2019 Numismatic Retrospective

I've added 138 coins on Tantalus so far in 2019 and probably have another forty or fifty to add, but I'll stick with those that have been added for this. 118 of these are Roman Republican (RR) coins, with a few Imperials, Greeks and modern coins.

Anyway, for 2019...

Coin photos - I've made some improvements to my photography setup over the year - after years of making no effort taking photographs and being unhappy with the results, I picked up a decent light late in 2018, along with a new secondhand camera body (this makes little or no difference to the photos, it's compatible with lenses for my older camera and has a similar sensor, but it's weatherproof and has some tricks up its sleeve). In early 2019 I added a good macro lens and a copy stand. In order of importance, trial and error have shown me that lighting, stability, lens and camera are what's needed to take decent coin photos. Some of the 2019 photos are with the kit lens, but after adding the macro lens, I was happier with results.

January... I went to the NYINC again in 2019 and met up with a gang of RR collectors/addicts. I ended up not spending much time at the bourse, but ran into another member of the Numismatic Society of Ireland (NSI) and bought one coin, from a dealer who is a member of the NSI too and attends shows here in Dublin.
CNG had the coins for their upcoming ESale there, so I had a look at those and ended up with a few of them a couple of weeks later.

Anyway, while I didn't spend too much time looking at coins, we did a lot of tourism - Annie's first time in NY, so we went to Met Museum, up the Empire State Building, to some good jazz, to Juliana's for great pizza, on the Staten Island ferry, Carrie Bradshaw's apartment (!) and so on. Here's a blurry shot from beside the Brooklyn Bridge.


Coin 1
This came from a Triskeles auction on Vauctions in Dec. 2018, but didn't get added on Tantalus until January, so I'm including it
Cr. 53/2 denarius
Wt./Size/Axis: 4.43g / 19mm / 6h
This needs a new photo'. It's a very pretty coin, especially the reverse - the obverse is not well struck.



Coin 2
Again, this was a Dec. 2018 purchase, but only got onto Tantalus in Jan. 2019, so here it is
An Eraviscan denarius - Obv. Laureate head of Jupiter right; Rev. RAVIS - Globe between sceptre (resembling thunderbolt) and rudde
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.35g / 17mm / 9h

• Torbágyi C11 i
  
• Freeman, Essays Hersh, pl. 29, 6

The Eraviscans lived around modern-day Budapest and minted coins imitating Roman Republican denarii. The reverse of this is maybe the best I've seen.



Coin 3
This is one (the only one) from NYINC. I mostly bought this as it's from the Duke of Northumberland's collection, giving it a provenance to 1856. I already had a better example, but no harm in having two

Denarius of Pinarius Natta. Obv. X - Helmeted head of Roma right; Rev. NATTA - Victory in biga right; Exergue: ROMA
Mint: Rome (149 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.40g / 18mm / 9h
References:

• RSC 1 (Pinaria)
• Sydenham 390
• Crawford 208/1
• Smyth p. 167 #45 (this coin)

Provenances:

• Ex. Noble Sale 107A, lot 3573
• Ex. Colin Pitchfork Collection
• Ex. Sotheby's 4-Nov-1982, lot 232
• Ex. Duke of Northumberland Collection

Coin 4
This is a type I'd wanted for a while. In Sydenham's day, this was a very rare coin, he rated it 9 in his 10 point scale - "Exceedingly Rare". A hoard in the last decade has made them more obtainable, if not exactly cheap. This was one I saw in NY and obtained from CNG's ESale.

A denarius of C. Cassius Longinus. Obv. C. CASSI / IMP - Tripod surmounted by cortina and two laurel branches; fillet hanging on either side; Rev. LENTVLVS / SPINT - Capis and lituus.
Mint: Smyrna (?) (Spring 42 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.73g / 18mm / 6h

• RSC 14 (Cassia)
• Sydenham 1308
• Crawford 500/1
• HCRI 219
• RBW 1761

The next coin-related thing of 2019 was a trip to the Isle of Man in April 2019 for the BANS annual conference. BANS is the British Association of Numismatic Societies - in the NSI, we are members by virtue of the Northern Branch being in the UK. I'd never been to the Isle of Man, though it's only a half hour flight from Dublin. It's like stepping back in time - the island has railways, with no rolling stock newer than the 1920s, no road speed limits outside the towns and a relaxed atmosphere. We'll certainly go back. I picked up a few modern coins there - the island's numismatic history goes back to rare Hiberno-Manx issues from around 1000AD, through the well-known three-legged bronzes and has its own distinctive coinage today.

Here's the Laxey Wheel - the world's largest working water wheel, which pumps water from a disused mine.


Anyway, back to coins!

Coin 5
The Cr. 408/1 Piso Frugi are somewhat better-struck than the 340/1 examples. I got this in May and it's the best 408/1 I have. It's in very high relief with a concave reverse.

Denarius of C. Calpurnius Piso L.f. Frugi. Obv. Laureate head of Apollo right, snake on staff behind; C·PISO·L·F·FRVG - Horseman galloping right, holding torch; above, shield; below, sword in scabbard
Mint: Rome (67 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 4.00g / - / -
References:

• RSC 24 (Calpurnia)
• Sydenham 868 var
• Crawford 408/1b

Coin 6
This is a pretty scarce anonymous denarius with Victory symbol. Obv. X - Helmeted head of Roma right; Rev. ROMA - The Dioscuri galloping right; behind, Victory with wreath.

Mint: Central Italy (ca. 211-208 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 4.27g / - / -
References:

• Sydenham 147
• Crawford 61/1
• RBW 251

Provenances:

• Ex. Student and mentor collection
• Ex. NAC 83, 2015
• Ex. Lanz 42, 1987, 359

Coin 7
This came from the same sale as coin 6 and is a later denarius of C. Memmius C.f.
Obv. QVIRINVS / C·MEMMI·C·F - Laureate head of Quirinus right; Rev. MEMMIVS· AED·CERIALIA·PREIMVS·FECIT - Ceres seated right, holding torch in left hand and corn-ears in right hand; before, snake
Mint: Rome (56 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.95g / - / -
References:

• RSC 9 (Memmia)
• Sydenham 921
• Crawford 427/2
• RBW 1532
• BMCRR Rome 3940

To be continued - it appears I can only have 20 pictures in each post!

 

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Coin 8
Here's one that came from another cointalker, a rare victoriatus with pentagram symbol.
Obv. Laureate head of Jupiter right; Rev. Victory right, crowning trophy; between, pentagram; Exergue: ROMA
Mint: Spain? (209 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 2.70g / 18mm / 1h
References:

• RSC Anon 24l
• Sydenham 233a
• Crawford 105/1

Coin 9
This is my contender for "Eye Candy of the Year", from a Chris Rudd auction in July - not normally where one would expect to find a Republican denarius. Funnily, it's the second time they've sold this particular coin - when I posted it on FB at the time, someone commented that he'd seen the coin in list 67 in 2003 and tried to buy it, but it had already been sold. From the Mesagne Hoard, found in Brindisi Province c. 1980 (though this particular coin doesn't seem to be mentioned in the main article describing the hoard).

Denarius of L. Roscius Fabatus
Obv. L. ROSCI - Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goatskin headdress; laurel branch behind; Rev. Female figure standing right, feeding snake coiled erect before her; Exergue: FABATI
Mint: Rome (64 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.90g / 18mm / 6h
References:

• RSC 3 (Roscia)
• Sydenham 915
• Crawford 412/1
• Sear RCV 363

Provenances:

• Ex. William F. Stevens Collection
• Ex. Chris Rudd List 67, Jan. 2003, no. 38
• Ex. Leu Numismatik auction 83, 7-May-2002, lot 665
• Ex. Mesagne Hoard

A break from the coins to describe our society's summer activity...
2019's Coin Caper was a sedate visit to the Central Bank's visitor centre and a special viewing of some items from the archives. The building itself was built as the HQ for the infamous Anglo Irish Bank, whose collapse led to its nationalisation and added tens of billions to the national debt.

The pic of the building isn't co-operating, so here's a look at some of the submissions for the 1928 Free State coinage.


Coin 10
I picked up a couple of Q coins this year - this is the first of them, a Q quinarius.
Obv. V - Helmeted head of Roma right; Rev. Q - Dioscuri riding right; Exergue: ROMA
Mint: Apulia mint (ca. 211-201 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 1.78g / 15mm / 3h
References:

• RSC 33i (Anon.)
• King 18
• Crawford 102/2a

Coin 11
And the other - a Q victoriatus. This could probably be made to look prettier by some cleaning, but I like its rough look.
Obv. Laureate head of Jupiter right; Rev. Victory right, crowning trophy; between, Q; Exergue: ROMA
Mint: Apulia mint (ca. 211-210 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.01g / 16mm / -
References:

• Sydenham 115
• Crawford 102/1

Coin 12
(don't worry, only two more - a baker's dozen plus one).

This is worn, but I like the obverse style and the stress patterns in the silver revealed by the corrosion.
Denarius of M. Plaetorius Cestianus. Obv. Female bust right (Fortuna?), draped; behind, control-mark (ivy leaf); Rev. M. PLAETORI CEST S C / SORS - Half-length, draped, facing bust of Sors on tablet
Mint: Rome (69 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 17.00g / 3.69mm / 6h
References:

• RSC 10 (Plaetoria)
• Sydenham 801
• Crawford 405/2
• BMCRR Rome 3529
• Banti 28/8 (this coin)

Provenances:

• Ex. Andrew McCabe Collection
• Ex. CNG eSale 443, lot 470, 1-May-2019
• Ex. Kress 135, lot 248, 15-Mar-1966
• Ex. G. Hirsch XLI, lot 187, 9-Dec-1964

Coin 13
This has been very Roman Republican heavy, so coin 13 will be something different. Darics have become relatively cheap recently, so I had to add one.

Gold daric of the Achaemenid dynasty - Darios I - Xerxes II
Obv. Persian Great King or hero, wearing kidaris and kandys, in kneeling-running attitude on exergual line to right, holding apple-tipped spear and strung bow; quiver over shoulder; Rev. Rectangular incuse punch
Mint: Sardes (ca. 486-420 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 8.30g / 16mm / -
References:

• Carradice Type IIIb, Group A/B (pl. XIII, 27)
• BMC Arabia pl. XXIV, 26
• Sunrise 24

Coin 14
I realised I'd missed this - admittedly, it's not ancient, but it's oldish, so I'll squeeze it in at the end. I bought it from the society chairman in the bar after the January meeting - it's my best Gunmoney coin by a mile. I need to add the Timmins reference number.

James II Gunmoney 1689 (September) Halfcrown
Obv. IACOBVS II DEI GRATIA - Laureate, draped bust right; Rev. MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX 1689 - Crown, crossed sceptres behind
Mint: Dublin
Wt./Size/Axis: 14.05g / 32mm / 12h
References:

• DF 379
• Spink 6579D

Provenances:

• Ex. DNW 14-Mar-2007, lot 1732

I've waffled enough - this has taken ages to write and thanks to anyone who's managed to read to here!

Here's to a great rest of 2019 and 2020
Aidan.

 

It looks like you've had a great year, those Republican Denarius are absolutely stunning, I would love any of them in my collection but the detail and eye appeal of your C. Memmius is fantastic. Congrats on some brilliant buying.

 

Nice coins. I liked #1 best and #9 for the snake and I don't do ancients yet.

 

Excellent pics & write up!

 

Congrats on a great collecting year. I like the stories that go with your coins.

 

You obviously had a terrific collecting year! All of those are fantastic, but here are my favorites:

#7 for eye appeal. The bearded portrait as well as the reverse are exceptional.
#4 for historical interest. How often do you see a coin minted for Cassius?
#5 for cool and unusual details. The sword and shield controlmarks make it special.

And in comparison I agree that the RRC 408/1 Frugis generally look a bit better struck than the RRC 340/1's:

Roman Republic, moneyer: L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, AR denarius, 90 BC, Rome mint. Obv: laureate head of Apollo r.: control marks. Rev: L PISO FRVGI; horseman galloping r. with palm-branch; control mark CVI. 18mm, 3.77g. Ref: RRC 340/1.

 

All coins DYNAMITE, @akeady . Just fantastic, and in my collecting focus. I apprecate them all. Thanks for showing.

Best,
Brian

 

Eye-popping additions to your collection! Great write-up, too!

 

Superb assortment! I’ve always admired the classic imagery on the Roman Republic coins.

 

Nice mix of coins. My favorite is number 7, C. Memmius C.f.. The reverse intrigues me.

 

W.r.t. number 7, I dug out Michael Harlan's "Roman Republican Moneyers and Their Coins 63BCE - 40BCE" and he says: "Memmius has depicted the goddess Ceres seated on a chair (RRC 447/2). Long hair trails down her back. She holds ears of wheat in her right hand and a torch in the left. A snake is at her feet. Around the coin is the inscription MEMMIVS AED CERIALIA PREIMVS FECIT which translates, 'Memmius as aedile first held the games of Ceres'". He goes on to say that the Cerealia, celebrated between 12th and 19th April, were established by 202BC, as Livy noted their celebration that year. The Memmius who inaugurated the games is unknown - the plebeian aediles for the years 210-198BC are known and don't include any Memmius, so he presumably held office before that. Apparently, the earliest mention of the gens Memmia concerns a Gaius Memmius, legate in 174BC and praetor in 172BC.

The obverse has the god Quirinus, a Sabine god also associated with Romulus. Romulus disappeared during a sudden violent storm on 5th July, in the 37th year after the founding of Rome while offering a public sacrifice. When a thick cloud dissipated, there was no sign of Romulus and the senators proclaimed that he'd been taken to heaven as a god. Suspicions of some that he'd come to a bad end were fortunately allayed when Julius Proculus swore an oath that Romulus had appeared to him to say he was to be known from then on as Quirinus. This seemed to keep everyone happy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proculus_Julius

Harlan says that coupling Quirinus (a god of war) with the games of Ceres and Ceres with a military trophy (on RRC 447/2) reflects the duality of the Roman character - a nature suited to the pursuit of war, but tempered by religion and clemency; the fruits of peace enjoyed because of the arts of war, with the Memmia gens providing both to the Roman people.

ATB,
Aidan.

 

Thanks for information @akeady

 

Fantastic list! The Memmius is my favorite... what an absolutely wonderful coin!

 

There was actually a better Memmius in the same sale, but this one was both nice and affordable!

ATB,
Aidan.

 

I agree with Z (as usual ). That Memmius is just fantastic. The reverse scene is so clear and detailed! Envious .

Congrats on the great year!

 

Don’t you love it when that happens.

 

I would agree with this order 100% if only you would add at the start of the list what we used to call 'operator head space'. More photos are ruined by the person making them than by any of the four listed matters. Often that is a belief that a photo is 'good enough' or that they do not care enough about the photo to correct something simple that is ruining the photo. The four work like a chain with the weakest link controlling the ultimate success or failure of the image but usually the weakest link turns out to be you and I.

Most of the images are quite acceptable. The daric deserves a reshoot with softer lighting and fewer blown out highlights. My favorites are 2,3 and 14. I like all of the coins but those three strike me as better photos from a lighting sense.

 

True! I was only dealing with the mechanical factors. Agreed.about the daric too - I'm still lazy in that I tend to use the same conditions for every coin and take just one shot of each side and move on. The daric hasn't come out well and needs some experimentation - I stuck it in here as I was happy to have got a daric this year.

Thanks for feedback - I'll tackle that coin later today - I have a couple of daylight lamps to connect up again, they might be better.

ATB,
Aidan

 

Wow, what a list! Like others, I love the Memmius, but some others jumped out at me too. I would include the 53/2 for the toning, the Eraviscan (just wow! so jealous ), and the Cassius (for the awesome tripod). Honourable mention for the Sors due to the lovely obverse style (as you note) and the unusual reverse. Also kudos for including at least two non-Republicans.