Dafydd

A beautiful coin @red_spork and as well as the unique reverse , great toning too! Maybe the Dioscuri were in training and weren't allowed sharp pointed objects as they were teaching them to ride horses first ! 😆

It was surprising to read an editorial comment in todays "Sunday Times" newspaper about a Dodecahedron. Does anyone have any ideas what it is? See;

Great coins and comments. Here is a Roma obverse I bought and then loved the iridescent toning. My original rationale was I liked the prancing horses! M. Vargunteius AR Denarius. Rome, 130 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right; XVI monogram below chin, M#VARG behind / Jupiter driving triumphal quadriga right, holding palm frond and thunderbolt; ROMA in exergue. Crawford 257/1; RSC CRR 507. Vargunteia 1. 3.77g, 20mm, 5h. Ex-Roma.

What a beautiful medal @DonnaML Congratulations. One of my treasured dealers does not sell on the Internet , sells by paper catalogues and seldom attends coin fairs. He is an academic who is successful in another business and trades because he enjoys speaking and trading with collectors. His prices are based on his auction experiences with a fair profit margin and he recently confessed to me that he has packets of coins that have been unopened for 30 years and doesn't even know what is in them. I really appreciate the idea of a dealer cocooned from the Internet. This interested me as tomorrow I am viewing the new production "Bonaparte" directed by Sir Ridley Scott. Napoleon is the archnemesis of my hero Nelson and it is always better to keep close to your friends and closer to your enemies...... Yes the obverse portrait is certainly in the style of the Roman Imperial Portraits, as indeed were the contemporary issues of George III and George IV but the reverse reminds me also of many Republican reverses featuring the dioscuri. Thank you for sharing.

New Orleans - Southern Gaul HEADS OF AUGUSTUS & AGRIPPA RIC 159-160 Circa 10-14 AD Southern Gaul

Amphipolis - Syrian mint. 256-260 AD. Uncertain Syrian mint. Obv: IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG legend with radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev: PIETAS AVGG legend with Valerian and Gallienus standing, facing each other, sacrificing over altar, one holding eagle-tipped sceptre, the other a parazonium. RIC 285; Sear 9955 (obverse variant").3.64 grams. From the private collection of a retired Suffolk gentleman; with old faded handwritten collection ticket. Valerian was born to a distinguished Roman family and had experience as a general and an administrator. Once emperor, he arguably faced a more critical situation than any previous regime. He attempted to negotiate peace with Shapur and the Sasanids at a conference in 260 AD, but he was attacked and taken into captivity in Persia, the first Roman emperor ever to fall into the hands of a foreign power. At this point, Rome was on the brink of collapse.

I don't have any Maltese coins or Knights Templar coins to share but I will share a really good book I read many years ago the title of which is ; The Great Siege Malta - 1565 by Ernie Bradford, a British historian. I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest of the Knights Templars.

Patrick O'Brian is also a huge favourite of mine. For many years I researched Nelson , mainly because of bizarre coincidences in my life relating to Nelson and for Napoleonic fiction you cannot beat O'Brian and he was an interesting character. In the last couple of weeks I have read these related to coins or to a period in which I collect coins. The first three came from Pen and Sword who are a fantastic resource. This one was a Christmas present and every time I read a Simon Scarrow I say I will never read another one because they are so formulaic, a little like Lee Child, the heroes always win and there is some predictable fight and outcome at a staged point in the novel. Nevertheless a gift is a gift and I will certainly probably read the next one..... Not ancients but another Christmas gift as I tend to pick Morgans up when I visit the States. I am sure it is some sort of illness because from a distance of two feet they are all the same and the mintmarks VAM errors and mints don't excite me. Originally the excuse was silver in preparation for an economic collapse but then I started to pick up graded ones. I guess I need some sort of therapy. I bought this when I was out Christmas Shopping using my Waterstones rewards points. Waterstones in the UK is a little like a small version of Barnes and Noble. I like Mary Beard as her books are light reading but I prefer her TV documentaries whenever I have time to look at TV which is seldom. This is another Christmas gift , I collect English coinage and a "Cartwheel Twopence" was a very early acquisition more than 50 years, ago and I still have it despite recklessly trading my main collection for military medals after some frustrating coin deals where dealers tried downgrading my coins, untouched since I bought them from the same famous name dealers. That's it on coin related reading the rest is quite diverse as I am an eclectic reader reading really anything I can turn a page on.

This will be the first Ancient I receive in 2024 and it is in transit now. Mark Antony, 44-30 BC. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.55 g, 12 h), military mint moving with Mark Antony (Patrae?), 32-31. ANT#AVG / III#VIR#R#P#C Galley right, with scepter tied with fillet on prow. Rev. LEGXVIII LYBICAE Aquila between two signa. Babelon (Antonia) 130. Crawford 544/11. CRI 375. RBW 1836. Sydenham 1240. Rough and with some scratches, otherwise, good fine. Ex Leu. I have been the underbidder on a couple of Lybicae in the past couple of years so I was very pleased to be successful with this one. Not as nice as the ones I missed but nicely fills my Lybicae gap.

Moving on from Dystopia and after enjoying some earlier shared images, here are the four creatures that own my wife and I and are far more effective in controlling us than AI. They also make sure our Veterinary Surgeon enjoys a nice expensive vacation every year. She loves them as much as we do! And to raise the OP @Prieure de Sion you can't negotiate with the Veterinarians ! The time it would take you to argue your case they will have raised a new invoice for their time......

The Star Trek currency scenario is correct but drifts into Dystopia. Who controls choice? Surely the individual ? It is an awful scenario that can ultimately be used to abuse citizens. Opiates wreck society when misused but have also saved pain for millions. A computer will say cocaine kills people so we will ban it.A human will say it saves 50,000 people pain in the dentists chair for every addict that dies so lets ask the question? We now drift into morality. Is the pain of 50,000 worth the death of one individual? If I have toothache, yes but without toothache I would say cure the underlaying problem that makes drugs attractive, tax it and offer treatment to vulnerable people. Complex issues and probably best suited elsewhere. I have no real answer. This is an article I wrote some years ago on the cashless society. It is my opinion only. I don't believe there are benefits. See https://issuu.com/aspen-waite/docs/the-benefits-of-a-cashless-society Cashless.pdf There is no advantage for banks for currency as every time we use a card they collect a percentage often 3% or more. A central currency allows control. Ultimately if the state controls credit you will not need prisons you simply make people disappear by stopping credit .I am apolitical so agree with @DonnaML with her previous sentiments about not talking politics but as an educated person I completely understand the dangers of state intervention and how it can control. My view on society was changed when I was on one of the first flights into China after the cultural revolution and spent 3 months there. It moulded some cynicism. Humans created AI so ultimately should be its master unless we get it wrong. History is written by the conqueror so even that can be flawed. I am happy to supply source and credits for some of my statements by PM.

I have first hand dealings with AI and the problem is it is a "pleaser" approach it answers how you want but it will answer the context of the question as posed. Two incidences. I am CEO of an accountancy firm that specialises in tax relief for research and development in the UK. I am not an accountant ( I am not clever enough ) but an engineer and I do hold 18 patents on recycling equipment so understand intellectual property. 1st Scenario. A client puts in a claim for a VR ( Headset) that allows a client to visualise say a door and window , check the dimensions and the cost. Our HMRC ( Your IRS in the USA ) rejected the claim with a 20 page rebuttal. I noticed multiple paragraphs and realised that the HMRC employee had used Chat GPT AI which did not exist 4 years ago. When the client did the work it was a twinkle in an eye but in real time AI categorically stated it was not new as it only knew the world after 2022. I am fighting this now and will win because ultimately it will be judged by a human. 2nd Scenario. A British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel used to visit my home as he was friends with the owner who built it who was at School with him. Without this friendship Brunel's career would not have taken off and we would probably not have heard of him. His accomplishments included the first suspension bridge, and the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. Brunel had a tunnel collapse and lost favour but his friend who was an investor in the Great Western Railway, rescued his career. Here is Brunel at a Welsh Chain Factory, I believe this is the anchor chain for the first transatlantic steamer. One Sunday morning a man called at my door and asked if he could photograph my house as he was writing a new biography featuring every engineering project Brunel was ever engaged with to further the existing biographies.. I said yes and gave him a tour of the inside also and gave him the history as I knew it with the previous owner. He asked me to email him with further details which I did but thought I would ask an AI platform for anything I didn't know. My question asked the positive outcomes of Brunel's s relationship with Roche, the previous owner of my home. The AI churned out a lot of nonsense saying that Roche became the Chief Engineer of the Great Western Railway on Brunel's death. The Chief Engineers of the most important railroad company in Great Britain at that time are documented as were the Ides of March! It was completely spurious and fabricated, Roche was a tea trader who became a teacher on a philanthropic basis and at no time was ever an engineer of GWR although a substantial stock holder whose patronage of Brunel allowed him to progress after a failure that nearly ended his career. It is speculated that if Brunel had not invented and launched the first ironclad cross Atlantic streamer the economy of the USA and UK would have bn hindered by at least a decade. A novel for Harry Turtledove methinks. The reason I elaborate is that if Artificial Intelligence is the way forward then G*d help as it will not only invent our future but realign our past. History is brutal and we need to learn from it. I have a great anecdote from a Cambridge University Scientist about the failings of Artificial Intelligence but no time to recount it at the moment. Basically his argument is that we will always outwit it because it is too logical. Let's not worry about Terminator yet!

Olaf Stapledon believed we had two billions of years left in us ! I read Last and First Men as a teenager and was quite surprised to appreciate that it was written in 1930. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_and_First_Men That's fairly optimistic!

This is a fascinating discussion and of course the attractiveness of a coin is subjective and a matter of individual choice but if coins are artificially patinated that is to make them more desirable to collectors who appreciate them. I remember nearly forty years ago speaking to the owner of a fishing tackle shop and admiring his vast range of fishing lures and he quite honestly said that 90% of his stock were designed to catch people not fish! I did a little experimenting with photography last year and found that I could produce more or less whatever colour I wanted on my stored images and that is another subject I've read many threads about. I've also been lucky that usually the coins I have bought are better in the hand than many of the images taken to sell them, there have been a few exceptions, but I also have a number of dealers I buy from who I know that the coins will always be better than their images.

I read somewhere that it was more likely that this patina was the result of soil not sand and that might be a more logical answer , I could see that finds in soil would be easier than sand which drifts. You have a valid point @Ancient Coin Hunter, would anyone be bothered to artificially patinate low value coins in the 1980's , I doubt it. It piqued my curiosity to see so many of them though. Thanks for your answers all.

I know that this has been debated over the years here and elsewhere but I was bemused today to view the following auction. https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nummitra/browse?a=4214&c=98440 The majority of Roman coins appear to have a "sand" patina and when I compare to other current auctions this does not seem feasible unless a hoard is being auctioned. For interest I looked at an earlier auction of theirs ( Auction 11 ) and again there was a preponderance of sand toned coins. I don't have the expertise to determine if these coins have been artificially toned but I found it interesting to see so many in one auction. In the past I have bought such coins because I thought they were attractive and sold in isolation, but to see so many at once would raise a suspicion. I see that there are not many advanced bids on this auction and I wonder if the patina issue is the reason?

Beautiful coins and superb narratives as always, thank you for sharing. When I have a chance I will share some of my examples. I have sought an upgrade for my well worn Scipio for years and your example @DonnaML has raised my aspirations.

Here is a coin I bought at FUN in July 2022. Didius Julianus AR Denarius. Rome, AD 193. [IMP C]AES M DID [IVLIAN AVG], laureate head to right / CONCO[RD MILIT], Concordia standing facing, head to left, holding aquila and vexillum. RIC IV 1; BMCRE 2; RSC 2. 3.24g, 17mm. It has been artificially toned and shows a similar blue hue to yours. You can't really see this from my poor photographs which were taken "on the road" but this is the original coin sold in a UK auction some weeks previously. (Roma Auction Auction 97 Lot 1208) It was bought as "possibly" artificially toned and I bought it to fill a gap but it would appear that someone tried to remove the dark stain chemically to improve the coin. I only found the original auction listing after I bought the coin and after a little rumination decided that the toning was more attractive than the dark spot although the spot would not have put me off had I seen the coin with it because I was quite pleased to find an affordable rarity on the day. I suspect your coins may have been similarly treated but they look attractive. I have some Republican Denarii with same blue toning and find it attractive. I think you have some nice coins but it may be an idea to take the advice of @Ed Snible and put them in distilled water. I did this with my Didius Julianus.

Gallienus, 253-268 Antoninianus circa 261, billon 20mm., 3.37g. Radiate head r. Rev. Fides standing, with two ensigns. C 238. RIC 480 (Mediolanum). Next : more Hirsutism

Commonwealth Shilling 1653 VF (Clipped), Tower mint, Sun mm, KM390.1, ESC-125 (R). All Ns over inverted Ns variety. 5.90gm. Ex Heritage August 2022 Next Tacitus

A really nice coin congratulations. Here is mine not quite the quality of yours. AELIUS (Caesar, 136-138). Denarius. Rome. Obv: L AELIVS CAESAR. Bare head right. Rev: TR POT COS II / PIE - TAS. Pietas standing right, holding acerrum and dropping incense onto lighted and garlanded altar to right. RIC 439 (Hadrian). Ex Numismatic Neumann Auction 73 2019.

Io Saturnalia everyone! My package arrived several weeks ago all the way from Australia and has been staring at me goading me to open it. I didn't succumb to temptation and was thrilled to open it this morning. An exquisite sealed envelope which I suspect the seal was made from a Roman intaglio. Inside were three coins covering three periods and three different cultures, none of which I own. In no order was a Nero Tetradrachm, Egypt 65-66 AD, a beautiful second Century Mauryan Empire , my first rectangular coin and a empire I know little about so another rabbit hole to pursue, and finally a Justinian the Great 40 Nummai so another new Roman Emperor to add to my list. Thank you @JayAg47 for your amazing and kind gifts.The Mauryan Empire coin boosts my Pan-Indian collection to two now. One of my gifts last year was an Indian coin but somewhat later. I have taken some images with my Iphone to share and will take better images soon.

I have yet to photograph my Allectus but here are some others. Carausius, 287-293 Antoninianus Londinium circa 290-292, billon 22mm., 3.08g. Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. Pax, draped standing l., holding olive-branch in r. hand and vertical sceptre in l. hand. C 215. RIC 99. Very Fine/About Very Fine. Here is my recent Marius. Marius, 268 Antoninianus Cologne 268, billon 17.00 mm., 3.25 g.

I purchase around 7 coins out of 10 from overseas and have no problem in doing so on the basis that I do not worry about that which I cannot change. I have to admit frustration last year when coins were sitting in a UPS depot for 8 months only 40 miles from me because the Polish auction house put Polish Zlotys on the customs declaration which UPS and Customs interpreted as British Pounds so the duty was several times greater than the value of the coins. The auction house washed their hands of the affair so I will never buy from them again, a little sympathy and assistance would have retained my patronage. I have had some great deliveries from the USA in the past proving distance has no issue it is simply the internal post officials and customs officials that can make or break a consignment. The only stipulation I ever make with auction houses and dealers is not to mention gold or silver as UK customs can regard it as bullion and charge 20% value added tax on top of import duties based on both coins and the carriage charge. I tend not to consider any issues with purchasing from overseas, the majority of society is honest and try to do a good job but human nature tends to remember the problems not the majority of times there are no issues, hence my comments above. It may sound trite but a little thrill from buying overseas is that unless I particularly track a DHL shipment, the postal packages can arrive at anytime and can cheer up an otherwise mundane day.

I just learn that my Secret Saturnalia gift gift to my giftee cleared Spanish Customs. Not bad after a couple of weeks on a 2 day service!! There is "many a slip between cup and lip" but hopefully I am on the home run now.