I went to the Summer FUN show again. For ancients, there really wasn’t much to show physically. I met three forum members in person though! That was something. @Theodosius even gave me a bunch of ancients! The highlights include a coin of the Thessalian League, a very nice deified Constantine, and of course the Byzantine. I did purchase one medieval coin, even though this coin can in many ways be considered the end of it. It is a groat of Henry VII, made from 1505-1509. With the launch of this coin, England went from a traditional stylized front facing portrait to a realistic profile portrait, following the lead of some Italian states such as Naples, which did so in the 1460s. I particularly like how the wear makes this portrait look almost like a silhouette. I was very happy to find this, as I find it is logically much harder to get profile Henry VII groats than those of his son, Henry VIII. The rest of my purchases can be found here.
That group looks like fun! It's always nice meeting other CT folk. And congrats on your great new Henry VII!!
I think that profile bust of Henry VII was the first departure from the stylized, interchangeable, almost cartoonish king portraits from the medieval era. That right there is the Renaissance coming to roost. I could be wrong, but that could be the first realistic portrait on an English coin since Roman times.
