robinjojo

For Greek and other ancient coins, you might want to check out the electronic auctions held monthly by CNG, Roma and other auction houses. Good buys can be achieved, but you have to do your homework, know what you are bidding on, the hammer and retail price history of a given type, and the additional costs (buyer's fee, currency conversion rate, if applicable, and shipping cost).

That's a beautiful archaic owl! I would be inclined to leave as is.

Glebe, I would incline to agree, but what if these coins were more locally produced at the time as "copies" (counterfeits if you will)? This was suggested in the article, and based on my experience collecting imitation owls, this is a possibility, I think. I do not think these coins were produced at the Constantinople Mint. I also think the article makes points about the coins not being modern in terms of production. The coins were struck. My coin has the characteristic edge split, due to the brittle nature of the metal. The surface deposits do not appear to be applied. As for style, if indeed these coins are rough copies based on originals, one would expect some variations that deviate. Such has been my experience with imitative owls, which span the range from almost true replicas of the original classical design, to all sorts of odd, crude and very "localized" varieties. I have seen fakes of the John III Ducas-Vatazes hyperpyron. They're quite numerous, but they all appear to be very similar in appearance, with some sort of fake gold finish, to make them appear as legitimate, almost "perfect" gold coins. Some these fakes can be seen at the Forum website. Now, I always allow room for error, in my view, since I am all too prone to making mistakes, and if the coin is a knockoff copy courtesy of a Bulgarian faker or some other individual or individuals, I stand corrected.

Yes, there is some controversy for the coins of this hoard. That doesn't deter me, though, since this this coin an interesting one to study, and even if it is a modern fake, which I share with the author that it is not, the amount of funds to acquire the coin did not break the bank. I do like controversial coins!

I have noticed recently that Roma is auctioning some pretty high grade hyperpyrons of John III Ducas-Vatazes. These coins are pretty common generally speaking, but I thought a nice higher grade type coin would be nice, and this one seemed to fit the bill nicely. This and many of the other coins appear to have been included in a study of a hoard by S. Bendall. Here's a link to the article: https://www.romanumismatics.com/article_detail?article_id=2&lang=en&tag=Byzantine And, here's the coin, which arrived today: John III Ducas-Vatazes Æ Hyperpyron. Emperor of Nicaea. Uncertain mint, 1222-1254. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing; "grenade" above throne to right, IC-XC across upper fields / John standing facing, holding labarum with two pellets on shaft and akakia, being blessed by the Theotokos; IѠ ΠЄ Π (or similar) downwards to left, ΘV Ѡ ΠP Φ V (or similar) downwards to right. Roma Numismatics - Studia Nummorum 07122021#02, Sigla D, 27 (O1 - this coin); for prototype, cf. DOC 12 and Sear 2073. 2.75g, 24mm, 5h. Near Mint State. This coin cited in S. Bendall, 'An Unusual Hoard of Hyperpyra of John III' (2018), Roma Numismatics - Studia Nummorum 07122021#02. Available online at: romanumismatics.com/ejournal; From the inventory of a UK dealer. Has anyone else acquired coins from this hoard? I'd really like to see other examples of those or related coins. Thanks!

Here are a few more owls to add to the parliament. Athens archaic owl, Seltman Group C, 482 - 480 BC, 17.4 grams. Athens eastern imitation owl, late 5th-mid 4th centuries BC, 17.35 grams. D-Camera Athens Babylonian imitation tetradrachm 4th century BC, 17.2 grams. Athens, Arabia possibly a Qataban imitation owl, a Jordan find, 13.82 grams. Athens owl circa 450 BC, with a Phoenician countermark "M", 17.15 grams. D-Camera Athens owl eastern pharaonic imitation , paleo-Hebrew countermark "M" reverse , 17.03 grams. Athens, owl, 440-404 BC 17.23 grams.

That a mass of quartz crystals. Some of the crystals appear to have light pinkish cast, probably due to traces of iron oxide.

Wonderful coins and medals posted! Thank you! The Napoleonic period produced some remarkable medals and coins. I don't have any medals, but I do have one coin, from the Cisalpine Republic, 1797 to 1802. This coin was issued to celebrate the Convention of Alessandria (June 15, 1800= 27 Pratile, year VIII) following the victory of the French Army in the Battle of Marengo. This scudo is dated year 8, or 1800. One the obverse there is the allegory of the Cisalpine Republic, right, paying tribute to France. Below is a stork, symbolizing devotion, and a cornucopia, symbolizing abundance. One the reverse is a legend surrounded by oak leaves: SCUDO DI LIRE SEI 27·PRATILE (9th month of the French revolutionary calendar) ANNO VIII C# 2, G# 1, MIR# 477, Dav ECT# 199 Engraver: Giuseppe Salvirch This coin came out of a World-Wide Coins of California auction in the early 1990s. 23.12 grams

Here, we are entering the world of phosphate minerals. Phosphate minerals include a very well known one, one whose role played an important one in human civilizations throughout the globe: turquoise. What we have here is not turquoise. This is a half nodule of the phosphate cousin of turquoise, variscite. While turquoise is a phosphate of copper and aluminum, variscite is a phosphate of aluminum. The nodule contains a complex of phosphates: variscite (blue green areas), crandallite (yellow banded areas), and wardite (the dark gray banded areas and eyes). The nodules occurred in a contact zone where the variscite became altered into these other phosphate minerals, meaning that they were formed at the expense of the variscite. The result is that nodules were mined in the 1930s and 1940s at a location known as the Little Green Monster Mine, in Utah. The nodules varied greatly, with some having large areas of almost emerald green variscite mixed with other phosphates, while others were almost entirely crandallite, or were hollow. The size of the nodules varied from a couple of centimeters to large nodules of fifteen centimeters or more. The Little Green Monster Mine has long been closed, but occasional specimens are found on the mine dumps, although the quality of these finds don't match the beauty of the original mined nodules. Slabs of complete nodules do come to the market from time to time, but finding a complete, unbroken half nodule is a difficult task to complete. These nodules are uniquely American. Variscite, AlPO4•2H2O Little Green Monster Mine, Clay Canyon, Fairfield, Utah Co., Utah, United States Half nodule, 11.5cm x 8.2cm x 4cm, 516.4 grams From the Charles M Noll Collection

This development is almost inevitable as the invasion drags on. From today's Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/12/specialist-gang-targeting-ukrainian-treasures-for-removal-to-russia

This article is from NPR: https://www.npr.org/2022/06/12/1103777253/activists-take-aim-at-the-buyers-of-looted-antiquities Should buyers be held to account, as well as sellers?

Yes, quartz family gemstones (opal, agate, jasper, chert, rock crystal, amethyst, citrine, Prasiolite or green quartz) have been used by humans going back millennia in the form of amulets, rings, Intaglios, seals and other objects for decorative and everyday use. There's also flint, not a gemstone, but an important mineral in the evolution of early human history. With a hardness of seven, on the Mohs scale of one to ten (one being talc and ten diamond) it is easy why this material was a favorite of the ancients. Here's my yellowish green Babylonian frog weight, called "Euphrates", created during the first half of the second millennium BC. She is comprised of a type of agate known as dentritic agate. The dark inclusions are manganese crystal growths that formed between the cryptocrystalline quartz crystals, extremely small, and fibrous in nature. The inclusions have a fan or branch like shapes. I think this weight was made from a river stone, whose outer skin was bleached white. As the stone was ground and sanded, an arduous task I image back then, give the absence of really hard grits (probably limited, I think to garnet), the inner colors revealed themselves. The remaining patches of white are remnants of the stone's skin. This is a wonderful object, with a wonderful minimalist style, that crosses between being an antiquity and an object of mineralogical and lapidary interest. I acquired this object from Harlan Berk, back in 2017. It came out of a private American collection, where it was acquired in 1981. 7.3 cm x 4 cm.

Nice agates! Here's one more that I've owned since 1968, from South Dakota

That's one beautifully struck coin, with excellent surfaces!

I've attempted to photograph some of the numerous minerals populating parts of the house, with varying success. Here's a recent attempt: Laguna nodular agate, SiO2 (quartz), Chihuahua, Mexico

This is an old timer from the collection, acquired in 1992 from Harlan Berk. Athens archaic owl ,520-490 BC, ex M&M #6 1946 664. 17.52 grams And one more, from my local coin dealer. Athens archaic owl circa 480 BC. 17.5 grams

Kudos for the postal employee who corrected the address!

That sad region of the world has been beset with so many problems, in addition to war, economic crises (especially Lebanon), dislocations of large swaths of the population (especially Syria), climate deterioration (soaring summer temperatures and mammoth dust storms), and now a food crisis in the form or drastically reduced wheat shipments. The region is rich in archeological treasures that I would love to visit, but probably never will. Sad.

Those are two beautiful staters, Donna. I really like their style, very nice dies and very good strikes. Additionally, the color of the Aspendos, Pamphylia is outstanding! I've been looking around for a nice Aspendos, Pamphylia stater, but finding one like yours is truly a challenge to locate! I reduced the video image size of your coin, creating two images and reduced the light slightly. The top one is without haze reduction. The bottom one has haze reduction. I'm not sure which one comes closest to your coin's appearance, so I have posted two.

Absolutely beautiful!

I remember coming back from a trip to Europe in 1992, while going through US Customs at JFK, an inspector was examining a Nero sestertius that I purchased from a shop in Besançon, France. "What is this?" he asked. "A sestertius" I replied. He gave me a puzzled look and gave the coin back. The point is that inspectors are trained to examine items exiting or entering a country and this is something that has obviously been going on for quite some time. Sure, there are political aspects to the prohibition of removing objects from a county, and there is certainly varying degrees of enforcement, but fundamentally it is risky and wrong to attempt taking anything out, even something like a humble pottery shard. In far older times this could be done, I am sure, but now, with many countries focusing on laws to protect national history and heritage, slipping an item or two from under the noses of the authorities can have dramatic and substantial consequences for the individual. I do feel sorry for the retired geologist, but he took a risk and is now paying the price, even if he is released shortly, which is not guaranteed, especially in these times.

Nice set. Congrats!

Here's the story: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/british-tourist-sentenced-15-years-iraqi-prison-for-removing-pottery-shards-from-an-archaeology-site-2126400

Nice coins! The decadrachm and Second Democracy tetradrachm are show stoppers! Here are a couple of bronzes. Syracuse, AE 29 Litra, 344-336 BC. Syracuse, AE Litra circa 390 BC SNG ANS 435 7.12 grams

The Baroque period produced some lovely coins, noted often for the detailed die work, such as this crown from Tuscany. Tuscany, Livorno, 1684 Tollero, Pezza della Rosa Cosmos III KM 15.2 25.76 grams