Added this Chola era copper pot/box to my collection, it's my oldest non-coin artifact. Circa 10-12th century AD. This was offered by an Australian seller, from part of an estate among other antiquities. At first I was skeptical, but pots like these are common and constantly being dug up all over South India. These pots were more or less the equivalent of a piggy bank, people stored their coins in these pots for long term saving, (most excavations contain copper coins). This pot is surprising heavy for it's size, makes me wonder if the metal content of this pot at 397 grams alone would equal the weight of the number of copper coins it could hold. Seller's pics My image of the pot containing bunch of my Chola coins among other ancient coins, as it's intended. And here's a museum display of a hoard of Chola staters next to the pot it contained, notice the similar locking mechanism. Post your non-numismatic artifacts!
As expensive as coins have gotten, maybe I'll just start collecting coin pots and pretend they're full of the new coins I haven't been buying.
Very, very nice! Especially in that condition. My oldest human-made artifact: Sumerian biscuit-shaped cuneiform tablet with impressed cuneiform inscription, inscribed with 9 lines of text on both sides, translation included (receipt for carcasses of five sheep which had been issued to Shulgi-Urumu by Nalv, Drehem, 26th Day of the 3rd month of the last year of the reign of Shu-Sin [2023 BCE]). ¾” H x ¾” W. Purchased 1/27/1986, Harmer Rooke Numismatists, NYC.
That excat dating is so cool, would that be March 26th in Gregorian year as well or is the period based on Sumerian calendar?
I am reasonably sure it's based on the Sumerian calendar, and was not converted into any modern calendar.
Very nice pot Jay. Donna, I've always wanted a cuneiform tablet. I love having ancient text. I have a fragment of a military diploma from Domitian and a Fleet diploma fragment. This is one of my oldest and favourite artifacts: Italic bronze age Dolphin Fibula 5.98g, 35 mm. 8th-5th Century BC
AKKADIA Akkadia 2350-2200 BCE Cylinder Seal Buff stone scene hero wrestling antelope winged lion Ex J Tabot with SCENE
Interesting box. Having original & working hinges is a plus. I like plumb bobs. My first old plumb bob. a few others
By far my oldest handmade artifact - a Middle Paleolithic Neanderthal hand tool from the Ebro River Valley of Spain, part of the estate of Chicago archaeologist Philip C. Schupp (1870-1967):
Donna, the Sumerian cuneiform tablet is incredible! I didn’t realize there were any of these outside of institutional collections especially the British museum. There are so few things from this distant time period. It’s easy to overlook that civilization is 6000 years old but the vast majority of what we talk about, e.g., Greek and Roman coins, come from the second half of the civilization rime frame. The typical Roman was closer to us in time than to Sumerian.
Here's the only ancient coin pot that I own. It seems to have been broken to get the ancient coins out. I only own the pot. Better than nothing !
