Ancient Coin Hunter

I read Gregory of Tours in my medieval history class in Berkeley, I do remember some of the fun commentary he offers. What really strikes me is how much the early medieval rulers at the time saw themselves in a position of fealty to the Byzantine emperor. This very real phenomenon is forgotten in modern histories of western civilization where Romulus Augustus is considered the terminal ruler after which everything went dark. But folks at the time looked to the Byzantine emperor as THE Roman emperor. I suppose the animus between the Latins and the Byzantines around the fourth crusade began this whitewashing of history. Only in the last 30 years or so ago in works like Peter Brown's Late Antiquity has the dynamism of the period been resurrected.

Here is another acquire from the FSR auction at the end of January. Tiberius II AE Follis, Nicomedia 28mm 12.7 grams Obv: DM Tib Constant PP AVG, crowned, mantled bust holding mappa and eagle tipped scepter. Rev: Large M and ANNO left, cross above, regnal year to right NIKOA Reference: SB 441, MIB 35 Please share any Tiberius II coins or other Byzantines

I would not risk it. My only travel with coins in my possession has been interstate in the U.S. an overzealous customs agent could cause a lot of problems. When I returned from Egypt to the U.S. I brought a Koran I had purchased that had been published by Al-Azhar in exquisite Arab script. I had used it not only for my nascent study of Arabic but also as a tool if I came into contact with Islamists or Salafis as a discussion item. As it turns out I had a couple of encounters with devout Muslim young men who, let us say, were not supportive of the U.S. activities in the Middle East. The fact that I was studying Islam was somewhat mollifying to these guys in both Coptos and Sinai. When I returned customs asked me as to why I had it in my possession and considered confiscating my travel notes. They asked for my phone number and said they would contact me if they had additional questions. So I would not do anything to make yourself stand out from the crowd.

Did anyone win coins at the recent FSR auction? I won three bids - Byzantine, the first one a 31mm 11.7 gram Follis of Maurice Tiberius. The style actually pretty good but the legend, as is common with the Theupolis (ok, Antioch) types is blundered. I received the lots on Tuesday in the mail. It's posted over on the Byzantine subforum. Curious to see how other folks came out. The other wins were folles of Tiberius II and Romanus I.

I'm also thinking of Hadrian

I also picked up a Follis of Tiberius II and one of Romanus I. Will share later

As @ewomack says, I believe the legend is blundered, possibly because the mint workers at Antioch had a weak knowledge of Latin.

New from the recent Frank Robinson auction of January 23rd. Maurice Tiberius, 582-602 C.E. AE Follis 31mm 11.7 grams Antioch as Theopolis DN TNT CM MAV TIB PP AVG Crowned and mantled bust facing, trefoil pattern on crown, holding mappa and eagle tipped scepter. ANNO to left, cross above, regnal year to right, mintmark THEUP Reference: SB 532 MIB 95 Please share any coins of Maurice, the man who wrote, or caused to be written, the famed Strategikon military treatise.

Great coins all.... really enjoying the thread

I received a Leu Win Saturday via a signature required tag left in the mailbox. Since we have been more or less snowed in in the last 5 days I admire the fortitude of the mail carrier. I picked it up at the post office this morning and here it is: Anonymous Follis, time of Romanus IV 1068-1071. He was known as a skilled general but suffered perhaps the worst defeat (Manzikert) since Adrianople or maybe the Yarmuk River where Heraclius' army lost the Near Eastern provinces to the Arabs. The foe this time was the Seljuk Turks leading to the loss of most of Anatolia...there is a bit of a funny story here. My Byzantine History prof at Berkeley (Warren Treadgold) rued the loss at Manzikert as an inflection point for Byzantium; whereas my Central Asian History prof (John Masson Smith) celebrated it as a great win for the nomadic tribes... AE 9.69 grams, 24 mm Obverse: Christ Pantocrator Nimbate Reverse: Virgin Mary (Orans with arms extended) Please share any Leu Byzantines...

Another PRINCIPI IVVENT Phillip II as Caesar, A.D. 244-246 AR Antoninianus, 25mm, 4.1 grams Rome, A.D. 244-246 Obverse: M IVL PHILIPPVS CAES, radiate and draped bust right Reverse: PRINCIPI IVVENT, prince standing left, holding globe and spear; to left, captive seated left Reference RIC 219 From the Eng Collection

I have one of the young Caesar photographed. Here it is. To be honest, I am not sure who I purchased it from, might have been Frank Robinson sometime in the past 4-5 years. It is a garden variety GLORIA EXERCITVS type. The army at that time surely was glorious but as pointed out above, Constantine II marched against his brother Constans and was the loser, Constans thereby staying in power until 350. For that matter here is a Constans, with the legend "FL CONSTANTIS BEA C" or something like "To the Happy Flavius Constans Caesar" I guess he was happy to have prevailed in the conflict. This type apparently was only issued at Siscia

Great duo. I hope they make their way to a good home!

Sorry to hear of your loss. I've had a couple of historically related incidents of theft, one when my phone was stolen from my bag at Siwa Oasis. Another was being held up by Islamists in the town of Kom Ombo at the temple of Sobek, Hathor, Khonsu, and Haroeris. It was built by Ptolemy VI Philometer on the site of an earlier New Kingdom temple. They absconded with hundreds of Egyptian pounds representing a nice payday. These events occurred in spite of the fact that I was dressed like an Egyptian, with dark long sleeved turteneck, khakis and had no skin showing which is considered offensive no matter how hot it is. It is wise in lesser known towns to aim for this attire in order to blend in, certainly not wearing shorts, bikinis or something of that ilk which folks on the large guided tours do led by Zahi Hawass and other showmen.

Excellent interview and a great story of a man who contributed much to the field of Classical Numismatics. May he rest in peace. Also as he approached the boatman for the crossing of River Styx he surely would have had a coin in his mouth.

With regard to Halley's comet, here is its depiction in 1066... ISTI MIRANT STELLA means "They wonder at the star" Which has got me wondering about other depictions of stars. On the double majorinas of Julian the Apostate a star appears in the field near the Bull, maybe to indicate that Taurus the constellation and astrological sign is meant. There is the passage from Ammianus stating that Julian chided his attendants on his deathbed for "mourning the loss of a prince who was to be united with heaven and the stars." Similarly another star appears on the FEL TEMP REPARATIO issues of Constantius II with the Phoenix bird, perhaps representing regeneration and the birth of a new golden age...

I did snap a photo after all (this eve)...portrait is OK but the top of his head is sort of missing. Definitely will be upgrading this one. Quintillus A.D. 270 AE Antoninianus, Rome mint, 2.8 grams 20mm Obverse: IMP CM AVR CL QVINTILLVS AVG Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right Reverse: FIDES MILITVM; FIDES standing left, holding standard and vertical scepter. Epsilon in right field. Reference: RIC 18

Interesting. My Quintillus is missing some of the legend and it's on quite a small flan. Portrait is good though. 5.3 grams is definitely a keeper in your case. Still I have yet to photograph mine (so therefore I cannot share it)!

Drachm: Ptolemy IV Philopator or: Iwaennetjerwy-menkhwy Setepptah Userkare Sekhemankhamun, a name that means "Heir of the [two] Beneficent Gods, Chosen of Ptah, Powerful is the Soul of Re, Living Image of Amun." Ptolemy IV 221-205 BC AE Drachma. (75.52g, 41mm, 12h) Obverse: Bust of Zeus Ammon right Reverse: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, cornucopiae in front, ΛΙ between legs Reference: SNG Cop 199.

In 241 Tranquillina's father Timesitheus was appointed the head of the Praetorian Guard by the Roman Emperor Gordian III. In May that year, Tranquillina married Gordian. She became a Roman Empress and received the honorific title of Augusta. Her marriage to Gordian was an admission by the young emperor of both Timesitheus' political indispensability and Tranquillina’s suitability as an empress. Tranquillina Augusta, 241-244 C.E. AE25, 10.7g MESOPOTAMIA, Singara (modern Sinjar, Iraq) Obverse: SAB TRANQVILLINA AVG, Diademed and draped bust right Reverse: Veiled Bust of Tyche Right; Centaur Sagittarius leaping right and discharging bow above Reference: BMC Arabia p. 136, 14; SNG Copenhagen 258 Next: coin of another Mesopotamian city

Sad to hear, though I had no conversations with him I did appreciate his beautiful coins. May he rest in peace.

Gensler approved the funds with the caveat that crypto is "risk-oriented" and may not be suitable for Main Street investors. However lots of money will flow from CD's and money market funds into Bitcoin...as the presence of big names helps to de-risk the asset class

Wow I had seen one sell for tens of thousands, I suppose because of the condition. This isn't that much more than a regular coin of his.

Right now I have a few bids in the Frank Robinson auction ending on Jan. 23rd, hopefully they will work out.

I didn't bid on anything but read their emails with interest. The Carausius with radiate lion is really cool. Not surprised they didn't have any CARAVSIVS ET FRATRES types for sale with the 3 jugate busts of the usurper and the central government tetrarchs. That's more of a six-figure coin I guess. Good luck during the remainder @Prieure de Sion !