A year and a half ago another member gave me a Byzantine freebie. Although I'm a generalist and collect all types of ancients and medievals, Byzantine coinage has never really done much for me, so this is a perfect time to pass this one on to a loving home. Emperor Manuel I (1143-1180 CE) If you want it, enter the contest. The winner will be the person who cracks the funniest "An Elephant and a Zebu" joke. Be creative, have fun, and keep it PG-13 less the forum mods come looking for blood. You see, I have this coin that's become the subject of countless elephant and Zebu jokes, among regulars here, and I'm always looking for new jokes based on the coin. Contest closes Monday at 5:00 PM EST. Shipping within US only. Here is the inspiration to draw upon: * This coin is not part of the giveaway, for visual aid only.
oh man, i thought you were giving away that AR! i didn't realize that picture was IRRELEPHANT to the give away at first! sorry. not an entry.
I will be doing a silver giveaway later this year, but it definitely won't be that cool coin. I couldn't part with that one except for equitable trade. I'm kind of attached to it. Maybe if you were to offer a sweet AR siliqua or something just as cool in return? LOL
How did the zebu finally get the elephant to forget?? With about a barrel of Jack! Count me in with this rather feeble attempt Very generous of you!
With the typical bug-eyed, bland, and generic late Roman bust, and an equally bland reverse type, come on you won't want something like that in your collection Best leave siliquae to those who enjoy such ugly coins (like me)
Okay, I'll take a crack at it. Q: What do you get when you cross an elephant and a zebu? A: Elephant zebu sine theta. (Trust me, if you are a physics/math nerd who works with vectors, this joke is hilarious.)
Q: How do you know that there is an elephant and a zebu in your fridge? A: The door won't close ... okay sure, it's not nearly as funny as that killer math-joke, but I had to take a swing
What did Tarzan say when he saw the elephants coming over the hill? Look, here come the elephants coming over the hill. Why did the elephant wear sunglasses? It didn't want to be recognized. Why did the Zebu wear sunglasses? It wanted to be an elephant. What did Tarzan say when he saw the elephants coming over the hill wearing sunglasses? Nothing, he didn't recognize them. What did Jane say when she saw the elephants coming over the hill wearing sunglasses? Nothing, she thought they were Zebu. Ok, so I modified a joke from my youth.
Hmm, there are a couple of members who having exchanged a few PM's & replies here n there I've notice some common simularities. Sallent you're one of those. I had 2 byzantine coins 1 I still have the other I gave away to another member. They just never moved me like I hoped they would.
Wow, you are trying to make me feel sorry that I have no sense of humor. That is a great giveaway coin. Not many of those have such a clear reverse legend. In case you ever wondered how the guys that write the books know what the legends are on some of those coins, it is because they look at thousands of coins including those with legends more clear than the noses on their faces (or in this case the faces). My example of the same coin is a bit more ordinary when it comes to facial features but I do wish it had that DECpiOTHC on the reverse right. Whoever wins this coin, I hope you can appreciate the fact that ugly mutts need love, too. This coin has great personality.
Q. What do you get when you cross an elephant and a zebu? A. Nothing. There are some things a zebu won't do. Steve
I knew you weren't giving away the AD. The history was cool on that coin though Valentinian I, 25 February 364 - 17 November 375 A.D. Upon becoming emperor Valentinian I made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west. During his reign, Valentinian successfully fought the Alamanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians. Most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 367 at the Battle of Solicinium. His brilliant general Count Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa, and the Great Conspiracy, a coordinated assault on Roman Britain by Picts, Scots, and Saxons. Valentinian was the last emperor to conduct campaigns across both the Rhine and Danube rivers. He rebuilt and improved the fortifications along the frontiers, even building fortresses in enemy territory. He founded the Valentinian Dynasty, with his sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeding him in the western half of the empire. Due to the successful nature of his reign and almost immediate decline of the empire after his death, he is often considered the "last great western emperor." The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus described a tsunami hitting Alexandria and other places in the early hours of 21 July 365: "Slightly after daybreak, and heralded by a thick succession of fiercely shaken thunderbolts, the solidity of the whole earth was made to shake and shudder, and the sea was driven away, its waves were rolled back, and it disappeared, so that the abyss of the depths was uncovered and many-shaped varieties of sea-creatures were seen stuck in the slime; the great wastes of those valleys and mountains, which the very creation had dismissed beneath the vast whirlpools, at that moment, as it was given to be believed, looked up at the sun's rays. Many ships, then, were stranded as if on dry land, and people wandered at will about the paltry remains of the waters to collect fish and the like in their hands; then the roaring sea as if insulted by its repulse rises back in turn, and through the teeming shoals dashed itself violently on islands and extensive tracts of the mainland, and flattened innumerable buildings in towns or wherever they were found. Thus in the raging conflict of the elements, the face of the earth was changed to reveal wondrous sights. For the mass of waters returning when least expected killed many thousands by drowning, and with the tides whipped up to a height as they rushed back, some ships, after the anger of the watery element had grown old, were seen to have sunk, and the bodies of people killed in shipwrecks lay there, faces up or down. Other huge ships, thrust out by the mad blasts, perched on the roofs of houses, as happened at Alexandria, and others were hurled nearly two miles from the shore, like the Laconian vessel near the town of Methone which I saw when I passed by, yawning apart from long decay." The tsunami was so devastating that anniversary was still commemorated annually at the end of the 6th century in Alexandria as a "day of horror." Valentinian I sent an investigator to assess the impact on taxes.RL79902. Bronze centenionalis, RIC IX Alexandria 2(a)1 (S), LRBC II 2856, SRCV V 19483, Cohen VII 21, Hunter V -, Nice VF, well centered and struck, nice green patina with reddish earthen highlighting, weight 2.897 g, maximum diameter 17.8 mm, die axis 90o, 1st officina, Alexandria mint, 28 Mar 364 - 24 Aug 367 A.D.; obverse D N VALENTINIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right, from the front; reverse RESTITVTOR REIP, emperor standing facing, head right, vexillum with X on banner in right hand, Victory on globe offering wreath in his left hand, ALEA in exergue; scarce; $60.00
An elephant and a zebu walk into a coin shop. The proprietor immediately says, "I'm sorry, but the bar is next door." (I only have one Byzantine, and this one looks really cool! Thank you for the contest!!!)
Deadline is 5:00PM Eastern Standard Time today to submit an entry, I think...And if it wasn't then I'm extending it until then due to lack of entries. Come on people.Get in on the fun.