John III Ducas-Vatatzes (Nicaea) (1222-1254)

[Simon]

The last tetarteron I needed from him. Not a bad way to end 2024. Overcleaned but still pleasing looking. I just got it ever so quickly from Aphrodite, a win from last weekend. Very Impressive shipping. I have wanted one of these for some time, they do come to market a few times a year but this is the one that caught my eye. 

I am still waiting for three coins from earlier auctions ( Aphrodite Art Coins ( different company?) and SPQR, and Leu)

 

21.5mm and 2.75 gm SBCV- 2114. 

I now have all of his tetartera. Feel free to post what you have from this time period, the designs on the coins of this time period are unique and interesting, 

Happy Holidays All!

Simon

Edited December 20, 2024 by Simon

[ela126]

Congrats on the pickup Simon. This is a nice one, had it on my watch list just to see where it would land. Really like the reverse of these, rather unique style, which a good handful of coins of this period had. A fun sector to collect, based on bidding, it seems like others feel the same.

These are the entirety of my Nicaea pieces. 3x Theo 1 (2x 2061 and 1 2062), 2x John 3 (2117 and 2120), and the anonymous 2156. All of these are 2024 acquisitions as I’ve only recently been focusing on later empire coins.

[LGeas]

No tetarteron for me but I got my first coins from John III reign this year, respectively from NAC and Ronesans.

A decent hyperpyron minted in Magnesia, the metal is very "yellow" which might indicate a slightly higher gold content and an earlier issue (I think I read that in DOC, I'm not even sure 🤔).

 

And a trachy (Sear 2127) from the mint of Thessalonica. The surface is really terrible because of the harsh cleaning, it ruined the patina in places. Too bad because otherwise it's an excellent specimen, the remaining deposit increase the constrast and the coin is really pleasing in hand.

The strike is excellent, both sides are well centered and both figures are "fully" visible. It's the first one I see with the full face of St. Demetrios. It's also a quite large coin (~32mm). I really like it, cheapest coin I bought in 2024 (hammer: 16€) yet it's in my top 3 for the year.

 

Edited December 20, 2024 by LGeas
typos

[quant.geek]

It is always difficult to determine whether or not to let a coin go for a potential, future one.  Sometimes you end up kicking yourself 🙂. I bought this one several years ago:

 

Empire of Nicaea: John III Ducas-Vatazes (1222-1254) Æ Tetarteron, Magnesia (Sear 2114)

Obv: Square, formed on four interlaced bands ornamented with pellets
Rev: IШ ΔЄCΠOTHC O ΔϪKAC in two columnar groups. Full-length figure of emperor wearing stemma, short military tunic, breastplate and sagion; left hand holds sword, resting over shoulder; right hand on sheath, point downward
Dim: 18 mm, 1.97 g

[Glebe]

8 hours ago, LGeas said:

No tetarteron for me but I got my first coins from John III reign this year, respectively from NAC and Ronesans.

A decent hyperpyron minted in Magnesia, the metal is very "yellow" which might indicate a slightly higher gold content and an earlier issue (I think I read that in DOC, I'm not even sure 🤔).

 

And a trachy (Sear 2127) from the mint of Thessalonica. The surface is really terrible because of the harsh cleaning, it ruined the patina in places. Too bad because otherwise it's an excellent specimen, the remaining deposit increase the constrast and the coin is really pleasing in hand.

The strike is excellent, both sides are well centered and both figures are "fully" visible. It's the first one I see with the full face of St. Demetrios. It's also a quite large coin (~32mm). I really like it, cheapest coin I bought in 2024 (hammer: 16€) yet it's in my top 3 for the year.

 

That's a very nice S.2127, but it's only half-cleaned and hence in no man's land in terms of condition.

Personally I would continue the cleaning, by firstly removing the clay like encrustations (which are not part of the patina anyway). You can do this by soaking the coin for a few hours in vinegar and then scraping off the clay with a 3 inch iron nail  (don't worry - ordinary iron nails are surprisingly soft and won't hurt bronze although they will strip softer patinas - but who wants soft patinas anyway?).

After that you can polish the coin with a cloth buffing wheel to bring up a nice smooth surface. Or, if you haven't got a buffing wheel to hand, just burnish the surface with the trusty iron nail.

Ross G.

(Oh dear, what have I done?)

 

 

 

 

[seth77]

Here is a Thessalonica Series III S.2209, not a John III. Or is it?

[Glebe]

10 hours ago, seth77 said:

Here is a Thessalonica Series III S.2209, not a John III. Or is it?

s.2209

Ross G.