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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Keith Twitchell, post: 4359703, member: 83799&quot;]This is very generous of you, especially as the coin you are offering is very cool.&nbsp; Unfortunately I am not in a position to take a photo of my favorite large bronze, but it is one of those enormous (48mm) anonymous bronze triens from the earlier days of the Roman Republic, circa 280 BC.&nbsp; The obverse has a thunderbolt between four pellets, but it is the reverse that I display, with a dolphin swimming right above four pellets.&nbsp; I love it for many reasons.&nbsp; The first has nothing to do with coins, but the fact that I helped found and spent six years serving on the board of a research project studying wild dolphins in the open ocean.&nbsp; As I participated in the research, swimming with free, wild dolphins in open waters, I developed a tremendous amazement and appreciation about dolphins.&nbsp; They are not some mystic creatures, as the new age types want to believe; but they are truly beings, with a presence like that of a human.&nbsp; The cooperative nature of their society, the harmony with which they live in their environment, are lessons I wish our species would learn.&nbsp; They are beautiful, graceful animals, and on those occasions when I had extended one-on-one, lengthy eye contact interactions with a specific dolphin, it was a powerful experience.&nbsp; So the fact that dolphins are so frequently found on Greek (especially) and Roman coins is one of things I like most about collection ancients.&nbsp; Obviously these societies too, at least some of them, had particular connections with dolphins; and sometimes just seeing the coin leads to wonder about these connections, how they were formed, what they meant to the individual people in these communities.&nbsp; As to this particular coin, the dolphin is quite well portrayed, very natural and realistic, unlike many of the highly stylized versions we see (especially on later Roman coins).&nbsp; Because the coin is so large (and who doesn&#039;t love large bronzes regardless of their origin?), the dolphin is truly a bold depiction.&nbsp; The coin has a lovely green patina, which reminds me of the water itself and my times swimming with the dolphins.&nbsp; So it is one of the most prominently displayed coins in my house, where it is a constant, delightful reminder of my love of nature and dolphins, and my love of ancient civilizations and these tangible representations we are so privileged to possess, their remarkable coins.&nbsp; Thanks for letting me wax away on this![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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