Carausius

How sad!! He was a great character with a wonderful eye for coins. I'm proud to have one or two of his formers in my stewardship. Rest in peace, Steve.

I look forward to seeing them, Aiden!

One of the great, old and documented collections of ancient coins is the Duke of Northumberland Collection. This collection was expertly catalogued by Admiral William Smyth in his 1856 book, "Descriptive Catalogue of A Cabinet of Roman Family Coins Belonging to His Grace the Duke of Northumberland." In 1851, his Grace Algernon, Duke of Northumberland (5 December 1792 – 12 February 1865), showed Admiral Smyth a collection of Roman coins which had been in the Duke’s family “for many years,” and Smyth was engaged to organize and catalogue the collection which was “in rather a disorderly state”. The resulting work was printed for private circulation and, while lacking illustrations (line drawn or otherwise), it more than compensates with wonderfully detailed and often astute descriptions of the coins, including their weights in grains. We know that the coins described in Smyth’s book must have been acquired before the book’s publication in 1856 and they were likely acquired by the Duke’s family long before 1851 when the coins were first shown to Smyth. The ownership history conceivably dates to the 18th century. On 4 November 1982, the Northumberland collection, including the beautiful cabinets commissioned by Admiral Smyth to house the reorganized coins, was sold by Sotheby’s. The Sotheby’s introduction to the auction catalogue suggests that the collection may have been formed by the first Duke of Northumberland (1715-1786), who was a lover of the arts and who had a numismatist on staff for many years. Below is a portrait of his Grace Algernon, Duke of Northumberland (5 December 1792 – 12 February 1865) by Francis Grant. Below is the inscription on the title page of my copy of Admiral Smyth's book. It was likely inscribed by the Duke's personal secretary. I imagine many of the Duke's friends receiving copies of this book, flipping through the pages for a few seconds, and never opening it again. Perhaps that's why my copy survived. I am fortunate to have three Roman Republican coins from this fabulous, old collection. I'm sure many of you also have some of the Duke's former coins; post'em if you got 'em! Rome, The Imperators. Brutus, 43-2 BC AR Denarius (3.76 g; 21 mm) Mint traveling with Brutus Obverse: LEIBERTAS. Liberty head facing right. Reverse: CAEPIO BRVTVS PRO COS. Lyre with quiver and filleted olive branch. References: Crawford 501/1; HCRI 199; Smyth (1856) IX/11(this coin described). Provenance: Ex NAC 84 (2015), Lot 859; NAC 9 (16 Apr 1996), Lot 758; NAC 4 (27 Feb 1991), Lot 289; NAC 2 (21 Feb 1990), Lot 481; Duke of Northumberland Collection [Sotheby's, 4 Nov 1982, Lot 475], acquired before 1856. Liberty is a common theme on coins of the tyranicides who claimed to have liberated The Republic from the regal aspirations of Julius Caesar; so it's no surprise to find Libertas prominent on this coin of Brutus. Sear points out that the reverse is likely derived from the frequent depiction of lyres, quivers and filleted branches on Lycian Leage coins. This issue was likely struck in Lycia. Rome, The Imperators. Brutus with Casca Longus. 42 BCE. Plated (fourree) Denarius (2.53g; 20mm). Military mint, 42 BCE. Obverse: CASCA LONGVS; Neptune's head facing right; trident below. Reverse: BRVTVS IMP; Victory advancing right on broken scepter, holding filleted diadem and palm. References: Crawford 507/2; HCRI 212; Sydenham1298 (R6); BMCRR (East) 63; Junia 44; Servilia 35; Smyth XIV/28 (this coin described). Provenance: Naville Auction 62 (13 Dec 2020) Lot 393; Duke of Northumberland Collection [Sotheby's (1982) Lot 482]; acquired before 1856. While it is generally accepted that there were no “official” plated denarii issued by the Roman Republic, there were very-rare exceptions during the Imperatorial Period. Cornuficius’ coinage struck in North Africa circa 42 BC (Crawford 509) are more often found plated than solid and may have been an “official” plated issue. Whether the tyrannicides may have run into occasional silver shortages during the lead-up to Phillipi which required issuance of plated coins on an emergency basis can only be guessed; however, plated coins of the tyrannicides are certainly not common enough to support such a theory. I have seen a few very high-quality plated examples of the above type, but not huge numbers. Also, ancient forgeries were often produced from impressions of genuine coins and should be of good style. Publius Servilius Casca Longus was one of the leading conspirators against Julius Caesar, and he was Tribune of the Plebs at the time of the assassination. Plutarch reports that a nervous Casca was the first to stab Caesar on the Ides of March with a glancing blow: “Casca gave him the first cut, in the neck, which was not mortal nor dangerous, as coming from one who at the beginning of such a bold action was probably very much disturbed. Caesar immediately turned about and laid his hand upon the dagger and kept hold of it. And both of them at the same time cried out, he that received the blow, in Latin, ‘Vile Casca, what does this mean?’ and he that gave it, in Greek, to his brother [Gaius] ‘Brother, help!’” [Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans, Arthur Clough (Ed.)] After Caesar’s assassination, Casca was given command of Brutus’ fleet. Nothing is known of Casca following the Battle of Philippi in October 42 BCE, where he likely perished or committed suicide in the aftermath. The Neptune obverse refers to Casca’s naval command and the naval superiority of the conspirators before Philippi. Coins of the conspirators are replete with depictions of liberty and victory, and this coin is no exception. The reverse, with its broken scepter, clearly alludes to the assassins’ hope to eliminate monarchy in the Roman state and restore the Republic. Some authors have speculated that Victory is breaking a regal diadem on this type, although I don’t think that is abundantly clear. In describing this coin, Admiral Smyth said: “[t]his remarkably well-plated denarius, in very high preservation, and though fully spread, weighs only 39.5 grains…” Indeed, the coin is remarkably well-plated, with only one spot of the core visible on Neptune’s cheek, and the flan quite full at 20mm. Except for the one spot of visible core, the surfaces are exceptional, with deep iridescent tone, reflecting over a century spent in the Duke’s cabinets which were specially commissioned by Admiral Smyth to house the collection. Rome, The Republic. C. Terentius Lucanus, 147-late 140s BCE. AR Denarius (3.58g; 19mm). Rome Mint. Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma, facing right; X value mark and Victory crowning Roma, behind. Reverse: Dioscuri with couched spears galloping to right; C.TER.LVC beneath; ROMA in linear frame in exergue. References: Crawford 217/1; Sydenham 425; BMCRR 775-81; Terentia 10; Smyth XV-21 (this coin described). Provenance: Numismatica Ars Classica Auction 120 (6 Oct 2020), Lot 504; Duke of Northumberland Collection [Sotheby's (4 Mar 1982), Lot 241(part)], acquired before 1856. The moneyer may be the son of the Terentius Lucanus who, according to Suetonius, purchased and subsequently freed a slave later known as the comedic playwright Terence. Victory with wreath appears on both the silver and bronze issues of this moneyer, perhaps referring to a military victory by a member of the Terentia gens or to some contemporaneous Roman victory. While Crawford dates C. Terentius Lucanus’ coins at 147 BCE, Mattingly prefers a date in the late 140s BCE and suggests he was moneyer with L. Cup and C. Scribonius based on typology, abbreviation styles and prosopography.

My example. AR Denarius (4.19g; 19mm). Provenance: Ex Bernard Poindessault Collection [Oger-Blanchet (17 Nov 2017) Lot 148]; Edouard Schott Collection [E. Bourgey (21 Mar 1972) Lot 337].

I'm late to the party. Splendid coin and provenance Meander. Congratulations!

Is your coin in the MB Auction 1 plates? Münzhandlung Basel also had fixed price lists, the first of which was issued in April 1934. I don't have Auctions 1 or 2 in my library. Auction 3 (5 March 1935) states Prince W. in the title, which is Waldek. Auctions 4, 6 and 8 also have "Prince W" in the title. I understood that the Prince W coins were the primary stock of Münzhandlung Basel from it's inception, but that understanding is likely derived from Spring!

Both obverse and reverse style are wrong for this type. I strongly suspect it's a modern forgery, though maybe an old one (19th century - early 20th century), because the toning looks natural.

Phil, I sometimes joke that I have better memory for my friends' coins than my own while provenance hunting. Well, today, I came across the below coin. Look familiar? DeFalco FPL 66 (Sep 1964) Lot 2020.

@jdmKY That's a lovely coin - a type I've wanted for some time but not yet managed to acquire. Have you noticed that your coin has a very clear die clash visible on the reverse? See my red notes on the version below. The L•S of the right legend is clearly visible in reverse incuse and "Brutus" incuse profile is facing 12h. Interesting coin!

I know, I just thought the high buyer's premium is where CNG made their money. It's not just CNG - nearly all coin auction firms earn commissions on both the buyer and seller side of the transaction, and many firms charge higher buyer fees than CNG!

I have several coins from the Reinhold Faelton Collection. Reinhold Faelton (1856 - 1949) was a musician, composer, the Dean and founder in 1897 of the Faelton Pianoforte School of Boston, Massachusetts, and a coin collector for over 50 years. His collection of ancient coins was sold by Stacks in January 1938. This Stack's catalogue was one of the earliest to feature photographs of actual ancient coins in the plates, rather than photos of plaster casts of the coins (which was the standard at the time). The resulting plates were mixed-quality but mostly poor, making it an arduous task to use this catalogue for provenance matching. My two Ex Faelton coins:

I've been promoted to Rookie. 🤷‍♂️

Agree, the attributes are Victory. Suspect Cupid has been generally named to be consistent with the obverse Venus. That doesn't mean the experts are correct!

I think that's a Crawford 28 drachm, @Alegandron. Note the clearly defined, two sideburns.

Ok, I'm here. Let's get this party started! I'll start with a rarity I overpaid for at CNG recently. I had discovered some undisclosed information about the coin before the auction which fueled my excessive bidding. It is Sear plate coin and has a 1909 provenance! Rome, The Imperators. Manius Cordius Rufus. 46 BCE AR Sestertius (0.73g; 11mm; 6h). Rome mint, 46 BCE. Obverse: MN CORD; Diademed head of Venus, facing right. Reverse: RVFI; Cupid advancing to right, holding wreath and palm. References: Crawford 463/5b; Sear, HCRI 67 (this coin illustrated); Sydenham 980a (R5); BMCRR 4045-48; Cordia 7; RBW 1609 (this coin illustrated). Provenance: Ex J. de Wilde Collection [CNG 120 (12 May 2022) Lot 727]; RBW Collection [NAC 63 (17 May 2012), Lot 384]; Numismatic Fine Arts XXIV (18 Oct 1990) Lot 1348; Consul E.F. Weber Collection [Hirsch XXIV (10 May 1909) Lot 322].