jdmKY

And I thought my 5-leafer was special! (5th lies on top of the leaf at 2:00)

Not mine, but my wife’s. It’s her “herd” of silver cow creamers (I had no idea such a thing existed). All are European, most from the 19th century.

Last week my wife and I were in the Netherlands and saw the tulips. Added bonus - dinner with Martinus who brought several of his Antony fleet coins for me to see.

Julius Caesar

Tripods from 42 BC Brutus quinarius Brutus denarius Cassius denarius

Happy Ides! And here’s my recently discovered hoard (any offers over $400K per coin accepted). Interesting fact - at this year’s ANS Gala there was an “EID MAR reunion” of 5 collectors who have 6 EID MARs between them. (For some reason they wouldn’t let me count my hoard above in the total!)

@Salomons Cat Yes, I agree. Her expressive portrait is one of my favorite portrait coins, by far.

Here’s my small parliament - Added bonus - one in the wild (actually semi-wild, a member of The Greenbrier Falconry Academy).

It’s interesting that much of the research that made this possible was conducted at the University of Kentucky, here in Lexington. We’re not exactly known as a center for ancient studies (normally more famous for basketball). Several years ago, I reached out to Professor Brent Seales and he was kind enough to give me a tour of his labs and provide some insight into his research. At the time, he was also examining a Dead Sea Scroll along with the Herculaneum papyri. Seale’s work was focused on only transcribing the characters, leaving the translation to others. It was truly fascinating to learn about his groundbreaking work.

Vibius Varus, 42 BC NEXT: Apollo

Papius Celsus, denarius, 45 BC She-wolf (without twins) and eagle NEXT: Juno Sospita

19 hours!!! OMG - I killed the thread.

C. Numonius Vaala, 41 BC, denarius NEXT: Bestiarii or gladiators

Lunch - Joe’s Home of Soup Dumplings - 48th between Madison and 5th. I ate there today - delicious!

Not to gloat but …. 1 for 1! Vibius Varus, 42 BC (CNG photo)

@DonnaML - I stopped by one of the majors last year (NAC) and was able to buy a nice example of a coin I’ve been looking for over several years. They had a handful of interesting coins for private sale.

Here are my 2 “children” - Cricket and Beanie Cricket was a “double-reject” from the Lexington Humane Society, her first adopter returned her because she was too wild (accurate assessment) Beanie was rescued from a hoarder, he was kept in a crate in a barn for much of his life. He was scared of his own shadow when we got him - he wouldn’t move around the house or yard, he also never barked at anything. The photo above of us walking was the first time we got him to walk on a leash (it took 2 years). Well, now he’s out of his shell, and much like my wife, has decided that he likes wintering in Florida while I stay home, working and coming home to an empty house.

Here are a few - Julius Caesar T Carisius Mn Cordius Rufus

I’ll arrive Wednesday night. I’ll do the preview on Thursday, then hang around until Sunday morning. I did attend the preview last year and found a coin that I had wanted for many years so I found it worth the extra money. It was also somewhat less crowded. Hope to see a lot of friends there!

@SimonW thank you for sharing these, they are extremely interesting and appealing! Coincidentally, I watched Aaron Berk’s latest Ancient Coin Podcast (#38 I think) and he had a short discussion about contorniates as well as medallions. Very interesting segment.

Joe - 5 superb coins (but we expect no less from you)! I love the JC aureus, the portraits are truly outstanding as some of these are much cruder and less attractive. And great news on the provenance. Kudos!

Papius Celsus, 45 BC And another “peanut” for @lordmarcovan - Brutus, 42 BC

Quintus Labienus, denarius, 40 BC Parthian horse

Lentulus and Marcellus, denarius, 49 BC NEXT: Medusa

Hostilius Saserna, 48 BC, denarius NEXT - Gallic theme