Troyden

Cute how happy he looks.

"German history". As if it wasn't founded by Poles and part of Poland for most of its actual history. Plus, the tensions between interwar Poland and Weirmar/Nazi Germany were manageable, until Hitler pulled Danzig as a pretext for wholesale aggression which he planned anyway.

Miss Athena packs heat. Thrace, Lysimachus (306-281 BC) Denomination: Tetradrachm Mint: Lampsacus Time: 297-281 BC Weight: 17.08 g Diameter: circa 27.9 mm Catalogue: Thompson 42 Obverse: Head of the deified Alexander right, diademed and adorned with bull horns (horns of Ammon). Reverse: Seated Athena Nikephoros ("Athena Bringer of Victory") left, resting on shield and holding winged Nike, spear behind. Monogram ΠA left, torch right. Legend: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΛYΣIMAXOY (of king Lysimachus).

My Judea Capta denarius (RIC II 2) is only 2.53 g. Probably the deformed flan and heavy wear are responsible for it being underweight.

It might be all pareidolia, I can vaguely see on the reverse a goddess holding a cornucopia. There are two either trees or thick military standards right to her. There also seem to be something protruding from the goddess' body, though I have no idea what's that. This type seems to vaguely resemble common reverses from the Antoninian era.

I see absolutely nothing on the first photo.

Which of these provincial coins actually display Glykon and not some other serpent deity or even just a cultic serpent?

All hail Glykon!

Oh, I do have a few of them AE Prutah, Jewish Revolt, second year (67/8 AD), Hendin 661. Weight 3,12 g, diameter 18 mm. Sestertius of Vespasian, Judea Capta series, Rome mint, RIC II 159. Weight 21.44 g, diameter 32 mm. Denarius of Vespasian, Judea Capta series, Rome mint, RIC II 2. Weight 2.53 g, diameter 16 mm. Bonus: my favorite Vespasian. Denarius, Rome mint, RIC II 546. Weight 3.49 g, diameter 19.3mm.

Nerva, circa 97 AD, Rome mint, weight 3,22 g, diameter circa 17 mm, catalogue: RIC 7

Like I already wrote, I bought them before I got to know the whole story. Moreover, I purchased them from reputed dealers. At first glance my also aren't clear die matches. But the style of these fakes is uncanny.

Hello again. I'm writing asking for a second opinion. I've been contacted by one of members of this forum that my drachm might be counterfeit and possibly part of the "New York hoard". Said member (whom I won't name unless they wish to reveal themselves but to whom I am very thankful for bringing this up regardless of outcome), pointed out similarities to some fake specimens listed by Reid Goldsborough(web archive link to the original site). I am posting again the photo of my drachm. The member pointed out obverse similarities to specimens 19, 28, 37, and 43 and reverse similarities to specimens 6 and 30. Being human, I still grasp onto hope it's a false positive. I see (though my senses might fail me) minuscule differences between my coin and the indicated fakes. For instance, on the obverse both two lowermost coils of the Gorgon's "hair" are split, while confirmed fakes have only one or none coils split. Plus, there are "beads" inside of coils on my specimen, while I don't see this feature on any of the fakes. Regarding the obverse, I put my hopes in observation that the center groove on the anchor does not go through the entire length and is of a different shape. Plus, the shape of the anchor's head (i.e. the lowermost part of the anchor on the coin) is different in my opinion. The coin in question was purchased years ago on ma-shops from a reputable dealer. Weight: 3.48 g.

It seems that a similar, if not the very same, throne was also depicted on the mosaic of Leo VI in Hagia Sofia. This style of chair must have been en vogue at the time.

Thank you for this analysis. The weight is 15.22 g and diameter is about 24 mm.

So I assume my specimen is lifetime. The portrait is far from idolized, it's pretty brutal in its depiction.

I have both drachm and diobol. By a weird twist I acquired them before I learnt about the proliferation of fakes. I spent a good deal of time analyzing them afterwards but I couldn't find any die match with known fakes.

There's also separate batch (dubbed "New York hoard") of equally dangerous fake drachms. https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=new york hoard As to the Black Sea hoard, I somewhat like the story of them being conceived because the finder of the initial (genuine) hoard was duped by coin dealers. Talk about a revenge.

At the risk of sounding stupid, how to tell apart the lifetime, posthumous and Romans coinage?

I also have this Caligula's type. Seems to be the most common one.

Most of these "shipwrecks" are finishing boats or similar vessels.

That's an exceptional specimen. Congratulations.

There's surprisingly few of them around. Numismatics.org has only one specimen https://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.2_1(2).tit.506 There's also only one currently on retail https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/praefectus_coins/130/product/titus_with_julia_titi_7981_ae_quadrans_uncertain_eastern_mint_possibly_in_thrace_8081_very_rare/1700580/Default.aspx

When studying Roman numismatics, we usually focus on "considertable" coins such as sesterces, denarii or aureuses. However, let's not forget that the average inhabitant of the empire lived hand to mouth. They were much more familiar with small change such as quadrantes than with denarii. So, show up your tiny Roman coins that were the monetary bread and butter of your average Roman proletarian. Rare orichalcum (brass) quadrans of Titus. Unknown Balkan mint, possibly Perinthus at the Sea of Marmara. 16 mm, 2.96 g, RIC II 505-506. Obv: Laureate head of Titus, IMP T CAES DIVI VES F AVG around Rev: Julia Titi seated, holding patera and sceptre, IVLIA AVGVSTA around. This interesting and quite rare coin, unusually minted in brass, was probably the result of a local, short issue. The style clearly indicates some provincial mint, most likely located in the southern Balkans.

Last week I had the pleasure and privilege of visiting the Czapski Museum in Krakow (link to museum's webpage) with my dear friend @Barnaba6. One of the most valuable numismatic collections in all of Poland is hidden in a small, inconspicuous building in the middle of the historic old town. The museum began in the earliest years of the 20th century with the countal Hutten-Czapski couple (hence the Museum's name) bequeathing their gargantuan private collection for public purposes, then grew even more with further donations. Almost miraculously, the collection survived the Second World War, impoverished only by a few stolen gold coins. As befits a Polish collection, the Czapski museum has an almost unimaginable assembly of old Polish numismatics, both coins and exonumia. However, I was naturally most interested in antique coins. Even in this department, the collection is nothing else but stunning. As we were informed, only tiny part of the actual collection is put onto display. The only "flaw" (if you even can say so) of the Museum is the lighting at the exhibition, which sometimes makes it difficult to visually distinguish the metal from which the coin is made. For me personally, the highlight was the beautiful assemblage of coins from Sicily and Magna Graecia. Including, of course, the crown jewel of every possible coin collection - the dekadrachm from Syracuse itself. Of course, there were also coins from other areas and eras of the ancient world. As I wrote, my attention was mainly focused on ancient coins. However, I could not be indifferent to at least some of the treasures of Polish coinage. And here the Museum had something to show. Not only were there the oldest Polish coins in general (10th and 11th century) or the oldest Polish gold coins (14th century), but also treasures such as one of the most expensive coins in the world - the massive gold 100 ducat coin of King Sigismund III from the first half of the 17th century. One 100 ducat? How about two? Because then we went to the Wawel Castle, where there is a second copy on display. That's some chonky coin. Much more photos can be seen here https://imgur.com/a/K4j4hcj

I know another story. Dozens of Prussian golden coins from early 19th century were melted down. But I totally approve it. How? After the Partitions of Poland in late 18th century between Prussia, Austria and Russia, Polish territories were thoroughly looted. Among other things, Prussians stole took ownership of Polish crown jewels, which included the Crown of Boleslaus the Brave, the coronation crown of Polish monarchs. And they melted it down in 1811, because why now. The gold was melted down and minted into coins, the jewels were dispersed. In early 21st century, a replica of the Crown was made. The gold was deliberately obtained from melting down early 19th century Prussian gold coins in a hope that at least some of the original gold went back into the Crown.