I saw an interesting coin exam on line this weekend - Questions Ancient Numismatics 2015-2016 Degree; Maria Cristina Molinari https://www.academia.edu/25502744/domande_esame_2015-2016 Should we take the test as a coin group? I just spent a loooooong time translating the doc to English. I bet Doug would "win" the prize for best answers. One of the coins from the test (only the test coin had a counter stamp)-
How do you propose we take the test as a group? If the Claudius sestertius indicates that it is mostly questions regarding Roman coinage, I would defer to other members. If it it also concerning Greek coinage, I would give it a try.
No, thanks. I can't even pass my own test anymore. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/quiz.html
I translated the test to English on line. The link above works for me, but the PDF version is too big for this blog. If you are interested, go to the link or e-mail me and I will send both versions. Some fo the test is below - Questions Ancient Numismatics 2015-2016 Degree Maria Cristina Molinari Question 1 1. Numismatics is a historical or archaeological source? 2. What is the coin ? How can serve to historians art, surveyors, archaeologists? 3. In what areas moves the numismatic research? 4. What is the Historia Numorum? 5. You have a coin of Ancient Greece: how do you do schedarla? 6. What are the main features of a coin. 7. What is the RRCH? 8. What is the RRC? Who wrote that? 9. What is the IGCH cos? Question 2 1. What is fusion? (in Italian - Che cosa è la fusione?) 2. What's in this object ? 3.What is a Incusa currency itself 5. Drawbacks of the merger 6. The coining 7. What is the difference between these and proper incuse incuse called ? 8. What are the minting errors ? 9. What is slippage of a coinage ? 10. What are countermarks cold or hot ? 11. What is a suberata currency? 12. What is the difference between a currency and a suberata mixture? 13. What is notching ? 14. What is this ? I will not post the rest, but some of the pics - enjoy scratching your thinker
Some of those questions seriously suffer from the translation. Some are essay questions testing whether you are up on their current work in numismatics. For example: 1. Numismatics is a historical or archaeological source? I assume this is an essay question to which I would answer 'both' pointing out uses in each field. 2. What is the coin ? How can serve to historians art, surveyors, archaeologists? I see this as the same question looking for an essay pointing out the uses of coins to other fields which they take as more serious than the lousy coins themselves. 3. In what areas moves the numismatic research? I believe they are asking for what directions they are taking in furthering numismatic studies. One answer I see is the move to putting collections online so the material in the British Museum, for example, can be used by other students without travelling. 4. What is the Historia Numorum? I suspect they refer to the great book by Barclay Head of that name which any student of Greek coins should have read. It is now in Public Domain and available online but I have a hardbound copy that gets used with some regularity. 5. You have a coin of Ancient Greece: how do you do schedarla? I have no idea what that last word is. Are they asking what steps you might take to do an ID on a Greek coin otherwise unknown to you? 6. What are the main features of a coin. I'm assuming the question is looking for terms like legend, device, design etc. I'm sure they have a set number of correct answers the student is supposed to have memorized. 7. What is the RRCH? 8. What is the RRC? Who wrote that? 9. What is the IGCH cos? These are acronyms found in useful online resources some of us already use. For example http://numismatics.org/crro/ is a great place to look at Roman Republican coins. I assume the 'Who' they seek is Crawford. I suspect the writers of the test have more interest in coin hoards (IGCH) than I do but it is fair to expect a student numismatist to have a clue as to what resources are currently available. If everything were covered online to the degree the Republicans and RIC V part 1 are, I'd really be a happy camper but things are a lot better now than they were just a few years ago which just proves that those getting a PhD in Numismatics today will need to keep up or be as useless as I am by 2020. As far as the test goes, I don't see taking it as a great value unless you are able to comprehend both Italian and Numismatics of a museum style. Perhaps an English speaking coin person and an Italian bilingual non-coin person could make sense out of the thing by combining their separate abilities. I suppose there is merit in knowing the terminology for current fields of study but I tend to discount the fact that my doctor learned the names of every bone in my body and emphasize the fact he learned to fix the one I broke.
OK, here is my dumbed down version of the test as related to the photos above: 0. Say something intelligent about each photo that suggests you might have a clue about why that particular coin was shown or what that coin illustrates that someone seriously into numismatics might be expected to know. If your answer is just that none of those coins are high enough grade that you would consider them for your collection, just go away. (Sorry.)
Why'd it take you so long to translate the page? You can just double click on the page, click translate to English, it'll take less then a second or two.
Wow!! => I love the "seal" coin ... that is a seal, right? (it sure looks like a seal) Hmmm, I don't have a seal coin ... I need a seal coin!! seal-seal-seal-seal!!!
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have that seal but if you do a search you find what I'd call THE seal coin which failed to reach estimate but showed CNG employed a literary master back in 2003 who described it as " seal munching on a hapless cephalopod." https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=27473 That sale had so much good stuff in it that I wanted but could not afford I can see how the money might have run thin even for the wealthy.
Ahahaha, that is "The Seal" that started that whole infamous stink with me versus the 12 Caesars collectors!! (ahhhhh, memories)
Doug, Is the elephant skin headdress coin Alexander the Great issued by Ptolemy I (or maybe II)? I do not find an exact match. I saw a later one, GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM. Demetrius, but it was not a great match.
Ptolemy I AE20 Date: 280-265 BC Diameter: 20.2 mm Weight: 8.4 grams Obverse: Head of Alexandre III wearing elephant skin Reverse: Eagle standing on thunderbolt; EY / XAP left References: Svoronos 363
My best guess is this earliest Ptolemy I as satrap in the name of Alexander. That would make it the first Hellenistic coin or close to it. https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1581261 We here, certainly I, have come down on people who don't show both sides of a coin. I'm not thrilled that the test maker was too good to show us reverses either. I would like to see the reverse of the left coin in the blue colored pair. I trust all realized those were two different coins???
