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Message:: [QUOTE="Blake Davis, post: 24936158, member: 91820"]Since I buy and sell ancient coins as well as collect - or rather buy and sell so that I can collect - an objection having been lodged to using house money for ancient coins, and since I love attributing coins - which in turn means I end up with a lot of Greek bronzes - In short a common problem is - "where was it struck?" and very rarely "is it really unique?"  And sometimes there are coins that should be easily attributable but are not, which this posting is really about. In order to attribute Greek bronzes and after decades of doing this Wildwinds is my go to, at least initially - it is a magnificent site.  When that doesn't solve the problem, I try the "Dictionary of Coin Inscriptions" assuming any part of the inscription in legible.  Although it should work every time, the lettering sometimes does not conform to what it should and...it just doesn't work.  The CNG site is also a great place to do research, more rarely I use the British Museum, and just lately for late Roman monograms, the Forumcoins site, which also has a terrific fake coin database which has saved me a few times from foolish purchases.  The other sources are the relatively few books in my coin library  - nothing special Lingren has been a help, and the CNG Handbook series - I am up for five - is very VERY good. BUT....sometimes nothing works despite spending hours and hours and days and just getting extremely frustrated - especially when there is enough on a coin so that it should be easily attributable as in three of the examples below - but it is not.  Then it sort of stops being as much fun. I have been reluctant to ask people in this site for attribution assistance although when I did ask about what turned out to be Eastern European medieval coins the response was terrific.  So here are my (1) a coin that I can't find anywhere else and think might actually be unique and (2) three coins that should be readily attributable but for some reason I simply cannot find anywhere: 1.  Ainos - 12mm, 1.16 this one I was able to attribute using the CNG Handbook - the lettering is on the helmet on the obverse is quite clear and it is definitely Ainos, despite being found in a group of coins from Troas.  But, despite searching everywhere above, and some other places, I have yet to find another example.  I cannot believe that this is the only one known.  The reverse is something I have never seen on ancient coin - a disembodied hand clutching a caduceus -[ATTACH=full]1601104[/ATTACH] 2.  This 9mm, 0.96 gram coin has defeated any effort at attribution - I know I need to clean it better - but the reverse has a monogram that does not come close to anything I have seen before  - I checked Roman monograms could not find anything and as I write this I just realized that maybe Byzantine monograms should be my next step: [ATTACH=full]1601107[/ATTACH]3.  Next is another bizarre monogram and I think might be the same as the one above - also there is a portrait under the gunk - but 8mm coins weighing 0.59 grams are very hard to clean:[ATTACH=full]1601110[/ATTACH] 4. This 10mm coin should be readily attributable -it came in a group from Troas, and to be candid, I have not spent nearly as much time on it as the ones above.  I wish the "obverse" was less worn but this one should be easy - I would start with Greek Coin Inscriptions - this should be easy I think:[ATTACH=full]1601112[/ATTACH] In any event, thanks and was anyone else disappointed with the small number of dealers at the New York show this month?  Some nice coins but all I thought was that the internet had really dealt a huge blow to the coin show.  But that is a well worn subject - I was very happy to once again talk to the dealer who set me on the path to collecting ancient coins in an organized manner.  But I miss the huge numbers of people and the multiple hoards that used to be seen in the early 2000's.  C'est la vie. Thanks again - I have two what I hope are interesting articles planned concerning sestertii of Caracalla and Elagablus that I have to make time for -  :[/QUOTE]

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