Egry

I love the history, so interesting. Where did you learn that from? Only asking because I want to clearly understand that period.

Here is my Eugenius.

Eugenius AR Siliqua. Mediolanum, AD 392-394. D N EVGENIVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / VIRTVS ROMANORVM, Roma seated left on cuirass, holding Victory on globe and reverse spear; MDPS in exergue. RIC IX 32c; RSC 14†b. 1.16g, 16mm, 12h. Very Fine; toned, some deposits and clipped. 

20 hours ago, Heliodromus said:

I just came across this ghastly set recently from the Trier Rheinisches Landesmuseum. Made c.1732.

https://rlp.museum-digital.de/index.php?t=objekt&oges=5721

Does it get any worse than this ?

 

This is the 1700s version of eating dolphin meat. 
 

What’s the the central coin in the lid? Looks like a giant Valentinian III solidus. 

Over the years I’ve really struggled to find a way to display my coins in a way that could intrigue a non coin collector. Many times excitedly I’ve pulled out a well used binder full of plastic sheets containing 2x2s with the intent to explain the beautiful history in front of them, then I see the their eyes glaze over and an unenthusiastic  response. 
 

I’ve searched forums, google, etc. finally I think I found something that may be as good as I get.

Well here is my new display, one spot for every legitimate Emperor from Augustus to Constantine XI, many missing for now. I have a third case for Wives, Daughters, Mistresses, Caesars, and Usurpers, I just haven’t had a chance to transfer them yet.

Please let me know your opinion, and/or how you display, store, etc. 

It’s a very good group of people. I’m happy I found them a couple years ago

On 6/1/2022 at 7:39 AM, AncientJoe said:

It's hard to pick a favorite but right now, on May 31st, I'll say my Athens gold diobol. It's small, a bit scraped, not perfectly centered, but irreplaceable and absolutely dripping with history:

 

ATTICA. Athens. AV Diobol (1.43 gms), ca. 407/6 B.C.
Svoronos-pl. 15#7. Head of Athena facing right wearing crested Attic helmet adorned with palmette and olive leaves; Reverse: Two owls standing confronted, olive branch between, ethnic in exergue. Minor scuffs, though commensurate with the assigned condition.
Ex. John Whitney Walter Collection

Athens was a prolific producer of silver coinage, minting millions of owl tetradrachms. Gold, however, was much scarcer in the region and Athens only minted gold coinage when in severe crisis. This gold diobol comes from the final years of the Peloponnesian War and is one of the most important and rarest Greek coins.

Athens faced heavy losses against Sparta. Near the end of the war, they blocked Athens from accessing its silver mines, resulting in an economic emergency. After four years of being starved out, the need for funds became so dire, the authorities ordered the melting of seven of the eight massive gold statues of Nike which were standing around the Parthenon on the Acropolis.

These statues were symbols of the city’s great economic reserves making this a true moment of desperation for Athens. The gold from these statues was minted into coins and used to construct a new fleet of ships to attempt a naval retaliation. Because of their value, to protect against forgeries, the dies used to strike the coins were stored in the Parthenon treasury in an alabaster box. Further indicating the importance of their minting, the historical context of these gold coins is exceptionally well documented by the playwright Aristophanes and by the Athenian treasury records.

Unfortunately, even with the influx of funds, Athens was ultimately defeated at sea and surrendered to the Spartan general Lysander.

While many thousands of coins were minted with the volume of gold from the statues, only a very small number survive today. This coin is one of only two diobols in private hands with the four others residing in museums. Other denominations are also known but exist in similar numbers, with only one or two examples of each available to private collectors.

 

That is an amazing story/history. I don’t even own it and I think that’s my new favourite coin lol. 

Similar to @dougsmit I shared my favourite coin on the avatar thread. So, I’d like to share my second favourite coin which is actually two coins.

Here are my second favourite 2 x coins which  are from the Beachy Head Hoard. One of Balbinus and another of Pupienus both minted in Rome in 238 AD during the year of the six emperors. Both coins found in 1964 within the same coin hoard in Sussex England,

I would like to believe they were most likely minted in Rome at the same time, shipped to Britannia in the same chest, and buried along with over 3,000 others by one of the first ancient romans to receive them as change where they were quickly hurried away into a clay jar. 1800 years later they were dug up and shipped halfway around the world into to happily slot into my collection (purely speculation of course). 
 

 I tried keeping an eye out for it, supposedly it did make it to my neighbourhood. Hopefully it will fall in the hands of someone that will appreciate it.

Spanish Netherlands, Overijssel Province, Gold ‘Imitative’ Ducat (3.37g, 23mm), struck under King Philip II of Spain in the image of a Spanish gold Excelente of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragorn, struck at Kampen mint, Overijssel circa 1590-1593 AD. Obverse: Dual Crowned Busts of the Isabella I and Ferdinand II facing one another, “C” between them, legend around, “DVCA. R·P. IMP. CAMPEN: VA: FERDIN”. Reverse: Crowned flat-topped Shield of Arms of the Kingdom of Spain, legend around, “SVB· VMBRA· ALARVM· TVARV”. FR-150; DELM-1101. Very Fine and Scarce.

10 hours ago, Kazuma78 said:

A friend of mine bought this coin back in 2019 and he showed it to me early in 2021 and I have loved the coin since then. After talking with him about it several times, he decided he could part with it, so it is now on its way to my collection. I am THRILLED to add it, as a shekel of Tyre has been on my list of types I want for a long time. Please feel free to post anything related! 

PHOENICIA. Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR shekel (29mm, 14.27 gm, 12h). NGC Choice AU★ 5/5 - 5/5. Dated Civic Year 24 (103/2 BC). Laureate head of Melqart right, lion skin around neck / TYPOY IEPAΣ-KAI AΣYΛOY, eagle standing left on prow, palm frond over left wing; to left, ΔK (date) above club; to right, M, Phoenician alef between legs. DCA Tyre 77. DCA 919. Amazing toning with blue and purple hues.

Ex. Coin Galleries (Stacks) September 10, 2008, lot 138

Ex. Spink, April 1939

 

Wow, you’re not kidding. Congratulations! Truly a phenomenal coin. 

How about these two bad boys I added to my collection a while back. (Sorry for the poor pictures it’s all I have).

Here’s a test in world crowns, let’s see if anyone on this forum knows what a 47 Maple Leaf and a 48 means.

On 5/27/2022 at 3:51 AM, expat said:

Mexico had some lovely 40mm coins. Here is a .900 silver from 1947

 

 

I love this Mexican coin series. I have collected most of the silver pesos from 1947 and into the 70s, such beautiful designs and most really affordable. 

Check out this monster. It’s so big I can’t even find a holder to properly store it.

Here it is in my hand for scale

Germany, Prince-Bisphoric of Münster, Christopher Bernhard von Galen, as Prince-bishop of Münster 1650-1678 AD, Silver ‘broad’ Thaler (28.98g, 48mm) dated MDCLXI (1661 AD). Obverse: Helmeted Coat of Arms of Christopher Bernhard von Galen, legend around, “PROTECTOR· MEVS· ET· IN· IPSO· SPERAVI· QVI· SVBDIT· POPVLVM· MEVM· SVB· ME· Psal 143”. Reverse: Nimbate and robed half-length figure of Saint Paul facing forward, holding sword and resting within the clouds, city scene of Münster below; “S· PAVL PATRON” above, “MONAST· WESTPH AD: OBED· REDVC TVM” in inner exergue, border and outer legend surrounds, “à R^mo. CEL^smo. DD. CHRISTOPH· BERN· EP^o. ET· PRINCIPE·MONAST· A^o. MDCLXI”. KM-75; Davenport-5603. A very honest example – evenly worn and complete in design, often seen with problems due to its broad flan. Very Fine. 

 

 

I’ve always loved Rome, I feel a connection, it was one of the reasons I became an engineer, I was fascinated by the infrastructure they built.
 

However, I am equally fascinated that an empire once greater than Rome could be wiped off the face of the earth with their history rewritten by one who defeated them. In my opinion this should humble us all, for it is very possible that our civilization could have an equal fate. 
 

Carthage. My avatar is of my favourite coin a Punic Stater of Zeugitania. Most of what we know historically about the Punic civilization is what the empire that defeated wrote. 

Interesting fact. Cartagena, Colombia - city founded in the early 1500s owes its name to the port city of Cartagena in Murcia Spain which was founded by the Carthaginians in 200BC. Despite being razed to the ground 2000 years ago they still made it to the New World. 

On 5/31/2022 at 4:31 PM, robinjojo said:

Hammered coinage has been a subject near and dear to me for so many years, going back to the early 1980s, when my primary focus was on cob coinage, but other hammered coinage as well.

Where to begin?  Well, how about a coin photographed today, a rijksdaaler, Holland, 1592, with William the Silent on the obverse.  Purchased from Karl Stephens.

 

Then there is this high grade example of relatively common lion daalder, 1589, Holland.  This coin came from a hoard reportedly found in Flanders back in the late 70s or early 80s.

 

Finally, for the Dutch coins, here's a double ducaton, Holland, 1673.

 

For England, let's start with Henry VIII, a debased groat of his ("Old Copper Nose"), Bristol Mint, 5th coinage.

 

Followed by his daughter from Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, crown, mint mark 1, 1602.

 

By far the largest hammer coin that I own is this Declaration Oxford half pound of Charles I, 1643.

 

Charles I, executed in 1649, following the English Civil War, was succeed by Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth of England, which lasted until the restoration of the Stuarts in 1660.

 

Moving to Spanish mainland and colonial hammered coinage, here an 8 escudos, 1738 N, of Lima.

 

Here's a shield 8 reales cob from Potosi, ex Mel Fisher Research Collection, #208 (so I am told - no certificate) 1617 M.  Note the date on the reverse running from about 7 o'clock to just under 9 o'clock instead of the normal 10 o'clock to about 12 o'clock.

 

Finally, here's an 8 reales cob from Bogota, a beautiful coin, but the last digit of the date is muddled due to the doubling.  I think it is 1665 or 1664.

 

There are some really nice hammered coins in this thread, and I hope to post more in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, that 8 escudo…. Boom! In my opinion you have won the thread with that banger. 

I’m not sure if this is hammered or not, the original was milled but this version of its life may have been… your guess is as good as mine. 
 

@Restitutor

makin history. Thanks 

Well here is my first and unfortunately only aureus.

1 minute ago, Limes said:

Thanks everyone for replying! 

 

Thank you Egry! I mentioned in another topic that I live near the limes. When i was in college, i used to walk over the visualization of the limes shown in my profile picture almost on a daily basis. Back then, I didn't notice it actually, only when I started to read more on Roman history and the limes did 'the quarter fall'. There are some nice bars around the corner of that street, where that limes is in, by the way. Good times, good times... 🙂

Thank you Donna, you're too kind! And thank your for sharing that dupondius of AP. 🙂 And your aureus is still stunning. I remember when your first showed it. I can image you are still delighted with it! 

I had to take a closer look at your profile pic. Very cool. Is it only footing stones left? 

49 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

Congratulations, @Limes, on the birth of your new daughter and on your first aureus. The aureus is beautiful, but I'm sure your daughter outshines it!

This was my first aureus, with a provenance back to the DeSartiges Collection, published in 1910:

And here's a coin showing Faustina II with three children, in honor of your family:

Faustina II (coin of Antoninus Pius), three children (Annia Faustina [a/k/a Faustina III], Lucilla, and Fadilla):

Antoninus Pius Æ Dupondius, Rome, ca. 159- 160 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Radiate head right, ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XXIII / Rev. Pietas [representing Faustina II] standing left, holding globe in extended right hand and infant in left arm, two children standing at her feet, one on each side , each with one arm raised [probably representing the Emperor’s three granddaughters then living, namely Marcus Aurelius’s and Faustina II’s daughters Annia Faustina (a/k/a Faustina III), Lucilla, and Fadilla; issued before birth of Cornificia in Aug. 160], PIET-ATI - AVG COS IIII, S-C across fields. RIC III 1035, Sear RCV II 4280 (ill.), Cohen 625. 25.5 mm., 15.57 g. [Ex. Naville Numismatics, Auction 28, Jan. 22, 2017, Lot 611, previously in Italian collection (with old ticket in Italian in name of “Antonino Pio”).]

That is a crackin aureus! Especially with the provenance.

I believe I recall a thread post of yours on CT possibly 2 years ago (give or take) that mentioned you we seeking to get your first solidius, wow have times changed. 

9 hours ago, Hesiod said:

they're mostly unslabbed - you can tell when the coin is slabbed by the little white nubs in the pictures

I have been tricked before, I always look for the little white tabs or indentations in a photoshopped picture, but once previously a coin arrived slabbed but with no discernible (by me) signs in the photo.

@Restitutorah o know the addiction quite well, I just happens to catch the bug myself. 

I have never heard of a denarius of Gordian III considered a roach, I find it a bit amusing.
 

I do recall the first time I saw one, it was probably the second Roman coin I seriously looked at. I was amazed at the condition of it, and how bulbous his head was and pointy his nose on this particular coin, must have been a trainee engraver. I actually appreciated how the Roman’s displayed how they were 

Here is my Gordian III (unfortunately not the one I mentioned above)

I’ll also include his Gramps and Dad for completeness

Congratulations @Limes both on the new addition to your family and on the Aureus!

P.s. I really like your Avatar name, quite fitting considering you are from Holland. 

So I’ve decided to continue progressing my Ancient Roman collection through to the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) up until the last emperor Constantine XI, and the Ottomans conquered Constantinople.  
 

This is an ambitious undertaking and will likely take the rest of my life to complete. Over the years my focus has been on what we would call the Imperial Roman rulers, wives, mistresses, etc. so I only had about under 10 Byzantine coins in my collection. 
 

Here is my lates addition to this series, A solidus of Justin. a bit squashy faced but no graffiti which seems harder than you think to find. 
 

Would like to hear your thoughts. Would the squashy face turn you away from this coin?
 

 Flavius Iustinus, Byzantine Emperor of the Justinian Dynasty 518-527 AD, Gold Solidus (4.48g, 20mm), Constantinople mint circa 519-527 AD. Obverse: Pearl-diademed, helmeted and cuirassed bust of Justin I facing forward, head turned slightly to the right, wielding spear and shield; his weapon extends behind and his shield, which is decorated with a horseman motif, rests on his left shoulder, legend surrounds, “DN IVSTINVS P P AVC”. Reverse: Male Angel stands facing forward, holding long linear cross in his right hand and Globus Cruciger in his left; star within right field, mintmark “CONOB” in exergue, legend surrounds, “VICTORIA AVCCC S”. Sear-56; DOC-2b. An impressive piece of Justin I, perfectly centred and in quite neat style – the appeal only bolstered by a fortunate absence of graffiti, minor areas of weakness, otherwise Extremely Fine. 

I was just looking at bidding at Heritage Europe. Will the coins mostly be slabbed like their US auctions? Im not a huge fan of slabbed coins of any kind. 
 

Re a different auction house, I’m always impressed at the speed Roma ships after the auction closes.