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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 2305367, member: 56859&quot;]...and some are collectible in their own right.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]463688[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>KYRENAIKA, Kyrene</b></p><p><b>modern copy by electrotypist Robert Ready</b></p><p><b>host coin, c. 410-400 BCE, acquired by the British Museum in 1872</b></p><p>AR &quot;tetradrachm&quot;, 27 mm, 16.64 gm</p><p>Obv:&nbsp; Bearded head of Zeus-Ammon, wearing tainia with uraeus-like ornament at forehead, facing slightly left within laurel wreath</p><p>Rev:&nbsp; silphium plant; K V P A N A (split between fields, retrograde K)</p><p>Edge:&nbsp; initials R R</p><p>Ref:&nbsp; BMC 77 (host coin); B.V. Head. <i>A guide to the principal coins of the Greeks, from circ. 700 B.C. to A.D. 270</i>. London. 1965 pl. 20, 61 (host coin);&nbsp; host coin BM accession number 1872,0709.361;&nbsp; B.V. Head.&nbsp; <i>A Guide to the Select Greek and Roman Coins Exhibited in Electrotype</i>, London.&nbsp; 1880.&nbsp; Period III C #44.</p><p><br /></p><p>The host coin is one that would be virtually impossible to obtain.&nbsp; A copy is the only option.&nbsp; This electrotype itself has historical interest so I see it as a worthwhile acquisition.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1859 Robert Ready was hired by the British Museum to make copies of rare and noteworthy coins.&nbsp; Initially he replicated the coins by casting but then began using the relatively new technique of electrotyping.&nbsp; For a quick overview of that process, check out <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/collections/esda/electrotyping-process" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/collections/esda/electrotyping-process" rel="nofollow">this animated video</a> showing how an intricate silver vase was replicated by electrotyping.</p><p><br /></p><p>The host coin for my Kyrene electrotype tetradrachm was <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?place=35131&amp;plaA=35131-2-16&amp;ILINK|34484,|assetId=1003033001&amp;objectId=1113718&amp;partId=1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?place=35131&amp;plaA=35131-2-16&amp;ILINK|34484,|assetId=1003033001&amp;objectId=1113718&amp;partId=1" rel="nofollow">acquired by the British Museum in 1872</a>.&nbsp; The original coin, from the BM&#039;s website:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN01003/AN01003033_001_l.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />&nbsp; <img src="http://www.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN01003/AN01003037_001_l.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The mold for this electrotype was likely made between 1872 and 1880, since the electrotype version is cited in B.V. Head&#039;s&nbsp; <i>A Guide to the Select Greek and Roman Coins Exhibited in Electrotype</i>, London, 1880 (Period III C #44).&nbsp; The author notes this about the electrotyped coins chosen for this book:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;This series gives at the same time a view of the finest and most interesting Greek coins in the National Collection.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>The replica has the maker&#039;s initials on the edge:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]463701[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Ready trained his sons to continue the electrotyping and such replicas were continued into the first decade of the twentieth century.</p><p><br /></p><p>At the time it was made, this electrotype could be purchased for 2s. 6d. each, which if I understand the strange British monetary system of the day, was 2.5 shillings or £0.125. After running the figures through Bank of England&#039;s inflation calculators, my purchase price this month was only ~1.85% more than 140 years of inflation.&nbsp; I calculated that to feel better about what I had to pay for it <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>This was my sole bid in the most recent CNG e-auction.&nbsp; Knowing that it was likely to be Clio&#039;d, I changed my bidder name to a plea and bid an hour before closing in the hope that he would see it, laugh, and show mercy.&nbsp; Apparently it worked!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]463715[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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