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Numismatic Year in Review
SmEagle1795
Posts: 2,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
I apologize for being somewhat absent recently but I've had a number of competing priorities as of late. I posted in the liteside thread and thought we should have one here as well.
I've had a very successful numismatic year, acquiring several important pieces. I'm hoping to start off next year with a couple large acquisitions as well, but here are a few highlights:
An exceptionally toned denarius of Vindex from Rome's Civil Wars:
An aureus of Faustina Senior in a very high Mint State grade:
A sestertius of Trajan, with a page-long description of what the reverse depicts:
A heavy gold stater minted under King Croesus (the origin of the phrase, "As rich as Croesus"):
And my top purchase of the year, a unique drachm of Clazomenae with one of the most aesthetic facing portraits on an ancient Greek coin:
Post your favorite purchases for the year!
I've had a very successful numismatic year, acquiring several important pieces. I'm hoping to start off next year with a couple large acquisitions as well, but here are a few highlights:
An exceptionally toned denarius of Vindex from Rome's Civil Wars:
An aureus of Faustina Senior in a very high Mint State grade:
A sestertius of Trajan, with a page-long description of what the reverse depicts:
A heavy gold stater minted under King Croesus (the origin of the phrase, "As rich as Croesus"):
And my top purchase of the year, a unique drachm of Clazomenae with one of the most aesthetic facing portraits on an ancient Greek coin:
Post your favorite purchases for the year!
Learn about our world's shared history told through the first millennium of coinage: Colosseo Collection
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Comments
One of my 2015 acquisitions should look familiar to you.
(Actually they all should, since you were so kind to assist with the photo templates.)
Nick- that's a neat little Chersonessos lion. Love those archaic types. That's one I never got around to.
Looks like five of my Box of 20 were from this year.
Ancient Roman Empire: silver "Capricorn" denarius of Vespasian, struck by Titus ca. 80-81 AD
Ancient Roman Empire: orichalcum sestertius of Hadrian, struck ca. 134-138 AD
Medieval Croatia (Ragusa): silver grosso portraying St. Blasius and Christ, ca. 1372-1438
France: silver jeton of Louis XV, "Aurora in cloud chariot", undated (ca. 1740)
United States: proof copper-nickel 3-cent piece, Liberty head type, 1888
The emperor Xi Zong, from his Tian Qi reign.
DPOTD
Hey shmeagle...your 2015 newps are insane to say the least - I mean you get a you suck from me for sure
Mine are embedded in my collages here Talers
Ancients
Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
PS- Zohar- haven't most if not all of your ancients come in the last year or so?
That's also mindblowing... so far, so fast!
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Damned crisis, let alone these capital controls. Picture is decent, but nothing compared to the coin in hand, mostly in terms of luster. Hadn't seen a gem for sale in 25 years of collecting. Happy camper.
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Edited to add: What I like in this coin, is the fantastic underlying luster coming from a totally original coin. (Close your eyes and imagine it...) Mr Eureka told me they're called "fresh" . First time I heard the term, I said what are fresh coins? Fishes? Then I learned that it was coins, unmessed with.
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I see that not only you got into ancients with excellent start, but that you experiment with photography too. Well, the latter needs serious improvement (said the man who never took an image of a coin in his entire life) , but really now, congrats. Feels like a reunion with ex classmates.
Here's a tip Nick. RESIZE them, and get rid of the distortion. These are tiny ,but in your pics they look like the size of a car wheel.
myEbay
DPOTD 3
Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
2 I believe. Thanks a bunch.
Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
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Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
A new glitch - I cant read your post in its entirety as the horizontal bar at bottom allowing to shift right to left has now vanished.
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
Nick - you need to scale down the images as they distract from the coins. Any software editor allows for this.
Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
As for Nick's images, I can resize them even more, without software, but with my 8 year old Macbook's safari.
myEbay
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I made a few small additions to my primary sets, the highlight being the key in my Ferdinand VII Armored Bust set.
From Aureo's Isabel de Trastamara sale earlier in the year:
1810-TH PCGS AU55:
I'm only 1 coin away from completing this set, too. It's a tough one, though - 1811 over-assayer HJ/TH. I have an example of this coin, but it's hairlined. Probably will end-up sending it in just finally finish something
Here are some additional pieces this year:
8 Reales Madness Collection
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OK, I'll add a few more, only they're not coins. I feel more comfortable posting them here. Let's say these are the 6 among the toughest of 30-35 raw notes I bought this year and submitted myself until the capital controls have stopped me.
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First two have the nickname "motherhood", and there are three of them, the red in 1945, the brown that I'm still missing and the purple in 1947. I'm now looking for one for Cathy, I know she'll love the design.
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And all these used to be very tough, super expensive and impossible to locate. The crisis had some advantages too.--------------------------
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This last one, was a note circulated during Greece's civil war, from 1945 to 1949, between communist rebels and the regular army. The communists were finally defeated and Greece moved on with 5 years of delay compared to the rest of Europe and even more damages made by this war than WW2.
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Interestingly enough, due to the hyperinflation of the time, these were not in drachmai, but in wheat Okades (one oka = approx 2.5 pounds) They were illegal of course and denominations of 5, 25, 50 and 100 circulated. They promised to give the bearer the amount of wheat on the note, 6 months after the "liberation" of Greece, but this of course never materialised. Partly the crude printing and partly the horrible conditions that those that remained were saved, it is super rare to find one in this condition, choice AU/borderline unc.
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Also notable that the reverse mentions among others that counterfeiting will be punished by death. Execution style.
myEbay
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8 Reales Madness Collection
Merry Christmas to all!
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
Just a few "shout outs" to those who have posted pictures in this thread so far --
EVP, I love that Cromwell, and the Novodel is stunning.
TK, that 1761 is a show stopper, jaw dropper. WOW!
LordM, love that jeton. You have my contact information when you're ready to offload that one.
And, SMeagle -- well, I love when he posts coins valued at more than my entire collection.
Great newps all. And, may 2016 be another wonderful numismatic year.
Best, Brandon
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My sets: [280+ horse coins] :: [France Sowers] :: [Colorful world copper] :: [Beautiful world coins]
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EVP - I recall you literally stole that Russian piece on auction just as the Rouble tanked. Superb selection of coins everyone!
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
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PS: Thank you Roman! your coins are awesome, I see a 2015 tendency towards colorful and higher quality coins ,or was it just a coincidence?
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DPOTD 3
Cheers, Brandon
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My sets: [280+ horse coins] :: [France Sowers] :: [Colorful world copper] :: [Beautiful world coins]
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Aethelred, king of Mercia (?)
Early Anglo-Saxon coins are called sceats, or sceatta, a term that loosely means treasure. It's a modern invention; ancient people would not have used the word sceat to describe their coins. This coin depicts the "porcupine" design, which is probably meant to represent a face with a headdress but has degenerated into an abstract thing with quills, called by modern observers a porcupine. The reverse is, in great contrast, an extremely legible inscription of the name Aethelred (in runic, and going clockwise). These coins may have been struck for King Aethelred of Mercia. They have mostly been found in Kent, and may have been struck for the king's invasion of this territory.
Eadberht, king of Northumbria
Sceats of Eadberht are common enough, probably a few hundred known, but the unusual part is the face in the center, only known from maybe 4 or 5 known coins. The face could represent Eadberht himself, or perhaps was a pagan symbol that was kept on the nominally Christian coinage. I've heard it described as a representation of Odin/Wodan. However, the picture looks wrong for that, as most depictions of the old god show him with a beard. The face is not likely Christ, who is also typically shown bearded. However, mustaches were worn by Anglo-Saxons; following their conversion to Christianity many abandoned the long beards. A long handlebar style mustache is famously worn by Harold Godwinson on the Bayeaux Tapestry, and may have been stylish back to the 8th century.
If the face is Eadberht's, it could represent one of the earliest depiction of a the face of a known king on English coinage, preceding the coinage of Offa by a few decades (aside from the possible 7th century coins of Eadbald of Kent).
Aethelred I, king of Northumbria, moneyer Cuthgils
O: ED+LRED R: CVD CLS, shrine in center
A sceat of Aethelred I. Lord Grantley, the famous British numismatist of the early 20th century, believed the reverse of the coin was a tribute to St. Cuthberht, a major saint of the early Northumbrian church, and misinterpreted the reverse as stating "SCT CVD". Later research has shown that rather it was the name Cuthgils, who was a moneyer. The simplistic 'triangle with a cross on top' has been interpreted as a shrine, and may have some religious meaning that has been lost to history. The design is about as creative as Northumbrian coins of this era could be.
Aethelred I, king of Northumbria, with Archbishop Eanbald I (or moneyer Eanbald)
O: +AEDILRED R: EANBALD
Another sceat of Aethelred I, this time with the name Eanbald on the reverse. Eanbald was the name of two successive archbishops of York, and this coin is typically assigned to the first. However there is no mention of title or rank to be found on the coin. There is a single coin of this type with the reverse reading "EANBALDA", which might mean Eanbald A(rchbishop).
Eanred, King of Northumbria, moneyer Wihtred
O: +EANRED REX R: +PINTRM|X|
9th century copper coins of Northumbria are called stycas, a term that is not at all contemporary, but was used by early numismatists in the 18th and 19th century. Kings and religious leaders had these coins struck in their names.
This particular example is unusual in that the moneyer wrote his name in runic letters, a style of writing that had mostly gone out of favor by this time.
Herreth, moneyer to the kings of Northumbria
O: XHERRED R: XHERRED
A double reverse Northumbrian styca of King Eanred's moneyer Herreth. Northumbrian stycas are well known for being crude and, especially in later years, having nonsensical legends. In fact, Spink/Seaby #S.872 is given to all of those coins fitting into the "irregular series." But this is not a 'typical' blundered styca. In fact it is a mule and presumable deliberately produced "double reverse" coin, depicting the moneyer on both sides, of good style, and from an earlier period than the later civil wartime irregular stycas.
The manufacture of coins was presumably a structured process, given the many thousands of coins produced. The lower die is presumed to have been mounted on some solid piece of wood or anvil, thought to perhaps be via a spike that could be driven into the wood, holding it fast in place. The obverse die would be held with one hand, the hammer with the other. It's not known for sure if this is how manufacture took place, but it is a reasonable assumption that both dies would not be loose and subject to considerable movement during striking. So for a double-reverse pairing to take place, a reverse die would have been mistakenly manufactured as an obverse die (without the spike), then paired with a normal reverse for striking. This makes some sense, as double obverse pairings are exceedingly uncommon in the styca series, and quite rare overall in medieval and ancient coins. Or this could have been a deliberate act of manufacture by a moneyer who believed the king held no authority over him. Certainly the true meaning will never be known.
Wigmund, Archbishop of York, moneyer Coenred
O: +VIGMVND IREP R: +COENRED
Another styca, this one struck for the Archbishop of York. This particular coin is not rare, but in a nice state of preservation.
Wiglaf, king of Mercia, moneyer Redmund
O: +VVIGLAF REX M R: N/+REDMV/D
An obscure king of Mercia. Not much is known about him. He was briefly deposed by the most powerful king of that time, Ecgberht of Wessex, but managed to re-take his throne. His interrupted reign lasted a good 10 years, but yet his coins are excessively rare. I can track 10 others besides this one, most in museums.
The name Wiglaf has always appealed to me; like most Anglo-Saxon names, it is a two part name. Wig- means war, -laf means one who remains. It probably means 'one who would stand by your side in battle'. It is the name of Beowulf's loyal thane, and because of the name's meaning it is probably meant to be a character actor, as Wiglaf is the only subordinate who stays loyal to Beowulf and helps him in his battle against the dragon.
I like to think that King Wiglaf's parents were familiar with the Beowulf story, and chose this name in honor of the character.
Name parts often ran in families, and Wiglaf had descendants with names like Wigmund and Wigstan. It's possible he was related to the Wigmund of York, although people in this time did not frequently travel outside of their kingdoms.
Alfred (the Great), king of Wessex
O: AELFRED REX R: London monogram
The greatest of all Anglo-Saxon kings, and the only British king to retain the moniker 'the Great'. He saved his kingdom and people from destruction at the hands of the Vikings.
This coin features the monogram of the city of London, which copies earlier monograms seen on Roman, Gothic, and Frankish coins. It is believed to have been struck in the city to commemorate the retaking of London from the Danes, ca. 880.
This particular coin was double struck about 10 degrees off, and as such the imagery is a little muddled, but still quite readable.
Henry, prince of Northumberland
O: +N[ENCI COM]I R: [ ]ON:C[ ]
A cut halfpenny of Prince Henry of Northumberland. Henry was a grandson of Malcolm Canmore, famous from Shakespeare's Macbeth. He was heir to the Scottish throne, but never became king. He was something of a pawn in his father's plotting against king Stephen of England. As part of a peace settlement, Henry became Earl of Northumberland, which made him nominally subservient to Stephen. Stephen had bigger problems, his cousin Matilda from Germany also claimed the English throne and went to war, starting the period of English history known as the "Anarchy", so Stephen was probably happy to make peace with the Scots. Prince Henry was not a well person, and predeceased his father.
John, king of England
Pennies of king John, of Robin Hood fame, are by no means rare, but this particular example displays a rather unusual flip-over double strike, with heads on tails and tails on heads. What is even more unusual is that both sides have well defined features of both the obverse and reverse.
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
EVP - that novodel is a stunner! Do you know what year it was made?
Dimitri - I've always liked color and original skin. In my entire collection there are under 10 total coins that are bright white. In terms of quality, I think i'm just getting more picky as time goes on
8 Reales Madness Collection
I'm sure you'll find the example you're looking for in the near future.
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How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
Latin American Collection
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Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
BHM 1117-George IV visit to Ireland. Matte finish with brilliant gold on leaves and flowers.
BHM 2535-William Wyon laudatory medal
Conder Token Gallery https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMCiunai6NjOxoo3zREkCsAnNm4vONzieO3u7tHyhm8peZmRD_A0MXmnWT2dzJ-nw?key=Rlo2YklUSWtEY1NWc3BfVm90ZEUwU25jLUZueG9n
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
EVP - that novodel is a stunner! Do you know what year it was made?
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
World Collection
British Collection
German States Collection
EVP - that novodel is a stunner! Do you know what year it was made?
I always assumed the year of issue was the date on the coin, but I have no basis for that assumption.
EVP
From what I understand, Novodel's are official restrikes of historic Russian coinage. Just not sure when the restrikes were done.
8 Reales Madness Collection