akeady

I see that the number of Roman Republican + Imperatorial coins I have on Tantalus has reached 1000!

This number isn't exactly the number of coins I have, as some are not on Tantalus and I've given away 1, but it's near enough and I figured I'd reach 1000 by the end of the year.

On Tantalus, this is coin 999 (coin 1000 was posted already in a "Latest coin" thread):

I'm not sure how many more RR coins I can add - I guesstimated it would take 20 years to get reasonably close to completing the collection and that was 5 years ago.   So, another 15 years and likely adding fewer coins per year, but scarcer/more expensive ones?

Maybe upgrade a lot of examples of common coins which are available in better condition than the examples I have?   Start side collections in different symbols on coins?   Will I ever be able to add Eid Mar denarius and other rare/expensive types?

Anyway, here's to the next 1000.

ATB,
Aidan.

Next - Faustina II

Too slow - next lions (plural)

I just listened to More Than This about 20 minutes ago on Spotify 🙂

Two we've lost this year - duet from 1995...

And quite a few years later from Shane's 60th birthday bash.

A random coin picked because it has two heads on it.
 

ATB,
Aidan.

This photo' was quite blurred so I ran it through the Topaz Sharpen AI - it's sharper, but I should just take new photos.

Next - Pegasus

Here I have four dolphins

Next - Sicily.

I bought a lot of three of these and have picked up a couple more since.

Next - another fraction of an as.

3 hours ago, Prieure de Sion said:

Thanks for that, very interesting.

 

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By the way, if anyone is interested, my official title is Laird of Glencoe (Scotland). About 30 years ago my family bought a 1x1 meter piece of land in Scotland (it was probably fashionable back then to sell a star name or a piece of land on the moon - or a 1x1 meter piece of land on Scottish soil).

Be that as it may, for 30 years I have owned a 1x1 meter piece of land with nothing but wild grass on it in an area that no one has set foot on for centuries. But I am Laird of Glencoe.

So if you have bought or are going to buy a coin from me - you are welcome to write on the card as your pedigree: "Republican Denarius, Metellus Scipio, bought from the Laird of Glencoe"...! 

😛😂

And it won't even be fake provenance 😄

ATB,
Aidan.

Yes!

I like this book and have a couple of coins from the collection.   I gave a short talk on the book and its writer, Admiral Smyth, a few months back at the Numismatic Society of Ireland - we had a night where a few of us talked about our favourite books.

Smyth was an interesting character - Admiral Smyth - and did a lot of things besides numismatics.

As @Phil Davis says in his paper about Erato vs Terpsichore on the Pomponia Musa denarii, Smyth correctly identified Erato long before others decided on a convoluted scheme that made Erato very rare and mis-identified many coins as depicting Terpsichore.

The Northumberland collection was sold by Sotheby's in the 1980s.

This is one of the coins I have from the collection - I already had a better example of this coin, but not from an old collection, so bought it.

ATB,
Aidan.

It's probably an AE4 , or possibly a Byzantine, as CPK says above.

A very useful site for identifying late Roman coins is Tesorillo - there are a few possibilities for coins with crosses on the reverse:

Tesorillo - crosses

It looks somewhat like a woman on the obverse, which might be Galla Placidia, according to Tesorillo.

It's a pity there's no readable legend.

ATB,
Aidan.

I picked up a few coins in London last week from Roma - here are two of them.   The first was in an earlier Roma sale as well, but I suppose it didn't sell.

And a rare uncia - I think this is my most expensive RR bronze and it's not exactly eye candy:

ATB,
Aidan.

I've often inadvertently bought a second or third example of something by accident.   This was the main reason I started cataloguing my collection a bit better.

I think my best multiple buying achievement was 3 years ago, when on 17th September, 27th September and 7th October 2020 I managed to buy 3 examples of Cr. 244/1 in different auctions.   I looked at what I had and had thrown in bids well in advance on three auctions because I didn't already have an example.   I realised later on that I was bidding on the same coin and as always in such cases won all three.

From H.D. Rauch, 17th September

From Naville, 27th September

From NAC, 7th October

The NAC coin is by far the nicest and maybe someday I'll sell the others.

Yours in duplication,
Aidan.

Ah - are you the author?   I've bought the first three.   Must get this too.

ATB,
Aidan.

Very nice.

I bid at Oslo Myntgalleri for the first time in that auction and won something as well - a bronze uncia, so not so spectacular 😄   Still, a coin I didn't have already:

Cr. 315/1 - the last uncia in Crawford.

ATB,
Aidan.

Next - Victory

Typing on my 'phone and unable to format the above properly.   Oh well!

Next - another sestertius.

3 hours ago, robinjojo said:

I love the portrait on the last coin!

Yeah - if I could combine it with the bull reverse, I'd have a winner 😄

ATB,
Aidan.

I like Augustus coins, to the extent that I overpost them here 😄

Here are some again!

The original Tribute Penny - RIC 220 (Augustus):

My favourite bull, pity about the obverse... RIC 155:

Caius on horseback on the reverse - RIC 199:

ATB,
Aidan.

This is my favourite coin.   I'd seen it on Spink's website and they had it at a fair so I ran out, got some cash and bought it 🙂

The photos don't do it justice - too blurred or bad lighting.

Interesting to see favourites!

ATB,
Aidan.

Here's something that goes with the coin, sort-of 😄

Fatima Mansions and 13th Century Boy:

And... a 13th century coin.   I have a halfpenny, but can't locate it or even a photo' of it, so this penny will have to do.

ATB,
Aidan.

This is my avatar photo' in full:

Just a 'phone camera photo' from a few years ago (August 2016, it appears).   The coin itself (denarius of Augustus - RIC 252) has some scratches which are more obvious in better photos, but it looks nice in this.

I picked it to be the avatar as I thought it looked like me, at least when I was younger 😄   Augustus was fairly ageless in his coins, so I can be too 🙂

I should take better photos, but here are photos from 2013:

As a by-the-way, I see that Tintinna is having its final auction next month - Massimo is retiring from the business.

Next - the avatar thing may be fizzling out, but maybe one more?

This is the remaining Cr 428 coin - Cr. 428/2

ATB,
Aidan.

Here's a tetrobol.

Next - an animal of the bovine persuasion.

A couple of cover versions - Fatima Mansions playing Stigmata by Ministry - turn up to 11 and hide behind the sofa 🙂

And My Bloody Valentine turning down the guitar feedback for We Have All The Time In The World...

This coin is something of a cover too, as it's an Eraviscan version of a Roman coin.
 

ATB,
Aidan.