robinjojo

Thanks! That's a cool bronze medal! No, it has been residing on display in a china cabinet along with other nick knacks and mineral specimens.

Yes, we should be careful not to go "off the rails" here, so easily accomplished in these fraught times. There are plenty of other online venues for the exchange of political views.

Quite a few years ago there was another runup on the spot price of gold and silver. I was working for the county at the time, and sometimes I would take the bus from my workplace during lunch and visit my local coin shop. On one visit I noticed a box of scrap silver destined for the smelter. I found this object among the flatware, trays, candle holders and other objects, both sterling and plated. I immediately recognized the elegant form as Georgian silver, a creamer, rather worn but still very attractive. It was produced by a silversmith, Hester Bateman, around 1787. She was one of only a handful of female silversmiths in London, and while her pieces generally do not command the premium prices of other contemporary silversmiths, I am still happy to have rescued this charming creamer from oblivion, probably to emerge in the form of a silver round!

I do have one coin with a swastika on it. It is a chopmark probably administered by an Indian, Chinese or other Asian merchant, I imagine, in the 17th-18th century. The coin itself is an 8 reales of Potosi, dated (16)29, assayer T. The chopmark can be seen on the cross side, in the upper left quadrant. This is the only exception I'd make. The swastika is an ancient symbol that has unfortunately been appropriated by Nazis and fascists in the past century. I would never buy a coin or any other object that includes symbols from Nazi Germany, nor any coin from that country from 1933-1945. I do have some coins from the Holocaust, but that is for remembrance, which I hope future owners will continue.

Excellent coins posted! Among the very few denarii that I have, this is arguably the best in overall quality: Trajan, AR denarius, 107-8 AD. DΛNVVIVS reverse. RIC II 100 3.57 grams

I think this provenance also reflects the fact that humans, with all the flaws and virtues, collect coins, as well as art and other objects. The OP's provenance is a perfect example of a collector whose nefarious deeds accompany the coins from his or her collection. I can't imagine what my provenance will be with the coins residing in the boxes. I hope there isn't one, as I truly prefer anonymity.

Yes, that is sad but an almost predictable outcome in the chaos of war. Much is lost in lives, cultural objects and treasure.

Thanks! I guess that "beth" Aramaic character is also a guess, but the form seems consistent with examples I have seen through Google. I am by no means an expert or even very knowledgeable in the areas of Aramaic or any other ancient language. I am pretty certain that this coin circulated in what is now Syria. Hoards of these owls came out of this country and other parts of the region, including Iraq. Oddly, though, the anchor counterstamp is not apparently included in the table of countermarks from the 1989 Syrian hoard. Perhaps this coin came out of Syria in 2022, when a fairly good sized group of mostly imitative owls appeared on the market in Israel, auction venues and retail sellers. Not too many are appearing now, but that of course can change, sometimes dramatically when a huge hoard quickly makes an appearance.

For glare and "white out" areas I'd avoid using a flash. indirect light is best, as pointed out by Severus Alexander. Also, I tend to have better results using a white background. Taking a photo of a gold coin on a black background is problematic for me in regards to hue. Here are three of my efforts. This photo was made with a white background; the black was added latter in Photoshop. However, the hue still makes this coin "brassy" and not more yellow, as it actually is. Much better! This photo even picks up some of the orange toning. Since I tend to depend on natural light, the results can vary depending on the amount of sunlight coming through the skylight. I don't remember if the day was sunny when I took this photo, back in 2020, but it probably was. Again, the coin could be a bit yellower. I think part of the issue is that I take the photos looking down on them. This can create lighting variations as the shadow of the camera cuts across the coin. I should set up a more professional arrangement, with the coin mounted in a way that avoids this problem. As I recall I did try to change the hue of this coin through Photoshop, with good but not totally accurate results. Again, the black background was added after the photo shoot.

Thanks! I might post this coin on Coin Talk to see what Gino might have to say about the cm.

Cool coin! I don't have much in terms of ancient furniture, unless I include what I have in the house, but here is one example with interesting objects, six prize urns. Valerian I Æ 30mm of Anazarbus, Cilicia. Dated CY 272 = AD 253/4. AVT K Π ΛIK OVAΛЄPIANOC CЄ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / ANAZAPBOV MHTPOΠ, six prize urns, the middle one in upper row containing palm branch; Γ-Γ across upper fields, ET BOC (date) across central field, A M K T in exergue. RPC X Online Unassigned ID 60270 (this coin cited); Ziegler 834; BMC 43; SNG Levante 1520; SNG BnF -. 17.85g, 30mm, 1h. Very Fine. This coin published at Roman Provincial Coinage Online (rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk); Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 93, 6 January 2022, lot 832; Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 76, 5 November 2020, lot 825.

Here's a coin that I think warrants its own thread, due to a very distinctive countermark, along with two other countermarks as well. This imitative owl is a very recent arrival from VCoins. Since I am awash in owls of various stripes, I would have passed on this coin were it not for its well centered and bold obverse countermarks. Egypt, imitating Athens, pharaonic owl, circa late 5th-mid 4th century BC, 16.69 grams I think the central cm is an anchor. It really is quite distinctive in form. It might have been struck over another cm. To the upper right of it is what appears to be an Aramaic beth, slightly rotated. An anchor of a very similar style appears on some of the well known coinage of Thrace, Apollonia Pontika, mid 4th century BC . Photo courtesy of CNG The Seleucid kings also had a longtime tradition of using the anchor countermark on coin whose origins were outside the empire, as a means of sanctioning their circulation. Pamphylia, Side, AR tetradrachm, circa 205-100 BC. Seleucid anchor countermark on obverse. 16.20 grams The OP coin has another cm, to the upper right of the central cm. I believe this smaller yet quite bold cm is an Aramaic "beth", rotated about 90 degrees due to space limitations . Finally, there is a much smaller and rather blurry cm on the reverse, to the right. This could be an Aramaic "sadhe" when rotated 180 degrees, but this is just a guess on my part. While the cm style on the OP coin more closely resembles the anchor used by Apollonia Pontika, I think it far more likely that the anchor cm was applied by someone, in an official or unofficial capacity, in the Seleucid Empire, following the death of Alexander III. The presence of one clear Aramaic character on the obverse, prominently next to the anchor, supports this guess. I know of no pharaonic owls found in what was Thrace, but doesn't mean that there were none; these coins, Athenian and imitative, had a wide area of circulation in that broad ancient region of the Levant and further east. But Thrace? I don't think so. Additionally, I imagine that any countermark characters used in Thrace would be Greek, not Aramaic. So, there it is. Any thoughts? Thanks!

It looks like another deluge of standardized owls, 238 this time, with one additional intermediate Pi Style (worn obverse die it seems). The spigot is wide open. Lots of Tigranes II tetradrachms as well. If you're looking for a type coin, this might be a good opportunity to acquire a previously pricey coin.

Thank you so much for the clarification! I uploaded a better image of the coin, and traces of the "I" can be seen now. I was wondering why the reverse eagle design was not matching up with all the RY 2 tetradrachms of Diocletian.

Thanks! Here's another Diocletian Alexandrian tetradrachm with a different portrait style, one that I have seen very frequently. The obverse legend is much clearer. Diocletian, potin tetradrachm, 284-305 AD, RY 1, Alexandria. Tyche reverse. 5.38 grams