Dear all,
I am posting this on this board as this question may be useful to new ancient coin collectors.
I would like to seek some clarification on the most conventional way to cite references when attributing a coin. In particular, when to use
var. or
cf. and when to use f or ff. I have read the relevant
numiswiki entries on attributing coins and definitions of
var. and ff, a
thread in 2013(?) on this subject and the article by Reid Goldsborough on the
attribution of
greek coins:
http://coinsguide.reidgold.com/attribution.htmlI have noticed a level of inconsistency from dealer to dealer and listing to listing and this has caused me to question my own understanding of properly citing references.
I propose to use
King Philip II bronze 'young
man / horseman' coinage for the purposes of my question as I am collecting this series and have a reasonably level of familiarity with them. All coinage in this series is similar but for a number of differences, which to the best of my quick review of several references in preparation of my questions, include:
1.
head on
obverse:
a. facing right
b. facing left
2. horseman on
reverse:
a. advancing right
b. advancing left
3. control mark on the
obverse4.
type of control mark on the
reverse:
a.
monogram b. letter
b. symbol
c. symbol and
monogram5. location of control mark on
reverse:
a. underneath the
horse b. in front of the
horse5. horseman wearing
kausia6. die-axes
7.
weightsSNG Copenhagen (volume 2,
part 9) lists this series at 581-617. The coins are separated into 4 groups. The first group (581-609)has the
obverse facing right (including those with a control mark on the
obverse), horseman advancing right and reverses comprising different control marks. The second group (610-612) has the horseman wearing a
kausia. The third group (613-15) has the same reverses as the second group but with without the horseman wearing a
kausia. The 4th and last group (616-617) is described as the "same " but with the horseman advancing left and no
kausia. Presumably in the case of the 4th group it is referring to all of the above
types - unclear to me from the plates if the horseman is wearing a
kausia and there are no examples on
acsearch.info to verify.
SNG Alpha Bank lists a larger number of these coins and breaks them down into more finite groups than
SNG Copenhagen but I will not list them out here.
Sear's
Greek Coins and their Values lists 3 individual coins from this series at 6696-6699. 6696 is
head right, horseman right, barleycorn beneath; 6697 is similar but with a race-torch; 6698 is similar but with a HP
monogram.
The Handbook of Greek Coinage Series (HGCS), Volume 3, lists this series at 881-885. 881 (
head right,
horse right,
thunderbolt below), 882 (
head right, letter to left and right on
obverse, various listed
monogram or
symbols, below), 883 (
head right,
horse left, spearhead below), 884 (
head left, letter to left or right on
obverse, various listed
monograms or
symbols, below), 885 (
head left,
horse left,
monogram or
lion head below).
Questions:Let us assume we have a coin which is
head facing right, no letter on
obverse, horseman facing right, symbol underneath. Let us assume the symbol is not found in the references above.
1. When should var. be used and when should cf. be used? I understand in principle that
var. is for closely related coins but which might have small differences whereas
cf. is for coins which have some similarity but might have more fundamental differences. But what does this mean in practice? Is it relevant to how the reference has recognised the differences in how it has chosen to group them (e.g. 4 groups in
SNG Cop.) and therefore picking a group which is the most similar?
Which of the differences listed above would qualify as a
var. as opposed to requiring
cf. to be used? For example, is
head facing right a
var. of a listing for the same coin but with
head facing left, or should
cf. be used in that case? What about letter vs. symbol, or symbol to the right or underneath the
horse?
Is a different die-axis a
var.? I sometimes find the same coin but with a different die-axis to the one in SNG. Or is die-axis not significant enough to point out as a difference to the one being referenced?
Where there are multiple coins with the same die-axis with
weight being the only difference, is it appropriate to reference the coin with a similar
weight, or should the entire series with the same die-axis be referenced? I do not think I have ever seen a different die-axis pointed out in a listing before, but thought I should
still check.
2. When should f or ff be used and must it be used only in conjunction with cf.?I understand that f means this page or number and the one after it, and ff, means this page / number and all which follow of the same
type. Reid Goldsborough's article reads to me to suggest that f or ff follows
cf. Can it follow
var.? Why do some list it out after a coin without
cf.?
For example, what would
SNG Cop. 610 ff mean? Does it simply mean
SNG Cop. 610-612, which would not make sense in this instance without a
cf. or
var. given that 610-612 differ, but would make sense if they were actually 2 examples of the same
type of coin?
Does ff mean the same kind in the group according to how the particular reference has chosen to group the coins. For example, is
SNG Cop. 581 ff mean 581-609 (Group 1) or does it mean 581-617 (All Groups)?
Can ff follow
var. For instance
Sear 6696 ff
var. (note difference)?
3. What is the preferred way to cite a general reference like Sear or HGCS?When citing a 'general' reference like
Sear or HGCS, where the coin often does not match the one listed, is it sufficient to simply cite the first
Sear reference which appears for that
type of coin on the assumption that everyone knows
Sear or HGCS is not intended to cover all variants? Or do you cite all numbers which are similar to the coin?. Do you use
var. or
cf.?
In the case of the coin above, for
Sear, is it
Sear 6696-6698,
Sear 6696,
Sear 6696
var. (note re differences),
cf. Sear 6696 ff,
Sear 6696-9 ff? For HGCS, is it HGCS 881-5, HGCS 881-5
var. (note),
cf. HGCS 881 ff, HGCS 882 (which closest matches the description to my hypothetical coin),HGCS 882
var., or
cf. HGCS 882?
4. What is the preferred way to cite the name of a reference?I notice differences when looking at online catalogues or in
acsearch. info so perhaps I have answered my own question. For example, some say
SNG Cop. or
SNG Copenhagen. Some say "
Sear", whereas
wildwinds uses SG. For British Museum (Greek or
Roman) whereas some say
BMC some say
BMCRE (for
Roman). In the above cases, some reference the volume or
part number as well.
I
hope I have illustrated the points above on which I am seeking clarification.
I do not expect anyone to answer all the sub-questions above (but please feel free to do so). They are intended to
help clarify the intention of the primary questions (numbered).
Apologies if this is comprehensively covered somewhere but I could not find answers to the above questions.
Peter