Macedonian Shield Coins: From the Beginning to Caduceus

[Ryro]

Hi all,

I have been working on my book on MSCs for a few years now, sharing all of the various types that I have been able to acquire along with fun tidbits about the coins, the times, and the men that made them. I'd burnt out on the project a while ago, not the collecting but the typing. In an effort to get going again I thought I would share the first small section of the book, "Beginning to Caduceus". From there it will go into "Herakles to Seleukid",  "Monograms to Baktria", "Quarters to ancient shields of all sorts", ending with "Macedon under Roman rule".

Please forgive the shit formatting. I am just copying it over from Word. Feedback and corrections are appreciated, and of course I love seeing those shield coins of yours!

With out further blah blah, here is the first section of my book:

 

Well, that's a start. Like I said, this is just a hair of the dog and I will happily share more if you all would like. I still have plenty of writing to do, coins to acquire and knowledge gaps to fill.

Thanks for taking a look and all my best,

Ryan

 

Edited October 25, 2024 by Ryro

[kirispupis]

Very interesting! 

I hope you don't mind the feedback, but the following are some high level points that I've noticed.

• Personally, I find it most useful when writing a book to have a detailed outline. When I wrote my wife's book on real estate investments, I spent hours with her just creating raw tidbits. I then organized them into chapters and created outlines for each one, then went back to her and pressed for more information along each of those topics so as to flesh out the outline. Once I had a detailed outline/plan, the actual writing was easy and took about a month.
• In general, I like to see attributions (estimated year, size, weight, and catalog numbers) for every coin.
• Since it appears your goal is to be comprehensive, consider creating your own numbering system (then all your coins will be plate coins!)
• Consider going into detail on what makes many of these coins special. Why was a particular emblem chosen for the shield? What do the mint marks tell us? Have others written on this specific type? Do you agree with his/her conclusions and why/why not?
• Consider re-photographing the coins with a white background to match the paper.
• If you're planning to publish this, watch out for copyrights on any images you use that aren't your own. For example, I suspect the image of the tomb of Vergina is copyrighted. Even if you it's in the public domain, it's wise to provide an attribution either on the side or at the end of the book.
• I assume that's just a temporary cover, but consider using AI for the final one. All of my covers I've hired out, but for something that's niche market AI should do the trick.

FWIW, for laying out books, Word isn't the best choice. There are two options I'm aware of:

• Write the book in Word, then lay it out using InDesign.
• Have photos and diagrams approximate in Word, then pay someone a few hundred $ for the actual layout (though that may equal your sales)...

Personally, for my earliest photo books I arranged myself in InDesign, but now I just have designers do it because I suck at that.

[JAZ Numismatics]

I really enjoyed reading that! I hope you finish the book someday. I don't know of anyone who's gone down the Macedonian Shield rabbit hole as far as you have!

[Roman Collector]

Wow! When I said, "You wrote the book on Macedonian shield coins," I thought I was speaking figuratively! Keep up the good work!

[-monolith-]

Thanks @Ryro I had a few Macedonian Shield coins but was never really interested in collecting them until I saw your collection. You definitely peaked my interest. Are you going to include the Kassander overstuck on a Macedonian Shield coin:

 

What do you think is going on with this one? It looks like the obverse die was flipped over and struck over the reverse die (partial circular dotted pattern on the reverse) and traces of an oak leaf from the wreath of the reverse die can be see on the obverse. Do you think this could be a flipped over "double" strike?

 

[Ryro]

Thanks for all the feedback @kirispupis! That is really helpful. I will be putting the coins identifications in the back. They just take up too much space. I do have an outline in place. This is just the first chapter. 

I am torn with the idea of white background. I see what you mean about it matching, but I think you get a better look at a coin with the background black. 

Interesting idea to use AI for the cover. I have a few mocks, but nothing I'm in love with. Maybe I'll see what AI pops out. 

I'll worry more about formatting when I get closer to completion. Who knows, by then maybe or friend AI will take care of that for me as well. 

Thanks again. 

And thanks @JAZ Numismatics and @Roman Collector! The positive reinforcement feels good. And this is just the tip... if the iceberg!

Thank you @Monolith! I knew I was shooting myself in the foot writing so much about these coins! Just creating more competition! Jk... sort of.

Excellent coins! I talk about the Kassander overstrikes in the next chapter that kicks off with the Herakles coins. 

I'm not sure if yours is just flipped and restruck or overstruck on a different type? Possibly the different magistrates getting their names on the reverse? Out with the old and in with the me. And I don't know why the folks of Lydia struggled so much with centering. Maybe they are all overstruck?

Like yours this first one shows signs of being overstruck as well:

No signs here, but again bad centering. And I believe struck under a different magistrate:

Also funky and from a different town in Lydia are these. The way they are struck makes me think they were likely overstrikes as well from coins with much larger flans:

This one even has a rad eagle countermark. Flip it upside down to see it right side up. A CM on a possibly overstruck type. THIS is why I love ancients!