Theodosius

A really informative post, thanks! I love coins from Syracuse and some really beautiful examples have been posted here. John

A nice April fool's joke!

This is a great way to honor your father and his interest in Byzantine history. Really looking forward to seeing the progress of the thread. Great idea to take your time and enjoy the process. John

Wow, Chris, that 1775 is phenomenal. Cool is the exact same die style. John

Great coins! What year did they stop hammer striking these? John

Hope it shows up soon! Probably fell on the floor and it is too much trouble to pick it up! John

I have sent coins with blobs of extra metal on them to David Sear and gotten his opinion that they are genuine and it happens. Casting bubbles are typically smaller and perfectly round. Zurqieh does not sell obvious fakes. John

I find byzantine coins and history to be really interesting. They have their own charm and fascination. John

The difference between museums and private collectors is that most private collectors had to work hard to earn the money they used buy their coins and thus they value them for the effort it took to acquire them in addition to their collectable value. Private collectors therefore tend to take good care of the items in their collections. You'd think the British museum could bother to photograph and catalog all the items in their "care". It wouldn't take a lot of creativity to partner with universities and get students who are interested in various areas to do a lot of this work. It will take them 100 years to recover their credibility if ever. John

What is the diameter in mm? Where is it from? XRF analysis? Never seen anything like it. Agree that it is not likely to be a coin... John

Bagpipes...

Welcome Peter! Good luck on your recataloging efforts, that must be very satisfying. I've been planning on doing something similar when I retire. John

Nice example! John

It's a Friday afternoon die,! 😊

Great result! Your technique has added a valuable tool for horn silver cleaning that I have never seen described by anyone else. John

Is Papirius Turdus latin for toilet paper? I would have totally bought that gem too for the issuer name! 😊

Some coins from Sicily exist with "Publica Commo Ditas" with a fourth line with a date. Looks like your coin does have a date on the bottom line. John

Nice coin and write up! Is that an earthen patina on that coin? Does that mean it was buried at some point in the past? A very interesting and complex period of history. John

Okay, that is good to know. Thanks. Does anyone know of restrictions on coins from the major European powers after 1500? So England, Spain, France, Netherlands, Sweden, German states, Italian States, etc. I am mostly interested in silver coins from these countries. 😊 John

Hello, If you do not have the numismatic experience to determine if these coins are real or not then I would not buy them unless they are coming from a major numismatic company. There are so many fakes out there from random people and eBay you're taking a real chance buying them from someone who's not a reputable coin dealer. For 500 Euros you could get a really nice eight realest and probably some additional coins from a major dealer such as found on MA-shops.com or vcoins.com. They also guarantee the authenticity of their coins for life. Anytime a deal seems too good to be true it probably is. Good luck! John

Greetings, I have been getting more interested in world coins lately. I was wondering if there are any import/export restrictions from any countries for medieval, early modern, or world coins. I'm thinking of those MOU's and other trade restrictions that exist for ancient coins. Thanks, John AUSTRIA. Salzburg, Archdiocese. Johann Ernst von Thun und Hohenstein, 1687-1709. Taler 1696 (Silver,42 mm, 29.4 g, 12 h). Obverse: IO:ERNEST' D:G:ARCHIEP:SAL:S:A:L, Nimbate and crowned half-length bust of Mary, holding scepter in her right hand and the infant Christ in her left arm; coat of arms below. Reverse: S:RVDBERTUS•EPS:SALISBVRG:1696 Saint Rupert standing facing, holding salt cellar and crosier; arms below. Probszt 1802. Zöttl 2168. Davenport 3510

Looks off, where are the dentils on the pillar side? The weight is way off. I would send it back.☹️ John

It is slabs, all the way down... 😝

That is a really distinctive obverse die, not the least because his head is almost too big for the flan. Seems a really unusual ratio of portrait size to flan. John

Thanks Chris, that is very helpful! John