Glebe

Some readers may be familiar with my website glebecoins.org which covers both early electrum coinage and post 1204 Byzantine topics. I have noticed that while searches via Google generally place my site way down the results list, on Bing my site is usually top of the list or close to it. (Try searching for Coins of Andronicus I Gidon for example). Why this is I don’t know - perhaps Google gives preference to sites with some commercial potential? Ross G.

The CNG write-up includes a reference to Traite I II, (i.e, Babelon presumably), but Babelon Plate I No. 11 shows a striated hemi-hekte of Miletus, not a plain (or worn) trite, and I can't find any coin in Babelon like the one in question here. Ross G.

The silver coating on this Sear 1918 looks a bit too good to be true - it's very thick and shows no sign of wear. Modern perhaps?

This is Linzalone's "Ram from above" type Ln 1110 - see here (Ionia N): https://www.glebecoins.org/electrum/Early_Electrum/Basic_Electrum_Types/basic_electrum_types.html Note the difference between Ionia A and Ionia N types. Ross G.

Note that many people suspect that Schliemann added the moustache to the Agamemnon mask with a bit of repousse of his own in order to give it a more Prussian look. Ross G.

Faience hedgehogs seem to be common enough in the Egyptian middle kingdom - here is an example: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancient_Egypt_Faience_Hedgehog;_from_Thebes;_Middle_Kingdom,_12th_Dynasty_(28716615256).jpg I don't recall any weights in bronze though. Ross G.

Sear 2377 (= Lianta 678, DOC 786-8) is a common type but decent examples are hard to find - here is a reasonable copy. Ross

Hi Ken, As you have noticed these types have been around for quite a while and in fact they were discussed at length on the Forum Byzantine site some time ago. For some of this discussion see here: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=53639.msg332419#msg332419 Note that Val Marchev of Orthodox Coins and CLBC condemned these types from the start. Note also that these types also come with all sorts of coatings quite different from the brassy types, but Bendall was seemingly unaware of these when he analysed his so-called hoard. Ross G.

For my take on the Latin and Bulgarian imitatives see here: https://www.glebecoins.org/paleos/Articles/The_Bulgarian___Latin_Imitativ/the_bulgarian___latin_imitativ.html Ross G.

Sorry, no.

The legends are hopelessly garbled - this is not an official issue. Ross G.

LATIN IMITATIVE BILLON TRACHEA ISSUED IN THE MINT OF THESSALONICA (1204 – 1224)? Note that the title of Lianta's article: "LATIN IMITATIVE BILLON TRACHEA ISSUED IN THE MINT OF THESSALONICA (1204 – 1224)?" needs to be read carefully - she is of course challenging the idea of Thessalonican issues, as the question mark indicates. Ross G..

Unfortunately many of the Princeton photos are rather less than top grade. Pity, given all the work that's gone and will go into the cataloging.

Since when have 1/8 stavrata become 1/3 milliarensia? As in Berk's new BBS 222, lots 309 & 310. https://www.hjbltd.com/#!/inventory/item-detail/ancient-coins/101621?fromBbs=222nd Buy Or Bid Sale https://www.hjbltd.com/#!/inventory/item-detail/cc/101620?fromBbs=222nd Buy Or Bid Sale Have I missed something?

If it were my coin I'd try to clean it up a bit by giving it the old wet sand rub. If this didn't help then I'd try soaking it in vinegar for a while. If this didn't help then I'd - well, let's not upset the purists.

I wonder whether this new coin is the third example from the Peter & Paul hoard - although Christ's halo looks different. (I can't find my copy of that hoard and Jstor seems to be offline for the present). Ross G. Ed: Found the hoard, and no, it's not the third example, which is shown as Pl. 11, 99 in Metcalf's report of the hoard in Num. Chron. 1973.

Trachy enthusiasts may have noticed that the upcoming Triton sale includes a large module version (3.03g, 22.5 mm - see below) of the jewelled cross type small trachy S.2216, CLBC 14.20.3. This coin apparently first surfaced in 2021 and appears to be first reported example of this type in a larger module. Ross G.

Is the Macedonian tet here a Greek coin or a Roman coin for the purposes of the import rules? If the former then it seems too big to be caught by the rules, which specify silver coins under 10 gm. Very confusing.

Hi Simon, It’s hard to judge whether S.1977 (Mgm 57) and S.1979 (Mgm 58) should be considered separate issues or not, although 1977 does seem to be significantly heavier on average than 1979. To further confuse the issue S.1979 is described In Sear and CLBC as having large letters, when in fact Mgm 58 often comes with small or medium letters. Smaller letters are of course the norm on S.1977. Even worse CLBC 4.4.7 actually shows S.1977 with large heavy letters, which is something I have never seen on either type. Although perhaps we shouldn't take the diagram too literally. Ross G.

For those interested in 12th century trachea and tetartera I have added a note on my website designed to summarise the various issues in a compact form here: https://www.glebecoins.org/paleos/Notes/12th_Century_Trachea___Tetarte/12th_century_trachea___tetarte.html The tables include figures for the mean weights of the various types as an aid to assessing their relative values.

Personally I think they could all do with some cleaning - Tarnoff (sulphamic acid & thiourea) would do the trick nicely.

I wouldn't take Metcalf too seriously on the source of the Latin Imitatives - the question is discussed (in tedious detail) here: https://www.glebecoins.org/paleos/Articles/The_Bulgarian___Latin_Imitativ/the_bulgarian___latin_imitativ.html Ross G.

Seems to be the same dies as DOC 1754 of John VIII. Ross G.

As noted elsewhere, one possible candidate for this coin is the obscure type PCPC 379, which may be the same as S.2535=PCPC 297, LPC 146/10 attributed by Bendall to John V & John VI (which seems unlikely to say the least). Anyway four examples of what seem to be PCPC 379 turned up as No’s 23-26 in the Anaia C hoard in Asia Minor, which can found here: https://www.academia.edu/76253430/Kadikalesi_Anaia_Hoard_C_Thirty_Three_Copper_Trachea_and_Stamena_from_the_Main_Church_in_Kadikalesi_Anaia_Excavation They are all pretty messy but worth looking at. The authors describe the rulers as holding a long cross, but on No. 25 it looks more like a patriarchic cross to me, while the reverse legend seems to be Andronikoc..... These types at least seem to be provincial issues in Asia Minor. Ross G.

For those interested in early electrum see here: https://www.glebecoins.org/electrum/index.html Ross G.