I like to think I have some refinement of taste; after all, my music preferences run to Carolyn Arends, The Who, Tom Petty, The Beatles, Lou Reed, and of course, The Rolling Stones, and especially ANY solo work of Keith Richards and Pete Townshend, so why, oh why, do I find this ceremonial miliaresion of Constans II (654-659 AD) so beautiful? (first coin on top row) Constans, staring out at me with googly eyes through his immense beard, that earned him the nickname “Pogonatos” (likely in imitation of his grandfather Herakleios’ adaptation of the same facial fur, perhaps in recognition of his having in 627 defeated the Persian Chosroes II), then beside him, his son, Constantine IV, staring at me with the same googly eyes – is this fine art? For goodness sake, compare it with another numismatic product of Hellenism from a thousand years earlier, two didrachms of the Sicilian city of Acragas, with their obverse of a stately eagle, and a magnificent crab on the reverse. The first of these is dated ca. 480-470 BC, while the second is given to a decade earlier, ca. 488-478. And besides enjoying the beauty of the naturalistic engraving, showing them the other day to my grandson Aidan allowed me the joke of telling him, “Look Aidan, Papa has crabs!”, to which he was able to reply, “Do they itch?” I mean, how can a portrait of a Byzantine ZZ Top wanna-be stack up to those birds and crustaceans? Or take this sestertius of Roman emperor Trajan, struck ca. 112-115 AD. (first coin, bottom row) Its obverse features a grand imperial bust of the great soldier emperor from Roman Spain, under whom the empire reached its greatest territorial extent, while the reverse commemorates the acquisition of new territory, in this case the kingdom of Nabataea forming the new province of Arabia Petraea Or, another sestertius, with a noble imperial portrait, this of the emperor Trajan Decius, 249-251 AD. The reverse, announcing the “victory of the emperor” in hindsight is a little ironic, because Decius was killed by the Goths in battle in 251, which coincidentally, was also the last year of his reign. So, given the beauty or impressive appearance of these coins, and there could be thousands to add to the list, why do I love my somewhat cartoonish or perhaps a little grotesque Byzantine silver piece? Perhaps part of the reason can be that suggested by Susan, that I am just a little strange. However, I prefer to attribute my reasons to the sentiments Sappho offered in what has come down to us as her Fragment 16: “ο]ἰ μὲν ἰππήων στρότον οἰ δὲ πέσδων οἰ δὲ νάων φαῖσ᾿ ἐπ[ὶ] γᾶν μέλαι[ν]αν ἔ]μμεναι κάλλιστον, ἔγω δὲ κῆν᾿ ὄττω τις ἔραται·” “Some say a host of cavalry, others of infantry, and others of ships, is the most beautiful thing on the black earth, but I say it is whatsoever a person loves.”
And as I love all my dogs, too. Wait...one's a horse; no matter, I love him also. Also, one's my wife. I love her too. Had to add that last comment; she monitors these.... .
Voulgar., Your thread is an interesting commentary . We all have different taste in art & a collector whose taste is wide & varied is a good thing . Your 1st didrachm from Akragas is a true gem , & the sestertius of Trajan is as fine as the come . I could live comfortably with both of those coins .
While beauty can be found in all ages, there is also beauty found in all forms, including medals. I, too, like music from many generations. How about this combination! You Sexy Thing Hot Chocolate I believe in miracles Where're you from You sexy thing, sexy thing you
We all have our own tastes. I'm sure a coin I find fascinating others would consider differently. To each their own. I like to think that coins were the newspapers of their day, a way of tying together the social fabric of the state, and communicating events, outcomes, hopes, and dreams. That's what is so special about collecting.
@J.T. Parker, thanks for the sage advice. As an incorrigable Early Medievalite, I'll try to remember it, next time!
Shucks DVCKS, Never been called 'sage' before. Always thought of myself as more of a 'parsley' dude! J.T. Addendum: Especially envious of those 2 excellent Akragas pieces...Kudos to Voulgaroktonou!
Thank you, Al. Yes, that is a great crab. I think my favorite series are the 15th c. Palaeologan stavrata; but they are an acquired taste!
