This is Romas pics, this auction ended yesterday and I ended up with a few wins. First a Latin tetarteron that my collection was missing. Their were two examples that came to auction within a week of each other. I chose this example, a little cleaner than the other offered by CNG. Latin Rulers of Constantinople and Thessalonica Æ Half Tetarteron. Thessalonica, AD 1204-1224. HAΓIA ЄΛЄNH, St. Helena, nimbate and crowned, standing facing slightly right, holding [patriarchal cross] / OATOC(?), St. Constantine standing facing slightly left, holding anexikakia and patriarchal cross. DOC 28; Sear 2059. 2.28g, 20mm, 6h. Almost as Struck; area of flat strike, excellent remaining detail. From dies of exceptional style. Extremely Rare. From the inventory of a German dealer. The other one was to complete my collection of JOHN II , it was listed as a John III, their is no way visually to attributed the coin to John II Thessalonica mint or John III Magnesia mint, John III imitated John II coinage , legend and all. The only difference is John III 17 carat and John II is 20 carat. I made a decision to go for it. Almost all examples of this coin are being listed as John III, he has been very collectable this year. I am happy with the addition and to finish a complete collection of all coinage of John II. John III Ducas-Vatazes AV Hyperpyron. Emperor of Nicaea. Magnesia, AD 1222-1254. Christ enthroned facing, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels; IC-XC across upper fields / John standing facing, holding labarum and akakia, being crowned by the Virgin Mary; MHP monogram in upper field between them, legends in left and right fields. Sear 2073; DOC 5. 4.53g, 27mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Here are the others of John II. https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=6945 Happy Holiday's All. feel free to share your last coin of the year wins.
BenSi, What a great way to close out the year ! The Bronze 1/2 Tetarteron struck on a square planchet is interesting & the gold Hyperpyron is a gem .
Thank you Al, the hyperpyron will be listed as SBCV-1948 The latin tetarteron is rarely seen on market. When i saw how exceptional this example this was i went for it. After rate conversion it went higher than the cng offering. I think it was worth it. Funny i did not think i would end the year with any new coins, the offerings have been slim for my specialties. Happy Holidays.
Not at all, in fact I paid more for the tetarteron than I did the Hyperpyron. I was really focused on it because my main collection is tetartera , I have bid on many different examples of the hyperpyron, this was the first that did not exceed my bid.
Those are very nice and the Tetarteron is superior to most. My last is still in the mail. Would the striations on the flan help distinguish the two?
Nice additions, BenSi I also have trouble differentiating John II from John III I was going to bid on your Hyperper but held off, since I had my eye on a couple of Heritage lots. Glad I did, since you won it
For the Hyperpyron, no, here is a very long study written by E Lianta . https://www.academia.edu/35195487/J...erpyra_of_John_II_from_those_of_John_III_.pdf Basically her conclusion was the only way to differentiate the two was the purity of the gold. I could test it when I get it but I think I will just consider it a John II. No dealer I know of has tested them and John III has been getting very good prices these days. I bought an issue blatantly from Constantinople sold to me as a John III, that is easy to differentiate because of the flans. The Thessalonica issues are thicker flan, smaller. We do not know why John III decided to copy John II, we are not even certain where the gold came from for his coins but he was the first in decades to mint gold coinage again. Here is a much shorter article that goes directly to the point about metal content. It is by Donald Squires and it has to do with attributing an unpublished variation to John III but get to the second page, it deals heavily on the metal analysis. https://www.academia.edu/36320560/Unpublished_Transitional_Hyperpyra_of_John_III_Vatatzes
Thank you Brother. That was my last chance to finish that collection this year. Happy Holidays you ended up already making mine Happier.
Wish You and Your Family a Happy Christmas! I am glad you finished that this year I could live for another thousand years and not finish anything. John
