Curtis JJ

I like late Roman/Byzantine fractional gold, but don't have a Semissis yet... Graffiti doesn't usually bother me. I often find it an interesting addition to a coin's object biography, like countermarks, and don't usually see it as "damage." I wonder if anyone has done any basic quantitative research on the cross graffiti found on so many Byzantine gold coins: How many have at least one cross? More common on obverse or reverse? Does it affect the frequency if there's already a cross in the design on that side? How often is there more than one on the same side? (I seem to recall seeing at least one hoard report that tabulated how many of the coin had one....maybe I can find it.) More than half my Byzantine AV/EL coins have one. My Justinian Tremissis has at least THREE! From N to A in IVSTINIANVS at the top of the obverse (the center one is a bit dinged). They look relatively big in the enlargement but are tiny in hand & difficult to see with the naked eye. (CNG noted only "graffiti B on obverse" which is around the diadem ties behind the head! Maybe all slightly easier to see in their photo.) Justinian AV Tremissis (17mm, 1.45 g, 6h). Constantinople, c. 527-565 CE. Obv: D N IVSTINIANVS PP AV. Diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev: VICTORIA AVGVSTORVM. Victory advancing right, head left, holding wreath and globus cruciger; star to right; CONOB. Ref: DOC 19; Sear Byz 145. Prov: Ex Jack A. Frazer Collection (CNG EA 455 [30 Oct 2019], 394), acquired from Harlan J. Berk Buy-Bid Sale #27 (13 Sep 1983), Lot 8.

Here's a tiny one (about 8mm, 0.64g). Orontas from Mysia, Adramytteion. Forepart of Pegasos: Funny thing about this coin: Axel Winzer published it in 2005 (Antike Portraitmünzen der Perser und Griechen...) but he rotated the Pegasos 90' clockwise and called it a Sphinx! People still describe the type as a "Winzer 16.5" -- but usually add "(Corr.)"! NEXT: A small bronze coin

I'm only nine months late noticing this, but I've got both Rindge catalogs (XXIX and XXX) & would be happy to check or send a scan if you still need it

Congratulations on the exciting find! I hope that interpretation is correct -- DH for Delos / MY for Mykonos. As someone new to the specifics, your account of this type seems plausible and makes it sound like an important contribution. I have some MY coins to share (from Caria) and little grape-bunch bronzes (Lokris), but wanted to share this first, before I forgot. Your reverse is similar to another little grape-bunch bronze attributed to Mykonos in the James H. Joy Collection catalog (M&M GmbH Auktion 21, Lot 541.b) . Supposedly it has the grain left, off flan, but this one seems a lot smaller than the usual types from Mykonos, closer to yours. Possibly also with Apollo (forward, not profile)? "b) Kleinbronze, wie vorher. Rv. [MUKO] Traube, im Felde l. Getreidekorn, 1,13 g., Mio. S. IV, 395, 223." NOT MY COIN! From the bibliography at the front of the catalog, the reference is to T.E. Mionnet, Description de Médailles Antiques, Grecques et Romaines, volume IV, which was published 1829. You can find it online but that type is not illustrated. Being in Mionnet, I suspected it would be in the online catalog for the Cabinet des Médailles at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. I tried searching Mykonos on Gallica (BnF) and got some photos, but none seemed to match that type (but some larger types). (See also results on ARCH.) The coin looks like a facing Apollo to me. If it's really Mykonos, it might be related to yours. Personally, based on style, I wonder if that one from the Joy collection isn't related to Hekatomnid Satraps' coinage from Caria (seems to borrow from the silver Drachms/Tetradrachms), but could just be artistic borrowing/similarity.

Here are two more types from my "captives" collection, but they are borderline cases. The were both issued by only one Roman, but can be found (not easily) in the name of two. Both reverse types are also represented on another page on @Valentinian's site, using the type numbers from Failmezger's excellent book (hence the "F"). This revere type (Failmezger-Esty F419, see below) was struck only for a few months (no more than 9) at Siscia. The Emperor in command of the mint struck a version with himself on the obverse (like mine, below), and a version with another ruler: Ruler "A" (my specimen), on my captives page or here on ACSearch. For the version he issued with his colleague on the obverse (which I think must be the rarer of the two), see here: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ConstantiusII/Cs2images.html#F419 (See also Failmezger p. 40) In a very rare event for the history of the Roman Empire, one of those two Emperors abdicated, handing over the mints and legions, and retired peacefully (thereafter surviving another 5 years or so before dying peacefully -- that is, without trying to take the throne back, as happened a generation or two earlier with one of the original Tetrarchs). The succeeding ruler took over the Thessalonica mint, striking the coins below for himself, but also in the name of his newly-elevated Caesar (very rare). Per Esty F425 (link below), "This type is the second-rarest FTR [FEL TEMP REPARATIO] type available": On this type: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ConstantiusII/Cs2images.html#F425 (See also Failmezger pp. 42 [note 97], 112, 113.) (The obverse of my specimen is here on my barbarians, captives, enemies page. To see the other ruler who very rarely appeared on the obverse, see the entry on the ANS' OCRE and its unillustrated but exceedingly minor variant.)

Exceptional coins in the post, with fascinating connections to the even-more-ancient world of the Minoans! I don't think I have any coins from Crete, but I have a number of coins that are connected to one of the famous traditions known from the Minoan ruins of Knossos. One of the most famous artworks is the Bull-Leaping Fresco (c. 1400 BCE) : Sources: https://web.sas.upenn.edu/discentes/2023/12/24/bull-and-bull-leaping-iconography-knossos-tell-el-daba-and-beyond/ And: https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/bulls-and-bull-leaping-in-the-minoan-world/ It was Sir Arthur Evans who first excavated the Minoan Palace, and the fresco. He noted that the bull-leaping tradition had survived later in Greek culture, but in modified form, in the Thessalian Taurokathapsia. The primary difference was that the Thessalian event was performed on horseback. It also had its own mythology and heroes, distinct from the older Minoan. The AE Chalkous below includes a trident above the bull, suggesting the event was performed in honor of Poseidon, and depicts the hero Thessalos with his horse on the obverse: Thessaly, Krannon AE Chalkous (14mm, 2.10 g, 12), Taurokathapsia issue, c. 400-375 BCE. Obv: Head of Thessalos (?) to right wearing petasos, behind him right, head and neck of horse facing right; all within linear circle. Rev: ΚΡΑΝΟΙΝΩΝ. Bull butting right, above, trident right. Ref: BCD Thessaly II 115.4 (this coin); HGC 4, 388; Rogers 172a (corr., Atrax). Prov: Ex BCD Collection (Triton XV [CNG, 3 Jan 2012], 115 [part, [LINK]); Leu WA 20 (16 Jul 2022), 674, for much better photo: [LINK]. Four hundred fifty years later, the event must have still been practiced. It appeared for the last time on an AE Diassarion struck following Nero's visit to Greece c. 66/7 CE: Thessaly, Koinon of Thessaly, Nero Æ Diassarion (20mm, 6.88 g, 12h), Aristion, strategos, ca. 66-68 CE. Obv: ΝΕΡΩΝ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΩΝ. Radiate head of Nero right. Border of dots (part visible). Rev: ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΟΥ ΑΡΙΣΤΙΩΝΟΣ. Hero Thessalos (?) jumping from his horse, in background galloping right, onto a bull running right, the head of which he restrains with a band held in both his hands. Border of dots. Ref: RPC I 1440; BCD Thessaly I 1436.4; BCD Thessaly II 931.2; Burrer 35 (A9/R28). Prov: Ex-BCD Collection (CNG EA 325, “Coinage of the Thessalian League from the BCD Collection” [23 Apr 2014], Lot 45); CNG e-Auction 493 (21 Apr 2021), Lot 421.

Wow, very interesting! I thought for sure I recognized that one from recently reading about Heraclian countermarks, but seems I was mistaken. I just bought this Heraclian one (SB 882) which is between a countermark and overstrike. But from Sicily, not Alexandria. I like countermarks and have always noticed the lack of them from the Roman period. I have one countermark from Alexandria (I think) -- but from the Ptolemaic period! (Incuse trident on the reverse, next to the eagle.) So, nothing for Byzantine + Alexandria... Looking around, I've noticed there are a lot of similar ones to yours, which I'm sure you have also noticed.... Some are close, but not quite it... Of the cross-shaped Greek monogram ones, this countermark below (from Syria, I think) is the one I see most often. https://www.academia.edu/50218162/Greek_Monograms_and_Countermarks_in_Seventh_Century_Syria Wolfgang Schulze has several relevant articles (and Schulze & Goodwin) showing that and close variations from Syria, but none quite the same as yours (e.g., "Heraclian countermarks on Byzantine copper coins in seventh century Syria" and "The Byzantine ‘Eagle’ Countermark – Re-attributed from Egypt to Palestine"). It's also included in Bijovsky's tables of Heraclian countermarks in her 2012 book on Gold Coin and Small Change: Monetary Circulation in Fifth-Seventh Century Byzantine Palestine (specifically chapter 4.3: Heraclius (610-640)). Maybe one other place to look: Greek monograms on Byzantine seals? https://www.academia.edu/26555985/The_Use_of_Monograms_on_Byzantine_Seals_in_the_Early_Middle_Ages_6th_to_9th_Centuries_

Thanks for those details @Broucheion -- his coins are also in several other museums. Below is an excerpt from my notes with some links to the coins in online Museum cabinets. I realize now that I left out another major one -- the Royal Belgian Library's Numismatic Cabinet. (I forget what it's called, KBR for the Dutch acronym.) They received 5,200 of his Late Roman Bronzes, mainly from the Alexandria mint. (Many others dispersed recently by Jesus Vico and a parcel from CNG that I think they got from Vico.) Institutions where his coins ended up: Among them: Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC; Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (though provenance not noted online); University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; the British Museum, London; American Numismatic Society, New York (though only dozens explicitly provenanced as such in Mantis); Art Institute of Chicago (especially those gifted by R. Grover, only some of which were deaccessioned and sold at Gemini XIII in 2017). EDIT: Here is Fran Stroobants' article on "Alexandrian nummi in the collection of the Coin Cabinet of the Royal Library of Belgium" Incidentally, Art Institute of Chicago used to have hundreds more, but acquired just because there were so many in another donation (R.L. Grover, many now deaccessioned). Here's one of mine that was Dattari --> Grover --> Art Institute of Chicago --> Deaccessioned --> Gemini --> Zumbly --> me

Have we no fans of the minimalist Corinthian helmet? Its elegant use of empty space, its gentle open curves and contours? We need not begrudge Athena the busy decorations and triple crests of her Attic helmet, to appreciate the simple beauty of the former....

I agree. This is a point that remains relevant for collection sales today. Unlike "Euro. Coll. before 2005," asserting a specific collection history means people can challenge it -- forever. Even if dead, the family or colleagues or biographers/provenance researchers could be in a position to challenge or verify. At the time, being a public NY auction, people could've expected to see documents (written inventories, etc.), whose absence would raise suspicion. Such a fraud isn't inconceivable, but my usual feeling is that the more specific the details, the harder (and riskier) it would be to pull off -- at least without raising suspicion. Even if they don't happen to recall these details, it could be very interesting to hear what they think is worth remembering. The oral history of the trade (which can even become the history of science for a field in which the "data" itself is often dispersed in commerce). That's putting it grandly, but I happen to be fascinated by that stuff!

It doesn't even have to be melted silver. In a previous decade, I experimented with silver for other purposes -- namely, to see if an invisibly thin layer of surface silver would slow/stop/prevent bronze disease. I discovered that silver would "grab onto" the surface astonishingly easily, and an astonishingly small amount could result in a coin that appeared fully silvered, so "invisibly" was the only hard part. (I also recall a classroom exercise to zinc-plate a penny electrolytically.) I have no idea what's going on with the OP coin. But, since the above "experiments," I've always wondered how many coins on the market have been re-silvered (or re-zinced).

Great research as always Donna. I will surely be referring back to this. I think you are right that many of those coins left the collection long before the rubbings. (Maybe even before the 1901 catalog?) (It's also clear that many rubbings were lost. The supplement group of 700 published in 2007 was found by chance in a bookstore or something & is clearly neither a census nor random sample, showing many coins of certain reigns, none for others. So some coins may have once been illustrated but we just don't know.) You may already be aware -- there is one more major reference to the life of Dattari: Adriano Savio's book-length bio, Un Numismatico Italiano al Cairo. Not speaking/reading Italian, I've never tried to get through it all. (Trying to learn German for numismatic purposes is enough for now!) But I've scanned for specific bits of information. (I have a PDF but fear I may have gotten a pirated copy from one of those sketchy sites without realizing it.) Searching my PDF, I see no use of the words Abdul or Hamid or Ottomano or Harmer or Rooke. The only uses of "sultano" are for Sultano Fouad [sic?] (I think Dattari was cataloging his scarabs but never finished). He addresses the timing of Dattari's work, including his many articles and unpublished manuscripts. There is a plate of rubbings shown (from the 2007 Dattari-Savio Supplement), but I don't see it obviously dated. Savio does seem to give rough dates for various inventories of the collection. Looks like Dattari wrote to Milne 2 May 1911 that he had cataloged up to No. 12221. (Fewer than total, rubbings must be later?) And in 1916 "intenzionato a pubblicare un supplemento al catalogo del 1901 (di cui si dirà succivamente)" [intended to publish the followup to his 1901 book, TBD below], but I haven't found any more concrete dates in Savio's later discussion. Then again, I don't know Italian, so not sure! (If any living person knows these things, I would think it's Adriano Savio himself.)

Vespasian -- king of grumpy portraits! Nice addition. I always like to show my Vesp. Vesta (seated) denarius Roman Imperial Coinage. Vespasian (Emperor, 69-79 CE) AR Denarius (17mm, 3.50 g, 6h). Rome mint, struck July-December 71. Obv: IMP CAES VESP AVG P M. Laureate head right. Rev: TRI POT. Vesta seated left, draped, holding simpulum. Ref: RIC II.1 46; RSC / Cohen 561. Prov: Archer M. Huntington (1870-1955) Collection; loaned, then bequeathed to Hispanic Society of America (HSA 1001.1.22362); housed at the American Numismatic Society (same accession number), late 1940s - c. 2012; 8 March 2012, sold at Sotheby's sealed-bid sale of all 37,895 Huntington coins; acq. by consortium, incl. Jose Vico; returned to ANS among 26,500 other Huntington coins, May 2012 - summer 2013; consigned by ANS to CNG e-Auction 397, 17 May 2017; Lampasas Collection; consigned to CNG e-Auction 487, 10 March 2021; Charles Chamberlain Collection; consigned to CNG e-Auction 509, 9 February 2022; Jackson-Jacobs Collection, present

I was wrong about that one! Interesting challenge. Of course, it also raises the very interesting topic of what counts as a "type." Different people will reasonably divide them up differently, for different purposes. (Identical legends + devices? Different abbreviations of the legends? Different device or figure in different poses? Different die-pairs?) Using types defined in collector literature, there are more for Provincials and Republicans. Fewer Imperial. I collect "barbarians & captives" on Roman coins. I'm always watching for the handful of reverses that can only be found paired with a specific ruler. I think this ruler's coinage is the only time we see a captive standing alone with no trophy or palm tree or other seated captive or personification (and with hands bound in front), just accompanied by his captured arms. (The closest are some of the scarcer-to-rare IVDAEA types.) https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7798304

Indeed. As a buyer, I've never had any problem with rising auction fees/buyer's premiums. Some vendors don't include a fee/buyer's premium at all. (E.g., Davissons or Berk, though the latter does Buy-Bid, and a few others.) It's not like that makes Davissons 20% cheaper. (I don't know for certain, but I assume they just explain how it works to the consignor, and correctly refer to the entire fee as a "consignor fee" -- which is what it actually is, whether they call half of it "buyer's fee" or not.) I bid/pay one total price. So, it doesn't matter how much of the total is called "hammer" and how much fees ("buyer's" + "consignor's," the latter being secret). Of course, it's nice if the consignor gets a big chunk, but we rarely learn what the consignor fee was, so we usually don't know what the total fees are. I doubt it's true, but it's even empirically conceivable that fees (as a proportion of total price) have been declining even as the "buyer's fees" rise (i.e., if "consignor fees" are simultaneously dropping -- and sometimes even negative, as suggested in comments above).

I made a separate post about it, but I just noticed the Youtube videos embed. This one is set to start at 50:45 in, and features my coin (reverse only) for about the next 50 seconds (to ~51:35). My first coin to have been shown on TV, as far as I know! It was on History Channel in December 2001: Older photo of both sides from The Celator:

This coin just arrived in the mail from Leu WA 28/29 in December. I'd already commented on its (modern) "object biography" in the provenance thread and may post about my "end-of-the-Julio-Claudians set" later. For now, just commenting that I'm thrilled by how good the coin looks in hand. One downside of big digital photos is that minor flaws may look major. (Of course, digital photos have many advantages over life-size print photos, and I'd always prefer to see both.) In the past two auction photos it looked pretty scratched up. CNG's photo from Triton XXIV (Merani, Jan 2021) : Even more so in the Leu WA 28, 2426 photo. From the Triton print catalog & CNG's video, though, I suspected it'd look better in hand. Indeed, it does (to my eyes). I can't see the scratches at all without magnification (I have good vision & collect tiny Greek fractions), and only barely with a normal magnifier.

Without looking into this particular issue or period, I do think the different recipients explanation is the likeliest. I can't recall off the top of my head, but there are other cases of producing coins of different purity for internal use and for export. (Will edit in examples if I can find/remember any specifics.) I also wonder if it's possible that if the gold was from different sources (e.g., spoils from a campaign or tribute from a client kingdom or whatever), it may not have been worth it to refine out an additional few percent of AR/AE/PB/etc.

I see why you wanted the coin -- very cool one with an interesting & attractive design! Even a plated specimen would be a good coin, but I definitely understand wanting the full-silver official coin, especially for your first RRC denarius. I don't know if lamination is possible too, but the obverse immediately reminded me of @Ryro's Vercingetorix (?) type Hostilius Saserna fourree -- see the "before" photo in the previous post linked below, when it essentially had some silvery substances painted over the visible core. (Since first seeing that post, I've noticed others I thought had the same treatment.) Yours seems possibly similar:

A few years ago I bought several dozen of these Phalanna bronzes. I briefly wondered what I would do with 44 duplicates. Soon I discovered there was a lot more variety and lot more to be interested in. (Check out all those different styles of Sakkos & decorations! And different faces! And necklaces!) I've spent the last 4 years or so looking for more varieties and dies and engravers. Just a few from the initial group: I hesitate to mention the following... Having duplicate coin books might seem even stranger than duplicate coins. And duplicate auction catalogs even more so -- especially for sales that are largely available online (even some of them as PDFs with intro essays and all). Duplicate sets (a few in triplicate) of Leo Benz and BCD Collections: I have two sets of Leo Benz catalogs from Lanz Numismatik (Auktion 88, 94, 100). One of them is the standard softcover. The other is a custom hardcover set from the Lanz Library -- it's the only complete hardcover set I'm aware of. (There was also a partial hardcover set in the same Lanz Library Sale, with one catalog softcover.) I have almost two complete sets of the 10 main BCD Collection catalogs, but triplicates of several (the 3 CNG ones & MM23). Why? Well, they're not really duplicates because they have a different "provenance." I have one set from the library of well-known German numismatist and a partial set of an American scholar/dealer's personal copies. I do recognize that may seem a bit greedy, so I should probably trim down to one (or maybe 1.5 sets), but I haven't decided which to keep yet. Edit: Just remembered I have four copies of the Superior Galleries publication, Money Talk$, for June 1992. One ex RBW Library, another ex Malter Library, with their address labels. I didn't intentionally acquire four of them, of course, but got them in groups of other catalogs. I love old fixed price list catalogs for ancient coins -- especially with address labels/postage still affixed -- but even I don't consider the Money Talk$ lists very desirable! (Too few ancients.) Of course, no one else wants those either.

This is interesting, I had never considered it before. CNG had sold a bunch of coins they traced to the 1971 Harmer Rooke Dattari sale, and they cited each of them with a specific Dattari collection number and "this coin." But I've just checked them all, and not a single one is illustrated in the Dattari-Savio rubbings! (I checked neighboring /duplicate rubbings too.) https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=harmer+dattari+1971&company=30 (That means CNG IDed ALL those listings to a specific collection number completely in error.) I believe they were in the Dattari Collection. But that makes me think that they were all given to the Sultan before the rubbings were made. (Re: dating the rubbings, from my notes, suggestions about when they were made, and claims about his collection size at different years, are a bit confusing and in conflict... I think it can be worked out from various bio/biblio sources, though, with some effort.)

@DonnaML -- Great info about the Harmer-Rooke 1971 Dattari sale! I have the catalog (just for bibliophilic interest, since it doesn't have many photos and only thin descriptions), and various notes about it, but I'm not sure I ever knew that Dattari assembled those coins for Sultan Abdul Hamid II. That's very interesting! Unfortunately, your coin must be one of the un-illustrated ones. It doesn't seem to appear in the Dattari-Savio rubbings (either in the main 1999 set or the 2007 supplemental ones). The plate is actually cut off at the bottom of the rubbing as it appears in my photo. That was a complaint specific to the 2007 edition, so may the 1999 didn't clip some of them. Here's the broader context (bottom center): The Supplement section didn't have any like this at all. (The Supplement was very thin on later coins, but a lot of Drachms from the Adoptive Emperors.) Of course, you noted, that doesn't mean your coins wasn't part of Dattari's collection. I actually have a Maximus Tetradrachm that was ex Dattari but not illustrated (it's from the Naville Numismatics parcel): It seems that the later tetradrachms were especially likely to have escaped illustration. Curtis Clay commented on it in the Gemini XIII catalog of ex-Art Institute (Chicago) Alexandrian coins, many of which were indicated as ex-Dattari but not illustrated. You can also see the pattern by looking at the recent Naville sales and noticing how many of the later Tetradrachms are cited to the Collection but not to any D-S illustration. There is one other publication, lesser known, Figari-Mosconi's (2017) Duemila Monete della Collezione Dattari. Unfortunately, I've never been able to find a copy (despite looking for a few years), so I'm not sure if it includes any coins absent from the Savio rubbings, or if it only matched up auction photos to coins that already had rubbings.

Note: Please share other "bibliographic coins," or Astronomy-themed coins, or coins of similar types or images, or anything that seems relevant! Edit: Just realized the Youtube videos can be embedded! First 50 seconds is what's relevant (beginning at 0:50:45 thru 0:51:35): *** My goal is a “bibliographic collection”: ancient coins representing important numismatic literature and the biographies of interesting collectors and scholars. I posted some favorite new “lost & found provenances” from 2023 on CT (10-16X Greek + 10X Provincial). But I acquired one coin in 2023 that has all my others beaten. (Possibly combined!) It’s my only New York Times “plate coin.” Or “plate coin” in a History Channel documentary (if it’s still called "plate coin" in a video). Among dozens of others. It’s neither expensive nor rare nor beautiful. Better examples can be found for $100. But it’s the one specimen in my collection with the greatest impact on the modern “audience reception” of ancient coins. Which makes it my favorite new "lost (partly) & found provenance" of 2023. It is Michael Molnar’s (1945-2023) bronze “Star of Bethlehem” coin from Antioch. Molnar was an astronomy professor at Rutgers University at one time and a long time ancient coin collector. (He got his PhD at University of Wisconsin-Madison [Astronomy, 1971], where I studied sociology. Wayne Sayles went there, too.) He died almost one year ago (7 Feb 2023). His obituary & photo are on Legacy.com. Molnar's book, The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi, must be one of the better selling books featuring ancient coins in the past generation. (First published in 1999, with several translations and later editions, still in print.) He had first published the coin eight years earlier in The Celator (Dec 1991), for which he wrote a dozen articles about astronomical themes on ancient coins (1991-1998, titles below, at very end): His theory was that the “Christmas Star” or “Star of Bethlehem” was a series of remarkable celestial events involving the planets and the constellation Aries in April of 6 BCE (represented on the coin by the leaping ram, looking back at the star; see RPC I 4269 for type). Many others have written about his theory. Colloquia and conference proceedings followed. And, every December, Molnar appeared on TV or in newspapers and magazines talking about it. And the coin – always this one. Perhaps a bit of scholarly mythmaking, his “Eureka moment” always centered on this particular specimen. It happened, he wrote, when “I found the piece at a New York City coin show in 1970” (The Numismatist, Dec 2002, p. 1421): "Little did I realize that one astrologically themed specimen would provide an unexpected clue to what many stargazers consider the ‘Holy Grail’-the Star of Bethlehem. My coin turned out to be a key to the famous Christmas star that Christians believe guided the Magi, Zoroastrian priests known as the Three Wise Men, to the newborn Messiah." The New York Times article (21 Dec 1999, “Coin May Link Star of Bethlehem to King of Planets”) even shows it a second time. In addition to a captioned photo of the reverse, Molnar is shown holding up a print copy of the same photo! In a documentary that aired on the History Channel in December 2001, Molnar handles the coin and shows a digital image of it. The relevant portion of the episodes begins here at 50:45, continuing until 51:35 (for Molnar’s full segment continues to 54:06; he also talks at ~46:27-47:00 & again at 48:03-48:28). (If I did it correctly, this link should give just the 50 second clip with the coin: 50:45 through 51:35.) He connected other Syrian coins to the same celestial events and published several specimens from his collection in the book. His website made all of them free to publish. They're still available on his Archived Website. But he always gave this one coin a place of prominence. He used a large photo of the reverse on the front of his site to explain the theory: While I have no strong opinions on Molnar’s scientific explanation (I don’t feel qualified to judge) or its underlying subject matter, I believe we do agree on something important: There is something special – even mystical – about a coin’s “object biography.” (On modern object bio.: Elkins 2022.) Just as ancient coins permit us to commune with members of long dead cultures, they also allow us to connect with the modern collectors and scholars who previously handled and pondered them – that is, to briefly reincarnate their perspectives on the spirit of antiquity. A few representative publications illustrating this coin (chronologically): The Celator v. 5, n. 12 (Dec 1991): pp. 8ff. https://social.vcoins.com/files/file/55-vol-05-no-12-december-1991/ New York Times 21 Dec 1999: “Coin May Link Star of Bethlehem to King of Planets” The Numismatist, Dec 2002: 1421 ff., “A Clue to the Christmas Star,” by Molnar, enlargements of rev. on p. 1379 (T.O.C.) & p. 1422. Christianity Today: 22 Dec 2014. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 1 Jan 2016. Wisconsin Life Magazine: 6 Jan 2017 “The Astronomy Behind The Fabled Star Of Bethlehem.” https://wisconsinlife.org/story/the-astronomy-behind-the-fabled-star-of-bethlehem/ History Channel, Dec 2021, “In Search of Christmas,” Episode 1: “Evidence of Jesus Birth Revealed." Starting at 50:45 (Michael Molnar…) or Clip: 50:45-51:35 Other references: Groningen University Colloquium (Oct 2014) page on Molnar’s theory: https://www.astro.rug.nl/~khan/bethlehem/index.php ; proceedings published (2015): The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Experts on the Ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman World, and Modern Astronomy. Wikipedia Discussion in "Star of Bethlehem" article: Double occultation on Saturday (Sabbath) April 17, 6 BC Citations to Molnar’s book on Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bj4UeQcAAAAJ&hl=en Beast Coins page, w/ T.B. Cartwright (dated 1 Oct 2014), on the topic: https://www.beastcoins.com/Collections/Star-Of-Bethlehem/Star-Of-Bethlehem.htm Also via Forum / Numiswiki: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Star%20of%20Bethlehem See also: CNG Listing for coin (EA 543 [2 Aug 2023], 340) provenance description much briefer than mine: "Molnar p. 52, fig. 9 (this coin). From the Dr. Michael R. Molnar Collection." https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=11295139 OR https://www.cngcoins.com/Lot.aspx?LOT_ID=100525 Molnar’s “Revealing the Star of Bethlehem” website (Archived): https://web.archive.org/web/20151208112311/http://www.eclipse.net/~molnar/index.html Molnar’s obituary on Legacy.com Twelves articles by "Molnar, Michael R." in The Celator 1987-1998 [index by W. Sayles?]; the PDF on Valentinian's site: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/catalogs/notes.html For the issues: https://social.vcoins.com/thecelator/ An explanation of the Christmas star determined from Roman coins of Antioch Dec., 1991 Christmas star research relies on ancient astrology Feb., 1992 Trajan’s celestial omen Feb., 1993 Astrological omens commemorated on Roman coinage: The solar eclipse of 120 B.C. April, 1993 Astrological omens commemorated on Roman coins: Tarpeia and the Omina Lunae Aug., 1993 The case for astrologic Roman coins Nov., 1993 Astrological omens commemorated on Roman coins: Capricorn April, 1994 Astrological omens commemorated on Roman Coins: The Ides of March Nov., 1994 Blood on the Moon in Aquarius: The assassination of Domitian May, 1995 Astrological omens commemorated on Roman coins: Clues to Caesar’s fortune March, 1996 Mithradates used comets on coins as a propaganda device June, 1997 Symbolism of the sphere June, 1998

That's a good question. I don't particularly know these primary sources either, so if someone else does, this is a question I've wondered about. All I recall is that the main Roman/Byzantine sources (Lactantius, later but only by a generation or so, and Zosimus, ~250 years later) conflicted and aren't considered especially credible records of his fate. If there were Persian records, I don't recall them at the moment. It sounded to me like we don't really have any idea what happened -- and they may not have had an idea back then either. (Just going headlong into the realm of total conjecture, I wonder if his fate was something boring and vaguely shameful to Rome, like he lived out his life as a hostage in the Sasanian court, but Gallienus et al. just never tried very hard -- or maybe even wanted -- to get him back? Speculating wildly, of course.) I'd love for someone more knowledgeable of Persian history & sources to weigh in. Edit to add: There are also the conflicting accounts about Gordian III's fate during his expedition against Shapur. He's actually depicted being crushed under Shapur's horses on one of the early reliefs, but not in the later one (that I showed above). Then Philip reached a peace with him, shown in both reliefs by him kneeling (not Valerian kneeling, as I commented at first). But we don't really know how Gordian died either, as far as I know.

Oh, wow, haha! I recognize this one on my watchlist. I wasn't planning to bid (its subtleties would've been lost on me). But I was curious about it and, looking at those beautiful surfaces, figured that someone with a good library for Republican coins could find a pre-1970 provenance for it! It's always nice to see where a coin like that has gone (clearly to the right place!) but especially nice in this case to actually learn what makes this coin special after wondering about it!