Post it and pick it!

[shanxi]

Lead

Kingdom: Southern Han, 南汉
Obv: Kai Yuan Tong Bao 開元通寶
Rev: Tan 潭, Tanzhou, now Changsha
Value:
Year: 900-971
Material: lead, 33.15g, 23.4mm
Literature: Hartill 15.115

 

Next: unusual material

Edited December 22, 2022 by shanxi

[Spaniard]

@shanxi...Next?😉

[TuckHard]

Private cash of Palembang, Sumatra (Indonesia)
Circa 1595 to 1645 AD
Issued anonymously by private merchants of Sumatra and Java, copying a centuries-old inscription from the Northern Song Dynasty of China
Tin cash | 0.19 grams | 14mm wide | 9mm wide center hole
Obv: Xian Ping Yuan Bao
Rev: Blank (uniface)
Ref: Robinson#2, Hartill's GCC#3.74, Z#293943

Next: a small coin, under 0.3 grams

[DonnaML]

6-hour rule.

Next, Cupid, as on this coin, which didn't quite make my top Roman Republicans list!

Roman Republic, Mn. Cordius Rufus, AR denarius, 46 BCE, Rome mint. Obv. Jugate heads of Dioscuri right, each wearing a laureate pileus surmounted by a star, RVFVS III VIR downwards behind and below / Rev. Venus Verticordia (or Venus Genetrix) standing facing, head left, holding scales in right hand and transverse scepter in left hand, Cupid hovering behind [Sear CRI, BMCRR] or perched upon [Crawford, RSC] her left shoulder, MN CORDIVS (MN ligatured) downwards to right. Crawford 463/1a, CRI 63 (ill. p. 45) [David Sear, The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators 49-27 BC (1998)], RSC I (Babelon) Cordia 2a (ill. p. 36), Sear RCV I 440 (ill. p. 156), BMCRR 4037, RBW Collection 1606 (ill. p. 339), Sydenham 976. Purchased from Jordan Scheckells (Louisiana, USA) Feb. 2022; ex Diana Numismatica (Via Quattro Fontane, Roma). With old coin envelope (early 20th century).*

*If the reverse figure is identified as Venus Verticordia (“‘turner of hearts’, i.e. the goddess who turns minds from lust to chastity,” see Jones, John Melville, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London 1990), entry for Venus, at p. 317), to whom a temple was specially dedicated in Rome in 114 BCE after the corruption and trial of the Vestal Virgins, the depiction “may not only be a punning allusion to the Cordia gens but may also refer to the family of Julius Caesar, which claimed its descent from Venus herself. The Cordia family came originally from Tusculum where there was a special cult of the Dioscuri.” See RSC I at p. 36 (quoting BMCRR I p. 523 n. 3 almost verbatim, without attribution).

Crawford agrees that the moneyer was of Tusculan origin, citing a Tusculan inscription naming him, on which his tenure of the office of Praetor was recorded (Crawford I p. 474), and also agrees that the depiction of Venus on the reverse is a Caesarian reference (id.); the balance or scales she holds “perhaps suggests that the coinage of Mn. Cordius Rufus is in the tutela [guardianship] of Venus and is hence a further compliment to Caesar.” Id. However, Crawford’s position is that “there is no reason to regard Venus here as Verticordia.” Id. He proposes instead that “the type as a whole, with [her son] Cupid perched on the shoulder of Venus, may derive from the statue placed in the temple of Venus Genetrix [“foundress of the family,” from whom Caesar claimed descent] in 46 [BCE], the year of issue of this coinage.” Id. at 474-475. 

At CRI p. 45, Sear – who, contrary to Crawford, identifies the reverse figure as Venus Verticordia, but without explanation – states regarding this type (and Crawford 463/1b, which has the same design except that the Dioscuri are decorated with fillets instead of laurel-b) that “[t]his denarius coinage in the name of Manius Cordius Rufus is on a scale [it isn’t clear whether this pun was intended!] commensurate with the state’s requirements at the time of Caesar’s quadruple triumph when, it will be remembered, five thousand denarii were paid to each legionary soldier and ten thousand to each centurion. Other than his coinage, Rufus is known only from an inscription found at Tusculum [citation omitted] recording that he held the office of praetor. The obverse type of this denarius also indicates his Tusculan origin as there was a special cult of Castor and Pollux at this ancient city of Latium situated about 15 miles south-east of Rome. The reverse type of Venus was doubtless intended to be complimentary to Caesar, and the head of the goddess appears on another of this moneyer’s denarius types” (citing Crawford 463/3, depicting Venus on the obverse and her son Cupid riding a dolphin on the reverse, a type essentially reproducing the very similar depiction on the reverse of Crawford 390/2, issued by L. Lucretius Trio ca. 76 BCE.)  

I question whether there is any substantive reason to identify the reverse figure as Venus Verticordia other than the fact that this identification fits the presumed pun on the moneyer’s gens. Regardless of whether or not the coin’s depiction of Venus is actually based on the lost statue of Venus Genetrix in the temple that Caesar dedicated to that goddess, it would seem the presence on Venus’s shoulder of her son Cupid (hardly a model for chastity!), the fact that Caesar specifically claimed descent from Venus Genetrix, and the fact that he dedicated a temple to her in 46 BCE, the very same year in which the coin was issued, would all  militate in favor of Crawford’s Venus Genetrix interpretation. (Even if that interpretation destroys the Verticordia/Cordius pun!) See Jones, supra at p. 317:

“It has been suggested that the figure of Venus, bearing scales and accompanied by Cupid, which appears on denarii of Mn. Cordius Rufus (46 BC) represents the cult statue of th[e] temple [of Venus Verticordia, built in 114 BCE], and that the type was chosen as a play on the name of the mint magistrate. . . . This is not impossible but it seems unlikely, and the coin and other coins of Cordus which show a head of Venus on the obverse, or a Cupid on the reverse, may only allude in a general way to Venus as the ancestress of the Julian family.” (Jones argues that it is “also unlikely” that the reverse figure specifically represented the statue of Venus Genetrix sculpted by Arcesilaus and placed in the temple to that goddess dedicated in the year of the coin’s issue, pointing out the many different numismatic representations of Venus Genetrix, and concluding that “there is enough variety to suggest that no particular work of art was automatically associated with this title.” Id.) [Remainder of fn. omitted.]
 

[Roman Collector]

Plautilla, AD 202-205.
Roman AR denarius, 3.25 g, 19.6 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 204.
Obv: PLAVTILLA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust of Plautilla, right.
Rev: VENVS VICTRIX, Venus standing left, holding apple in extended right hand and palm in left hand, resting left elbow on shield; at feet, left, Cupid.
Refs: RIC 369; BMCRE 429; RSC 25b; RCV 7074; CRE 437.

Next: Plautilla.

[Octavius]

 Denarius of Plautilla;

next,  her "husband/murderer" , Caracalla.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Caracalla (198-217). Æ Sestertius (33mm, 26.64g, 11h). Rome, 213-7. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. R/ Securitas seated r., propping head with hand, holding sceptre; altar before. RIC IV 573a.

Next: an Alexandrian coin of either Septimius Severus or Caracalla.  Well,the denarius also counts.

Three hour mercy rule: any Sestertius of either Caracalla or Geta.

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by Nerosmyfavorite68

[Broucheion]

Hi All,

Septimius from Alexandria. In sad condition but it is rare.

SEPTIMIUS SEVERIUS (14 April 193 - 211 CE)
ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT Year 04 (195/196 CE)

Bi Tetradrachm
22 x 24 mm
9.54 g
Axis: 01:00
Broucheion Collection R-2000-03-18.002

OBV: Septimius Severius laureate bust facing right. Legend: [KΛCE]ΠCEYHEY - [ΠE]ΡT[CEBAΡAAΔI]. Dotted border not visible. Dotted border not visible.
REV: Eagle on fulman facing right, head turned back to left with wreath held in its mouth. In left field: LΔ. Dotted border.
Refs: Emmett-2666.04; Geissen 2269-2270; Dattari-4004var (year position); Milne-2717var (year position); Curtis-891; BMC-1460.
Provenance: ex Elsen Auction #61 (18 Mar 2000), Lot #861.

Next: A star or thunderbolt as the main symbol on one of the sides.

- Broucheion

Edited December 23, 2022 by Broucheion
Added obv legend

[Phil Davis]

Thunderbolt:

Next: Another pre-Actium Octavian.

[Sulla80]

This one from 36 BC:

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/coins-of-the-second-triumvirate

Roman Republican, the Triumvirs, Octavian, 36 BCE, AR denarius (17.5mm, 3.25 g, 5h), Southern or central Italian mint

Obv: IMP CAESAR DIVI F III VIR ITER R P C, bareheaded and bearded head right

Rev: COS ITER ET TER DESIG, tetrastyle temple of Divus Julius: statue of Julius Caesar as augur standing within temple; DIVO • IVL on architrave, star within pediment, figures along roof line; lit altar to left

Ref: Crawford 540/2; Sydenham 1338; RBW 1829

Note: two banker's marks to the right of Octavian's ear

 

Next: pre-Actium coin from anywhere

[shanxi]

Ant Nose Money
Chu (440-220 BCE)
Obv: Ge Liu Zhu (each piece six Zhu)
Rev: blank
Material: AE, 2.97g, 21.3x11.4mm
Literature: Hartill 1.11, FD6

 

Next: early chinese

Edited December 23, 2022 by shanxi

[TuckHard]

15 minutes ago, shanxi said:

Ant Nose Money
Chu (440-220 BCE)
Obv: Ge Liu Zhu (each piece six Zhu)
Rev: blank
Material: AE, 2.97g, 21.3x11.4mm
Literature: Hartill 1.11, FD6

Sweet ant nose! These are imitating cowrie shells which circulated as money prior to these bronze pieces. Next?

[shanxi]

6 minutes ago, TuckHard said:

Next?

Oh, I forgot it again 

 

Next: early chinese

Edited December 23, 2022 by shanxi

[Sulla80]

 

5 hours ago, shanxi said:

Oh, I forgot it again 

 

Next: early chinese

Shang Dynasty Cowries - The cowrie shell has been used as money in China during the Shang (sixteenth to eleventh centuries BC) and Zhou (eleventh century to 221 BC) dynasties. Inscriptions note 'gifts of cowries' and "cowries in the treasury".  When the supply of natural cowrie shells from the coast didn't' meet demand, people made imitation cowries out of bone, stone, clay, bronze, and other materials.  These are natural shell cowries that date from the Shang dynasty. David Harthill lists 1.1 "cowrie shell with back filed off".

Next: anything from east of the Euphrates.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Sulla80

[TuckHard]

Kingdom of Harikela
c. 600-900 AD
Issued anonymously
AR full unit | 5.58 grams | 29.5mm wide
Obv: Brahmi legend Harikela above a recumbent bull facing left
Rev: Srivatsa center in trident form surrounded by a flourish vine with a round sun and crescent moon above

Next: a coin from a kingdom seldom seen

[JayAg47]

Sivaganga Kingdom 

Anonymous ruler, circa 17th/18th century. This tiny kingdom fought against the British for their sovereignty, but ultimately succumbed to their huge army, ceding their lands to British India.
obv- Lingam
rev- Goddess Saraswati on swan, although I think it's Kartikeya on peacock.

Next- a tiny/weak kingdom that had to face off a mighty power. 

Edited December 24, 2022 by JayAg47

[TuckHard]

These guys didn't win. It was an interesting democratic republic of Chinese mining communities who had travelled to the west coast of the island of Borneo by the tens of thousands in hopes of riches. The communities eventually organized and began issuing their own coinages before these sovereign Chinese states called gongsi were destroyed by the Dutch in the mid 1800s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongsi_republic

Heshun Gongsi of Borneo
Circa 1780 to 1808 AD
Issued anonymously
Tin cash | 5.58 grams | 29x27mm wide
Obv: He Shun Gong Si
Rev: Corrupted and imitative Manchu script, copying contemporary Qing Dynasty coins
Ref: Z#305357

Next: another coin with only inscriptions on either side

[Broucheion]

 

Hi All,

CLEOPATRA VII & MARCUS ANTONIUS (44-31/30 BCE)
CYRENAICA, UNCERTAIN MINT, Summer 31 BCE

Æ AS
Size: 26 mm
Weight: 10.79 g
Axis: 0
Broucheion Collection C-2008-12-18-001

OBV: Legend in three lines: [Β]ΑςΙΛ / ΘΕΑ / [ΝΕ]. Solid border.
REV: Legend in three lines: ΑΝΤω / ΥΠΑ / Γ. Solid border.
Refs: Svoronos 1899, pl. lxiii, 26 [17 listed]; Asolati 158/1 (THIS). RPC I-924 (THIS); Koln 188; see Buttrey, Studies Grierson, pp 26 f. and 34 for mint and denomination. Ex -Stack's (pre-Feb 2011); vCOINS AUCTION (18 Dec 2008), Lot #108; Stack's Coin Galleries (10 Sep 2008) Lot 312. Ex Münzhandlung Basel #6, 18 March 1939. Pictured in Asolati's "Nummi Aenei Cyrenaici" as 158/1. RPC I-0924, #24 (THIS) - https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/326715 [verified 24 Dec 2022]. Featured at wildwinds.com.

Note: The Cyrenaica passed to Roman control in 96 BCE. Its coinage thereafter conformed to the Roman monetary system in terns of weights and denominations. (For a catalogue of the coinage of Roman Cyrenaica see TV Buttrey, 'Studies Grierson.') The union of Antony and Cleopatra temporarily reunited the Cyrenaica with Egypt, but the traditional separation of the two coinages was maintained. The reverse legend notes Mark Antony as ΥΠΑ[ΤΟς] Γ, or COS III, which title he assumed at the start of 31 BCE.

Next: A silver or gold coin with only inscriptions on either side

- Broucheion

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by Broucheion

[Spaniard]

 

1 hour ago, Broucheion said:

Next: A silver or gold coin with only inscriptions on either side

INDIA - DELHI SULTAN - ALA UD DIN KHILJI - TWO GANI (AH 695-715) BILLON COIN

DENOMINATION: 2 GANI, COMPOSITION: BILLON, WEIGHT: 3.40 GRAM SIZE: 15.86 MM

OBVERSE: AL SULTAN AL A ZAM ALA AL DUNYA WA L DIN

REVERSE: MUHAMMAD SHAH IN CENTER SRI SULTAN ALAVADININ NAGARI AROUND

RULER: ALA AL DIN MUHAMMAD: AH 695-715 /1296-1316 AD

Next....Coin from India...

[TuckHard]

Sailana State
1850 to 1895 AD
Issued under Dule Singh
AE 2 paisa | 10.94 grams | 19mm wide | 6mm thick
Obv: Pennant pointing down, dot below
Rev: Dots in pattern
Ref: KM#5, Z#255167

Next: an hefty 10+ bronze coin

[Octavius]

 RR Aes Grave sextans shell / caduceus with sickle. 45.5 gr.

next,  coin with shell.

Edited December 25, 2022 by Octavius

[shanxi]

My 1920's shell enamel sign.

 

OK, and a coin

 

Sicily, Messana
Litra (420-413 BC)
Obv: Hare leaping right, below scallop shell.
Rev: MEΣ, Legend within wreath
Ag, 0.66g, 14mm
SNG ANS 349

 

Next: A coin and a similar depiction on something else, not a coin, not a medal

 

Edited December 25, 2022 by shanxi

[AncientOne]

Claudius and Agrippina wall medallion.

 

And a similar obverse facing left.

 

Next:  JC and Augustus on same coin.

[DonnaML]

6-hour rule. As much as I wish I had something to post on the stated theme, I'm afraid I don't.

So instead I'll go back to the theme of "A coin and a similar depiction on something else, not a coin, not a medal."

A coin:

Hadrian, AE Diobol [1/12 of a tetradrachm], Year 16 (131/132 AD), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from rear, ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ - ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑ ϹƐΒ / Rev. Isis as mother, crowned with disk and horns, seated right on throne, offering left breast to infant Harpocrates ("Horus-as-child") sitting on her knee crowned with skhent (the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt) [or wearing sidelock?]; on corners of back of throne, two hawks/falcons (also representing Horus), facing each other, each wearing skhent, L - IϚ [= Year 16] across fields. Emmett 1138.16; RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. III 5813 (2015); RPC III Online at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/5813; BMC 16 Alexandria 762 at p. 90 & PL. XVI [Pool, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892)]; Dattari (Savio) 1749; Köln 1046; K&G 32.530. Purchased from Shick Coins, Ashdod, Israel, Dec. 2020; Israel Antiquities Authority Export License No. 42927, 02/02/2021.* [Footnote omitted.]

Something else that's not a coin:

Egypt, green faience amulet depicting Isis, wearing “stepped throne” crown (in form of hieroglyph for Isis's name, Queen or Mother of Throne)*, right breast bare, seated on elaborate chair with cross-hatched/basket pattern on sides; on her lap, her son the infant Horus (a/k/a Harpocrates, “Horus-the-child”), wearing sidelock resting upwards against her body; her left hand holds him up behind his head, with her right hand about to offer her breast to him. Late/Ptolemaic Period, ca. 600-30 BCE. 60.3 mm. (2 3/8”) H, 30 mm D. Purchased 1/10/2021, Explorer Ancient Art, NYC (Mark Goodstein), ex. Don Wonder Collection, NJ (before 1981). [Footnote omitted.]

Next: same theme.

 

Edited December 25, 2022 by DonnaML

[Spaniard]

Jupiter/zeus.

Next...A coin to match something on a banknote...More or less😉