ewomack

On my recent trip to Chicago, we stopped at the downtown Art Institute and happily came across some displays of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine coins. They didn't have loads of specimens on display, but what they had seemed fairly decent. It was nice to see some coins, at least. Many similar museums that I've visited included none whatsoever. This photo contains some of the Greek coins (notice a certain coin displayed "owl down"). The Roman and Byzantine coins sat in a display case with lighting that produced strange bands on the pictures, so the photos did not turn out too well. They had an absolutely fantastic Byzantine solidus of Irene, but my mobile phone camera refused to capture its details, unfortunately. Sadly, the displays only showed one side of the coins. Almost as consolation, they thankfully stood among a few hallways worth of fantastic antiquities. These would have provided enough eye candy all by themselves. I captured some of my favorites. The museum also had an amazing medieval section (though no coins). We spent a number of hours roaming through the ancient and modern worlds, as well as just about everything in between. They were also selling something in the gift shop that I had never seen before: patinated bronze lions in plushy form. Somehow I resisted buying one ("a life without regrets is a life not spent living," is how I will console myself 😁). Maybe on the next visit?

Yes, that is exactly why Byzantine coins appeal to me. I love the abstraction and the sometimes even cartoony depictions of people on the coins. One of my favorites remains the Constans II portraits. It's definitely a slightly different taste, but it fits with mine.

I completely understand the temptation, but I have generally regretted the coins cheap for their type that I have purchased "just to have one." If a coin doesn't please me in some way visually, with some exceptions, I typically don't want it and I've found my appreciation for it won't increase over the years. It often decreases. I'd rather buy fewer, more expensive, coins, than more cheaper ones. I've found that "less is more" (at least less of higher visual appeal) works for me and sustains my interests for longer periods. I'm in the pass camp on this one as well.

I have only a single "horse blanket" $1 silver certificate from 1923.

While visiting Chicago last week, I stopped into the Harlan Berk shop downtown and bought the Constantine IV Follis below in person. A long time has passed since I bought something directly "over the counter" like that. They sent me to the Ancient Coins department and they did a little searching for the piece, but in about 15 minutes they brought it to me in a room lined with books on ancient coins and antiquities. The office itself proved quite an experience. On the table sat a small chest of $20 cheapies that we rummaged through while waiting. That box had some decent stuff in it for the price. As for the Follis, I like the obverse, but the reverse doesn't look too appealing. So it goes with many Byzantines: you take what you can get. But, they also gave me a break on the price, so it ended up being a memorable trip all around. I highly recommend the experience. The only downside is that it missed the Byzantine portrait thread. Maybe next time? Constantine IV Pogonatus (668 - 685), with Heraclius and Tiberius, Æ Follis (20mm, 4.38 g). Syracuse mint; Obv: No legend, Crowned and cuirassed facing bust, holding globus cruciger; Rev: Large M, flanked by Heraclius and Tiberius standing facing; TKW monogram above, [SC]L in exergue; MIB 104; SB 1207

I'm still relatively new to Byzantine coins, having only started collecting them last summer. After accumulating about a dozen so far, I'd like to learn more. That usually means books. So far, I've read the Sear book, the Sayles book (also known as Ancient Coin Collecting V) and the helpful, but somewhat jumbled, The Beginner's Guide To Identifying Byzantine Coins. Apart from random Internet searches, the recent numismatic library thread here included pictures of other books on this subject, including Byzantine Coins by Whittier (in "The World of Numismatics" series) and, Byzantine Coins by Grierson. Are these books (which usually sell for between $50 - $100 each) a good next step for learning more about this subject? Does anyone have any other recommendations for getting deeper into Byzantine coins?

Here is my only Greek coin, which also qualifies as the smallest coin in my entire pile. It was sold to me as an "Obol." I believe it has a diameter of 9mm - 10mm. Pisidia; Selge; c. 250 - 190 BCE; AR Obol; 0.89 grams; Obv: Facing gorgeoneion; Rev: Helmented head of Athena right, astragalos to left; SNG Ashmolean 1546 - 50, SNG BN 1948-

I think Voltaire's quote sums it up: "The Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." Regardless of what one thinks about the quote - it may possess more wit than accuracy - I agree that the Holy Roman Empire doesn't belong in a thread dedicated to Byzantine coins. They were separate empires. It could have its own thread, of course.

My numismatic library has fluctuated wildly over the years. If I had saved all of the numismatic books I had ever owned, they would probably fill an entire bookshelf or more. But, as my tastes, goals, and pursuits changed, so did my books. Currently, my coin books sit scattered amongst books on countless other subjects, so I had to take them all off the shelves to photograph them together. They look pretty humble all in a little pile on the floor.

One of the greatest beards in all coinage... Constans II (641-668), AE Follis / 40 Nummi, Syracuse, 652-3, AE 23-27mm. 6g. Constans standing facing, wearing crown and chlamys, holding globus cruciger in right hand; I/H/Δ to l., I/A to right / Large M; cross above; SCL. MIB 208; DOC 179; S. 1108

I only have an unremarkable Constantius II - it was one of the first ancient coins I ever purchased, so I keep it around for sentimental reasons. Cyzicus RIC VII 69 Constantius II AE3. 330-334 AD. FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right / GLORIA EXERCITVS, two soldiers, helmeted, standing with spears & shields, facing two standards between them, dot on banners. Mintmark SMKΓ dot.

Phocas (602-610), Æ Follis (33mm, 11.79g), Cyzicus, Dated RY 4 ? (605/6); Obv: δN POCAS+PERPAVG, Crowned bust facing, wearing consular robes and holding mappa and cross, small cross to left; Rev: Large XXXX, ANNO above, II/II (date) to right, KYZA, Sear 665

Thanks to @Romancollector (I'm pretty sure it was him), my Marcus Aurelius denarius was recognized as a rare bust variety. It sits on page 146 of the following link (pdf): http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Marcus/08 - Marcus Aurelius - TR POT XVII Period, 162-163 (med_res).pdf Page 145 references "collection of ewomack" in the footnotes. Thanks again to @Roman Collector for making that all happen. I had purchased the coin completely randomly as a birthday present to myself because I liked the look of it. I had no idea where it would all go. Marcus Aurelius. AR Denarius. Struck 161/2 AD. M ANTONINVS AVG, bare head right / CONCORD AVG TR P XVII, COS III in exergue, Concordia seated left, holding patera, resting left elbow on statuette of Spes set on base. 18mm 3.4gm I also have a Julian II "bull" coin, from Thessalonika Julian II (360 - 363) AE1 (BI Maiorina); Thessalonika Mint; Obv: DN FL CL IVLIANUS PF AUG; Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; Rev: SECVRITAS REIPVB; Bull standing right, two stars above;*TESΓ in exergue; Ref: RIC 226

Coins have nearly always provided a (potentially illusory) connection to the actual past that I'm currently studying. In the vast majority of cases, the history comes first and the coins come second. In other words, I could enjoy the history perfectly well without coins, but coins usually enhance the learning. I honestly don't know why I began collecting coins, but it all started in the back of a vacuum cleaner shop in the town adjacent to where my parents still live. This shop, for reasons that I never fully understood, sold coins in a back room. Somehow, I found my way back there and began collecting very worn, but fully dated, Liberty Head Nickels. I still have them all. Though I probably was 10 years old or younger at the time, the idea of owning something that old apparently appealed to me. Perhaps this represented my first "connection to the past" revelation? If nothing else, it made me realize, in a real and concrete way, that history actually existed and that people used money back in the 1880s. Put another way, the people of the past were at least a little bit like me. It made the past seem more tangible and alive. Then I went through the usual collector's gamut of buying mint sets, looking through change, etc., that now seems more like hoarding than collecting. I wanted everything, but my limited child's income kept the most interesting things at bay. I read coin magazines and fantasized about owning gold specimens. Then I put all of my coins in a box in a closet and stopped collecting for years. A number of life changes, including becoming an adult and finally possessing my own income, materialized and I found that I had really neglected British history. As I read and learned the monarchs and the notable events, "1066 and all that," I began to wonder what British coins looked like. I imagined that they probably all sat in museums, way too expensive and unattainable for someone like myself. A quick Internet search brought coins flooding back into my life in an astonished flurry. I, that is, me, could actually own coins of Elizabeth I, of Henry VIII, of Edward VI, and even Edward I and earlier medieval monarchs. I couldn't believe it. I sat scrolling the screen and gazing at the coins dating back 1,000 years that just sat there waiting to get purchased. Of course, I bought some. To start, I bought this cheaper 1565 Elizabeth I three pence as a "test." It isn't a great example, but it pushed my collection back a few centuries and led to further acquisitions. I found that learning a nation's coins led to a quick way of learning the sequence of its overall history. The changing British monarchs only came into focus for me after studying British coins. Spink's "Coins of England" not only taught me about British coins, but about British history itself. It made learning long lineages pretty easy. I repeated the experiment with France. "Les monnaies royales françaises 987-1793" provided a path through French coinage and royal history. Being completely in French, it also helped with vocabulary and language learning. Then on to Japan, which again came alive with books on coins (and paper money) and history. This led to the discovery of one of my favorite coin series of all time, the Meiji dragons. My interests moved slowly backwards in time. I began exploring other medieval coinage and found that I simply enjoyed their aesthetics without really knowing their accompanying history. Of course an interest in Rome emerged and I bought some cheap and rough examples, now fascinated that I held a piece of metal over 1,000 years old. Not surprisingly, I studied Roman history, watched documentaries, read books, everything. I truly enjoyed reading Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations" with one of his coins sitting close by. I know I've shared this one many times already, but it remains one of my favorites. It didn't take long to move back to Greece, to the beginnings of coinage itself. I only have one Greek coin so far, but I love it. This led me to my latest craze, Byzantine coins. I began just loving their rough and abstract aesthetics, situated somewhere between Rome and medieval times. I knew nearly nothing about Byzantium at all, but, in a complete turnaround in my collecting methodology, I started with coins and then learned history. In this case, coins led me to study history and not vice versa. Coins have provided an enjoyable and easy way to learn about world history. They give structure to large narratives that in text form may prove difficult to retain. Perhaps the more visually oriented should look to them for help in history learning? Not only that, as one of the earliest forms of mass communication, coins also express the values (via propaganda or other means) of cultures and societies. They provide symbols of power for rulers and ruling classes that also help give authenticity to economic exchanges. They must have also provided a sense of unity for cultures that once used coins of specific types, though many types probably circulated at once in any given time period. Much like the coins I collected in change, they can give a sense of identity (sometimes for better or worse) for people living in an area of the world. Given all of this, I believe that coins likely provided a similar experience for people of the past that I had while growing up. I bought things with coins, studied their surfaces, and wondered at the ability they had to help me obtain objects of desire (sports cards, model paint, candy, magazines, etc). People in the past must have felt something similar when seeing a coin, studying it, and using it. In this way I feel a connection to the people of the past through coins. I'm doing what they likely did, though I can never completely identify with their lives, just as much as they would probably never be able to identify with mine. Also, presuming that my coins are genuine (I think they are), they were actually there, "alive" in history. People from the past touched them. Someone had to make them by hand. They somehow made it through all of the fuss to the present day. That's how coins have informed me, enriched my education, and made me feel some level of kinship and unity with those who came before me. That's some pretty awesome powers for tiny chunks of punched metal.

Just the Two of Us This recently acquired Follis of the Emperor Justin II and the Empress Sophie for some reason conjured up memories of the old song Just the Two of Us. I'm not sure if Sophie would completely agree with the song's sentiments, especially after what she experienced during Justin II's mental collapse. But the obverse of the coin seems to fit. The song once played quite a bit over the airwaves. I was shocked to discover that it dates to 1981. To provide more pop culture historical context, according to Wikipedia, the song once sat at #3 behind Sheena Easton's Morning Train and Kim Carnes's Bette Davis Eyes. That now seems almost as long ago as the fall of Constantinople. Justin II & Sophie (Year 5, 569 - 570), Æ Follis, 31.4mm, 11.83g, Nicomedia, Obv: DN IVUSTINUS PP AVG Justin II and Sophie seated facing forward, each with nimbus, holding globus cruciger and cruciform scepter; Rev: ANNO U, large M surmounted by cross, with B below, NIKO in exergue, Sear 369

We experienced the hazy skies, but no wood burning smell this time. A week or two ago I was in the car ready to drive somewhere and the garage door opened to an almost alien landscape. As a member of the Cloud Appreciation Society and someone who gazes at celestial objects more than occasionally, I look at and notice the sky a lot. I had never seen quite such a haze. My first thought was fog, but the conditions weren't right for fog, then it slowly dawned on me that I was feasting my eyes on a sky full of particulates. By the of the day, I had a scratchy and congested throat. Ah, particulates! I feel a poem coming on... I want to sculpt, I want to create...

I guess this one appeared just in time (namely, today) Justin II & Sophie (Year 5, 569 - 570), Æ Follis, 31.4mm, 11.83g, Nicomedia, Obv: DN IVUSTINUS PP AVG Justin II and Sophie seated facing forward, each with nimbus, holding globus cruciger and cruciform scepter; Rev: ANNO U, large M surmounted by cross, with B below, NIKO in exergue, Sear 369

This coin arrived today from across the large pond. I had posted the dealer's picture in another earlier thread, where the coin had a more reddish tint. In hand, it looks more brownish, similar to the photo. The portraits on this specimen have the clearest details of any of this type that I've seen, though the legs are either worn or poorly struck. From what I can tell from other examples, the robes on their legs usually display more detail of folds. Still, as with most Byzantines, one takes what one can get. Overall, I liked this one enough to bring it home. Also, it's the first Byzantine coin featuring a woman that I have acquired. From the little I have read, it sounds like Justin II, after some political missteps, suffered a mental collapse around 574 and Tiberius II became regent. Sophie apparently wielded considerable power throughout his reign and also throughout Tiberius II's regency. You go girl. The dealer had attributed it as Sear 379, but that's Theoupolis. Sear 369 is Nicomedia. Justin II & Sophie (Year 5, 569 - 570), Æ Follis, 31.4mm, 11.83g, Nicomedia, Obv: DN IVUSTINUS PP AVG Justin II and Sophie seated facing forward, each with nimbus, holding globus cruciger and cruciform scepter; Rev: ANNO U, large M surmounted by cross, with B below, NIKO in exergue, Sear 369 Lastly, say hello to the heavily abstracted Emperor and Empress:

It just started happening to me yesterday or the day before. I posted some side by side images and, a day or two later, they became vertical with the same resolution. I don't know if something was added or changed, or perhaps there was a forum update? I'm not sure, but it wasn't happening to me until Monday or Tuesday this week.

Justinian I Follis (540/1 - Year 14), Constantinople mint, Obv: DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing holding cross on globe and shield; cross to right. Rev: Large M, ANNO to left, cross above, XIIII (date) to right, A below, CON in exergue, Sear 163

@coin_newbie, how well do you know ancient history? I made my way into ancient coins by studying ancient history. For Rome, knowing about the emperors can help increase interest in the coins and give them historical context and interest. For example, after reading about Marcus Aurelius, I knew that I wanted a coin of his. Marcus Aurelius. AR Denarius. Struck 161/2 AD. M ANTONINVS AVG, bare head right / CONCORD AVG TR P XVII, COS III in exergue, Concordia seated left, holding patera, resting left elbow on statuette of Spes set on base. 18mm 3.4gm Once I knew more about ancient coins, I spent some time on this forum, and scanned the coin sites, and the reverse happened. I came across Byzantine coins, but I knew very little about Byzantium itself. So I bought some Byzantine coins and started learning about Byzantine history. The coins just caught my eye and now I have an entirely new area of history to explore. Here is an example of a Justinian I Follis, such as @Nerosmyfavorite68 mentioned. Justinian I Follis (540/1 - Year 14), Constantinople mint, Obv: DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing holding cross on globe and shield; cross to right. Rev: Large M, ANNO to left, cross above, XIIII (date) to right, A below, CON in exergue, Sear 163 It is big, weighty, and substantial coin and examples can be found fairly cheaply (everyone does have a different definition of "cheap," however). No one book will likely give you all that you need, depending on what you want to focus on. But it's probably best to find an interest: Greek, Roman, Byzantine, for example, and read a book or two on the subject before you delve in too deeply. Make sure to learn about counterfeits as well. Nothing will douse interest in a hobby like buying an inauthentic item. Lastly, hang around this forum. Plenty of people here will give advice, point you in the right direction, and even look at coin photos for opinions. For ancients, this is the place to be.

This Byzantine tetarteron dates from the 12th century, so I guess it qualifies as medieval. Manuel I Comnenus (1143-1183), Æ Tetarteron; Thessalonica; Obv: ⨀/Γ/Є to left and P-over-w/Γ/O/S to right, half-length bust of St. George facing, holding spear and shield ; Rev: MANɣHΛ ΔЄCΠΟΤ, bust of Manuel facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger; 20 mm,3.24g; DOC 18; Sear 1975

Hello, @coin_newbie and welcome to the forum! There is a lot of knowledge about ancient and medieval coins here, but, as others have said, far less about more modern coins. At least at this time. And you used the word that always makes collectors' antennae stand on end: "investment." If you want to make money off of coins, it's fair to say that's a tricky and complicated business. Coins are a mature market, but speculation still exists in bubbles here and there. Unless you have a lot of money to spend (and I mean a lot), you likely won't make a lot of money. You might make some. A very few lucky people do "strike it rich," but those instances occur less often than lottery winners. You could be one of them, the probabilities are greater than 0, but it's also highly unlikely. Many consider "investment grade" coins to be the top 10% of the market, the ones that people buy to make large profits off of. You need a lot of money to go down that road. I also think you'll find less talk of investing here and even on Coin Talk. Most of the posters here and there buy coins largely for pleasure and many even accept that they won't recoup their costs when selling. I try my best to buy coins that will resell to a decent percentage of initial cost, but I accept the risks as well. So far, every time I have sold coins I have lost at least some money overall (i.e., I gained on some, lost on others, but overall I saw a net loss). You also need a lot of knowledge to make money in coins. Morgan dollars can be fiercely competitive and a great number of people already play in that market. You'll need to read up on that series, keep an eye on auction results, read coin news, keep up with third party grading companies, etc., to best know when to buy or sell to an advantage. You may just get lucky as well, but luck alone is never enough when investing long term. You may also do all of that work and still lose money. It happens, so use caution and learn before you buy. I wish you luck! And please stick around here if you want one of the best sources of information for ancient coins on the internet.

Images on the web are a very difficult thing to gauge given the multitudinous display devices, internet providers, computer capabilities, etc. that exist out there. There are too many variables to account for. The best one can do is find a "good enough" base resolution and use that as a baseline never to go under (some exceptions exist to this, but I don't know if they would pertain to this forum). The images @sand posted above also all look identical to me, with the exception of some extremely tiny nuances. They all look great, but the work put into finding an optimal resolution may not end up worth it past a certain point. It might look better on your own screen off the web, but many, perhaps most, people won't notice a difference on the web. That said, it's worth experimenting with if you're concerned about how your images look. To me, they look great as they are. Since all of the images look mostly the same, I would choose the lowest resolution you used to cut down on image size. As for posting very large images, yes, I agree with @idesofmarch01, mostly because the large images can take a long time to load, especially when multiples appear on a page. More than once a visit, I find myself waiting for large images to load on a thread and sometimes I just skip them if they take longer than 15 - 30 seconds (many of them do). So posting smaller images would help the readability and performance of the forum overall. I upload an image, then I click on it and resize it to 300 X 300 or 400 X 400 (the image tool will automatically resize to proportion with the checkbox clicked), but I rarely go larger than that for coins. There is also the issue of storage space and potential costs for the forum. Most providers/hosts have a minimum amount of total storage allowed, or they charge for what is used (this is the most dangerous pricing model). This is why many forums limit image upload size, frustrating as that can be. I don't know the arrangement this forum has, @Restitutor, but some of these large images, especially in multiples, must take up a lot of space.

Justin I (518-527), Æ follis- 17,95 gram- 31 mm, Constantinople mint; Obv: DN IVSTINVS PP AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; rev: Large M, below, A; *-* in fields, above cross, CON in exergue; Sear 62; MIB 11