Helvius Pertinax

I just found this post on my search for information on Gert Cleff, what a happy accident 😅 Have you got any information since? The reason I am asking is a Siglos I won at Savoca, which I just found Gorny & Mosch provenance for, from a 2023 auction. The coin is also ex Sammlung Cleff Also, (very late) congrats on the Themistokles!

Xenophon was definately the initial motivation behind the Tissaphernes, the Siglos and the Pharnabazos Stater (which I'll post later) although now it's more about Artaxerxes II. I was aware of your 10.000 project, been loving your posts and dedication to it! Congrats on the Plankenhorn wins btw. I have yet to get the book but am considering as well!

Many in that auction were, in Plankenhorns book! So now both my Tissaphernes have Forum members as underbidders 😅 Thanks for having mercy - the 90 CHF are a price I'm very happy with. Sorry though, but you'll surely find an equal one some day, they aren't rare after all! There's examples with full head and legends, one of those would be awesome but probably come with a good premium.

Nice thread, his philosophy is really intriguing! Love that Decennalia Sestertius. Here's my only Marcus, haven't yet taken any good pictures.

There may well be more, both are some of my favourites and exciting to write about! Despite the Tissaphernes being pretty hard to capture in pictures, it's an awesome piece in hand:

Thanks a bunch, the Tissaphernes is a charm! And my only published coin, I should get the book. Plankenhorn probably gets a good amount of book sales through the buyers of his collection 🤔

Well, it's been a while since my last post here! Over a year in fact, of looking through and enjoying the posts on here, but not doing any myself. There's some stuff to share though, some important targets and exciting studies. Many of those coins deserve their own writeup, here I'll just give a short overview over the coins I've gotten since my last post. The first is perhaps my most notable coin. One of four known Sigloi that have a letter neatly incorporated into the design - all struck with the same pair of dies. Next, an upgrade! My first Tissaphernes (credited with being the first person to put his face on coins) was decent, but this one is a step above! Published in "Münzen aus Mysien" by G. Plankenhorn. Heading home to Saxony now, here's a Groschen, a sizeable silver coin minted by the Margraves of Meißen. This example is minted at Freiberg - I intended to buy one from my hometown for my 18th but got lost in some hopeless bidding wars, which led that expedition into utter failure. Well, this one is also a nice example from my homelands, so I won't complain! It does get a step older though! Here's what may be the first coin struck on the territory of what one calls Saxony today. There's the theory that they were coined with blundered legends for trade with the Wenden tribe, who were illiterate. Lastly, here's a nicely patinated coin of Elagabalus. What a tragic but interesting story! Of course this isn't all, that'd make for a very long post and I lack the time for that! This picture captures some of my current favourites, but not all. In total, I am close to the 40 coin mark. Some long term projects are in the making atm. First of all attributions, which I take very seriously - the side effects if working at an archive 🧐 Tags are also more advanced now, although lack of space forces me to keep another document with full attributions separate. https://www.reddit.com/r/AncientCoins/s/v3G1iCMwQK Second, two hoard studies. Both larger projects, one situated in Anatolia, 48 coins, the other in Dacia, 274 coins. Might elaborate on that in another post, those are taking a good amount of time! And lastly, writeups for all notable coins since it makes sense to have a good amount of information that isn't easily found directly with the coins. I will share one for the Persian satrapal issues, so far all are in German. A more important one is on Siglos variations, that will take a good deal of time though 😅 But before continuing with those, I felt like an update post was due. Along with a thank you - to those who have helped me get somewhere with collecting, and to the server member that was kind enough to check on me and remind me to post once again 😁

As others have said, it makes more sense when you're specialised. I am not, but I do note the ID number I've assigned to each coin in my collection into Kampmann for the Roman imperials, next to their respective entry. My mentality is buy books to use them. I not collection numbers, underline and mark sentences, add my own findings. My Carradice is an absolute mess of marked paragraphs and additional notes. Books are used for working with them, while the end product is my own writeup (or study if I find the time).

It definitely isn't that you've got a boring style of writing, and it seems like you've got a good core audience, which is gonna read your posts either way. I also enjoy your long writeups, however I am much more likely to read a smaller, fun text when I find myself on this forum every once in a while. Numbers may be better if you stick to that, ultimately it depends on what your goal is. That's my view at least. This post was awesome, but so are your longer ones! The coins are top notch, and so is the storytelling 😁

Ah, the AI generated image gives off some very professional vibes, doesn't it? Also: "All these coin have been dug from the soil and put straight into a bag" "Our Roman coin hoards have been hand picked by our curator for there rarity and uniquness" Okay, even the greatest experts sometimes write contradictory stuff. I guess we can count ourselves lucky that all coins have been picked for their UNIQUNESS 😭 And at least they are capable of using the right form of their/there, right? RIGHT??

Great coin, and nice writeup as well - I certainly wasn't aware that this one is in the run for the oldest bronze coinage! I've recently read a study claiming Tissaphernes coins to be minted during the time he was karanos in Asia, before being replaced with Cyrus the Younger, from 413 to 407. It study also has quite an interesting section on the earliest bronzes, although the general argument against the minting of Tissaphernes' bronze issues around 400-395 fails to convince me entirely. But the theme of the beginning of bronze coinage is an interesting one for sure! Great to know as well, that I am not the only 10.000 collector on here! I've got an upgrade for the man himself recently, Tissaphernes: Achaemenid Empire Tissaphernes (as karanos, 401-395 BCE) under Artaxerxes II (great king 404-359/8 BCE) Chalkos, 400-395 BCE, Astyra Obverse: TIΣΣA, bare bearded head facing right Reverse: AΣTYPE legend left, next to cult statue of Artemis Astyrene wearing kalathos, legs of throne behind, club on upper right Ex Leu Numismatik (web auction 27, lot 1011) 10.09.2023, ex collection Gerhard Plankenhorn formed 1960s-2020s 11.7mm, 1.66g, AE Artaxerxes II also shouldn't be missing, although the coin might be minted later than his reign. Achaemenid Empire Artaxerxes II (great king 404-359/8 BCE) to Artaxerxes III (great king 359/8-338 BCE) Siglos, 375-340 BCE, Sardes (?) Obverse: great king in "Knielauf" to the right, wearing kandys and crowned with kidaris, carrying bow in left hand and dagger (akinakes) in right; indication of quiver and letter A at shoulder) Reverse: incuse punch Ex Leu Numismatik (web auction 27, lot 876) 10.09.2023 14.1mm, 5.55g, AR And I've won another one on Sunday, Pharnabazos (who's name I have apparently typed often enough for my phone to automatically fill it in once I type P, the same goes for Tissaphernes 😅) Achaemenid Empire Pharnabazos (military commander, 413-374/3 BCE) under Artaxerxes II (great king 404-359/8 BCE) Stater, 380-374/3 BCE, Tarsos 𐡁𐡏𐡋𐡕𐡓𐡆 ('bltrz' in Aramaic), Baaltars seated left on throne, holding long lotus tipped staff in his right hand 𐡅𐡓𐡍𐡁𐡆 - 𐡊𐡋𐡊 ('frnbz klk' in Aramaic), bearded and draped male bust to left, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with a volute on the bowl "Ex" Leu Numismatik (web auction 29, lot 897) 24.02.2024 22 mm, 10.96 g, AR

Looks like a Denarius of Sigismund III from 1589

That's one of the best memes I've seen on the sub, glad it got updated! I see myself as the Niche Collector, and sometimes the Anxious (about my Bronzes having BD 😅) Looks like meme days are getting more traction finally, I really enjoyed this one

What an interesting story, thanks for this detailed writeup! I had heard of the Commune before but had no idea about its interesting social policies. Here is a 20 Francs of mine struck just the year before the end of the Franco-Prussian war, as well as one struck way before during the II. Republic (and a Belgian 20 Francs, since I can't find the individual images)