Jeremy

Congratulations on a great acquisition! The cleaned coin in your video looks great.

Here are a few specimens I bought from an Indonesian rock seller I frequently get lapidary materials from. The one in front is a botryoidal purple chalcedony (known as 'grape agate.' the one in the back right is also from Indonesia - it's blue botryoidal chalcedony that formed in a piece of petrified wood. The back middle piece is native copper in chryscocholla. I bought the trilobite from a Moroccan dealer at the Tucson gem show a few years back. This rare 'fingerprint' brecciated jasper from Indonesia arrived less than an hour ago, so I figured I'd show it too. My plan is to slab it and cut cabochons from it for jewelry, if the pattern is as nice as I hope it is. The piece is 10.5 pounds.

Here are two Thasian coins from my collection: Thrace, Thasos AR stater 480-463 BC Obverse: Nude ithyphallic satyr advancing right, carrying off protesting nymph. Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square. References: Le Rider, Thasiennes 5; HGC 6, 331; SNG Copenhagen 1010-1011 21mm; 8.86g Thrace, Thasos AR tetradrachm Circa 148-90/80 BC Obverse: Head of Dionysos right, wearing ivy wreath. Reverse: HPAKΛEOYΣ / ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΘAΣIΩN; Herakles standing left, holding club and lion skin. Control: Monogram to inner left. References: SNG Copenhagen 1040-5; HGC 6, 359. 32 mm; 16.72g

Interesting issue! Even with the wear I think it has lots of eye appeal. I wonder what the fallout would be for making such a spelling error. Would there have been a personal cost to the engraver? Would the die have been retired, possibly increasing the scarcity of the issue? I suppose we'll never know.

Does this count? It was struck in the style of Philip II a decade or two after his death. Kings of Macedon, Philip II AR tetradrachm 359-336 BC Minted at Amphipolis Struck Circa 323-315 under Antipater, Polyperchon, or Kassander. Obverse: Laureate head of Zeus right. Reverse: ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ; Youth, holding palm frond, riding horse right; below, trident-head control mark to right. References: Le Rider, Pl. 31, 213; Le Rider 46/1; SNG ANS 691. 24mm; 14.48g

I think your display looks great! I've never had any luck generating interest from non-collectors. The 'glazed over' look is so familiar that now I just share my acquisitions online 🙂

Agreed. So many ancient silver coins are crystalized (even if the work-hardened outside 'shell' of the coin looks OK) that this seems like a risky venture.

Tough question! My favorite coin is probably this stater from Aegina: Islands off Attica, Aegina AR stater Circa 456/45-431 BC Obverse: Tortoise with segmented shell. Reverse: Incuse square with skew pattern. References: Milbank pl. 2, 12. SNG Copenhagen 516ii. SNG Delepierre 1836; Dewing 1683; ACGC 127. 20mm; 12.05g

I'm impressed you were able to run a tetradrachm through a disc cutter! Did you have to use a press?

I really like the name, the logo, and the color scheme of the user interface. Well done! Its amazing how quickly it all came together. I guess good things take time, while great things happen all at once!

Thanks! That's true, the light is much harsher in the after photo. I should probably retake it and diffused light.

Nice coin! The proportion of man to horse is definitely unrealistic 🙂

Welcome! I don't have a denarius of Claudius, but here are a couple of other examples from my collection: Claudius Æ as 42-43 AD Minted at Rome Obverse: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P; Bare head left. Reverse: LIBERTAS AVGVSTA, S-C; Libertas standing facing with pileus, extending left hand. References: RIC I 113; Cohen 47; BMCRE 202; von Kaenel Type 77; CBN 230; Cohen 47; Sear (Roman Coins and Their Values I) 1860. 28mm; 11.1g Claudius Æ as 41-50 AD Obverse: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP; Bare head of Claudius left. Reverse: S-C; Minerva, helmeted and draped, advancing right, levelling javelin in right hand and shield in left. References: RIC 100; BMC 149; BN 180; Sear 639. 27mm; 10.95g

In 71 AD, following the conquest of Judaea, the Flavian imperial family rode into the city of Rome in a triumphal procession. Vespasian and Titus led, as it was their joint triumph, while Domitian (then Caesar) followed with the other family members. He rode on a magnificent white horse, which is shown on this denarius - one of a series of coins commemorating the event. I've read that it's the first denarius struck at Rome for Domitian. I've owned a few of his denarii with Minerva reverses but hadn't noticed this type at auction until recently. Domitian, as Caesar under Vespasian, AR silver denarius Caesar 70-81 AD; Augustus 81-96 AD Struck 73 AD in Rome Obverse: CAES AVG F DOMIT COS II, laureate head right. Reverse: Domitian, togate, riding on horse prancing left, holding sceptre in left hand and raising right. References: RIC 680 (C); BMC 129; RSC 664; BNC 105. 19mm; 3.2g Feel free to share any related examples!

Awesome coin and write up! This type is on my wish list. I'm not much a gamer but I did play through AC Origins and am now slowly working on Odyssey, mostly to take a virtual walk through ancient Greece. Games have come a long way since Kid Icarus for Nintendo NES 🙂 I think tech is going to bring history alive in the coming years, especially in the areas of virtual and augmented reality. When I was in Pompeii a few years ago they had an app that helped navigate the site at a basic level (maps and such), but have no doubt that soon enough you'll be able to hold your cell phone up to see how each room, street, statue and forum looked in ancient times.

Great coin and information! Thanks for sharing it.

Nice example with a great story attached to it!

Agreed! I consider removal of horn silver to be an act of conservation. Time will give back the dark toning, but that nasty silver chloride is gone forever 🙂

I posted this didrachm from Kyrene yesterday in @Alegandron's 'Please Show Your Ancient North African Coins' thread and have since treated the horn silver that darkened the surfaces. There's always some risk in doing this, and I probably wouldn't have, had it been a more expensive coin. I paid a little over $600 for it, which I think is a decent price for the type. I had been looking for an affordable example of a coin depicting the silphium plant, which was highly coveted in the ancient world and grew in what is now modern day Libya. It was brought to extinction in antiquity, unfortunately. I thought it would be fun to show a before and after photo. I treated the coin with a 5% solution (by weight) of sodium thiosulfate dissolved in hot distilled water. I soaked it for three or four cycles of about 5 minutes each. At the end of those cycles I was left with a coin that had a dull gray surfaces (free of horn silver), which was easily cleaned up with a paste of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). There were a few iron oxide deposits along the back of Karneios' head and eye. I applied small drops of mild acid to those spots, loosening the encrustations, which I later gently removed under magnification with a brass scraping tool. Overall I'm pleased with the result. I think it will look even better as it naturally tones again with age. Before: Treating the iron oxide deposits topically with mild acid: Final result: The before photo shows what looks like lamination damage at the base/back of the neck, but that isn't present on the coin. It might have been a photography / post editing issue, and probably helped scare away other bidders 🙂 What do you think? Improvement or mistake?

Nice coin! I recognize that one! 🙂

Excellent example with the facing busts! That's interesting to learn she was so snubbed in Rome and beloved elsewhere.

Can't have a party without vino! Here's a coin from Sala in Lydia. Herakles is sometimes portrayed as a drunk in ancient statues. I wonder if he could beat Andre the Giant in a drinking competition? Who would you put your money on? Lydia, Sala, Pseudo-autonomous Æ 1/3 assarion Circa 2nd - 3rd century AD Obverse: Bearded, laureate head of Herakles right. Reverse: СΑΛΗ-ΝΩΝ; Grape bunch on vine. References: SNG von Aulock -; SNG Cop 433-4; BMC 24; GRPC Lydia 35; Lindgren & Kovacs 798. 15mm; 2.18g

Fantastic example! This type has been on my wish list for a while.

This didrachm from Cyrene arrived the other day. I've been wanting an example showing the "wonder plant' for a while and this was a rather affordable example for the type. I believe the black stuff is horn silver, so I may attempt a treatment today. Kyrenaica, Kyrene, Second Revolt of the Kyrenaikans, AR Didrachm Circa 305-300 BC Obverse: Horned head of Karneios left. Reverse: Silphium plant; KY-PA across lower fields, tripod to upper left, monogram to upper right. References: Müller, Afrique 167; BMC 251–2; SNG Copenhagen 1242; Traité III 1892. 20mm; 7.46g

This AE 25 of Tranquillina (wife of Gordian III) was struck in the Roman colony of Cremna in Pisidia, which is located in modern day Turkey. Tranquillina (born circa 225) was the daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Timesitheus by an unknown wife. She's shown wearing a stephane, a metal headband, and appears in front of a crescent. The reverse features the Three Graces, named Aglaea, Euphrosyne and Thalia, who were commonly said to be daughters of Zeus and an Oceanid (daughter of the ocean) named Eurynome. Homer described them as attendants of the goddess Aphrodite. They would sing and dance for the other Olympians during feasts and dances. They seem to appear mainly on Roman provincial coins. They are commonly portrayed in an interlocking pose, with the one in the center facing backward and draping her arms over the the shoulders of the other two Graces, who face forward. It's hard to see in this coin, but the graces on each side hold flowers. Pisidia, Cremna, Tranquillina (wife of Gordian III) Æ 25mm 238-244 AD Obverse: SAB TRANQVILLINAM AVGVS[TAM]; Draped bust of Tranquillina right, wearing stephane, crescent behind. Reverse: COL CREM - N - E - NSIVM; The Three Graces, arm in arm, the one on the left and right each holding a flower. References: SNG von Aulock, Pisidien II, 1423; SNG Paris 1512. 25mm, 12.11g Feel free to share any related examples!