Broucheion

Hi All,

Then again, there's also Lord Byron's graffito at Sounion.

https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/lords-byron-graffiti-in-the-temple-of-sounio-in-greece

- Broucheion

Hi All,

@dougsmit had posted a mid19th century stereogram that included an ancient coin as one of the items displayed. He wrote about it on this list and at CoinTalk but I can’t locate the posts. Maybe he could chime in?

- Broucheion 

7 hours ago, Marsyas Mike said:

Very interesting - I had no idea cast counterfeits were so prevalent in Egypt during this time. 

Hi @Marsyas Mike,

I have over 20 articles in my library on the topic of Roman Egyptian cast fakes. Most are in French but enough are in English. The earliest I found was the 1905 article by Milne (Roman Coin-Moulds from Egypt), see JSTOR https://www.jstor.org/stable/42662134; the latest from 2020 by Irene Soto-Marin (Coin Molds and a Decentralized Monetary Policy in Tetrarchic Egypt) available at JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/27113062).

Just search Google or Bing for "coin molds", "coin molds", or "cast coins"  and Egypt".

EDIT: I forgot to mention @Valentinian (Warren Esty)'s Ancient Roman Coin Molds (Moulds) at http://augustuscoins.com/ed/numis/molds.html

- Broucheion

Hi All,

Here's one from my Black Cabinet. From eBay seller DETRITUSVT - Petar Stanchev (Bulgaria). Price of $112.00 was refunded in full after I complained this was a fake. Seller did not want to bother with returning the item. A real coin of similar type was sold at CNG Triton VII #150 for U$3,800 plus 20%

AUDOLEON
MACEDONIA, PAEONIAN KINGS, ca 315-286 BCE
Cast Fake Ar Stater (Tetradrachm)

Size: 26x28 mm
Weight: 19.09 g
Axis: 2:00
Broucheion Collection GFAKE-2009-10-05.001

Obv: Alexander the Great Head in lion scalp, facing right. No legend. Dotted border.
Rev: Zeus seated facing left, right leg drawn back, eagle in extended right hand, long vertical lotus-tipped sceptrer behind in left arm. In left field: ΑΥ monogram. Legend: ΑΥΔΩΛΕΟΝΤ[ΩΣ] ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ
Refs: AMNG III 12; SNG ANS 1062; SNG Copenhagen Unlisted; Price 643b; See Waggoner, "Audoleon and his Alexander mint", in: RBN 129 (1983).
Prov: eBay seller DETRITUSVT - Petar Stanchev (Bulgaria).
Note 1: The Kingdom of Paeonia was a long-time an ally of Macedonia. King Audoleon's son, Ariston, distinguished himself at the battle of Gaugamela. One of Audoleon's daughters married Pyrrhus of Epirus. Audoleon was nearly defeated by the Illyrian Autariatae tribe, but was saved by Cassander. Astibus was probably the Kingdom's capital and mint city.

Note 2: From I MERKER (The Ancient Kingdom of Paionia (With two Plates), 1965) : "Audoleon, was already king in 310." ... "Demetrios, later surnamed 'Poliorketes' or the 'Beseiger' won a great naval victory at Salamis in Kypros from Ptolemy the ruler of Egypt. As a result, Antigonos Monophthalmos, or 'One-Eyed,' Demetrios' father, assumed the royal diadem and the title of king. Alexander's son had been executed in 310, but until 306 all the diadochoi ruled their territories not as Kings, but as satraps or viceroys. As soon as Antigonos ended this friction all the diadochoi, one after the other, likewise assumed the royal dignities. If we look at the coinage of Audoleon we can see his response to this activity. During the early part of his reign Audoleon struck silver tetradrachms with the head of Athena on the obverse and a standing horse on the reverse. These coins were issued on the same light standard that was used by his predecessors Lykpeios and Patraos. Later, however, we find another type of tetradrachm. This one is an imitation of the coinage of Alexander the Great. On the obverse is the head of Herakles wearing a lion's skin. This head is often considered to be a portait of Alexander in the guise of his ancestor Herakles. But its appearance here on the coins of Audoleon would lead one to believe that it is rather kist the head of Herakles. On the reverse is a seated Zeus holding in one hand staff; on the other hand an eagle is perched. On either side of Zeus is the legend ΒΑΣΙΑΕΩΣ ΑΥΔΩΛΕΟΝΤΟΣ, 'of king Audoleon.' The coin speaks as clearly as any other source. When the diadochoi assumed the diadem, Audoleon did exactly the same thing; he responded by issuing his coins in imitation of Alexander's, with his own royal title to proclaim to the world that he, Audoleon, was independent, and also a king. Audoleon does not seem to have minted very many of these coins, but they seem to have served their purpose."

- Broucheion

Hi All,

Here are two showing Officina S (6). One official, and one a cast imitation, like that of @Marsyas Mike from Officina B (2). Overall, the coin portrait looks pretty good.

MAXIMIANUS I HERCULIUS AUGUSTUS (With DIOCLETIAN: Jul 285 - 305)
ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT ca Dec 308 - May 311 CE
Æ Follis
Size: 24x2 5mm
Weight: 7.15 g
Axis: 11:00
Broucheion Collection R-xxxx-xx-xx.065

Obv: Galerius Maximianus laureate head facing right. Legend: IMPCGALVALMAXIMINVSPFAVG. Dotted border.
Rev: Zeus, nude, standing facing with head turned to left. Holds patera pouring a libation in outstretched left hand. Liquid from patera. Legend: GENIOIMP - ERATORIS. In left field: K; In right field: S over P. In exergue: ALE. Dotted border.
Refs: RIC VI, Alexandria, 101a (OFF S).
Provenance: Ex Imperial Coins & Antiques (David S. Michaels)
Note: Reverse legens error, looks like "SRATORIS" instead of "ERATORIS".

The cast imitation:

MAXIMIANUS I HERCULIUS AUGUSTUS (With DIOCLETIAN: Jul 285 - 305)
ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT ca Dec 308 - May 311 CE
Æ Follis
Size: 23x27 mm
Weight: 6.69 g
Axis: 6:00 ( ! )
Broucheion Collection R-2019-09-13.001

Obv: Galerius Maximianus laureate head facing right. Legend: IMPCGALVALMAXIMINVSPFAVG. Dotted border.
Rev: Zeus, nude, standing facing with head turned to left. Holds patera pouring a libation in outstretched left hand. Liquid from patera. Legend: GENIOIMP - ERATORIS. In left field: K; In right field: S over P. In exergue: ALE. Dotted border.
Refs: RIC VI, Alexandria, 101a (OFF S).
Provenance: Ex eBay
Note 1: From CEV Nixon (Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia, vol 24, 2013) : "Technique of manufacture: To cast coins individually would have been very time-consuming, so ways were devised to speed the process. In the method used to make the moulds discussed here, a coin (or coins) would be pressed into a disc of moist clay to form a clear impression, then the process would be repeated, the coins removed, and the clay discs bound together carefully to form a sausage-like cylinder. A furrow would then be cut into the side of the cylinder so that many casts could be made one from one pour. The utmost care would be needed to bind the moulds together without distorting the impressions. This hypothesis neatly explains why each mould has impressions on both sides. Upon their cooling, the moulds would be broken apart and the cast coins extracted."

Note 2: From B. Lichocka "Forgery on the Nile" (ACADEMIA, 2006) : "Copies were produced in at least several workshops strewn throughout the province of Egypt, but the same technology was used everywhere. There can be no doubt that the forgers had an excellent grasp of the properties of metal, and it is possible that official mint employees were involved in producing imitations. Such a suspicion finds support in the Theodosian Code, although previous legal regulations had also instituted penalties for dishonest mint employees."

Note 3: Codex Theodosianus 9.21.3 [ed. T.Mommsen] : "The same [Augustus = Constantine I] to Tertullus, Proconsul of Africa: if anyone should fashion a coin by deceitful casting, we command that all his property be surrendered to the treasury, and that he himself should be punished with statutory severity, in order that such zeal for striking coins should be resorted to only in the mints. Issued on July 6th at Milan in the seventh consulship of Constantine A[ugustus] and the consulship of Constantius Caesar. [326]

Other laws in 9.21 refer to counterfeit [adulterinus] coins: e.g. in years 319 and 321 and again in 389 and 393. Clearly, counterfeiting was an ongoing problem for the Roman authorities.

The threat of being dispossessed of property or banished, or having other sanctions imposed, including against the individual in whose home coins were forged, did not provide a sufficient deterrent. Most likely, the death penalty was rarely employed against forgers of bronze coins. Perhaps the administration was so tied down with extracting and collecting numerous taxes, that it did not put much effort into punishing those who forged bronze coins, only useful in small, day-to-day transactions."

- Broucheion

Hi All,

DIOCLETIAN (ca Sep 284 - ca Apr 305 CE)
ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT Year 12 (29 Aug 295 - 28 Aug 296 CE)

Bi Tetradrachm
Size: 19 mm
Weight: 6.77 g
Axis: 0
Broucheion Collection R-2017-01-22.001

Obv: Diocletian laureate cuirased bust facing right. Legend: ΔIOKΛHTI - ANOCCЄB. Dotted border.
Rev: Serapis bust wearing himation, modius on head, facing right. In Left field: LI; In right field: Star (*) over B above palm frond. Dotted border
Refs: Emmett-4074 var (No star above B); Geissen-3275 var (No star, has palm, date placement; Dattari-5744 var (No star above B); Curtis-2018 var (No star/Date placement); BMC-Unlisted.
Prov: Ex Naville Numismatics (London, UK): Live Auction 28 (22 Jan 2017), Lot #302.

- Broucheion

Hi All,

I just discovered a book online for free (open access) or as a hard copy you can buy. It’s “Roman Provincial Coinage of Bithynia and Pontus during the Reign of Trajan (98-117 AD)” by Barbara Zając. See https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803274652   . Enjoy.

- Broucheion 

Hi All,

Harvey Shore in the Jan 1996 issue of The Celator makes the argument that this type is the real Tribute Penny of the King James' Bible. I'm not sure if the PDF is still available online at Forvm on on the Archive.org.

Shore concludes:
"This is convincing, but not conclusive [ie, his arguments]. One swallow doesn't make a summer. Yet I found no contrary evidence, and so (on the balance of probabilities) it seems highly likely to me that the title of the Tribute Penny should these days be reassigned to the denarius of Augustus bearing the two Caesars on its reverse (Cohen 43, RIC 350, 8MC 519)." (Image below from the article).

I don't collect Roman coins so I can offer no opinion of my own. I'm just noting something interesting.

- Broucheion

6 hours ago, ambr0zie said:

he coin you provided as an example is a very common and popular denarius of Augustus.

Hi @dragonwalker and @ambr0zie,

Did you know that Harvey Shore in the Jan 1996 issue of The Celator makes the argument that this type is the real Tribute Penny of the King James' Bible. I'm not sure if the PDF is still available online at Forvm on on the Archive.org.

Shore concludes:
"This is convincing, but not conclusive [ie, his arguments]. One swallow doesn't make a summer. Yet I found no contrary evidence, and so (on the balance of probabilities) it seems highly likely to me that the title of the Tribute Penny should these days be reassigned to the denarius of Augustus bearing the two Caesars on its reverse (Cohen 43, RIC 350, 8MC 519)."

I don't collect Roman coins so I can offer no opinion of my own. I'm just noting something interesting.

- Broucheion

3 minutes ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said:

Now I am in as rather bucolic setting where the employees resemble those in the USPS TV ads.

Dear @Ancient Coin Hunter,

Consider yourself blessed. I live in a suburb outside of NYC. Service was better when I was in Manhattan than out here. I will qualify my earlier post by saying things took a very rapid downturn here as the Pandemic set in.

- Broucheion

Hi All,

My latest Ptolemaic, a trihemiobol (3/4 Obol) of Alexandria. This one came from Australia and took 46 days to arrive, mainly languishing over 2 weeks in my local post office. The USPS carrier refuses to deliver any item to my door if it requires a signature. It seems the postal carrier acts as if it's beneath him or her to knock and actually wait for a reply before scurrying away, while 'forgetting' to leave a slip so I could pick it up at the post office. I only knew there was "an attempted" (!) delivery because of the eBay tracking. It took some complaining to the USPS before it was stopped from being returned to the sender because "I was not available". I was available all day of the "attempted delivery". (May such USPS carriers die a slow, painful death and rot in hell for all eternity.)

PTOLEMY III EUERGETES (246-222 BCE)
EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA
EGYPTIAN SERIES 4C: Control mark EP monogram and variants - BRONZE WEIGHT STANDARD 2

Æ Trihemiobol
Size: 27x28 mm
Weight: 13.47 g
Die Axis: 0
Broucheion Collection P-2023-05-19.001

Obv: Zeus-Ammon head, diademmed, facing right. Centration depress ion. Dotted border.
Rev: Eagle on thunderbolt facing left, wings spread. In left field: cornucopia with twist right. Legend to left ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ; to right: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ. Control EP monogram between legs. Centration depression. Dotted border.
Refs: Lorber CPE-372 a) with EP monogram: SNG Copenhagen 234; SNG Koln 93; Hist Mus Frankfurt 165. Svoronos-Unlisted.

- Broucheion

Hi All,

I highly recommend the Franklin's World cartoons at the CoinsWeekly site. https://coinsweekly.com/category/cartoon_en/ . This week's is appropriate, if a little late (since I have no Byzantine coins that apply).

- Broucheion

Hi All,

OCTAVIAN (AS IMPERATOR, 31-27 BCE)
EASTERN MINT (PERGAMON?), ca 27-28 BCE

Ar Denarius (Subaeratum)
Size: 18x20 mm
Weight: 3.09 g
Broucheion Collection ROM-2019-05-05.001

Obv: Octavian facing right, bare head; small Capricorn below. Dotted border. [Part of silver plating missing on Octavian's head and ear showing copper core.]
Rev: Crocodile facing right, mouth open, standing on exurgial line. Legend: AEGVPTO above, CAPTA below. Solid border. [Crocodile's mouth is usually closed except for this and CBGFR fourree coins].
Refs: CRI 432; RIC I 545; RSC 4; Vagi-0247; C 4; BMC 653; Kampmann-002.004; Sear Imperators 432; CBN 928

Note 1: Vagi (COINAGE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE) : The refined portrait style suggests it was struck at an eastern mint.

Note 2: (Draycot, ACTA CLASSICA LV (2012) : "The legend AEGVPTO (or AEGVPT) CAPTA distinguished Egypt from the eastern territories that had been under Antonius' control in his role as Roman triumvir since 42 BC, but were now under Octavian 's. Egypt had been captured, not just recovered. In any case, the purpose of the AEGVPTO CAPTA coins was not simply to inform people that Egypt had been conquered and annexed; even in antiquity, a period of between two and three years was ample time for news of such political, military and economic significance to spread throughout the Roman Empire. At first glance, Octavian fs choice of a crocodile to supplement the legend and decorate the reverse face of his coins is straightforward: the crocodile is intended to symbolise or perhaps even personify Egypt.

Octavian was not an innovator: he subverted iconography that Cleopatra VII and Antonius had selected specifically to represent their daughter, Cleopatra Selene, in her newly allocated territories of Crete and Cyrenaica. The choice of the crocodile for this coinage issued in the name of Cleopatra Selene in Crete and the Cyrenaica could have been an attempt to reference the role of crocodiles at the very inception of the Ptolemaic Empire. If Ptolemy I Soter was seen as owing his possession of Egypt at least in part to the crocodiles of the Nile, then the crocodile would have been an entirely suitable symbol for his descendant Cleopatra Selene to wield in her newly acquired territories, first as queen of Crete and the Cyrenaica, and then later as queen of Mauretania."

Note 3: Andrew McCabe (CNG eAuction 432, Lot 285) : "Plated examples of the Aegypto Capta types and of the Scarpus hand types are relatively abundant compared to the solid silver coins. A non-scientific observation suggests between one-tenth and one-quarter of either type seen on the collector market are plated. RIC I places Aegypto Capta in an "uncertain mint"; Sear goes a step further in saying "eastern". The common factor between the Scarpus and Octavian denarii as regards being found plated may just have been local practices in forgery, because while one might imagine a scenario of Scarpus being short of silver, one couldn't imagine this happening to Octavian. Furthermore, the Scarpus types sometimes found plated, RRC 546/5-7, were made under the auspices of support for Octavian. Is it possible the Aegypto Capta types might be Cyrenaican, as with Scarpus?

Note 4: Die match to CGBFR.COM fourree coin from E-auction 208-135393 (10 April 2017) seen at https://www.cgbfr.com/octave-denier-tb-,brm_427172,a.html [link verified 29 Jun 2023].

- Broucheion

Hi All,

HADRIAN (11 Aug 117 - 10 Jul 138 CE)
ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (MEMPHITES NOME) Year 11 (126/127 CE)
Æ DICHALKON - (NOME COIN)

Size: 14 mm
WEight: 2.04g
Broucheion Collection R-2014-12-21.001

Obv: Hadrian laureate head facing right. No legend. Dotted border.
Rev: Apis Bull, standing facing left. Above: MЄMΦI; In right field: IA over L. Dotted border.
Refs: Emmett-1281.11; Geissen-Unlisted; Dattari 6300-6301; Weber & Geissen pl xii, #119; Milne-1243; FaM-1362; SNG Copenhagen-1118; BMC-23-24; Mionnet-80; Mabbott-3748; Feaurdent-3540.

Next: Another Nome coin from Roman Egypt.

- Broucheion

Hi All,

The link to the (English Language) "The Tetartemorion, the smallest pre-Hellenistic silver-coin" is https://www.academia.edu/76835822/The_Tetartemorion_the_smallest_pre_Hellenistic_silver_coin

- Broucheion

Hi @kirispupis,

I would spend some more time researching the headgear/crown. It first struck me as a Polos, usually worn by Aphrodite. However, it’s not quite the same shape, thus more research might synch it for you.

- Broucheion 

Hi @Rand,

Have you published this analysis. It sounds like you have put a lot of effort into it.

- Broucheion 

Hi All,

Weights go back even further. Try https://pondera.uclouvain.be as a resource for weights.

- Broucheion 

Hi @Marsyas Mike,

The PDF I downloaded does have embedded text for cutting and pasting.

- Broucheion

Hi All,

There is also this recent CT thread from June 2023.

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/show-us-your-ancient-coin-library-here-a-numismatic-literature-post.405857/

- Broucheion 

Hi All,

Sorry,  but there really is no good portrait from Alexandria for Phocas for this portrait thread.

PHOCAS (23 Nov 602 - 5 Oct 610 CE)
EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA (JERUSLEM ???) Undated: ca 23 Nov 602 - 5 Oct 610 CE
Æ 12 Nummi
Size: 12x13 mm
Weight: 1.97 g
Axis: 06:00
Broucheion Collection B-2017-04-16.001

Obv: Phocas diademed draped and cuirassed bust facing right, beardless. Legend unintelligible and usually only fragmentary. Dotted border.
Rev: Large IB with cross. Exurge legend AΛEΞ is missing. Dotted border not visible.
Ref: Sear Byz-679; DOC-106; MIB I-90; BMC 123-134.

Notes: Contemporary imitation of 6th century dodecanummia. These pieces are often of barbarous style and very crudely minted, and they never bear the name of Phocas in any recognizable form. Some have suggested they might have even have been minted in Jerusalem, but that's not very likely.

From Goodwin (Some Aspects of 7thC Egyptian Byzantine Coinage) : "However, at some time around 600, either during disturbances at the end of Maurice’s reign or at the beginning of the reign of Phocas, the Alexandrian mint appears to have ceased operations and no coins were issued in the name of Phocas (602-610). Wroth seems to have been the first to suggest that this gap could be filled by an extensive series of irregular coins which copy 6th century types. This suggestion was adopted by Philip Grierson for the Dumbarton Oaks catalogue, and since then there has been a tendency in excavation reports for all irregular profile bust dodecanummia to be assigned to the reign of Phocas. [These are] representative of a large number of coins in the name of Justinian, with busts of coarser style and often slightly blundered legends. These are generally of full weight and, I think, should also be regarded as regular coins, which may date to later in the reign or may even be the product of a subsidiary mint.

Excavation evidence is also beginning to suggest a regional element to the Egyptian imitations and in the Antinoöpolis finds published by Castrizio a high proportion of the profile bust dodecanummia appear to be imitations, suggesting that some of them may be of Upper Egyptian manufacture. All the profile bust imitations that I have handled personally appear to be struck rather than cast, but Noeske recently published a wonderfully preserved pottery mould for casting profile bust imitations found at Suhag in Upper Egypt.

In conclusion therefore, whilst some profile bust imitations were almost certainly struck during the reign of Phocas, many of them are probably earlier in date. Caution is therefore necessary in using these imitations to date hoards or excavation finds. Clearly considerably more research is needed in this area."

- Broucheion

4 hours ago, dougsmit said:

I believe (and may be the only one who does) that this c/m on the coin of  Tarkondimotos was placed intentionally to erase the part of the legend reading 'friend of Antony' by the sons of the late issuing pirate as part of their effort to curry favor with Octavian after Actium. 

Hi @dougsmit,

Your idea is confirmed by Nicholas Wright in "Tarkondimotid responses to Roman domestic politics: from Antony to Actium"

- Broucheion

Hi All,

Mine with Titus. RIC II, Part 1 (2nd Ed)-1268 OCRE .

TITUS (79-81 AD), GALLIA, LUGDUNUM ?, ca 77-78 AD
Æ AS
Broucheion Collection ROM-2002-01-20.001

OBV: Titus bust laureate, facing right. Legend: TCAESIMPAVGFTRPCOSVICENSOR. Dotted border.
REV: Judaea, clothed in a tunic, with short sleeves: she sits, in the attitude of extreme sorrow, at the foot of a palm tree representing Palestine. Trophy arms behind her. Legend: IVDAEA - [CAPT]A. In exergue: SC. Dotted border.

- Broucheion

Hi @CPK,

Here’s a discussion from 2020 on another collector list that asked the same question.

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/acsearch-premium-vs-coin-archives-pro.364422/

- Broucheion 

Hi @Nerosmyfavorite68,

Yes. I thought there might be more to it. I find the graffiti on coins fascinating.

- Broucheion