Ancient Idiots: Ask the Experts Anything....

Thanks for the feedback on the Babylon question.
@Orange Julius, that thread came to my mind as well while I was writing my post.
Great coin that, and a spectacular story! I was (and still am) hoping that a lifetime Babylon tet would be a possible 'poor man's version' of that coin. I'll probably never know for sure, but the idea is far from unlikely. Hope springs eternally...
@PeteB, good point, thanks. Although it wasn't really the origins of the Persian bullion I was after (that would be impossible to find out). I guess I was hoping something was known about where and when the bullion from the treasury was put to use. No doubt a lot of it went striking coins in the Babylon mint, so I can still speculate and hope... And I'd sure like to get my hands on one of those Demetrius' coins!

 

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As I have not cross-referenced this to modern scholarship, I hesitate to link images from Newell's book. It's probably safer for me to reference anything on this list from ACSearch that is struck post 299 BC.

https://tinyurl.com/y2sxdpt7

The Alexander type Staters and the Nike/Poseidon Tetradrachms with the double ax monogram seem the best bet.

 

That's exciting to see! Thanks so much for sharing. I'd wanted one of the type and I just bought a drachm with that very silver in it!!

 

@Rebeccalouise, sorry for this kind of introduction to your membership. Hope you stay here long enough to hear some better news.

 

I am reviving this thread since I didn't get any answers to a question I asked in this thread:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/antioch-on-the-orontes.370411/

Maybe my question is silly? In this case, please say so.

Anyway, Carl Wilmont said:

Carl Wilmont said: ↑
Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). AR Tetradrachm (26mm, 15.10 g, 12h). Antioch mint, Seleucis Pieria, Syria. Dated year 29 of the Actian Era and Cos. XII = October-December 3 BC.​

And my question was:

trying to understand how the numismatists calculate the date, it is like a riddle - is the following reasoning correct?

As K = 20, Θ = 9 it is the year 29 of the Actian Era. The Actian Era dates from the victory of Caesar over Antony at Actium in 31 BC. If the era started before the common era (BC or BCE), to determine the common era (AD or CE) date, subtract the era start year from the date on the coin.

31 - 29 = 2 BC
Cos XII = 12th consulate Augustus became consul for the 12th time on January 1, 5BC

do we subtract 2 BC from 5 BC: 5 - 2 = 3 BC to date the tetradrachm?

Thanks in advance for your input

 

So, 31 BC is year 1, 30 is year 2, 29 is year 3, etc. In each case the total is 32. So, year 29 is 3 BC.

 

Thank you very much @Valentinian for your time and precise answer. Exactly what I needed to understand how to determine the date.

 

13 month revive? Sure

I want to start reading up on ancients a bit again in the more frequent bit of free time i’ve had the last week or so.

So could I have a handful of interesting Ancients websites to consume photos and articles about ancient civilizations and their coinage endlessly?

 

This will keep you interested for weeks or months:

http://augustuscoins.com/ed/sitelinks.html

 

How's life?

 

I recently purchased this coin which the seller claims it is part of the Hermanubis Collection. Can someone tell me what that is and what coins it contains? All I have been able to find is a couple of generic statements through an internet search. Thanks in advance.

 

https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n27a11.html

https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=345793

 

The E-sylum link is the same one I saw and didn't really tell me much unless I'm missing something.
The second link is the coin that I purchased. Based on the selling price I get the impression it's not as exciting a coin as I thought it was. Looks like I got taken for a ride on the price.. Lesson learned I guess.

 

The E-sylum link is 7 years old, suggesting that most, if not all, of the collection has likely been sold by now. You may be able to reassemble it by searching CNG's archives. The collector apparently wished to remain anonymous, which is not unusual. Many dealers purchase inventory from CNG and other auction houses. It is also worth noting that while Alexandrian coins are very popular, no new material is coming out of Egypt legally.

 

I’m fairly new to the world of ancient coin collecting. Let me see if I understand this correctly. The “Hermanubis Collection” is basically something the seller or the auction house came up with to sell the coins they had? Basically a sales gimmick and nothing more grand than that? ☹️

 

I don't think of it as nefarious. Suppose you want to sell a nice collection of coins you assembled over many years, but you want to leave your name out of it. You'd like an easy way to identify which coins were yours among the many lots offered. The auction firm might accommodate you by asking you for a name to attach to the coins. I have bought from "The White Mountain Collection" which was just a person's collection and not remarkable other than that. But, now my coin's provenance is recorded at least that far back.

 

I'm sure it sounded more impressive than "the Joe Shlabotnik Collection," or whatever the collector's actual name was! Here's my example:

Elagabalus, Billon Tetradrachm, Year 3 (219/220 AD), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, Α ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΜΑ ΑΥΡ - ΑΝΤѠΝΙΝΟϹ ƐΥϹƐΒ / Rev. Nike advancing right, holding wreath out with right hand and palm branch over left shoulder with left hand, L Γ [Year 3] before her. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. VI, 10053 (temporary); RPC Online at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/6/10053; Emmett 2939.3 (R2) [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)]; Dattari (Savio) 4122 [Savio, A. ed., Catalogo completo della collezione Dattari Numi Augg. Alexandrini (Trieste, 2007)]; Milne 2775 [Milne, J., A Catalogue of the Alexandrian Coins in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, 1933, reprint with supplement by Colin M. Kraay)]; Geissen (Köln) 2320 [Geissen, A., Katalog alexandrinischer Kaisermünzen, Köln, Band II (Hadrian-Antoninus Pius) (Cologne, 1978, corrected reprint 1987)]; K&G 56.28 [Kampmann, Ursula & Granschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria (2008)]. 23 mm., 12.40 g., 12 h. Ex. CNG E-Auction 403, Lot 432, Aug 9, 2017 (see https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=34134); Ex. Hermanubis Collection.




You may notice that the coins from this "Collection" all have a similar toning. As @zumbly pointed out in an old thread:

"I wasn't a fan of the look of these Hermanubis Collection coins when they first being sold, but ended up acquiring a few of them anyway. I don't have any trouble enjoying the coins for what they are, but do still wonder what they originally looked like before they were subject to conservation.

SEVERUS ALEXANDER
Potin Tetradrachm. 14.14g, 23.2mm. EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 2 (AD 222/223). RPC Online Temp #10249 (34 spec); Emmett 3139.2; Dattari (Savio) 4373. O: Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. R: Tyche standing facing, head left, holding rudder and cornucopia; L B (date) to upper left.
Ex Hermanubis Collection"

 

Thank you all for the helpful responses. I feel like I now have a better idea of what I purchased. I’ve always been fascinated by ancient Egypt & history and I’m finally in a position in life to finally own pieces of it.

 

I absolutely LOVE that sphinx!

 

That's the name of the dealer. He is located in Canada, and often has some interesting ancient coins for sale through VCoins, at reasonable prices.

If you're interested in ancient Egypt, you may want to do a search for some of my past posts on Coin Talk about Roman Alexandrian coins I've purchased with a traditional Egyptian theme on the reverse -- sphinxes, mummies, canopic jars, etc.