I love looking at the ancient coins. The amazing art work and detail mixed with the history amazes me. My favorite is the Paris II from the ancient greece gaul mix that shows a head with long locks and a horse with pellets around it. If you ask me Pablo Piccasso also saw this coin and was inspired. But that is not the purpose of this thread. The title reflects what I was thinking for it was the first time I noticed a coin that escaped my viewing in the past. It is listed as being from cyzicus and is First Period 550-500 BC. What strikes me is how this ancient coin is surrounded by emperors and warriors coins yet it is struck showing a crab carrying a fish head. Imagine that, a gold coin with a crab carrying a fish head. Must be some story or funny joke behind that one.
Ancient Coins Compel Collectors It was not surrounded by emperor coins and warrior coins when it was struck. That came later. The purpose of the images was to tell anyone who saw it where it came from. It also had those images to reflect to the people of that town themselves that this was their own work. Many coins have puns on them. "Rhodes" equals "rose" is an easy example. We think little of crabs and fish heads because we Americans are at least for now pretty distant from starvation. In ancient times, hunger was closer and food was important. In classical times, the Mediterranean had been fished out and fishcakes were a delicacy -- no Mrs. Paul's in the frozen foods section of the supermarket. There there is astrology. Some have suggested that the Bull and Lion images of Lydia were Spring and Fall (or Summer and Winter, depending on what time of day you get up). We see a crab and a fish. They might have seen June and February. You never know for sure. We have almost no writings from ancient times about ancient coins. We just try to construct consistent theories based on established facts. Be that as it may, ancient coins are stunning. You might be interested in knowing about The Celator: http://www.coin-newbies.com/articles/celator.html and also www.celator.com
Thanks Mike, I've been trying to locate some information about that coin on line here and there but have not come up with anything as of yet. I will look into ordering the celator. De Orc which coins are you referring to. Do you have a name or a page number I could reference. Right now I am partial to the gallic tribe gold coins of 200 to 100 BC. It is said that they are "extremely crudely struck " but I love the energy that some of them project.
Cultural Ignorance The Celtic coins are not "crude." They are only described that way by people who never knew how to view them. They are not "Picassos." They are not "abstract." The only reason they boggle the mind is that we do not look at them the right way. See here: http://traumwerk.stanford.edu:3455/SeeingThePast/324 When I spoke at "Coinage and Identity in the Ancient World" in Calgary November 2004, the conference organizer and moderator, Geraldine Chimirri-Russell had only made a few presentations on her new view of Celtic coins. They only hints were brief mentions such as this: http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/coins/britnumsoc/Newsletter_July_04.pdf Now, more people are coming to understand the truth about Celtic coins.
I'm constantly in awe of the artistry of celtic coins.Who cannot be impressed by seeing something like this on a 2100 year old coin?
I haven't got either ancient British or Anglo-Saxon coins in my collection I'm afraid.The earliest I have got in my British Isles collection is some silver 1d.'s of King Edward I. Aidan.
will have a go at scanning a couple a bit later on today if I get a moment :smile HAPPY XMAS TO YOU ALL De Orc :mouth:
