Rand

Anastasius Solidus Numismatik. Auction 26. 17/02/2018

I believe once I was bidding against myself during earlier Roma times. I put a generous prebid. Eventually, I was able to join live bidding and could not know if it was my bid winning… I really wanted the coin… I bid live… I won.

Being a devoted collector is not far from obsession or even a kind of addiction. It can be extremely fulfilling but can also make people push their limits. I would imagine binging is not uncommon. I hope you recover well and are fit again by the time of the NAC tournament in May.

It is both a great historical artefact and an art masterpiece. Next most expensive Roman coin?

Sirmium and Gepids is a more traditional attribution for the coins, and not unlikely but ... We know of a find in Ukraine (http://barbarous-imitations.narod.ru, later sold by Leu) and none from the Gepiden area, to my knowledge (including the published museum collections, will be glad to learn otherwise). The style continues into later reigns and appears to evolve gradually in the Lombardic style. It is possible, of course, that Lombards used the style after destroying the Gepiden Kingdom.

Thank you! Really insightful, and there are little doubts that Goths were not one tribal group. Regarding no link with Scandinavia, what are your thoughts about why Visigothic and Ostrogothic coins of Anastasian reign are so numerous in finds in Scandinavia? Who were those people linking Scandinavia with Gothic Italy, Gaul and Spain? I do not imply reverse migration!

The monogram in the left field of Poncet's solidus is widely believed to be of Gundobad. More intriguing could be the monogram at the end of the reverse legend, which is consistent across the type. It could be indicative of the mint, likely Vienne or Lyon. I am inclined to think of Vienna due to its cruder style - possibly produced after Gudobad captured and killed his treacherous brother Godegisel in Vienne in 501 and had to pay his bill to Visigoths who supported him on this occasion. Gudobad was now the sole ruler of Burgundy. Your Anastasius solidus (from Dorotheum) keeps confusing me with a slightly odd style compared to the common Rome type and typos in both obverse and reverse legends. It looks like an 'imitation of an imitation. I can be wrong, of course, but I cannot see why Burgudinans would want to do this, and Burgundian styles are quite distinct. I would rather speculate about Theodoric's allies, Allemani or other tribes east to the Alps or Balkans.

I may be wrong in my views, forgive me. There is little doubt that some tribes formed armies hunting for fortune. They could be multinational (goths) and preserve links with remote places of origin. Huge amount of Anastasian (other from the period) gold fund in Scandinavia. However, there were other reasons for migration, including food shortages and well-documented pushes by other nations from the east - when essentially whole nations had to move. Many nations long preserved their identity, including Langobards - the attached coin may be their early piece (the series gradually evolves into their later style). For some coin series, we can see the continuity of mint styles when Barbaric armies took them. Still, for some, there is a significant and not unattractive deviation from the imperial style - sufficient to suspect that they were not made by people affiliated with imperial mints. Precious and basic metal coins likely served different purposes, but base-metal coins are plentiful enough to suggest large-scale minting - so likely with a blessing from tribe leaders. For early migration period we tend to have one side of the story - for example, Roman. Roma Numismatics Limited. Auction 11. 07/04/2016

A recent acquisition from Jean Elsen, Auction 152, 09/09/2022. It came with an older ticket from the same auction house. A die-match for the British Museum piece (which has even more prominent flatness on the face). It seems part of a distinct series with a different Victoria style than the more common variety shown earlier (I mean the Numismatik Lanz München. Auction 162. above)

The coin has impressive credentials. It seems rather unlikely to be a product of Lyon during Julian’s time because of the AVG prototype, so after the Laetti attack on Lyon. The second coin of this type that you mentioned is from Bastien Coll, apparently Pierre Bastien (1912-2010), a French surgeon and numismatist with major expertise in Lyon’s coins (he published eight volumes about them). It looks like physicians took a considerable interest in these coins. Thank you for pointing out the auction catalogue. It also lists three important Burgundian coins. I did not come across two of them before and now wonder if the third one below is Huntington’s piece in the ANS Coll (possibly not). I often find it challenging to match coins to casts.

Thank you for the eloquent reasoning! Now, my statement reads like one from an equality and diversity officer :). Can it be possible to narrow down the people who produced your coins and the circumstances around their minting? The solidus is of impressive style!

These are impressive coins!!! - pieces of history of which written records are next to non-existent. Perhaps we should stop calling them ‘barbarians’. They were unique people with their institutions, traditions, and cultures which they had to keep within the Imperial framework. To produce these coins, they needed planning, funding, artists, metal workers, and likely approval of local leaders - most of all, reasons and needs for these coins. Many of us on this forum are descendants of these ‘barbarians.’ Thank you for sharing!

Yes. And it would change some other perceptions of the period. I would love this to be the case. For now, there is only a theory to prove or disprove, with the latter perhaps having higher odds (let the odds be in my favour this time). 🙂

This a very interesting consideration! I initially dismissed Iberian origin, thinking of a later period and Italian/Sardinian import. However, considering the time of Heraclius, there was a window between Cartagena's loss and the loss of the last towns by Byzantines in 624 (e.g., Malaga). North West African coast imitation: Carthage loss to Arabs before the completion of the North African conquest could lead to local production (not that I am aware of any known).

Thank you. Easter imitation is a good thought, which I did not consider and thought of a later period due to the loros clothes. The Heraclius period was turbulent enough for local production. It is certainly very underweight and likely heavily clipped, but I could not find anything as a prototype. It is odd in many ways and does not have a feel of Byzantine coins in hand. Still, it is certainly minted. The only hope to assess its nature seems to wait for another more complete item.

Sorry, I know little about these coins beyond auction articles and have never had a chance to own one. Bronze is hugely attractive, being daily money, but there is very little visigothic silver, and I am unsure of any bronze for the niche period I am interested in.

I love these coin series with charming abstract art, uniformity of style and still, such a varies for mints, cities and rulers. Bronze has its own charm.

I got this item a few years back, hoping to identify it. I failed after shortlisting some candidate rulers (and later lost interest in the period). Pale gold. 1.94 g. - underweight semissis? Dies were designed for a bigger flan or the coin was clipped. Initial thoughts were of south Italy, but could not link it to any issues. There was no old ticket included. I would be grateful for the forum's thoughts. Cayón Subastas. Subasta extraordinaria Noviembre 2013. 30/11/2013

These are likely from Toulouse under Visigoths, Alaric II, minted around 492-507 Numismatik Lanz München. Auction 162. 06/06/2016 (but been in a few sales).

Ravenna, solidus. RV (Ravenna) was removed from the die, but this can be seen when in hand Harmers of London Auctions. Auction 3. 26/09/2022

Mediolanum, Solidus. Solidus Numismatik. Auction 31. 30/06/2018

Hmm. I still think this is Theodoric’s issue in South France (as per the Barbaric Imitations thread). PP was typical of Ostrogothic issues in Mediolanum and Ravenna. Mediolanum. Numismatik Lanz München. Auction 158. 05/06/2014

Actually, please have a look at the first coin on the thread, posted by Tejas. Timewise, this would be far away from Leovigild, though.

Nice! Is it the Hunt's sale coin? The William Herbert Hunt Collection. 05/12/1990

Pity someone needed change. Likely Visigothic, but cannot see very close dies in the Anastasian period, so perhaps from a later period.