I think we need our own 'Post an Old Coin and and an Old Tune' thread

[JeandAcre]

Brilliant on both counts, @expat.  Wow, an unpretensious little Seleucid AE, perpetuating the obverse and the legends of Alexander III, most of a century and a half later.  Very, Very cool.

And, Yikes, this is what English hippies looked like, back to when Haight-Ashbury was still a thing.  The cultural contrast is as fun as it is enlightening.  

[Phil Anthos]

I love geese. They're loyal, beautiful, faithful, and delicious. This entry is from Camel's interpretation of the classic story The Snow Goose, an instrumental album that actually charted back in the mid-seventies. But Andy Latimer's beautifully emotive guitar really soars here right along with the birds. And Peter Bardens (Them, Van Morrison) always atmospheric keys give wing to the whole album. It's a pity to post just a sample here because it really is a cohesive piece. Still...

Eion, Macedonia

500-437 BC AR Trihemiobol (12mm, 0.92g) O: Goose standing right, head turned back; lizard and H above, all within dotted border. R: Quadripartite incuse square. cf SNG ANS 276; Sear 1295v (lizard) ex Antike & Klassische Numismatik Some sources name this bird a swan, while most suggest a goose. No matter, since both are of the same family, and both were indigenous to Macedonia. Perhaps more importantly though, both species are known to mate for life, and so were sacred to Hera, goddess of marriage, and also to me. Here in Oregon, the departure of the geese each year heralds the coming of Spring, as their arrival later in the year forebodes the inevitable Winter. ~ Peter

[Alegandron]

Wow, she still got it!

Apulia Luceria AE Quincunx 26mm 14.75g- Spoked Wheel 250-217 BCE Athena-Wheel Grose 443  HN Italy 678 SNG ANS 699

[Alegandron]

Arabia Felix Himyarite AR Quinarius 2nd C CE Head torque Head South Arabian script Ref Munro-Hay 3-25

[Roman Collector]

Speaking of feeling small and insignificant ...

Leo I, AD 457-474.
Roman Æ Half Centenionalis, 0.82 gm, 10 mm, 6 h.
Constantinople, AD 457-474.
Obv: DN LEO, diademed and draped bust, right.
Rev: b E, Verina standing facing, holding globus cruciger and transverse scepter.
Refs: LRBC II 2272; RIC 714; Sear 21436; Vagi 3739; MIRB 30.

[Roman Collector]

It's COLD here this morning in the northern hemisphere!!! Here's a three-fer!

Dreaming about the sun!

Probus, AD 276-282.
Roman billon antoninianus, 4.15 g, 22.05 mm, 6 h.
Serdica, 4th officina, 4th emission, AD 277.
Obv: IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG, radiate bust, left, in imperial mantle, holding eagle-tipped scepter.
Rev: SOLI INVICTO, Sol, in spread quadriga, raising right hand and holding whip in left hand; -/-//KAΔ.
Refs: RIC 861 H; RCV 12040 var. (bust).

[Phil Anthos]

Brrrr... we're at 19 here with a wind chill factor of 6. Chill factor to the bone!

~ Peter 

[expat]

RPC Volume: I №: 400
Reign: Caligula Persons: Caligula (Augustus) Magistrate: Gaius Cornelius Refec— (duovir); Marcus Helvius Fronto (duovir)
City: Bilbilis  Region: Hispania Province: Tarraconensis
Denomination: Leaded bronze (27 mm) 11.92gr
Obverse: G CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS IMP; laureate head of Caligula, right
Reverse: MVN AVG BILBIL C COR(N) REF(EC) M HELV FRO(NTO); oak wreath containing II VIR
Reference: Vives 139–10, GMI 552, NAH 1131 Specimens: 36

[robinjojo]

"I'm a wanderin' kind of coin...."  Five tags no less.

Licinius I, BI Pseudo-Argenteus, Treveri, 318-319 AD.

RIC VII 210.

2.62 grams

 

[JeandAcre]

On 1/6/2024 at 1:30 AM, expat said:

 

Elagabalus, Billon Tetradrachm of Alexandria, Egypt. Dated year 4, AD 220-221. 23mm, 11.63gr. A KAICAΡ MA AYΡ ANTωNINOC EYCEB, laureate head right. / L-Δ, draped bust of Serapis right, wearing modius decorated with a poppy. Milne 2811-2812; Köln 2334; Dattari 4139; Emmett 2952.4. Geissen 2313, RPC 10032.

Thanks again, @expat, for the Steeleye Span.  (And, obtw, the Terrific Alexandrian tetradrachm.) 

Belatedly, it's making me need some Fairport Convention; one of a small but cherished handful of shorter accoustic guitar solos from the same period, ranging as far afield as the Allman Brothers.  

First, Sure, the coin; my first ever denar of Otto I (936-973), founder of, Oops, the Ottonian imperial dynasty in Germany, out of the ashes of the Carolingian Empire.  Mainz; Dannenberg 777.  With the kind of legend variants, never mind the strike, which are entirely in character.  If you're that into the historical context, you just kind of have to hold your nose and buy it.

And some Fairport Convention.  I've loved this tune since (1) there were such things as used record stores and (2) I had it on vinyl.

 

 

Edited January 14 by JeandAcre

[Phil Anthos]

Marcus Aurelius / Salus

168-169 AD AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.07g) O: Laureate head right; M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXIII. R: Salus standing left, feeding snake rising from altar from patera in right hand, long scepter vertical in left hand; SALVTI AVG COS III. Minted 168-169 RIC III 207; RSC II 543; BMCRE IV 495; Hunter II 47; cf.SRCV II 4927 (TR P XXIIII) ex Forvm Ancient Coins “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”   I particularly wanted this version of The Emperor because it so dynamic. The earlier classics often came to us filtered through the romantic era, slightly 'softer' perhaps than the composer intended. Vladimir Horowitz set out to correct that and the result is a much more moving version, imo, and being faster it's a bit shorter than usual too. I saw this interpretation in Portland about 15 years ago with Garrick Ohlsson as guest pianist. It was... imperial! ~ Peter

Edited January 15 by Phil Anthos

[JeandAcre]

Very, Very Cool, Peter --barely 3 minutes into it!

Not as if I know what I'm talking about, here's an alternate take on Horowitz's interpretation --and, for that matter, Reiner's, even from this point (listening to it in real time).

Sadly enough, the interpretations of Beethoven over the later 20th century  --notably from when WWII was receding, as a communal memory-- mainly draw from the later phases of Romanticism, when, as a style, it had been around long enough to effectively be 'domesticated.'  (For a metaphor, I have to think first in terms of dogs.  As in, Don't dig holes in the yard, Or lick yourself, etc.)

By contrast, from the start of the 19th century, Beethoven is at the forefront of the invention of Romanticism.  Which, thank you, is a kind of esthetic reaction to Classicism.  I have to agree with you; this version represents where Beethoven was coming from in the first place.

For other precedents, very much on the same esthetic page, I like to describe John Coltrane (especially the late work --A Love Supreme, par ex. seulement)-- as the Beethoven to Charlie Parker's Mozart.  ...And, yes, both Beethoven and Coltrane began as literal students of their more lyrical predecessors (including, in Beethoven's case, Haydn), and in both cases, you can hear the transitions to where they wound up, over the subsequent course of their lives.

...Now I'm 23 minutes and change into it.  I'm going to need the YouTube link.  ...This is So Great.  

Edited January 14 by JeandAcre

[Phil Anthos]

I love the Parker- Mozart analogy, very much on the mark. I think I'll have to listen to some Bird now.  😉

~ Peter 

[ewomack]

It's certainly "Three's Company" when keeping the succession of the Byzantine throne in line! Join in the hilarities as the Emperor Basil I, his "favorite" son, Constantine, and the "loser" son, Leo, try to keep the peace between them! Life will certainly be a ball again and laughter is calling for you!

Basil I (867-886) Æ Follis; Constantinople mint; Obv: +LEOh bASIL COhST AVGG, Facing half-length figures of Basil in center, Leo on left and Constantine on right, Basil wears crown and loros and holds akakia, both sons wear crown and chlamys; Rev: +bASIL COhSTAhN T S LEOhNEN QO bASIL S ROMEOh in five lines, "*" in exergue; 24mm, 7.89 grams; DOC 11.1, Sear 1713

Edited January 15 by ewomack

[JeandAcre]

1 hour ago, Phil Anthos said:

I love the Parker- Mozart analogy, very much on the mark. I think I'll have to listen to some Bird now.  😉

~ Peter 

Hoping you post some!  I've aready posted my one, all-time favorite track, and was slapping my hands about reposting it.  Please, Stop me!  :<}

[Alegandron]

 

RR Saturninus 104 BC Roma Saturn hldng Sickle Quad 2 dots-V S 193 Cr 317-3a var

[JeandAcre]

@Alegandron, going back to the mid-'60's, when I was that low to the ground, my mom used to sing me that song.  I literally grew up assuming it was a folk song, with connotations of, say, Odetta.  Wow.  Thanks for the enlightenment!  A really solid RR, by the way, single-handedly justifying the earlier types, before the designs started going all over the place in the next century.  (Cf. esp. @DonnaML's Favorites of 2023 thread.)

[expat]

RPC Volume: I №: 1568
Reign: Tiberius Persons: Tiberius (Augustus)
City: Thessalonica  Region: Macedonia Province: Macedonia
Denomination: Leaded bronze (22 mm) Average weight: 9.26 g.
Obverse: ΤΙ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΣ; laureate head of Tiberius, right
Reverse: ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΩΝ; bust of Livia, right
Reference: Touratsoglou, Tiberius 1–32 (c. 14–20/23) Specimens: 46

 

[JeandAcre]

Wow, @expat, I for one never would have expected something like this from Ozzy Osbourne.  Mind expanding!

The coin is Very cool.  For one, as a resonant complement to @seth77's latest post, with his example of Ilium.

[expat]

 

If only he had learned and listened to his parents

Commodus, AR Denarius, 187-188 AD. M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT, laureate head right / P M TR P XIII IMP VIII COS V P P, Hercules naked, standing front, holding patera and club. RSC 534; RIC 162. 17 mm, 2,91 g

Edited January 15 by expat

[Phil Anthos]

Ephesos, Ionia

350-288 BC AE12 (2.09g) O: Bee with straight wings, seen from above; E - Φ on either side. R: Stag kneeling left, looking back; astragalos above. SNG Cop 245v; Sear 4402v; BMC 14,55 ex Jack H. Beymer The priestesses of the Temple of Artemis were beekeepers and honey gatherers and were collectively known as 'mellisae'  the root of the name Melissa.  This is a love song written by Greg Allman about the death of his brother Duane (one of the greatest American guitarists ever) and the loss to his wife and family. A crossroad we all must face eventually.

[Alegandron]

3 hours ago, JeandAcre said:

@Alegandron, going back to the mid-'60's, when I was that low to the ground, my mom used to sing me that song.  I literally grew up assuming it was a folk song, with connotations of, say, Odetta.  Wow.  Thanks for the enlightenment!  A really solid RR, by the way, single-handedly justifying the earlier types, before the designs started going all over the place in the next century.  (Cf. esp. @DonnaML's Favorites of 2023 thread.)

Ditto about my mother singing that to me when I was a wee lad, too.  Good memories.

[JeandAcre]

Yes, @Phil Anthos, you could bookend Eric Clapton with Duane Allman on one side, and J. J. Cale on the other; either of them blows Clapton out of the water.

...mmmMaybe this one has never been posted on this forum.

Philippe III (127--1285).  Toulousain.  (Double denier?  Summarily dispatching the deniers tournois, with their regnal ambiguity between examples of his dad, Louis IX, and subsequent immobilization, in his dad's name.) 

Obv. Fleur de lis.  +PhILIPPVS REX.  (Even as late in the 13th century as this is, I have to like the Gothic 'h.'  Right, coins as a medium took a long minute longer to adapt to Gothic lettering than pretty much any other medium you'd care to name.)

Rev.  Cross, terminating in more fleurs de lis, extending into the outer legend.  [/] TO [/] L'A [/] CI [/] VI. 

Duplessy, Royales 203.

...And after considering other tracks from the posthumous (thank you, esp. vis. Duane) Eat a Peach album[later edit:], I had to opt for this earlier solo track of Gregg Allman.  ...Right, well before they were even touring with the Grateful Dead, never mind his having nearly killed himself with all those tattoos.  (I remember a "Doonesbury" cartoon, with Cher telling an interviewer how great it was that he stayed off drugs for the whole day of their wedding!)

My brother gave me this on 45 the Christmas after it was released. 

For years, I've liked to read the lyrics as being about a 'house n----r' during slavery.  I can picture him (woops, Oedipal alert:) shooting his dad with one of his own Samuel Colt's Revolving Pistols; emptying the cash box; and getting away on the best horse in the stable.  Can anyone say, Ohio?  (...The first movie version of Beloved was good enough to warrant finding it on dvd.  Promise you, when she wants to, Oprah Winfrey can act!)

 

 

  

 

 

Edited January 15 by JeandAcre
The conventional abbreviation mark (rendered as ') after the L in the reverse legend. Another instance of Gothic lettering making glacial inroads into practice in other media.

[JeandAcre]

...Oh, No, and I can't shut up.  Here's my common Dublin penny of John; not a lot to write home about.

 And an Ulster Protestant who has done a lot over the past long minute.  ...Martin Luther King Day actually falling on his birthday has kind of pushed the nostalgia button.

 

 

[robinjojo]

No heavy metal music here.  Instead very lyrical music by the Taiwanese ensemble Cicada.  I just love the instrumentation and melodic lines of their music.

And a cicada, of course...

Athens, AE 14, 130-90 BC.

HGC 4, 1734; Kroll 1993, no. 100

4.19 grams