robinjojo

That's the most I've seen offered in a single auction by Roma, probably most if not all from the gargantuan hoard that surface in Turkey several years ago. They will generally sell in the £400 to £550 range, I think, but there is the 22.5% buyer's fee, plus foreign exchange rates (the US dollar has dropped somewhat), and shipping which isn't exactly getting any cheaper. There are a couple of New Style owls as well.

Nice coins! Here's my only Frances II thaler, purchased from Hal Blackburn around 1981. Germany, Free City of Regensburg, Francis II, thaler, 1793. KM 469 28.03 grams

Here are a couple more imaginary bust coins from the period. Both are from 1809 and have the armored imaginary bust that was issued until 1811, when the proper bust was introduced later that year. Ferdinand VII, 8 escudos, Mexico, 1809HJ. KM 160 27 grams Ferdinand VII, 8 reales, Mexico, 1809TH. KM 110 26.88 grams

As I go through the boxes that comprise the collection, really journey through time, I photographed a coin from my Spanish colonial coinage phase, covering around two decades. This is an imaginary bust 8 reales from Lima, dated 1808. In the past this style was referred to as the Indian bust, though I think such a designation these days may not be appropriate, so let's call it the Lima style imaginary bust. Lima also minted for most of 1808 8 reales with the legend and portrait of Charles IV. Prior to the arrival of dies from Spain with an accurate portrait, die engravers in Mexico, Santiago and Lima were left to their own devices when news of Ferdinand's success arrived in Spain's colonial possessions. Perhaps these renderings were based on paintings of Ferdinand VII, but perhaps another source was used. It's also important to remember that this transition from Charles IV to Ferdinand VII occurred during the wars of independence throughout Latin America and the Napoleonic War, and the associated interruptions in communications with Spain Other mints, notably Bogota and Guatemala, resolved the problem by simply continuing to use the bust of Charles IV, but changing the legend to Ferdinand VII. In the case of Bogota, the bust Charles IV was used continuously through Colombia's independence from Spain on August 7, 1819, with 1820 being the last date for this type. Lima minted these imaginary 8 reales from 1808 to 1811. The bust size varies over this period, ranging from large (1808) to medium (1809) to small by 1810-1811. Eight reales dated 1808 are the rarest, but some later varieties are quite scarce. By far 1811 is the most common Lima date with the imaginary bust. Later that year Lima began minting coins with the proper bust; those coins are quite rare. This coin is generally nice, but with a few small rim nicks and minor scratches. Peru, Ferdinand VII, 8 reales, Lima, 1808 JP. Large Bust. KM 106.1 27.2 grams Here's an example of Colombia's "frozen" portrait of Charles IV, with a Ferdinand VII legend. Colombia, 8 escudos, Ferdinand VII, Bogota, 1810JF. KM 66.1 26.8 grams Are there any other imaginary portrait coins out there? Please post if you wish and other coins are always welcome! Thanks

Yes, hoard evidence points to the circulation of pharaonic owls in what is now Syria (1989 Syria Hoard) and Iraq (1973) to name two major groups. Owls issued under the Persian satraps Artaxerxes, Sabakes and Mazakes were included, along with Athenian intermediate owls and I think a few Athenian classical owls and non-owl coinage as well. My experience collecting imitative owls indicate a wide circulation area that includes Anatolia (roughly present day Turkey), Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran (Persia) the Arabian Peninsula, Bactria and India, although I don't have a documented owl from that country/region. Here's a link to a PDF for Peter G. van Alfen's article MECHANISMS FOR THE IMITATION OF ATHENIAN COINAGE : DEKELEIA AND MERCENARIES RECONSIDERED. It's well worth reading and bookmarking for future reference. I believe the article can be saved as a PDF file. http://www.numisbel.be/2011_4.pdf

The reverse graffiti is tough to decipher, but here's a stab at it. From left to right there's a Phoenician N, then a W, then a P (?), perhaps a H on its side due to space limitations, ending perhaps with a Z. The characters could be Aramaic, but Phoenician seems a better fit. I'm almost totally ignorant when it comes to ancient languages and alphabets. I rely on what I can find using Google, which is by no means the best source. Here's a table of the Phoenician alphabet, courtesy Wikipedia:

This is my only example with a halfway decent portrait is this provincial coin, rather crude and with somewhat rough surfaces. I wonder what was in those urns on the reverse. Valerian I, Æ 30, Anazarbus, Cilicia. CY 272 (253/4 AD) . )RPC X Online Unassigned ID 60270 (this coin cited) 17.85 grams

Here are two more. Italy, Naples under Philip II of Spain, Kingdom of the two Sicilies, ducaton,, 1564-71. CNI XX, page 67, 578; Davenport 8317. 29.79 grams And his son: Italy, Naples under Philip III of Spain, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 1611 P, Messina. Spahr 5 31.59 grams

That's a lovely 4 maravedis of Burgos! Wonderful centering and strike. That's a wonderful example! This coin reminds me of the PBS series Ornament of the World, a history of Moorish and Christian Spain. I would love to have a type coin such as this one and perhaps I'll get around to it.

This is a coin that I acquired in 2015 during my world coinage collecting phase. I'm not sure what phase I am in currently, maybe more like episodes of the Twilight Zone.... This particular coin has a nice portrait of the old boy (a late one, I think), especially for a hammer struck coin. These coins used to be available quite frequently in the past, but in recent times not so much, and the prices are quite high now. Italy, Naples under Philip III of Spain, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, half ducaton, no date (1556-1598). MIR.8174 14.57 grams Obverse legend : PHILIPP DG KING ARA. VTRI Obverse description: Bust to the right of Philip II crowned and armored. Obverse translation: (Philippe, by the grace of God, king of Aragon and Sicily). Reverse legend : SICILIAE. HIERVSA. Reverse description: Shield quartered, 1 counter-quartered in 1 and 4, Léon, in 2 and 3 of Castile; in the 2nd half of Aragon and Sicily; to the 3 counter-quartered in 1 of modern Austria, in 2 of modern Burgundy, in 3 of ancient Burgundy, in 4 of Tyrol, on all a small shield; in the 4th half of Sicily and Hungary. The shield is topped with a crown cutting the legend at the top. Reverse translation: (Sicily and Jerusalem). So, please feel free to post you Philip II coins, coins of the Renaissance, Italy, Spain or anything else under the sun or moon. Thanks!

That Nero Alexandrian tetradrachm is a real beauty! Your father must have had a really good eye when selecting coins. I'm looking forward to your photos of other coins in the collection.

I've never used WISE, but this is very good advice - there are a lot of sharks out there online.

Here's one more hammer-struck silver rider, and my latest one, dated 1680. Netherlands, Gelders, silver rider(ducaton), 1680. Purchased from Karl Stephens Davenport 4924 32.46 grams

Nice coins! That 1/2 groschen of Schweidnitz is really interesting. Here's a 1 1/2 rubles, Warsaw mint. Purchased from Karl Stephens in the 1990s. Russia, Poland (under Russian rule), 1 1/2 rubles or 10 zlotych, 1835, Nicholas I, Warsaw Mint. Gum 2550; C 129. 30.24 grams I have one more Polish crown that I will photograph tomorrow.

An equestrian painting of Sigismund III Vasa, by Peter Paul Rubens During the 17th century, Poland was at her zenith of power, before the tragedy of the conquest and partition that occurred in the 18'th at the hands of Prussia, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Sigismund III Vasa (20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632) is one of the most recognizable and influential figures of the late 16th to early 17th century. He was central figure in the politics and wars of central Europe during this period. This silver ort is a relatively common coin, much more so than the thalers of this ruler. It is, in a way, a replacement for the Sigismund III Vasa thaler that I sold many years ago, never to be replaced because in the skyrocketing demand and prices for those impressive, historical coins. This particular coin has the arms of Danzig on the reverse, making it a municipal issue. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sigismund III Vasa, AR ort (quarter thaler), Gdansk (Danzig) mint, 1625. Kopicki 7506; KM 15.2. 6.91 grams, 29mm. So, please post your Polish coins and anything else you please. Thanks.

Egypt, Ptolemaic Kingdom, Cleopatra VII, AE 80 drachmae, circa 50-40 BC. Sear 1871 17.4 grams Livia, dupondius, 21-22 AD. RIC 47, 13.4 grams Sabina, BI tetradrachm, Alexandria Year 15 130/1 AD. Cologne-1262; Dattari-2063; BM-918; RPC-5774 (9 specimens) 12.84 grams Faustina II, Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 170-175/6. MATRI reverse. Ex Carmona. Roma E-Sale 94, lot 900. Cohen 169; BMCRE 932 25.72 grams Julia Mamaea, sestertius, 222-235 AD . VENVS GENERTRIX reverse. Cohen 74 19.49 grams Herennia Etruscilla, Antoninianus, 250 AD, PVDICITIA AVG reverse. RIC 58b 5.6 grams And one non-Roman coin: England, Elizabeth I, crown, mm 1, 1602.

Here's a classical standardized owl that I purchased for the interesting countermark. Attica, Athens, standardized classical owl, 440-404 BC. Possible Aramaic 'B' (beth) countermark. 17.13 grams The countermark is very small and is located near the earring, to the right. There's a definite curved tail at the bottom and a horizontal bar at the top, with a slight indentation in the middle. Based on my Google search this is the closest I can find as a match, albeit an approximate one:, Imperial Aramaic "B" 5th century BC. If anyone has other insights, please post. Thanks! or ? Here's an enlargement of the countermark (sorry for the blurriness).

Hi Dave I'm sorry that I haven't responded sooner. I guess that I don't do a very good job following old threads. I can say that your cob is from the mid-1640's based on the "furry" lions on the cross side. The date is not visible, which is typical for this period of wretched strikes and poor, often debased flans. As for the assayer (the coin is definitely from Potosi), here we have typical muddle, perhaps intentional. In addition to the rotated strike, the area with the mint and assayer marks is a mess. After loading the image into Photoshop for enlargement, I think I see a very crude and muddled P and below that possibly a V, as you mentioned, possibly over an R. You might send a photo of the coin to Dan Sedwick for his opinion. His email address is: office@sedwickcoins.com Your coin is wonderfully crude and a perfect example of the coinage of this scandalous period!

Lovely ducatons, Chris! The dies created from the early 18th century, to the end of the run for these coins really improved artistically compared to the generally crude dies of the 17th century. I've been searching around for a photo that I took a while ago of another coin from the middle of the 18th century. Because of my lousy organization it took me too much time to find it, but I did, so here it is. The cool feature of this coin is the tulip edge design, very similar to the colonial Spanish 8 reales of the time. This coin came to me through a Chicago auction (forgot the name of the firm) in March 1991, for $330. Utrecht, ducaton (silver rider), 1748 ,tulip edge. Davenport 1832 32.6 grams

This is a fresh purchase, from yesterday/s trip to my local coin shop. Sal, the owner, picked up a few new coins, including a denarius of Octavian commemorating his victory at Actium. Alas! That coin was reserved for another collector. I did, however pick out three coins, one of which was photographed today. I'll add the other two shortly, I hope. This is an Athenian "new style" owl, Thompson 537. The reverse die appears to match the reverse for that coin. Athens new style owl, 121/0 BC. Obverse: Athena facing right. Reverse: Owl standing on amphora, KAPAIX – EPΓOKΛE ΔIOΦ; month I on amphora, control ΔI below, symbol galley prow. Thompson 537 16.8 grams Overall the centering is quite decent, and the strike very good. The obverse die appears to have a good amount of wear, in addition to some circulation/handling wear, but the styling of Athena's profile is very nice indeed! Here are the two purchases from yesterday. I've never owned a stater from Aspendos, depicting the two Greco-Roman wrestlers. There are lots of them out there, but I've never gotten around to acquiring one. This example is somewhat unusual due to the tapered flan, wide on one side and narrow on the other. I cannot find a similar example based on my search last night, though I do have a BMC reference number. I'll keep looking. This coin, while worn, has nice old "cabinet" tonng on both sides. Aspendos, Pamphylia, flash, stater, 400-300 BC. BMC 63 9.8 grams The other coin is a Roman Repbulic denarius with a serrated edge, again a type that I have not owned until now. The coin is unevenly struck, but what is visible is quite nice. Roman Republic, L. Procilius, denarius, 80 BC. Sear-280 3.92 grams

Yes, the largest new world mints for Spain were Mexico City and Potosi, Bolivia (Alta Peru). The smaller mints were Santiago, Chile, Bogota and Cartagena, Colombia and Lima, Peru (probably the third largest in volume), Later in the 1730's the mint in Guatemala began operating. Guatemala 8 reales are unusual and distinctive in style when compared to the other mints. Here's an 8 reales cob, flip struck error, with the characteristic hold, from 1740. The indigenous people created holes in order to put the coins on a string or rope, since their clothing generally lacked pockets. 22.88 grams And here's a milled coin of 1770, virtually mint state: 26.93 grams

Silver content can range, based on the period between 93.1 % and 91.7% silver, so you don't need to worry about bronze disease with this Spanish cobs or milled coins. If you see any green or black deposits, they're usually quite superficial, unless the coin is heavily encrusted, as is often the case of coins salvaged from wrecks. Nice coin, and a scarcer mint (Lima)!

The colors of the fresco seem so fresh and vibrant, it could have been painted yesterday! https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/mar/01/pompeii-fresco-phrixus-and-helle-greek-mythological-siblings

A wonderful group for 2023! The quality of the portraits for some of the coins is excellent, and the reverse of the bonus coin reminds me of Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Messana, tetradrachm, 480-461 BC.