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Corinth, Corinthia, Greece, c. 368 - 248 B.C.

Bronze AE 12, SGCV I 2647; cf. BMC Corinth p. 53, 423 ff., aF, Corinth mint, weight 2.041g, maximum diameter 12.2mm, die axis 165o, c. 368 - 248 B.C.; obverse Pegasos flying left, koppa below; reverse ornate trident-head, uncertain symbols left, right or both; ex BCD Collection with his hand-written round tag, Ex Forvm

Roman Republic, M. Volteius M. f., 78 B.C., Ancient Counterfeit, Ex John Quincy Adams Collection

Fouree silver plated denarius, cf. RSC I Volteia 4 (official, Rome mint, 78 B.C.), Fair, illegal mint, weight 2.881g, maximum diameter 17.5mm, c. 78 - 40 B.C.; obverse laureate helmeted head of Attis right; reverse Cybele seated in chariot drawn by two lions; with a John Quincy Adams Collection tag from the Stack's Sale

Ex John Quincy Adams Collection, 6th President of the United States, and His Descendants, ex Massachusetts Historical Society Collection, ex Stack’s Sale , 5-6 March 1971. lot 907 ? ex Forvm

 

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P. Nerva AR Denarius

113-112 BC
Rome mint
Diameter: 17 mm
Weight: 3.86 grams
Obverse: Helmeted bust of Roma left, holding shield and spear; crescent above, mark of value before
Reverse: Three citizens voting on comitium: one voter receives ballot from attendant below, another voter places ballot in cista; P on tablet above bar
Reference: Crawford 292/1; Sydenham 548; Licinia 7
Other: 6h, VF, iridescent toning, traces of porosity, scratch at 9 o’clock on reverse under tone

From the Bruce R. Brace Collection
CNG Auction 295, Lot #361

 

Trajan Æ Dupondius
98-117 AD
Rome mint
Struck circa AD 103-107
Diameter: 27 mm
Weight: 13.39 grams
Obverse: Radiate bust right, wearing aegis
Reverse: Trophy with two shields at base
Reference: RIC II 586; Woytek 196cA
Other: 6h ... VF, green patina, numerous cleaning scratches on reverse
Ex Robert O. Ebert Collection
CNG Auction 298, Lot #146

 

Hadrian Æ Dupondius
Rome mint
AD 117-138
Struck AD 125-128
Diameter: 26 mm
Weight: 11.24 grams
Obverse: Radiate bust right, slight drapery
Reverse: Pegasus right
Other: 6h ... RIC II 758 … Near VF, greenish-brown patina.

From the Robert O. Ebert Collection
CNG Auction 298, Lot #187

 

Marcus Aurelius AE Drachma
ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
AD 161-180 (struck AD 150/151)
Diameter: 31.9 mm
Weight: 15.66 grams
Obverse: Laureate head of Marcus Aurelius right
Reverse: Female “griffine” seated right, left paw on wheel, across field regional year ( 14 = AD 150/51 )
Reference: Dattari 3224, Emmett 1866 (Rarity 3)
Other: Good fine … 12h

NOTE => Ex James E. Seaver collection
Purchased from dealer in 2013 (Pavlos S. Pavlou)

 

Otacilia Severa. Augusta, Æ Sestertius
AD 244-249
Secular Games issue., 4th officina. 9th emission of Philip I, AD 248
Rome mint
Diameter: 28 mm
Weight: 15.99 grams
Obverse: Draped bust right, wearing stephane
Reverse: Hippopotamus standing right
Reference: RIC IV 200a (Philip I); Banti 13
Other:12h … Good VF, dark brown patina, with some red.
Ex Robert O. Ebert Collection
CNG Coin Shop (Item #943717, purchased in 2013)

 

Domitan 95 AD / Minerva
Van Meter 45/3
The bottom of my junk drawer 2008 -2013
Under Uncle Billy's bed 1952-2007
Part of a gaudy pin on a Paki dowager 1935-1951
Shoe tap for Billy Bob 1920-1935
Guido's good luck piece 1914-1919
Professor Hottotrot's collection 1865-1914
Bottom of Roman toilet 95 AD to 1865.

 

Expensive coins are easier to follow when it comes to pedigree and I have few coins that dealers would bother to write up. An interesting exception was the Bavarian collection sold by CNG which caused me to write this page:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/feac16.html

I got my Bavarian coins from Victor Failmezger who bought several lots and wrote up the matter for the Celator. Since Victor's name carries value added status as a book author, my coins have a multi step provenance possibly raising their value above the $10 level justified by the coin alone.


Another problem tracking old cheapies is that few of them were illustrated before the age of digital photography so it is not always easy to prove that a coin is the same one sold in the big name sale. A bad example is the John Quincy Adams sale Randy quoted. Many (most!) of the President's coins were not spectacular by modern standards and were sold in lots of several coins. The seller provided little tickets for each coin but many buyers of multiple lots who saved the tickets threw them all in a box so you do not always see current sales accompanied by a ticket bearing the correct lot number. My coin:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/feac34jqa.html
came with a ticket bearing the correct lot number but it was not a grand enough coin to deserve a photo in the sale catalog so it is a matter of faith that some one did not swap out the Adams coin for another one sometime in the last 200 years. I choose to believe it is correct because the lot number matches but I could not prove it in a court of law.

My two examples raise the question of added value. It would seem that John Quincy Adams would add more value to a coin than some unknown German who made his collecting supplies out of scrap paper but I consider my few Bavarian collection coins far more interesting since the evidence that accompanies them dates to when the collection was formed but the Adams sale material is from when the Massachusetts Historical Society decided they didn't need coins just because they belonged to the Adams family. If the lots came with an envelope fashioned out of White House stationary, it might be different.

 

=> very cool "extras" thrown-in with that coin, Doug (interesting/classy)


NOTE: I also have some cool old paper accompanying a couple of my already posted coins (maybe after work I'll try to snap a photo or two and add it to this thread) ... super interesting stuff, gang!!

 

Opinion: The king of all provenances has to be coins from the Gonzaga/Este collection. As I understand the matter the grouping started by the Este family in medieval times but the Gonzagas in the 1500's (or so?) made them special by countermarking each coin with a small eagle. The marks applied thin metal foil in a contrasting color (gold on silver and silver on gold - I believe there are bronzes with each according to the tone???). Today we would consider this vandalism if one of us did it but there is forgiveness for sins 400 years old. I would love to gave a Gonzaga coin but they generally bring good prices even when on ordinary coins.
http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=202135

 

Great info Doug, counter marking Gonzaga/Esta coins would be like branding cattle, very cool..:yes:

 

Here is the gem of my collection with a genuine provenance. The coin is a unique silver coin of Fausta. It was most probably issued as marriage coin and is one of the very rare coins excavated in Germany and whose find spot is clearly documented. Since the coin is indeed pretty small - the diameter is 14 - 14.5 mm and the weight is 1.07 gram -, I intentionally uploaded just a small image.

Fausta, Trier mint, struck 307 AD, silver half argenteus
FAVSTAE NOBILISSIMAE FEMINAE draped bust left
IVNONI REGINAE, TR Juno standing left holding patera and sceptre, at feet to left, peacock

found in Trier, former "Hopfengarten" in 1984
described in "Funde und Ausgrabungen im Bezirk Trier", Heft 18, Trier 1986
exhibited in the "Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier" as a loan
purchased from Zlatko Plesa in January 2014

 

A fascinating, mysterious, and exceptional coin!

 

That is a beautiful coin Marc.

 

Coins from the Boscoreale hoard of Roman aurei are my favorite pedigree. To have been buried under the ash from Mt. Vesuvius for 1,800 years is an incredible link to history.

Tracking more modern pedigrees usually takes a great deal of persistence and a fair amount of luck. I've been digging through catalogs recently and have uncovered long pedigrees for some of my coins which were sold with no pedigree.

One example is my Vespasian Boscoreale aureus. It was in an NGC holder when I bought it, with no detail as to where it came from. I luckily managed to stumble upon some leads and have now completed the pedigree back to ancient Rome from the Boscoreale hoard.



Calico reference guide plate coin (number 604)
Ex. CNG Auction 78, lot 1744 (May 2008)
Ex. HD Rauch Auction 75, lot 360 (May 2005)
Ex. Lanz Auction 70, lot 166 (Nov 1994), the collection of Margaretha Ley, one of the most famous and successful personalities in the world of fashion
Ex. Leo Biaggi de Blasys (coin 306)
Ex. Bank Leu Auction 30, lot 326 (Apr 1982)
Ex. Auktion Glendining (Jan 14, 1953), lot 22
Ex. J.C.S Rashleigh collection (formed ca. 1920)
Ex. Boscoreale Hoard of 1895

It is believed that the coins of the Boscoreale hoard belonged to Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, a wealthy merchant who was the highly successful son of a freed slave. He owned Villa Pisanella, a popular wine producing villa rustica on the south eastern slopes of Vesuvius near the modern-day village of Boscoreale.


Also sold unpedigreed was my aureus of Octavian. I've since found it as the plate coin in many reference guides and important collections:



“The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators” (page 242, coin number 394)
“Gold Coins of the World” (page 41, 7th edition)
“Ancient Coin Collecting III (page 43) and Ancient Coin Collecting (page 20)” by Wayne G Sayles, 2nd Edition
"Julius Caesar and His Legacy" – (full page image on xv and as coin 23, published by NFA in 1991)
“Leo Biaggi de Blasys’ Complete Collection of Roman Gold”
"Hunter Collection" - Ira and Larry Goldberg
"Ex. Jameson Collection" (assembled ca. 1913)

 

Dear Joe,

you are the lucky one. These precious items depict that there are some ancient coins out there with documented pedigrees or even genuine provenances. Unfortunately, there is not much emphasis placed on that - especially nowadays, as your examples illustrate, since the vendor or consignor omitted to mention the pedigree. For virtually all ancient coins, the information regarding find-spot and find-date is completely lost, which I think is regrettable since the coins somehow are loosing a decisive part of their history.

Greetings,

Marc

 

I'm known as the guy who focuses on the roman empresses here and I have say thats one of the most beautiful empresses pieces I have seen. The engraving has alot of the severan period feel to it & its hard to believe it was minted in the early 4th century.

Just amazing, the portrait is far from the look we have on her bronzes. Its almost like Domna but with a different hair-do.

 

Dear Mat,

The comparison is very good. As coinages of the Gallic empire, which were also issued mainly in western Germany, this coin reminds me to the late adoptive emperor or severan period. The engravers in Trier or Cologne must have been oriented towards examples of this time.

Besides my item, there are three other half argentei of Fausta, which all have the same avers inscription "FAVSTAE NOBILISSIMAE FEMINAE" and are being associated with marriage coinages. Obviously, all four known half argentei are minted in Trier.

I was able to find photos of two of them in the internet and the third item is illustrated in "Funde und Ausgrabungen im Bezirk Trier", Heft (Engl. booklet) 18. All of them have the divinity Venus depicted on the reverse and my coin is of a clearly different obverse die with different facial features.

Greetings,

Marc

 

Yah, I've posted this coin previously, but I was attempting to also add-in the "extra bells & whistles" that came along with this cool coin (sadly, I did not pull it off nearly as well as Doug) ...

Sicily, Syracuse. Hieron I AR Tetradrachm
(240 Onkia)
478-466 BC
Struck circa 478-475 BC
Diameter: 24 mm
Weight: 16.90 grams
Obverse: Charioteer driving quadriga right; above, Nike flying right, crowning horses
Reverse: Diademed head of Arethusa right; four dolphins around
Reference: Boehringer series IXa, 190 (V86/R130); SNG ANS –; Randazzo 356 (same dies)
Other: 2h, Near VF, toned, test cut on reverse
From the Robert and Julius Diez Collection, Ex Gustav Philipsen Collection (Part I, J. Hirsch XV, 28 May 1906), lot 1132






=> Worst provenance photos "ever" ... oh well, hopefully you get the gist? (from an auction that occurred over 100 years ago ... kinda cool in itself, eh?)

 

Very nice & interesting its a different die. Other then being marriage issues, wonder if they may have been given to special people or relatives or something along those lines.