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Ex Michael Molnar (1945-2023) Collection. His published “Star of Bethlehem” coin. Antioch. Zeus/Ram
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<p>[QUOTE="Curtis, post: 24668655, member: 26430"]<a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/the-star-of-bethlehem" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/the-star-of-bethlehem" rel="nofollow">The publisher’s blurb</a> for Michael Molnar’s (1999) <i>Star of Bethlehem…</i> book begins:</p><blockquote><p>“Could the $50 purchase of a coin by a Rutgers University professor have unlocked the mystery of the Christmas Star?”</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>I just bought that exact coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>I collect published coins, but this is my first <i>New York Times</i> “plate coin.” And surely the coin whose likeness is most widely reproduced and seen – by far.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin, as it appeared in the <i>New York Times</i> almost 25 years ago (21 Dec 1999) and 1 week ago at <a href="https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-AKPR6G/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-AKPR6G/" rel="nofollow">CNG EA 543 (1 Aug 2023), Lot 340</a> (someone removed the artificial patina before the auction, which may have been a mistake in this case):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1573071[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Until I saw his collection at CNG, I was unaware that Michael Molnar (1945-2023) died in February. Here is <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/michael-molnar-obituary?id=48426911" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/michael-molnar-obituary?id=48426911" rel="nofollow">his Legacy.com obituary by his family w/ photo</a>. I’ve found no other obituaries.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1573072[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>(Left image: holding a photo of the coin I just bought.)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Molnar was an astronomy professor at Rutgers University at one time and an ancient coin collector. He wrote articles about astronomical themes on ancient coins, many published in <i>The Celator</i> in the 1990s.</p><p><br /></p><p>He is overwhelmingly known for his “Christmas Star” or “Star of Bethlehem” theory – first published in <i>The Celator</i>, December 1991, as far I can tell, and illustrated by the same coin:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1573073[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>He wrote <i>The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi</i>, which must be one of the better selling books featuring ancient coins in recent decades, due to its reception among Christian and popular readerships. (There are multiple printings, editions, and translations. Google “Molnar” and “Star” [<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%22molnar%22+%22star%22" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%22molnar%22+%22star%22" rel="nofollow">~3 million results</a>] or “Star of Bethlehem” or “Christmas Star” for the seemingly unlimited coverage – news media, popular, scientific, religious, and numismatic.)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1573075[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The coin that inspired Molnar’s interest in this theme – and the one he always used to illustrate it – is the same coin from his collection that I just purchased. Molnar published the photos from his book on his website and allowed re-publication, so they appear all over the place – especially the photos of this coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1573076[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I’d have expected more attention/bids than it received (despite not being a particularly great coin aside from its provenance), but I’m feeling rather ecstatic at having gotten such a piece of numismatic history for an $80 bid.</p><p><br /></p><p>Were it not for the “object biography,” I can’t imagine anyone giving it a second look. It is an unassuming, not very attractive, scarce, or valuable coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>For that reason, though, it illustrates well the fundamental premise of my “plate coins” collection: I am most interested in the modern social lives and intellectual histories of ancient coins. <i>How are they received, understood, and used by modern audiences? What role do they play in our modern interpretation of the ancient world?</i></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1573074[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><font size="4"><b>Syria, Seleucis and Pieria. Antiochia ad Orontem Æ Trichalkon</b> (21.5mm, 8.29 g, 12h), <i>temp</i>. Augustus, naming Q. Caecilius Metellus Creticus Silanus, <i>legatus Augusti pro praetore</i>, struck 13/14 CE (Year 44 of Actian era).</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Obv</b>: Laureate head of Zeus right.</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Rev</b>: EΠI ΣIΛANOY ANTIOXEΩN / ΔM (date). Ram leaping right, head turned to look back at star above. (Aries and the Star of Bethlehem?)</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Ref</b>: McAlee 99; RPC 4269; Molnar p. 52, Fig 9 (this coin).</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Prov</b>: Dr. Michael Molnar (1945-2023) Collection, acq. for $50 at a NY coin show (before 1991). <a href="https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-AKPR6G/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-AKPR6G/" rel="nofollow">CNG e-Auction 543 (1 Aug 2023), Lot 319</a>.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>For more background</b>, there are previous CoinTalk threads on this topic. I’m sure there are more, but these ones are interesting (and show some specimens nicer than “the original”):</p><blockquote><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-star-of-bethlehem-mythology-or-not.375805/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-star-of-bethlehem-mythology-or-not.375805/">The Star of Bethlehem: Mythology or not?</a> (23 Feb 2021, by [USER=103829]@Jochen1[/USER] )</p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/numismatics-and-the-christmas-star.352228/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/numismatics-and-the-christmas-star.352228/">Numismatics and the Christmas Star</a> (24 Dec 2019, by [USER=57463]@kaparthy[/USER] & [USER=99456]@Sulla80[/USER] )</p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/star-of-bethlehem-roman-provincial.284634/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/star-of-bethlehem-roman-provincial.284634/">Star Of Bethlehem Roman Provincial</a> (2 Oct 2016, by [USER=76835]@TTerrier[/USER] )</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>(My own position toward his hypothesis is agnostic-skeptical: There are great commercial and spiritual pressures to interpret this coin as commemorating a celestial event recorded in the Bible.)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Selected Publication History (there are many other media appearances & secondary publications):</b></p><p><br /></p><p><i>The Celator</i>, vol. 5, n. 8 (December 8, 1991). “An explanation of the Christmas star determined from Roman coins of Antioch,” by Michael Molnar. Pp. 8-12 (half-page illustration on p. 8). <a href="https://social.vcoins.com/files/file/55-vol-05-no-12-december-1991/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://social.vcoins.com/files/file/55-vol-05-no-12-december-1991/" rel="nofollow">https://social.vcoins.com/files/file/55-vol-05-no-12-december-1991/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Molnar, Michael. 1999 (and later editions). <i>The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi</i>. Rutgers University Press. (P. 52, fig. 9, this rev. illustrated.) Reprinted in multiple editions & translated into many languages. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bj4UeQcAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bj4UeQcAAAAJ&hl=en" rel="nofollow">Cited 118 times in Google Scholar</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>New York Times</i>, December 21, 1999. “Coin May Link Star of Bethlehem to King of Planets,” by Henry Fountain. National Edition, Section F (Science), p. 5ff. (rev. of this coin illustrated in detail & as a book plate being held up by Molnar). <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/122199sci-archaeo-jupiter.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/122199sci-archaeo-jupiter.html" rel="nofollow">https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/122199sci-archaeo-jupiter.html</a> (may or may not show photos without subscription?)</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Christianity Today</i>: <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/december/o-subtle-star-of-bethlehem.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/december/o-subtle-star-of-bethlehem.html" rel="nofollow">22 Dec 2014</a>.</p><p><i>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</i>: <a href="https://archive.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/astronomer-from-uw-thinks-his-star-of-bethlehem-theory-is-gold-b99641268z1-364006531.html/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://archive.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/astronomer-from-uw-thinks-his-star-of-bethlehem-theory-is-gold-b99641268z1-364006531.html/" rel="nofollow">1 Jan 2016</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>Countless others.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>See also:</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Molnar’s website, now archived, which includes his own photos (c. 1990s) of his published coins: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160113112816/http:/www.eclipse.net/~molnar/pix.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160113112816/http:/www.eclipse.net/~molnar/pix.html" rel="nofollow">https://web.archive.org/web/20160113112816/http://www.eclipse.net/~molnar/pix.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Molnar’s hypothesis was the subject of an international colloquium at Groningen University 2014: “Molnar's theory was debated by scientists, theologians, and historians during a colloquium on the Star of Bethlehem at the Netherlands' University of Groningen in October 2014” (<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_Bethlehem" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_Bethlehem" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia: Star of Bethlehem</a></i>).</p><p>Conference proceedings published (2015), <i>The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Experts on the Ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman World, and Modern Astronomy</i>. (Colloquium Page still live: <a href="https://www.astro.rug.nl/~khan/bethlehem/index.php" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.astro.rug.nl/~khan/bethlehem/index.php" rel="nofollow">https://www.astro.rug.nl/~khan/bethlehem/index.php</a>.)</p><p><br /></p><p><b>PLEASE SHARE ANYTHING RELEVANT!</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Curtis, post: 24668655, member: 26430"][URL='https://www.ubcpress.ca/the-star-of-bethlehem']The publisher’s blurb[/URL] for Michael Molnar’s (1999) [I]Star of Bethlehem…[/I] book begins: [INDENT]“Could the $50 purchase of a coin by a Rutgers University professor have unlocked the mystery of the Christmas Star?”[/INDENT] I just bought that exact coin. I collect published coins, but this is my first [I]New York Times[/I] “plate coin.” And surely the coin whose likeness is most widely reproduced and seen – by far. This coin, as it appeared in the [I]New York Times[/I] almost 25 years ago (21 Dec 1999) and 1 week ago at [URL='https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-AKPR6G/']CNG EA 543 (1 Aug 2023), Lot 340[/URL] (someone removed the artificial patina before the auction, which may have been a mistake in this case): [ATTACH=full]1573071[/ATTACH] Until I saw his collection at CNG, I was unaware that Michael Molnar (1945-2023) died in February. Here is [URL='https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/michael-molnar-obituary?id=48426911']his Legacy.com obituary by his family w/ photo[/URL]. I’ve found no other obituaries. [ATTACH=full]1573072[/ATTACH] (Left image: holding a photo of the coin I just bought.) Molnar was an astronomy professor at Rutgers University at one time and an ancient coin collector. He wrote articles about astronomical themes on ancient coins, many published in [I]The Celator[/I] in the 1990s. He is overwhelmingly known for his “Christmas Star” or “Star of Bethlehem” theory – first published in [I]The Celator[/I], December 1991, as far I can tell, and illustrated by the same coin: [ATTACH=full]1573073[/ATTACH] He wrote [I]The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi[/I], which must be one of the better selling books featuring ancient coins in recent decades, due to its reception among Christian and popular readerships. (There are multiple printings, editions, and translations. Google “Molnar” and “Star” [[URL='https://www.google.com/search?q=%22molnar%22+%22star%22']~3 million results[/URL]] or “Star of Bethlehem” or “Christmas Star” for the seemingly unlimited coverage – news media, popular, scientific, religious, and numismatic.) [ATTACH=full]1573075[/ATTACH] The coin that inspired Molnar’s interest in this theme – and the one he always used to illustrate it – is the same coin from his collection that I just purchased. Molnar published the photos from his book on his website and allowed re-publication, so they appear all over the place – especially the photos of this coin. [ATTACH=full]1573076[/ATTACH] I’d have expected more attention/bids than it received (despite not being a particularly great coin aside from its provenance), but I’m feeling rather ecstatic at having gotten such a piece of numismatic history for an $80 bid. Were it not for the “object biography,” I can’t imagine anyone giving it a second look. It is an unassuming, not very attractive, scarce, or valuable coin. For that reason, though, it illustrates well the fundamental premise of my “plate coins” collection: I am most interested in the modern social lives and intellectual histories of ancient coins. [I]How are they received, understood, and used by modern audiences? What role do they play in our modern interpretation of the ancient world?[/I] [ATTACH=full]1573074[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=4][B]Syria, Seleucis and Pieria. Antiochia ad Orontem Æ Trichalkon[/B] (21.5mm, 8.29 g, 12h), [I]temp[/I]. Augustus, naming Q. Caecilius Metellus Creticus Silanus, [I]legatus Augusti pro praetore[/I], struck 13/14 CE (Year 44 of Actian era). [B]Obv[/B]: Laureate head of Zeus right. [B]Rev[/B]: EΠI ΣIΛANOY ANTIOXEΩN / ΔM (date). Ram leaping right, head turned to look back at star above. (Aries and the Star of Bethlehem?) [B]Ref[/B]: McAlee 99; RPC 4269; Molnar p. 52, Fig 9 (this coin). [B]Prov[/B]: Dr. Michael Molnar (1945-2023) Collection, acq. for $50 at a NY coin show (before 1991). [URL='https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-AKPR6G/']CNG e-Auction 543 (1 Aug 2023), Lot 319[/URL].[/SIZE][/INDENT] [B]For more background[/B], there are previous CoinTalk threads on this topic. I’m sure there are more, but these ones are interesting (and show some specimens nicer than “the original”): [INDENT] [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-star-of-bethlehem-mythology-or-not.375805/']The Star of Bethlehem: Mythology or not?[/URL] (23 Feb 2021, by [USER=103829]@Jochen1[/USER] ) [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/numismatics-and-the-christmas-star.352228/']Numismatics and the Christmas Star[/URL] (24 Dec 2019, by [USER=57463]@kaparthy[/USER] & [USER=99456]@Sulla80[/USER] ) [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/star-of-bethlehem-roman-provincial.284634/']Star Of Bethlehem Roman Provincial[/URL] (2 Oct 2016, by [USER=76835]@TTerrier[/USER] )[/INDENT] (My own position toward his hypothesis is agnostic-skeptical: There are great commercial and spiritual pressures to interpret this coin as commemorating a celestial event recorded in the Bible.) [B]Selected Publication History (there are many other media appearances & secondary publications):[/B] [I]The Celator[/I], vol. 5, n. 8 (December 8, 1991). “An explanation of the Christmas star determined from Roman coins of Antioch,” by Michael Molnar. Pp. 8-12 (half-page illustration on p. 8). [URL]https://social.vcoins.com/files/file/55-vol-05-no-12-december-1991/[/URL] Molnar, Michael. 1999 (and later editions). [I]The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi[/I]. Rutgers University Press. (P. 52, fig. 9, this rev. illustrated.) Reprinted in multiple editions & translated into many languages. [URL='https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bj4UeQcAAAAJ&hl=en']Cited 118 times in Google Scholar[/URL]. [I]New York Times[/I], December 21, 1999. “Coin May Link Star of Bethlehem to King of Planets,” by Henry Fountain. National Edition, Section F (Science), p. 5ff. (rev. of this coin illustrated in detail & as a book plate being held up by Molnar). [URL]https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/122199sci-archaeo-jupiter.html[/URL] (may or may not show photos without subscription?) [I]Christianity Today[/I]: [URL='https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/december/o-subtle-star-of-bethlehem.html']22 Dec 2014[/URL]. [I]Milwaukee Journal Sentinel[/I]: [URL='https://archive.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/astronomer-from-uw-thinks-his-star-of-bethlehem-theory-is-gold-b99641268z1-364006531.html/']1 Jan 2016[/URL]. Countless others. [B]See also:[/B] Molnar’s website, now archived, which includes his own photos (c. 1990s) of his published coins: [URL='https://web.archive.org/web/20160113112816/http:/www.eclipse.net/~molnar/pix.html']https://web.archive.org/web/20160113112816/http://www.eclipse.net/~molnar/pix.html[/URL] Molnar’s hypothesis was the subject of an international colloquium at Groningen University 2014: “Molnar's theory was debated by scientists, theologians, and historians during a colloquium on the Star of Bethlehem at the Netherlands' University of Groningen in October 2014” ([I][URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_Bethlehem']Wikipedia: Star of Bethlehem[/URL][/I]). Conference proceedings published (2015), [I]The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Experts on the Ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman World, and Modern Astronomy[/I]. (Colloquium Page still live: [URL]https://www.astro.rug.nl/~khan/bethlehem/index.php[/URL].) [B]PLEASE SHARE ANYTHING RELEVANT![/B][/QUOTE]
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Ex Michael Molnar (1945-2023) Collection. His published “Star of Bethlehem” coin. Antioch. Zeus/Ram
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