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Author Topic: New coins...  (Read 30745 times)

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Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #50 on: April 07, 2010, 05:26:53 pm »
now that i'm back online i was able to upload this coin into my gallery. please have a look and feel free to comment if so moved. (hint hint!)
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-54460

after looking at the washed out half-tone image in Monnaies de Tarente under a magnifying glass i was able to determine that Cote 495 really is a fly, so i still can't find any definite confirmation of the attribution other than the Vlasto number, so i guess that will have to do for now.

it occurs to me that i am starting to specialize in the coins of Taras. this wasn't intentional, but one could do far worse and i'm thinking i might just run with it. their coinage is so prolific i could easily spend the rest of my life putting together a nice sub-collection.
hmmmm...

resisting everything but temptation,
~ Peter

Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #51 on: April 14, 2010, 04:56:50 pm »
i have a new addition to my Magna Graecia collection!

a few weeks ago i placed the minimum bid on this coin, and it sat there until the close without another bid so i took it for a song.
the condition is not bad, but the reverse is rather weakly struck. still, it is somewhat scarce and from an obscure city, so i am pleased to have it. and it is another coin with a pedigree!

Phistelia, Campania
AR Obol (10mm, 0.55g)
Nymph head slightly left.
Lion left, paw raised; star above.


i don't have the coin in hand yet, but here is a preview from the dealer's photo...

Online Jay GT4

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #52 on: April 14, 2010, 05:38:57 pm »
For such a tiny coin it's fantastic artistry!

Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #53 on: April 14, 2010, 11:34:40 pm »
yeah, as Dino said earlier it is amazing how well they did on such a small canvas.

this series is difficult to find good information about. originally an Oscan village, it was quite Hellenised by the time of this coin. it is not even known for sure where Phistelia was (other than somewhere in Campania), but it is assumed to have been near the coast as other coins from there depict shells and other marine themes.
stylistically it is a rather weird looking little coin, imo, and the typical attribution of 'Nymph facing' isn't very specific. but i've always thought that she has certain lion-like features, so i wonder if that was intentional or just a fancy of my own.
there are other silver fractions from Phistelia with very different artistic style, looking far more archaic than this coin, and possibly showing an Etruscan influence.

obviously i need to do more research.  ;)

~ Peter

Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #54 on: April 20, 2010, 04:04:03 pm »
sorry, no new Nerva.    ;)

i did get my latest MG coin in the mail and it is now uploaded to my gallery, so stop by and have a look...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-54930

i have been scouring the internet and my library (which is rather extensive in things Greek) to very little avail. there just isn't much known about this particular town other than it was probably of Oscan origin and may have fallen to the Samnites sometime in the fourth century and likely was thoroughly Hellenized by the time of this coin. in fact the oldest known Oscan writing is from a didrachm of Phistelia, so at least their coins left some mark on history.
but the search goes on, and on...

~ Peter


Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #55 on: April 22, 2010, 12:07:33 am »
i don't usually subscribe to the 'coins by the pound' method of collecting, but i did just get another new Tarantine diobol, my third coin of the month! this won't last though, as i am now completely out of money for a while.
i don't have it in hand yet and the dealer photo isn't very good, so i'll have to wait and scan it when it arrives next week.

in the meantime i am re-doing a few already listed coins with better quality images. this is an endless process it seems as i'm sure Jay can attest (and i hate losing the comments), but ultimately what i really want is decent documentation of my collection. so it's onward and upward! (i hope)

~ Peter

Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #56 on: April 29, 2010, 05:19:46 pm »
i got my new Tarantine diobol on Monday and i've been trying to work up a decent image ever since, but it just will not cooperate! and it doesn't help that my scanner is malfunctioning.  >:(
anyway, such as it is i have now uploaded it to my gallery, so have a look...

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-55102

this is a coin with some problems, but it really does look better in hand (no, really!). i bought it because it fits nicely in my collection, it is scarce, and it was cheap (in that order).
i will continue fighting with this coin and post a better image when i succeed.

frustratingly,
~ Peter

Offline Enodia

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Re: New album...
« Reply #57 on: June 14, 2010, 05:23:51 pm »
no new coin to post yet (but soon, hopefully).
however i have reorganized my Gallery somewhat, to accommodate my growing infatuation with the coins of Taras. these now have their own album (thanks Andreas!), so have a browse if you like.  8)

~ Peter

Offline Dino

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #58 on: June 15, 2010, 09:33:03 am »
I've really been attracted to coins of Taras lately as well.  They're just elegant coins.  The artistry is beautiful and many of them can be pretty affordable.  Nice collection, Peter.

Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #59 on: June 15, 2010, 03:57:18 pm »
thanks Dino!
i really didn't intend to collect these in particular, as i was always drawn more to the coins of Lucania. but somehow a sub-collection seemed to just happen, and now i'm fascinated by them.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=3132

they really are beautiful, with the style being somewhat different from the typical Greek portraiture, possibly due to Taras' Spartan origins. and the Tarantine influence on Rome cannot be overstated!
they can be relatively affordable if you shop around. the other advantage is that there is such a great variety of types and styles. this really was a prolific output! with the Tony Hardy and Colin Pitchfork collections being sold off recently, as well as a number of coins from the collection of Vlasto himself, there is quite a profusion available online at the moment.
happy hunting!   :)

~ Peter

Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #60 on: June 20, 2010, 05:11:44 pm »
i just uploaded a better scan of my Argos triobol...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-56828

also, check out this unusual reference i found for it over at CNG...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=63798.msg397838#new

thanks for looking!

~ Peter

Offline Randygeki(h2)

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #61 on: June 20, 2010, 07:17:02 pm »
I really like that one

Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #62 on: June 20, 2010, 07:53:12 pm »
thanks Randy.
many people did before as well, judging by the now deleted comments. hopefully they will again.  ;)  (and thanks for that too!)

i bought this coin circa 1991 from Dennis Kroh, back when he was still dealing in coins. it was at the SF Bourse, and i had already blown my budget on my first Tarantine didrachm earlier that day. but the wife saw this little gem on the way out the door (she is a big wolf advocate), and so out came the credit card. it was by every definition an afterthought, but i've loved it ever since. and with the price realized for that CNG specimen in the link above, now even moreso!

~ Peter

Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #63 on: August 28, 2010, 06:12:07 am »
nothing new to add (sigh), except for a better scan of my Cilician owl.

hopefully something new soon, but it has been a numismatically frustrating summer so far.

anxiously,
~ Peter

Offline Randygeki(h2)

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #64 on: August 30, 2010, 12:45:27 am »
I know how you feel :/   

Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #65 on: September 08, 2010, 05:13:28 pm »
yeah, it's a right drag isn't it?!

oh well, i'm biding my time by rearranging my gallery into smaller sub-categories for my Magna Graecia collection. however that is just serving to remind me of how many coins i don't have yet.  :(

i have added one new coin... a very low grade AE drachm of Trajan (Alexandria). this is not something i would have bought for myself, but was a gift from a friend. it does have a pretty cool reverse though, and i'm glad to add it too my collection.

still, i just know that perfect piece is out there somewhere, just beckoning me to pull the trigger. and i'm ready man, i'm ready!

~ Peter

Offline Randygeki(h2)

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #66 on: September 08, 2010, 06:15:32 pm »
some of my best coins are low quality ones given to me by friends and family. ;D

Offline casata137ec

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #67 on: September 08, 2010, 08:16:13 pm »
I like the new drachm! I do wonder what the Alexandrian's were trying to compensate for, their coinage was always gigantic! lol

Chris
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My gallery: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/index.php?cat=19691

Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #68 on: September 08, 2010, 11:07:12 pm »
I like the new drachm! I do wonder what the Alexandrian's were trying to compensate for, their coinage was always gigantic! lol

Chris

lol! yeah, nowadays they'd probably be driving monster trucks!

it is interesting though to see the state of their economy change in the next century or so, when the tetradrachms were half this size.

~ Peter


Offline Enodia

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #69 on: November 08, 2010, 04:24:05 pm »
yay, it's been along time since i've added anything!   8)

this isn't exactly what i was looking for, and it is also in a lower grade than i would prefer, but at the price (about the cost of two six-packs!) i just had to rescue it and add it to my gallery.
it's another kantharos type obol of Taras, but with a faintly visible tripod in the field to right. the flan is chipped so the weight is a bit low (9x10mm, 0.34g)...

you can check it out in the Taras wing of my gallery...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=3132

~ Peter

Offline Randygeki(h2)

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #70 on: November 08, 2010, 04:35:42 pm »
may be a lower grade, but its still cool ;D

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #71 on: November 08, 2010, 04:48:22 pm »
this isn't exactly what i was looking for, and it is also in a lower grade than i would prefer, but at the price (about the cost of two six-packs!)

Nice one... and it'll outlast two six packs, which would mean about thirty minutes in the company of some I know! ;D ...and you'll feel a lot better for it in the morning!

Offline Will Hooton

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #72 on: November 08, 2010, 05:10:33 pm »
Peter, an excellent collection! One to aspire to! ;)

Will.

Now if you only had a real kantharos to pour all that beer into....... ;D

Offline Enodia

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New didrachm!
« Reply #73 on: January 10, 2011, 12:10:19 am »
after what seemed like an interminable drought i have finally added a new coin.
this is another Tarantine didrachm, but of the earlier, heavier standard. i have wanted one of these for awhile now, and i like the one i got!

this slightly less-common variety tells an interesting story i think, and one which is essential to understanding the equestrian Tarantines and their aristocratic pride.

circa 280-272 BC, AR Didrachm (20mm, 7,67g). Nikon magistrate. Naked ephebe dismounting left, holding shield and spear in left hand; E[Y] above, [NIK]ON (magistrate) below. / Phalanthos astride dolphin left, holding ear of grain; API to left, [T]APAΣ to right, spearhead below.

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-63721


Lloyd Taylor

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Re: New coins...
« Reply #74 on: January 10, 2011, 02:38:39 am »
Its got my five stars for both the coin and the exposition of the obverse type..... great on both counts!

 

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