Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Al Kowsky, post: 7498614, member: 97383&quot;]The two coins posted below I recently won at auction. The tetradrachm of Philip II came from Roma E-Sale 82, &amp; the Austrian thaler came from CNG Auction 489.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1295926[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Antioch-Syria, Philip II as Augustus, AD 249-249 (struck AD 249), Officina #3 (3 dots under bust). Billon Tetradrachm: 12.39 gm, 26 mm, 12 h. Last issue of Philip II. McAlee 1064c, Very Rare. Prieur 492, 5 coins cited.</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>I had been on the hunt for a long time for a choice example of a last issue Tet of Philip II, until this coin surfaced at Roma Numismatics Ltd. Most issues of Philip II are easy to find except the last issue that identifies the officinas 1-4 with the number of dots beneath the bust. McAlee considers all four coins as Very Rare. This issue was minted shortly before the young prince, age 12, was probably killed in battle with his father, Philip I, in September of 249. Admittedly I was shocked when I opened the small box from Roma <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie9" alt=":eek:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />, see photo below. The coin has a highly reflective silvery luster unlike any I&#039;ve seen on a Tet of Philip II. My first thought was the coin had been brushed or burnished until I examined it under 20X magnification. No evidence of polishing was visible on the coin, &amp; the incrustations on the obverse support this. So why the unusual surface <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie12" alt="o_O" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />? McAlee estimates the silver content of Antioch Tets of AD 249 to be 16.58% silver, so why does this coin look so much better than that <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie6" alt=":cool:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />? The only explanation I can think of is the coin flan had been plated or chemically treated to remove copper from the surface before striking, yet I have never read of the Antioch Mint doing this. Another mystery to unravel....</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1295932[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The next coin more properly belongs in the <b>World Coin </b>forum, but I think the coin is old enough to be appreciated in the <b>Ancient Coin </b>forum too <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. I sold all my European thalers &amp; silver dollar size coins over the years but still admire large silver coins. This handsome Austrian thaler screamed <b>BUY ME </b>when I saw it, so I added it to my collection <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie11" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1295936[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>AUSTRIA, Holy Roman Empire, 1564-1595. Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Count of Tyrol. Obverse: Ferdinand crowned &amp; armored, holding a scepter over his shoulder &amp; hand on a sword hilt. Reverse: Austrian coat of arms surrounded by the Order of the Golden Fleece. AR Thaler: 28.20 gm, 40 mm, 12 h. Hall Mint. Davenport 8094.</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>This thaler is a high-grade lustrous coin, perfectly centered &amp; made from fresh dies. It is also an early Baroque Period machine made coin that replaced hand-struck coins from the Gothic Period. Experiments for making machine made coinage began in Italy by the end of the 15th century. By the middle of the 16th century German &amp; Austrian mints had perfected methods for making these coins. These coins were no longer struck by hammer blows, but were made on screw presses that squeezed the die impression on the flan. The screw presses were run by man or animal power until Mathew Boulton &amp; James Watt applied steam engines to coin striking machines in the 18th century. The style &amp; aesthetics of early machine made coinage also changed. No longer were high relief portraits possible like those seen on Greek &amp; Roman coins. Instead low relief images were made by die engravers, sometimes displaying minute details &amp; great virtuosity. Another pleasant change to early Baroque machine made coinage was the elimination of the complex &amp; confusing lettering of the Gothic style <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie50" alt=":happy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. Instead clean &amp; simple Roman style lettering was used, making the inscriptions much easier to read <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1295984[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Painting of Ferdinand II, circa 1557, by Francisco Terzi, Kunsthistorishes Museum, Vienna, Austria.</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>If any <b>CT </b>members have similar coins or something interesting to add feel free to post them on this thread <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in