, and considering MOST sets from the perthmint tripple or more in value after the set sells out then yea I guess I'll spend the $55. Look at the redback spider, it sells for $999 original price $65, look at the treasures of australia series sapphires go for $350 on ebay origional price $67.
Um I think they actualy did produce and use coinage, I think they started quite late though and would have used coins from Persia and elsewere Have a read here http://www.sikyon.com/Sparta/sparta_eg.html
Thanks for the link I just saw a history channel show on the spartans and it said they didnt use money lol lol, maybe they refering to a certain time period. So (hopefully without me looking more foolilsh ) at the time of the battle, they didnt use coins edit: doing a few searchs, I gona retract the word money, and replace it with coins lol
They would have used coins but not neciserrily minted them , the persians use to pay off the different city states in gold coins quite regularly, and if they were on campaign with a allie they would have had to be able to spend on items they needed
I have seen SO MANY history channel shows that did not get it right...Its shocking. Saw a documentary on Constantine and it was just full of errors, assumptions and unsubstantated rumor passed off as fact...It was almost worthless as a tool for learning. So I wouldnt put much faith in any history channel production...though at the time of Thermopylae they did not mint coinage and, as you say, that probably what they meant. Sparta was called Lakedaimon, Lakedaimon not only used coins (not in its earliest years) they also minted them as well. : Coins above were minted long after Thermopylae
oh...interesting note about Lakedaimon, many here have probably heard the phrase 'Laconic Wit'...this is referring to Sparta and their well known dry wit...an example of Spartan Laconic Wit: Lycurgus (lawgiver) responded thus to a proposal to set up a democracy: "Begin with your own family." Laconic Wit or Phrase is short, concise, and to the point...maybe a bit of a bite as a short sharp answer to a long winded diatribe. Effective against people with an Attic Wit, Spartas main opposition, Athens, who were known for long, elegant, refined speech.
Down at the bottom of this page Athens - Sparta is an article on The Coinage of Sparta. The article is short but informative. And unfortunately it doesn't show the pictures from the book. But it's still a good read. The author, Ioannis Touratsoglou, is or was, director of the Athens Museum of Numismatics. So it has credibility and it was published in 2006 so the info should be current. Also see Ed Snible's page. When someone gets interested in coins from Sparta, they are often thinking of the time period of the great Peloponnesian War 431–404 BC, or earlier during The Greek and Persian Wars, when the more historic episodes took place. At least I did. I was disappointed to find that they didn't mint "proper" coins until much later. Although if I could add a Spartan iron ingot to my early Greek collection I would be ecstatic!
Has a one Tuvalu dollar face value so that makes it a real coin. Only thing worse than a colorized coin is one with a hologram sticker on it though. Might as well just collect stamps.. not for me anywho.
They aren't stickers actually you should see how kool the colored coins are from the Perth, there is a reason the redbacks go for $800-900 on ebay
Last days there is a tendency to make coins "more interesting". Many people that is collecting coins for years will not like it, as they got used to more traditional look, but there is quite a big amount of people that will love it. Additionally low mintage makes prices of these coins grow pretty quickly. Thermopylae sells on ebay around AU $ 150 already and I guess it will reach 200 soon.
It IS a real coin. And many people, like the OP, appreciate the beauty of such coins, and are willing to pay a premium over spot metal price. In fact, these types of coins have proven to be a better investment than more common coins in recent times. eBay buyers are not hindered by "fair value" and such nonsense.
What is Fair Value? Anyway, it is only a coin in terms of it being legal tender. Its like any other bullion coin produced today...mostly a tricket. If you like, great. If you think these things have real value, I think your being a fool. Then again, things I would have thought that had real value, like AIG stock, have shown recently to be a disappointment as well. Ruben
