Ed Snible

Is the coin in the online archives of the auction house? I found others, but not this one. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/judaea/ancients-jewish-war-66-70-ad-ar-quarter-shekel-16mm-313-gm-9h-/a/3003-20201.s

I am not good at reading these. Where are you looking? It reminds me of 3.3 and 9.50 in Frank Robinson's catalog, but it is too early for me to try to compare blundered Jawi today. Or are you using Zeno.ru? Edit: never mind, I just noticed your earlier post.

The anvil might have contained multiple obverse dies. See George Hill, "Ancient Methods of Coining" (1922), the last pages. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42663813 (Signing up for the free JStor account gives you access to 99 articles a month.) It's a good article. It was reprinted in the 1980s as a booklet.

Nice coins, especially the two with Perseus reverses! These are very scarce, and I see in your album that you have more including duplicates! Lydia, Hierocaesareia, time of Trajan (98 to 117 AD). 23mm; 9.2 g Obv: ΙƐΡΟΚΑΙС[ΑΡ]ƐΙΑ; turreted and draped bust of Tyche, r. Rev: ΑΝΘΥΠΑΤΩ ΦΕΡΟΚΙ; Perseus nude standing facing, head l., holding harpa in r. hand, head of Gorgon in l. Ref: RPC vol. 3 #1848 (two specimens known to RPC), BMC 19. Finally, a true monster, at 41mm diameter. "Perseus, meet Artemis. Artemis, meet Perseus." LYDIA, Hierocaesarea. Pseudo-autonomous issue. Time of Marcus Aurelius or Commodus, Æ 41mm, 33.15 g. P. Sex. Philippos, archon for the second time. Struck circa AD 179-180. Obv: ΙƐΡΑ ϹΥΝΚΛ[ΗΤοϹ]; Draped bust of youthful Senate right; c/m: female head left within circular incuse. Rev: [ƐΠΙ ΑΡΧ Π ϹƐ]Ξ? [ΦΙΛ]ΙΠΠΟΥ Τ [Β ΙƐΡΟΚΑΙϹ]/ΑΡƐΩΝ; On left; Perseus standing nude to right, holding harpa; on right, Aremis standing left, quiver over shoulder, holding bow; both clasp hands over lighted altar between them. Ref: Kurth 58; RPC IV.2 Online #1276 (one specimen known), BMC 20; for c/m: Cf. Howgego 224. Note that that ΑΡƐΩΝ in the exergue seems to be upside-down....

@Broucheion, thanks for linking to the paper. You will notice #58 in the paper is from Sammlung Ed Snible. 18mm, 5.56g. The interesting thing about that coin -- the reason I showed it to Dr. Hans-Christoph von Mosch -- is that it has an inscription, apparently Ϝ Κϛ, to the left of Perseus. This is is probably the date 26. Von Aulock had seen examples with HK (year 28). Now we have two dates, but we don't know what era. The founding of the province Cilicia (101 BC) or Galatia (25 BC) or Actian era (31/30 BC) or Alexandrian Regnal of Augustus (30/29 BC)?

They aren't in RPC because George Hill thought they were the only coinage of Iconium that was pure Greek, not pseudo-autonomous. If you can read German, the most recent work on Iconium is Hans Christoph von Mosch, “perseus und andromeda (vormals) in ikonion. die bilder der „bilderstadt“ und ein besuch Gordians iii. im Jahre 239/40”, Festschrift Johannes Nollé (2019). The answers you seek may be there. I cannot read German. The citizens of Iconium believed Perseus -- the mythological hero not the Hellenistic king -- refounded their city. The name supposedly comes from a Greek word eikon which might mean the image of the gorgon. For lots of (speculative?) ideas about Iconium you might read a 1908 book, The Cities of St. Paul Their Influence on His Life and Thought.

They are nice coins, with a nicer heroic pose. Mine is quite poor: Iconium, 50 BC - 100 AD, AE21 6.73g Bust of Perseus seen from behind, holding harpa and gorgoneion's head [EΙΚΟΝΙEΩΝ] ΜEΝEΔΗ[Μ] [ΤΙΜ]ΟΘEΟΥ, Zeus seated left, holding scepter and thunderbolt. SNG von Aulock 5384, Sear 5504, von Aulock, Muenze und Stadte Lykaoniens, 190 I bought this in 2002 for a bit of money! I should have waited; I have seen much nicer specimens in the last decade for for much less than I paid. The dating, 50 BC to 100 AD, is my guess. George Hill thought it was the earliest coin of Iconium and put it in the first century BC.

@Curtis JJ's point is important. XRF may not give results that are representative of the interior, but it does give results that are representative of similar coins. Last month Dr. Ronald Bude, MD, gave a talk at the American Numismatic Society: "Don’t be Afraid of Technology: Using Sophisticated Techniques to Evaluate Coins". You can watch it on YouTube. He pointed out that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to get accurate results non-destructively using neutron activation or muons. He also compared the results he got with destructive tests on his own coins to XRF. I am very curious about XRF technology. I hear conflicting stories about calibration. Rasiel Suarez told me that "rental machines are reportedly beat up jalopies" so I have been nervous about renting one. I have been unable to find a testing lab nearby. I found a coin dealer and several bullion dealers in the New York area with XRF machines. They were happy to test a coin or two, but unwilling to test additional coins for any amount of money. Before I trust XRF reports for ancient coins I'd like to know how reliable they are. How different are the numbers for different machines? Does the calibration drift? What about different locations on a coin? To measure that I'd need tests from many different machines. I can't get tests from a single machine. I found a decent undergraduate paper on testing US silver coins with XRF. I feel like it would be worthwhile to do basic tests like these to find out if XRF results in different studies of ancient coins can be compared with each other and are believable.

The coin looks great! Thanks for comparing the three experts' results! Most collectors stop after the first expert. For metal analysis, perhaps https://www.jstor.org/stable/43580559 Haim Gitler et al, "Athenian Tetradrachms from Tel Mikhal (Israel): A Metallurgical Perspective". (Requires free account to read). https://www.academia.edu/1025594/M_Ponting_H_Gitler_and_O_Tal_Who_Minted_those_Owls_Metallurgical_Analyses_of_Athenian_Styled_Tetradrachms_Found_in_Israel_Revue_Belge_de_Numismatique_clvii_2011_pp_119_136 M. Ponting et al, "Who Minted Those Owls?" I do not understand why it is so hard to get things like average metal content except by reading papers. Someone may need to set up a site to gather these results together and print a nice average and standard deviation for metal content. Please tell us what equipment was used and if you can, which firm did the metal analysis. I am hearing conflicting things about XRF and miscalibrated XRF.

Roman coins are organized chronologically by Emperor. Greek coins are organized clockwise around the Mediterranean. "Uncertains" go last. The clockwise ordering is for the regions (e.g. Macedon) only. Within each region the coins are sorted alphabetically by city. Within each city they are ordered chronologically. Within each time period by denomination. "Roman Provincial" are either placed with the Romans, by Emperor, or clockwise with the city, depending on your preference. The Wildwinds order is given here: https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/geo.html You can sometimes get interesting results by breaking the above rules. For example, if you put all coins in chronological order the the Roman and Parthian contemporaries are highlighted. You are also allowed to put the Provincial stuff in BOTH places -- with the emperor and with the city.

Check out the inscription on this: Mongols, GOLDEN HORDE. Juchid AE pul. Khwarizm 708 AH (= 1308 AD). Time of Toqtu-bek khan (AH 690-712/ AD 1291-1312). 20mm 2.2gO: Spiral Kufic, zarb bi-Khwarizm (="was struck at Khwarizm").R: Spiral Kufic, sanat theman wa seb' miat (="in the year eight and seven hundred"). Ref: Album 2024; cf. Special projects » Khwarizm Numismatics » Juchid 655-815 AH » Toqta; cf. 6400 I wish I could read this. The Wikipedia entry for geometric/square/spiral Kufic is interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kufic#Square_Kufic. It looks like a maze video game.

I am a software engineer. I am good at reading rules. The law looks like rules, but legal interpretation of the meaning might be different from the plain English meaning as interpreted by an engineer. Non-lawyers can read https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/internet-purchases which says “Giving misleading or inaccurate information about the nature of the item and its value is illegal. And it is the importer - YOU - who could face legal action and fines for this violation!” Lawyers can read https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/chapter-I/part-145/subpart-B/section-145.11 which says “Shipment of merchandise which are not accompanied by a Customs declaration and invoice in accordance with paragraphs (a) through (b) of this section may be subject to seizure and forfeiture in accordance with § 145.4.” Paragraph b says there needs to be an accurate description of the purchase price. I don’t know what “subject to seizure and forfeiture” means. For example, does it mean “forever”, or until the goods are cleared? Another paragraph explains how the goods must be described. And what if the goods were never cleared because there was no Customs notice on the invoice? It is nearly impossible to get numismatic shippers to declare goods at a level that a software engineer expects. Attached is an image of a table medal I purchased in March from a Ukrainian seller and received this month. I will discuss it because it is the most recent thing I've imported, and because it is a cool medal. USSR, 1991. Artists: N. G. Balsky, V. L. Iofin, F. I. Borovik Chernobyl nuclear accident power plant/station atomic medal, tombac (a brass/zinc alloy), 60mm, 135g Obv: Semicircle (schematically designating a nuclear reactor and/or the sarcophagus) in the flat lower part of which is the inscription ЧАЕС, and in the upper three vertical rods - a schematic representation of TVEL fuel rods lowered into the reactor. Rev: Half-dead leaf with raindrop (or tear?). Н Бальский В Иофин Ф Боровик LMD Hallmark; 1991. Mintage: said to be 3000-5000. Leningrad mint (LMD). Allow me to explain what happened. (This is not a request for legal advice.) I paid $32 ($41 with shipping) via eBay. The seller’s post office was closed — because his town is occupied by Russians. It took him three months to get the medal to Kyiv for international posting. To compensate me for the delay he added 21 modern coins and a Moscow subway token for free to the parcel. Here is my analysis of the Customs declaration. The envelope had two Customs declarations. A handwritten one giving the value of $20, and a printed electronic one giving the value of $15 + $1. I expected both to give the $32 purchase price or $41 total price with shipping. The item was declared as a “gift” rather than “sale of goods”. The extra coins were a gift; perhaps both “gift” and “sale of goods” should have been checked? The inventory listed 20 coins and a medal. I expected it to say 21 coins, 1 medal, and a subway token. The Country of Origin was given as Ukraine for the medal. The medal was minted at the Leningrad mint in the USSR on behalf of the Ukraine SSR. I have no clue if the origin should be Russia, Ukraine, or "USSR." I am pretty sure it can't be "USSR", as only current countries are allowed. The Country of Origin for the coins was given as Ukraine for all the coins. Included were USSR, Russian, and Ukrainian small change as a gift. The weight was perfect! That was a surprise. (Customs forms for ancient coins often give weights like "1 oz" for a 0.6g coin.) As a computer guy, I feel the parcel wasn’t labeled perfectly. Was it good enough for legal purposes? There is no Customs Duty for these items, so perhaps it doesn’t matter from a legal point of view. As a human being, I feel like the forms are “close enough” given the conditions of the current occupation. I wonder if the medal is still “subject to seizure” by US Customs -- or if the possibility of seizure ended when it was cleared? What about the undeclared subway token?

You are the lawyer. I only know what I read online. I was referring to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), effective December 5th 2016: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/06/2016-29191/import-restrictions-imposed-on-certain-archaeological-material-from-egypt These items (probably) cannot be imported without evidence they left Egypt before the MOU was published. Of course, Customs always blocked imports if their paperwork was no good. For example https://eg.usembassy.gov/united-states-returns-ancient-artifacts-egypt-national-geographic-society/ , a press release covering items returned including 68 coins. Egypt banned ALL exports of artifacts after 1983. Any artifact that was in Egypt before that is considered stolen goods and cannot be imported.

The list of things you can't import from Egypt without a pre-2016 provenance is https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/12/03/2021-26348/extension-and-amendment-of-import-restrictions-on-archaeological-material-and-imposition-of-import It would be great to know the declared value of the canopic jar vs the amount the seller paid. My understanding is that these values must be the same or the item can't be legally imported. The National Geographic TV series "To Catch a Smuggler" had an episode "Mobile Meth" where they show what happens when US Customs finds Egyptian artifacts with bad paperwork. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/shows/to-catch-a-smuggler/episode-guide/season-02/episode-12-mobile-meth/vdka22984472 Last week I imported a Ukrainian table medal commemorating the Chernobyl tragedy dated 1991. I paid $32 for this medal and the seller declared the value as $20. I don't know why sellers do this! I really expected to see either $32 or the $41 I paid with shipping on the paperwork, not $20. I don't know if I have any obligation to tell US Customs the true value, given that there is no duty on $32 or $41 items either.

There are tremendous opportunities to do amateur research on Greek coins. If you have a Roman Imperial coin with the picture of some emperor on the obverse it is obvious when it was struck. That isn’t the case with Greek. A fun exercise is to go through the catalog you have just compiled for your own collection and write a paragraph for each coin like this: The date range <year> to <year> BC corresponds to the period between <battle> and <event> when the city was ruled by the <empire>. The obverse was identified as <god> because <attribute or temple>. The reverse was identified as <god> because <attribute or temple>. Often this simple exercise causes you to notice that something as basic as the years are different in different books. Finding such disagreements tells you a coin deserves more study. I have a list of coins that I want to research but don’t have the time yet. Here is an example: CILICIA, SOLOI 100-30 BC, AE24 13.29g. Aegis/Goddess riding bull; symbols Edoardo Levante believed the type was struck 200-100 BC. George Hill assigned the issue to 300-100 BC. Barclay Head dated slightly more loosely, to 300-80 BC, pointing out Tigranes the Great destroyed Soli soon after 83 BC. The chronology of Soli is not clear; during the early Hellenistic period the costal cities of Cilicia, probably including Soli, belonged to the Ptolemies. After the fifth Syrian war (202-195 BC) all of Cilicia belonged to the Seleukid empire. Tigranes the Great became the Seleukid emperor in 83 BC. Mithridates the Great, who used the aegis type heavily in his coinage, was Tigranes’ father-in-law and military ally. It is possible this Soli issue dates to the Mithridatic wars and is connected with him. It could also be Seleukid; both Antiochos IV and Alexander Balas used the aegis on their regal coinage. The gorgoneion was appears on coinage of Antiochos III as a shield boss. The identification of the horse rider as Aphrodite is by Imhoof-Blumer. He merely calls her “Goddess” but believes the coin depicts the same goddess as Cypriot coins of King Stasioikos that are identified today as Aphrodite or Astarte. Imhoof-Blumer was certain this type does not depict Europa. He doesn’t mention traditionally turreted goddesses Cybele and Tyche. He doesn’t mention Athena, the goddess usually associated with owls. It’s worth noting that the Stasioikos coin Imhoof-Blumer was certain doesn’t depict Europa is described as depicting Europa on the web site for the Bank of Cyprus. A modern Cypriot coin copied the design of the Stasioikos coin to celebrate Cyprus’ entry into the European union. Seven different letters and monograms appear as controls on this coin in auction sales. As far as I can tell no one has written about what they might mean. For most coins you won't find such disagreement between catalogs.

Here is a drachm of Philoxenus: Philoxenus. AR Drachm Square (2.45 gms). Obv: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANIKHTΟΥ ΦIΛOΞENOY (= "Of the Invincible King Philoxenus"); Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust facing right Rev: Kharoshti legend MAHARAJASA APADIHATASA PHILASINASA "Undefeatable King Philoxenus"; Philoxenus on horse facing right. Monogram below. Ex-William Spengler Collection "Bopearachchi dates Philoxenus to c. 100–95 BCE and R. C. Senior to c. 125–110 BCE." The Wikipedia entry for this king is mostly coins. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philoxenus_Anicetus The reverse inscription is in Kharosthi. The meanings of the letters were lost in antiquity. Three different dudes deciphered Kharosthi, unaware of each other: James Prinsep (in 1835, published in the Journal of the Asiatic society of Bengal, India) Carl Ludwig Grotefend (in 1836, published in Blatter fur Munzkunde, Germany) Christian Lassen (1838) There is a Unicode standard for Kharosthi. I spent many hours figuring out how to write out Menander's coin legends in Unicode. (See my blog http://digitalhn.blogspot.com/2020/05/kharosthi-coin-inscription-unicode.html ). I have been unsuccessful thus far in spelling out the inscription on this coin. I'd love to see someone do an HTML or PDF version of the list of inscriptions from one of Bopearachchi's books.

This might be Cybele from neighboring Lycaonia: Lycaonia, Iconium, 41-138 AD (time of Claudius-Hadrian), AE 14. 2.24g Obv: Winged gorgoneion, snake ties below chin, within border of large beads. Rev: ΚΛΑΥΔΕΙΚΟΝΙΕΩΝ; Seated Cybele left, holding patera in right hand, left arm resting on tympanum (drum), wearing mural crown (or kalathos?), lion at feet, within beaded boarder. RPC Supplement IV 1608B; Hans Christoph von Mosch, “perseus und andromeda (vormals) in ikonion. die bilder der „bilderstadt“ und ein besuch Gordians iii. im Jahre 239/40”, Festschrift Johannes Nollé (2019), #28d (this coin). I wonder how the figure on the reverse was identified as Cybele. (I believe von Aulock identified her). I have sometimes wondered if the figure is instead Tyche or Hades (given that there seems to be a dog). Perhaps a Cybele fan here can enlighten me?

Here is a puzzler: Seleukid, Antiochos III. Fifth Syrian War (202-198 BC)?, Gorgon, Elephant. 4.65g 17.3mm. Acquired 2008. This coin is unusual because of the poor depiction of the gorgoneion shield on the obverse, the fact that the elephant is walking left, and the seemingly poor quality of the lettering. There is a well-known coin, struck at an uncertain mint, probably a military mint in Coele-Syria (the modern Beqaa Valley, Lebanon), in good style with with right-facing elephant. Unpublished with left-facing elephant. This may be a contemporary imitation. Because of the wear I was concerned that I was fooling myself, and the "gorgon" was an anchor. I felt better after seeing photos of two better specimens offered by a dealer in Dubai. One seemed to show a clear crude Medusa with elephant in similar style. Another seemed to share an obverse die with mine.

NumisForums prefers to display images at the width of the user's screen. This style looks great for single photographs that show an obverse and reverse joined horizontally. If the user doesn't paste their photos together stitched horizontally, the images look huge on screen. For example https://www.numisforums.com/topic/873-lifetime-coinage-of-alexander-the-great/?do=findComment&comment=15337

Certain stores, such as Wizard and Brooklyn Gallery, sell every coin supply $1 gloves https://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/product/cotton-gloves.html $2 gloves https://brooklyngallery.com/pair-of-cotton-gloves.html $4 coin gloves https://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/lighthouse-cotton-gloves.html

There is a company that will help you find provenances for ancient coins. Dr. Jonas Emmanuel Flueck created Ex-Numis, a computer system that uses digital image recognition to match coin images to an extensive database of sales catalogs. I asked him to explain his work in 2020.

The Blue Marble Series is the product of MDM Wholesalers, a German firm specializing in bringing together countries and ideas. According to their brochure, if you have an idea -- or better yet, hold rights to a comic book or movie franchise -- you can get your idea minted by one of 16 participating countries. (Prices are not listed.) Spherical coins don't excite me. My personal idea isn't on the brochure. I'd like to see Roman coins counterstamped as legal tender in a modern country. (Better yet: two countries). I believe these would generate a lot of publicity.

Yemen has many unusual fractional denominations. Here is a 1/40th Riyal: 1378=1959. 26mmObv: Crescent below (blundered) Accession date 1367; God, Victory 1367 Ahmad al-Hamid al-Din King of the believers Nasir al-Din, God Lord of the WorldsRev: Kalima within circle, lettering surrounds; Struck in Sana'a There's no god but God Year 1379/7 One Fortieth (Purchased from Frank Robinson, 2014)

I am not sure why these are called "Kandy Kings". The Zeno category is Sri Lanka » Native coinage » Medieval period, 600 - 1500 AD » Polonnaruva period from 11th to 13th century AD. Sri Lanka, Polonnaruva, Sahasa Malla, 1200-2 AD, AE20, 4.17g Obv: 𑀰𑀺𑆩 𑆯𑆲𑆱 𑆩𑆬 (=ShRIMa-SAHaSa MaLa or Srima Sahasa Malla) in Nāgarī in four lines in the left field; Seated king Rev: King standing, small altar in the left field, various dots and decorations in fields. AKA 'Octopus Man' Most numismatic references call the script Brahmi, but it is actually Nāgarī. (Richard Plant got it right.) The closest script in Unicode is Nandinagari, but I don't have a font for that. I am using a combination of the predecessor, Brahmi script, and a successor, Sharada script.

Even when it was just Stacks, you couldn’t simply walk in and ask to look through boxes of flips in their inventory. You had to already know what you wanted, and ask to see it specifically. I found some good things at Lou’s Coin Shop 15 years ago, but I haven’t visited since it moved to Brooklyn. https://www.brooklynpaper.com/little-shop-of-coppers-slope-rare-coin-dealer-keeps-old-timey-hobby-rolling/