Rand

A nice coin. I would be more comfortable attributing these to Atalaricus, Rome mint. Another way of reading the legend could be PF followed by ligatured AV and C. This way, it would be consistent with the series?

Apologies for keeping asking questions, @Tejas After your previous feedback, I accepted another series of VGC tremisses as non-Gepidic. However, I am still curious if Gepids could have minted gold coins (why could they not). A growing number of VGC series are not imperial and outside Ostrogothic Rome/Ravenna/Milan. Demo attributes a couple of tremisses to Siscia/Sisak, but the only justification I can see is that they were found in the region. Ostrogoths had strong reasons to return Anastasius's name to the coins, but this does not mean this was widely followed by others after Anastasius's death (I can cite two examples, though). Thuringians and Frisians were likelier to mint VPW type if they minted coins during Anastasius' time. Allemani, Heruli, Langobards, Rugi and Gepids could have VCG tremisses (with different degrees of possibility). In your paper, you link the silver coins of the Gepids to Ostrogothic coins from Milan as a prototype, which is convincing. What about this tremissis (still in post), which, from my view, is based on tremisses from Milan? I add my example from Milan below for comparison. Obviously, we have no certainty about attributing Gepids, but are there any arguments why it cannot be?

What would be your thoughts about this coin (also mine)? It was found in the UK, Mersham 2018. https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/908451 It is die-linked to this cast from the estate Friedrich Stefan - at the Institute of Numismatics and Monetary History. Casoli A. Ein unpublizierter tremissis im namen des Anastasius I.: Probleme der Zuweisung TOYTO APECH TH XWPA : Festschrift für Wolfgang Hahn zum 70 Geburtstag / hrsg von Wolfgang Szaivert … [et al] - Wien : Österreichische Forschungsgesellschaft für Numismatik, (Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte ; Bd 15); 2015: 77-85.

I took advange of the book being also on Audible. The recording recording is really good and the book is excellent. From a numismatics perspective the book has a weakness of mostly relying on 2004 Metlich book, which is good but is now 20 years old. There has been a lot of new data since (not even mentioning a known to us publication on Gepids coins).

Thank you, @Tejas. The reasoning is sound - I have put 'Rome' to this rare series in my database. Below is my coin from the series.

A very nice coin @Hrefn and very insightful discussion @Tejas. Of interest, in his 2023 issue of 'Theoderic the Great: King of Goths, Ruler of Romans', Weimer states a later date of abandoning Justinian's name by Totila/Baduila - 550. The text and the citation are below. One may expect Totila to keep Justinian name during the second peace offer - there was too much at stake to insult Justinian at this time. If so, the tremissis could be from Rome and minted between 547 and 550. Minting tremisses with Anastasius' name in Ravenna can be ruled out as Totila/Baduila has never taken it. However, minting tremisses with Justinian's name in Ravenna under Byzantine authority during or after the Gothic wars is a strong possibility (for example, a Justinian tremissis attributed to Ravenna in Fairhead and W. Hahn, "The Monte Judica Hoard and the Sicilian Moneta Auri under Justinian I and Justin II", Plate 6, no. 75). @TejasI would be grateful for pointing out which Totila/Baduila Anastasian tremisses are from Rome and the reasoning for the attribution. The above references for BM records show Ticinum. I do believe Baduila minted some of his Anastasian tremisses (and possibly solidi) in Rome, but I cannot work out how to attribute them. Thank you again for the information.

Thank you very much, @rNumis I have compiled a list/images of coins from Tomasini's book. It does look like the ticket references were made to Mateu y Llopis' 1936 catalogue of Visigoth coins!!! Coin no. 15 was attributed correctly. Coin no. 7 was attributed as closely as possible - except that since Tomasini's book, we attribute them to Burgundians rather than Visigoths. The finding could imply that the coin tickets were made before the 1964 Tomasini book. Despite not being shown in the online catalogue, I hope the coins survived WWII in the same museum. I have not seen any coins plated below in the trade.

Thank you, @rNumis It may do. I hoped to get this catalogue for better pictures of some tremisses republished in Tomasini's book. These tremisses are not in the MAN online catalogue. I have yet to be able to get Mateu y Llopis's catalogue, but I will keep trying.

I am still working on making good-quality pictures, I am afraid, and the coins are not at home at the moment. Frist pictures are three coins I showed before - auction photos, but the middle one looks greyish in hand. The bottom one was probably professionally cleaned, removing the patina - all coins from the dealer from the same hoard come spotless. The next coin shows variations in colour on the surface. I am sure this is not dirt. I put another from the same die pair I bought from the same dealer, but it has an even colour. Second pair

It is helpful to know. What chemicals and environments can produce patina on gold coins? Gold coins generally have subtle patina, but I can see colour differences even in coins minted from the same dies from supposedly high-quality gold (for example, 5th-6th century Constantinople solidi and tremisses). The patina can be even or affect parts of the surface. Patina on lesser quality gold is probably primarily determined by the alloy's silver and copper amount.

@Hrefn I love each of these coins. I particularly like the Denier of Charles the Bald. This year, I was reading more about this period of Europe and was excited by the intensity of the events, the charming simplicity of the coins, the variety of the places that left their names on the coins and their rarity. Anglo-Saxon pennies and Carolingian deniers are particularly fascinating series but seem too expensive for a 'second' interest. So, I have to admire the coins (and stories) of others for now. Happy New Year!

Amaizing coins. You have a great collection just over last hear alone. My favourites are JC, Titus and Elagabalus. Happy 2024 collecting!

Reporting fakes was discussed on a recent NumisForvms thread: 'Fakes- what's the reporting etiquette when you spot them here (or elsewhere)?' I am still unsure what the most appropriate reaction is if a suspected fake (not necessarily a published fake, many are not formally published) is shown. The general agreement was PM is a better option, but it is unclear if all forum members want to be notified. Once known, the information cannot be unknown. Personally, I would like to be informed.

It's a lovely collection and an interesting story, as usual. The eight coins shown are legitimate varieties to be recognised as such. Whatever the reason for the engraver(s) to vary the designs, they are attractive and would help any die studies (especially when using old plates with photos of lesser quality). I find the earlier FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG P P / IVNONI REGINAE aureus reverse with a basket particularly attractive. Hopefully, one day, a denarius with this design will surface.

The author, Sebastiano Paolo Maltese, has done an excellent job - I will remember the name. The number of identified coins per die is very high: 39 coins are known for each obverse die with no singletons 12 coins are known for each reverse die with very few singletons. This means that all (or nearly all) produced dies are known. Acknowledging the irregularity of the minting over about 50 years: 40 obverse dies mean a die served 1.25 years 122 reverse dies mean a die served 5 months. This is much longer than my current estimates of 2.3 weeks for reverse dies for 491-492 Constantinople solidi (provided each Officina/workshop used one die at a time). Constantinople coins also have a much lower obverse/reverse ratio. The relatively small number of dies and the high number of coins per die mean that an advanced specialist collection could collect them all, producing a reference die collection. Such a collection would greatly help identify known and future fakes. This would be similar to Stanley Gibbons Reference Collection of British Stamps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md99wdfE68A There is little doubt that with modern technology, identifying forgeries is possible. The question is, who takes leadership in putting the needed steps together?

IBSCC Website says Use of the IBSCC Internet Archive of Fake Coins, is only available to IAPN members and associated partners. If any dealers on the forum are members, it would be good to know whether there is relevant information on the topic in the Archive (without giving up any details that the rules may restrict). When reputable auction houses sell Series 138 coins and guarantee their authenticity, do they base this on firm knowledge of identifying genuine coins? It is also interesting how NGC deals with the issue. Can NGC be a reasonable solution (with their holders seen as packaging for collectors who do not favour them)?

It looks like an excellent book! It will take time for me to read it. From a quick look, the number of the used dies is remarkably few. Each die must have lasted for months. They must have used very hot flans to soften the metal to preserve them. Still, I cannot see any evidence of impressions from the tongues (typical of many later Eastern Roman/Early Byzantine coins), which may indicate that they were obliterated during the strike and if the coin was sufficiently cooled before removing it from the dies. Collaboration with experts in metallurgy will answer this or may have been done already. Also, I cannot see any apparent branching in die use, which would be the case if several dies were used simultaneously. If only one pair of dies was used at a time, there must have been a skilful master striker to match the skills of the master die cutter. A beautiful coin, @Deinomenid

Thank you @DonnaML, @Curtis JJ and @Curtisimo. My envelopes and tags match those from "3. Manilla 2x2 coin envelopes PLUS circular white tags, handwritten." (Cited from: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-game-then-a-resource-old-collector-tags-tickets-envelopes-how-many-do-you-recognize.407126/) that leads again to the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection. From how I read them, the envelopes and tags do not mention previous sales. Although I cannot determine what ML.II.7 and ML.II.15 refer to, ML is likely be a reference publication. I see at least one of my other tags differently now. I thought it was the latest seller's tag. It has multiple handwriting, possibly from writing the new price (in pencil) on an old tag. It would be helpful to have a thread on the topic. If there is no designated thread for the topic, shall I rename this one as the 'Thickets and tags thread'?

There are previous posts about tickets (which I consulted), but they were about specific tickets and appeared closed. Unless I missed a generic one, which would be good to have.

Thank you! So they must be collector's envelopes. The little labels could also have been made by Mark and Lottie Salton. They do not have lot numbers or prices, and sale tickets are expected. Thank you again.

I would appreciate suggestions on what dealer could have produced the envelopes and tickets below. I have not found previous sales for the coins. The envelopes are likely from previous sales as there were also separate plastic Stack's envelopes - unless the paper envelopes were used to send coins for PCGS grading. Salton Collection on the PCGS tickets refers to the latest sale. Thank you. Stack's Bowers Galleries. January 2023 NYINC Auction. 13/01/2023 Lot 26313 Lot 26312

The fakes are a big concern for ancient numismatics as a hobby and a science. I hope science and industry are working hard to develop new analytics, like uranium, thorium–helium (U,Th–He) dating methods(1), but odd publications do not translate into accessible techniques. Light microscopy was still the method of choice to make noise about Sponsianus. Sadly, I only learnt about the recent ‘Metallurgy in Numismatics Conference’ in Liverpool(2) the week after it happened. I had a chance to speak to one of the organisers and understand the newest reported methods are unlikely to be available beyond specific research projects. Being a narrow(minded) collector, I keep records of possible fakes. Often, this would not be from an official registry but from posts by reputable numismatists who were able to return their coins as fakes and so on. I see coins differently than I did years ago, start understanding why those coins were fakes. I have suspicions about my own two Anastasian solidi bought from reputable European auctions: an inexpensive solidus and a more expensive solidus (4-digit), based on their fabric/style. Dies studies could be helpful (in addition to what we discussed on another thread). Generally, die analyses become more reliable when there are 5-6 coins per die. However, the possibility of fakes is also considered when there are more than five coins from the same die. I have no concern when they are nicely linked to other dies with no unusual features. When many coins come from an isolated die pair not known pre-1960s, this is a red flag for a forgery. Now, forgers tend to use several dies, which still keeps them as a new and odd cluster. In the future, when all dies and die combinations for a type are well documented, the appearance of a coin from new dies would trigger suspicion. Returning to my two coins, the first coin is linked to other coins, which seem ok. Still, in hands, my coin looks unnatural, ‘pressed’. My suspicions are not enough to disturb the Auction house. The second coin is one of four from the same die pair. It has an unusual Victoria style on the reverse (but this could have been made by a visiting/apprentice die engraver). Of the four coins, I do not like three, one of which has the same ‘metal flow’ on a die border as mu coin. Again, there are not enough arguments to return the coin. I have decided to get NGC grading and return the coins if they fail. I cannot see any other practical way to deal with my suspicions. Apologies for not showing photos and naming vendors - following the ethics considerations we discussed on another thread. If they are marked as fakes by NGC, I will show them. I fear the more likely statement could be ‘unable to confirm authenticity’. This would be enough to approach the auction house but not to be publicly designate them as fakes. 1. Eugster, O. Dating geologic gold deposits and authenticating a Greek gold tiara, an ancient gold chalice, and swimming dragon artifacts of the Chinese Han dynasty. Gold Bull 51, 139–144 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-018-0238-z 2. Metallurgy in Numismatics Conference – Liverpool, 19th-20th April 2022 https://numismatics.org.uk/2022/03/29/metallurgy-in-numismatics-conference-liverpool-19th-20th-april-2022/

Wow. Each coin would be a highlight of a high-end collection and beyond scoring (certainly from me). I am stunned by their photography. If a studio took the photos, it is a great choice of studio. If personally, the results are outstanding and match the quality of the collection itself. The first coin opens the door to ’12 Ceasers in gold’, the holy grail of Roman numismatics.

@Tejas Another provenance for your Sigismund's tremissis (may be known to you, but not listed in the online collection catalogue). This is certainly the best example in private hands, and probably the best overall. Etienne Bourgey. Collection G. 27/10/1913.

@TejasThank you for the interview. The collection is magnificent. I suppose if a professional collector adds another area to their collecting journey, they do not stop being professional collectors. This morning, I was going through the online part of your collection and enjoyed it a lot. It is a pity it must sit in the vault. I found some of the most beautiful Burgundian Gundobad and Sigismund coins that exist. Congratulations. I have crossed them from my wish list. I have been looking for a nice teutonic coin for some time. It would be a hard area to collect for a perfectionist. While many are not rare, finding a perfect one is not easy. Victors write histories - it would be interesting to know what life within the order truly was like during its expansion period. The borders of Europe are being re-drawn once again. Who knows, the language of Immanuel Kant may one day return to his home city. His people knew how to build to last. Kant may well have had your first thaler in his purse. @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix Thank for the great idea and persuing it.