Roman Collector Posted February 19 · Patron Share Posted February 19 Mike Markowitz has written a CoinWeek article featuring "10 Beautiful Women on Ancient Coins." The article features 5 goddesses and 5 empresses. I don't think it is fair to expect mortals to live up to the beauty standard of Aphrodite or Arethusa, though. From the article: 17 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Anthos Posted February 19 · Member Share Posted February 19 Or Hera... 15 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulla80 Posted February 19 · Supporter Share Posted February 19 Any list like this is bound to create controversy...my first question: "has the author conflated the beauty of the subject with the beauty of the engraving"? Perhaps the Romans would have learned the dangers of comparing the beauty of goddesses and empresses from the Trojan War? From my own collection, I would add this coin to the list: 12 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deinomenid Posted February 19 · Supporter Share Posted February 19 (edited) THIS COIN IS FAKE. I AM LEAVING UP THE POST AS A WARNING This is the only coin I ever bought solely because I thought the image touchingly beautiful. MACEDON. Neapolis. Circa 424-350 BC. Hemidrachm I am not referring to the obverse... Edited February 21 by Deinomenid FAKE 12 1 1 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulla80 Posted February 19 · Supporter Share Posted February 19 (edited) @Deinomenid, your beautiful coin reminded me of this coin one which I found irresistible... Phokis, federal coinage, circa 357-354 BC, AR Triobol/Hemidrachm, Philomelos, strategos Obv: facing head of bull Rev: Head of Artemis right; branch to left Ref: Williams 304 (O220/R190); BCD Lokris 463.1; HGC 4, 1046 Notes: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/of-greeks-and-cattle Edited February 19 by Sulla80 14 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expat Posted February 19 · Supporter Share Posted February 19 It is in the eye of the beholder as they say. Some beguiling images posted already. It is interesting that engravers seen to have differing views of their subject on differing issues or denominations. This was the best looking Julia Domna I had seen for quite a while, so it was added to my collection. Julia Domna AR Denarius. Rome, 215-7 AD. 19.8mm, 3.12gr. IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG, draped bust right / VENVS GENETRIX, Venus seated left, holding sceptre and apple, Cupid standing right, legs crossed, resting his right hand on her right knee. RIC IV-1 389b. Rome mint. RSC 205; Sear 7099. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seth77 Posted February 19 · Member Share Posted February 19 Short-haired milf Mamaea from Antioch: 14 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasiel Posted February 20 · Member Share Posted February 20 This is my Crispina. She probably was pretty attractive way back when! 13 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted February 20 · Member Share Posted February 20 The die cutters at the Rome mint did a good job depicting Julia Mamaea 😊. 7 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salomons Cat Posted February 20 · Member Share Posted February 20 2 minutes ago, Al Kowsky said: The die cutters at the Rome mint did a good job depicting Julia Mamaea 😊. Not sure if these portraits were realistic. I think that they are rather flattering. Nevertheless, I agree that she got a very charming portrait with a nice smile. Here's the denarius version of your coin 😊 Julia Mamaea, 228 AD, denarius (3.29g, 20mm). Rev: FELICITAS PVBLICA, Felicitas standing left leaning on column holding caduceus. Ref: RIC 335 7 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwarf Posted February 21 · Member Share Posted February 21 (edited) On 2/19/2024 at 7:42 PM, Deinomenid said: This is the only coin I ever bought solely because I thought the image touchingly beautiful. MACEDON. Neapolis. Circa 424-350 BC. Hemidrachm I am not referring to the obverse... I just want to turn the member´s attention to a thread in the false-coin-section of the German forum. Member Amentia again did a lot of work and published all the fake dies for this type. The false coins appeared recently on the market, auctioned on ebay and a lot of respectable auction houses. Just to show how good our Bulgarian friends are https://www.numismatikforum.de/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=53721&start=1170#p600335 Please scroll the next pages to get an overview on all the dies - it is really frightful! Regards Klaus P.S. I am sorry to realize that your coin is included, too https://www.numismatikforum.de/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=53721&start=1200#p600471 Edited February 21 by Dwarf 1 2 1 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deinomenid Posted February 21 · Supporter Share Posted February 21 Thank you @Dwarf I have actually been speaking with Amentia about the coin. I greatly appreciate your comment though. He was kind enough to go through in some detail why it was wrong (I had seen his posts on it, even had saved them to a file on Neapolis fakes, so more fool me!). I follow his posts and opinions carefully, with this idiotic exception where I let my heart (and a slightly poor photo from an old Martin Price pamphlet) persuade me I contacted Leu to find out the process for refund or explanation, and I am well-armed thanks to Amentia. I was going to wait for their reply before posting separately on the coin, but I think I should do it now. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambr0zie Posted February 21 · Member Share Posted February 21 This made me wonder about my hemidrachm, a pretty rugged example but I would still be unhappy if ... I cannot find a match and the condition makes me more optimistic (ironically) but ... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeandAcre Posted February 21 · Member Share Posted February 21 11 minutes ago, Deinomenid said: Thank you @Dwarf I have actually been speaking with Amentia about the coin. I greatly appreciate your comment though. He was kind enough to go through in some detail why it was wrong (I had seen his posts on it, even had saved them to a file on Neapolis fakes, so more fool me!). I follow his posts and opinions carefully, with this idiotic exception where I let my heart (and a slightly poor photo from an old Martin Price pamphlet) persuade me I contacted Leu to find out the process for refund or explanation, and I am well-armed thanks to Amentia. I was going to wait for their reply before posting separately on the coin, but I think I should do it now. ...Oh, No, @Deinomenid, it's morning here, and it didn't register at first that the fake was your own acquisition. Very best of luck with Leu. Surely a firm as prominent as they are will be above-board about the refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deinomenid Posted February 21 · Supporter Share Posted February 21 @ambr0zie I am probably throwing the baby out with the bathwater now in my newfound fear of these coins, but on that German forum link there is a long series of images of the various fakes to check your coin against. I also posted some of the reasons here literally just now - but in summary they include 1) A strange ratio of obverse to reverse dies, inconsistent with minting at the time, ie reverse v obv survival rates. 2) There are no proven genuine pieces of these and no connections to genuine pieces. 3) Related, the forgeries are always connected to each. 4) Centering and preservation, this may or may not be normal depending on the series (which is putting it kindly!) and in real Neapolis hemidrachms there is often crystallized silver. 5) Apparently a lot of these Neapolis counterfeits were sold by counterfeit sellers who only had counterfeits on offer! Please don't take my suffering as reason to doubt yours - I think the answer should be found on those Numismatikforum images. 5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deinomenid Posted February 22 · Supporter Share Posted February 22 20 hours ago, JeandAcre said: Very best of luck with Leu. Surely a firm as prominent as they are will be above-board about the refund. Thank you. And just for the record Leu were excellent about it. I had no idea what to expect, but they were completely helpful. Refund/credit whatever I wanted, their fedex details etc. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rand Posted February 22 · Supporter Share Posted February 22 Out of interest. When a refund is given let us say 10 years after the purchase, would it be the amount paid or also include some compensation for inflation? Otherwise the collector's losses may be significant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwarf Posted February 22 · Member Share Posted February 22 Any refund of a dealer will only cover the original price paid - this is usually also stated in the published terms of sales. Anything else would open the doors to "lost gains on investments", too. For this reason - anyway in Germany - dealers usually offer no "guarantee" but use some other expression. A guarantee not met may lead to any sort of compensation. Regards Klaus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limes Posted February 23 · Supporter Share Posted February 23 On 2/19/2024 at 6:05 AM, Roman Collector said: Mike Markowitz has written a CoinWeek article featuring "10 Beautiful Women on Ancient Coins." The article features 5 goddesses and 5 empresses. I don't think it is fair to expect mortals to live up to the beauty standard of Aphrodite or Arethusa, though. From the article: Interesting! That Arethusa sure is a fantastic coin. Here's my not so pretty coin with the beautiful Arethusa: 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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