FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
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The Members' Gallery => Topic started by: Enodia on April 30, 2012, 03:13:22 pm
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greetings all!
this will be a continuation of my old thread here...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=50934.0
however since i finally got a digital camera i have been trying to redo the older poor quality scans i was using before. this is very much a work in progress, and the learning curve is a bit steeper (i still can't even figure out how to load the film!), so i will appreciate any photo advice or hints along the way.
with that in mind i thought it would be a good idea to start afresh, and i will be announcing all the replaced images here, as well as any new purchases as they may occur.
the first up is a large bronze from Syracuse of Hieron II (275-215 BC).
i bought this coin in the late 80's, but it was almost impossible to get a decent scan. i still haven't got the lighting quite right, but this is SO much better than it was before that i just had to share...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-80811
i will be renewing my gallery coin by coin, so stay tuned.
~ Peter
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Congratulations, Peter, on your digital camera! I know you've wanted one for a long time :)
You'll find experimentation is so much faster and much less expensive! So you can play around with lighting angles and exposures and all it costs is time, which we all have plenty of , right ;D
Nice coin and patina!
I could almost see Hieron's sigh of relief for getting out of the box and onto the screen ;D
All the best!
Steve
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thanks Steve!
yes, playing with the settings and seeing almost immediate results is a distinct advantage. i find i can still apply my film-camera skills to a certain extent, but dealing with the camera doing what it wants rather than what i want is proving to be frustrating. but never fear, i will win (stupid machines!).
i have tried shooting outdoors (ie; the Hieron AE), with and without a light box, and indoors under various types if bulbs. i'm also still figuring out the white balance with each, but it is coming together i think. this weekend i plan to buy a couple of new light fixtures and a variety of different bulbs.
~ Peter
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here's another new image of an old coin. i got this one at the local coin shop when i lived in California. it was one of the guys there that turned me on to ancients, and i've never looked back! 8)
anyway, this is actually one of the first coins i shot with my new camera, and so far it's still one of the better ones...
Macedon under Perseus
Helios 3/4 facing. / Rose.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-80986
i love this coin, and have since i first laid eyes on it. i hope you all like it too. :)
~ Peter
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here is another upgrade of a coin i've had for decades.
this one is a Punic 1/4 shekel from Akragas struck during the final Carthaginian occupation.
Head of Triptolemus right. / Horse prancing right; punic letters below.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-81020
of course all of these upgrades will inevitably knock all the previous comments into oblivion, so feel free to indulge yourself! ;)
~ Peter
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some more upgrades.
Chalkis, Euboia...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-81063
and the obscure city of Phistelia, Campania...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-81082
~ Peter
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and the beat goes on... (yeah, i know, but it beats starting a new thread for every coin!)
some renewed ones include a Carthaginian AE, Thasos tet, and Boeotian hemidrachm (you can use the link in my signature).
~ Peter
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i redid my Alexander tet from Amphipolis. i'm still not entirely happy with the results, but for now...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-81198
~ Peter
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i just added a number of LRBs which i have had for a long time, but which were too crappy to scan. they don't look a lot better now, but at least they are recognizable.
new to my gallery are Valerian I, Aurelian, Claudius II, Licinius I and Crispus. i also redid my Probus.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=3565
they are not much to look at, but if anyone can give me any more information than i have (mint, officina, etc) i would appreciate it. i just don't have the eye to recognize these Romans by sight alone, and the details are a bit sketchy to me.
thanks in advance,
~ Peter
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re-photographing continues. today i updated my Kroton didrachm...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-81898
~ Peter
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i uploaded newer images of some of my Taras coins earlier today, and i now continue with the rest of my collection. here's a much better image of my Corinthian stater just updated to my gallery...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-82085
~ Peter
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new coins!
today i added a couple of Sicilian bronzes recently aquired from here at Forvm. the first is from Akragas, and while it is not scarce and certainly not gem, i like it and with the two eagles devouring a hare it is probably as close as i will ever get to an Akragas dekadrachm...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-82285
next is a coin from Syracuse during the reign of Pyrrhus. i like Syracusan coins in general and the portrait on this one is terrific. but being from the reign of Pyrrhus it also ties in very nicely with my Tarentine collection...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-82287
enjoy!
~ Peter
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i stepped outside my normal collecting area a bit with this Philip V bronze, but i found the Helios portrait very compelling...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-82306
~ Peter
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okay, back to the upgrades.
today i added new images for my only two sestertii. the first is of Severus Alexander...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-82365
and the next is Gordian III...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-82369
~ Peter
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the first up is a large bronze from Syracuse of Hieron II (275-215 BC).
i bought this coin in the late 80's, but it was almost impossible to get a decent scan. i still haven't got the lighting quite right, but this is SO much better than it was before that i just had to share...
this was the first coin i posted after getting my new digital camera, and the results were so much better than the original scan. however, i decided it still wasn't good enough, so i recently re-shot it.
this new image is clearer, sharper and very close to the proper color...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-82556
for those who took the time to comment on this coin previously, i appreciate your time and effort and hope you don't think i'm just pulling your chain. but ultimately i only want the best images i can get in my gallery, so i hope you all understand.
~ Peter
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my first new coin in quite some time is this 5th century bronze from Syracuse...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-87526
this was a gift from a dear dear friend, and i'm very happy to add it to my gallery. i hope you like it too,
~ Peter
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Peter,
Nice addition of a very early bronze, congrats!
Steve
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thanks Steve.
here's another gift, a beautiful bronze again from Syracuse...
Kore left, grain behind. / Nike in biga right.
symbolically this is one of the most significant coins in my collection, and i love it dearly.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-87593
~ Peter
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Another nice, well patinaed bronze! Nice details too :)
~Steve
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thanks Steve, i'm very grateful to have both coins in my collection.
~ Peter
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just added my first new purchase in quite awhile, a bronze of Julian II which i got quite cheap...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-87844
i find Julian fascinating, but since Romans aren't really my field i am open to any corrections or suggestions.
thanks for looking,
~ Peter
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Nice gallery
+++
quadrans
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thank you quadrans! it is slow but on-going process.
~ Peter
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the revamp continues...
nothing new today, i've just been fixing up some of my older images, cleaning up the backgrounds and correcting the colors, etc. some of them really need to be re-done from scratch, but for now these are the best i have.
i've done my entire Roman Provincial collection (all of 5 coins), and my most recent Julian.
hopefully are are a little bit better. ;)
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/index.php?cat=21312
~ Peter
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still trying to improve some of my older images, but i do have an addition..
although i don't actively collect Romans, some of the emperors have always intrigued me. in particular i have always been fascinated by the thoughtful Marcus Aurelius. i have been wanting to add a coin of his for a very long time, but at a price that would not cut into my Greek budget too terribly. however most 'bargain priced' (ie; cheap) coins of his are less than attractive, to say the least.
i recently found this one for what i consider to be dirt cheap, and couldn't resist.
the coin is worn and a bit pitted (although not as bad as the image shows), but i love the portrait.
it has always amused me that Alec Guiness, who potrayed Aurelius in the 60's movie 'The Fall of the Roman Empire' looked remarkably like the emperor himself!
see what you think...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-91978
~ Peter
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a new image of an old coin...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-94008
still taking advantage of my brother-in-law's lights, i think this looks a bit better than the old photo, although still not quite right.
but in replying to Lloyd's comment it occured to me that having bought this coin in 1989 i have now had it for 1% of it's entire history.
and i think that's pretty cool! 8)
~ Peter
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Peter, I don't mean to offend you but the pictures look strange, as if they had been very strongly compressed but the file size speaks against that. How are you taking these pictures?
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..... but in replying to Lloyd's comment it occured to me that having bought this coin in 1989 i have now had it for 1% of it's entire history.
and i think that's pretty cool! 8)
An interesting perspective to which I had never given any thought.... you have probably had this coin in your possession longer than anyone else in its 2,346 years! 8)
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once again stepping outside of my usual Magna Graecia collection i have added a new coin from the BCD collection.
this is a coin my wife always wanted to buy for me, and now she has. it is a hemidrachm from Pherai in Thessaly and depicts a portrait of the goddess Hekate (sadly appropriate here)...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-94858
i wish the condition were a bit better and the lion's head fountain was shown, but i got it for the minimum bid as that was all i could afford and under the circumstances i'm very happy to have it.
this is one of those coins which are very often labelled 'Rare' (the nearby Boeotian hemidrachms are another), but of which i have dozens of examples in my files. so no, not particularly rare.
Peter, I don't mean to offend you but the pictures look strange, as if they had been very strongly compressed but the file size speaks against that. How are you taking these pictures?
hellifino, i'm just flying by the seat of my pants here. sometimes they come out well, sometimes not. when they don't i tend to over process them to try and get them back to something like the original color, etc, and that's where they probably go wrong.
if i had more patience... but alas, no muse. :(
~ Peter
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Peter
Very nice.
Doug Hill
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thank you Doug.
nothing exciting to announce today, but i did add a couple of Julian AE3's last week, one from Constantinople and the other from Heraclea.
have a look!
~ Peter
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in an effort to clean up my Magna Graecia gallery i recently redid the image of my Velia didrachm, which i aquired 24 years ago. this is the coin that really got me started collecting ancients seriously, and it continues to impress me all these years later.
the image isn't quite right yet, but i think it's a lot better than the old scan...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-97831
and i should be posting something new here very soon. 8)
~ Peter
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i just posted this new didrachm to my Magna Graecia gallery...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-98023
i've wanted to add a Philistion type to go with my Kleudoros for some time now, but nice ones are hard to find in my price range. this one came at a reasonable price, and so my tax return has finally yielded fruit!
but it was the lion which really sold me on this one. the typical attribution usually says 'lion devouring prey', or similar. but the prey on this one is clearly a ram's head, and being an avid 49er fan i just couldn't resist! 8)
anyway, i really like this one and i hope you all do too.
~ Peter
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this veiled Demeter from Metapontum is my latest addition, and once again the coin is far nicer in hand than this picture suggests...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-98678
i like the way these types capture the torment of grief, the sense of loss a mother has for her lost daughter. strong emotions rendered in bronze.
~ Peter
(this coin was purchased in loving memory of my beautiful wife)
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today i post a newer image of an old coin...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-98950
in fact this was the first ancient coin i ever bought, the coin which started 'the fever'. i spent $20 for this odd-shaped lump of bronze, but over the 25 years since it has cost me many many thousands!
it's not much to look at, but it means an awful lot to me.
~ Peter
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here's another re-do, which just about finishes the remodelling of my Magna Graecia gallery.
this one was bought for me by my wife as a Christmas present a few years ago. it is a didrachm from Metapontum, a fairly common type but unusually well centered and on a full flan, both traits quite uncommon for this type...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-99058
thanks for looking!
~ Peter
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here are a couple of new coins i recently received as a gift from a friend.
the first is a bronze from Metapontum with a nice portrait of Demeter...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-100091
and the second is a cool eagle from Syracuse, under the reign of Hiketas...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-100096
thanks for looking! :)
~ Peter
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i spent last week in California, and while there i visited my old friends at the local coin shop. these were the people who first piqued my interest in ancient coins 25 years ago, so it seemed appropriate to pick up a little something while i was there.
the first is a bronze of the nymph Arethusa from Syracuse under the reign of Dionysius I...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-101147
the second is a large bronze of Dionysus from Maroneia in Thrace...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-101138
these were bargain coins but i think they are both in acceptable grade, and i find the Arethusa portrait quite lovely.
i hope you do too,
~ Peter
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this latest addition is another bronze from Syracuse, and was strictly an impulse buy. but at the price of a couple of bottles of inexpensive wine i just couldn't pass it up...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-101543
this is the point where i usually say "it looks much better in hand", but in this case what you see is pretty much what you get.
gotta be the bargain of the day though! :)
~ Peter
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good friends are nice to have. good friends with excellent taste and an eye for ancient coins are even better! ;)
i recently received two coins from such a friend for my birthday. the first i already posted in my Taras Collection thread here...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-102091
the second is a little bit outside of my usual collecting area, but it is so personally significant and was so thoughtfully chosen that i was deeply moved when i opened it.
it is an example of the Eleusinian Festival coinage which was probably struck in Athens, and the representations on the obverse and reverse are both iconic symbols of the Mysteres itself. as such this makes a perfect bookend piece to the Kore bronze in my Sicily gallery...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-87593
Eleusinian festival coinage
340-335 BC
AE 16 (16mm, 3.65g)
Triptolemos seated left in winged chariot drawn by two serpents, holding grain ear in right hand. / Pig standing right on mystic staff; EΛEYΣI above, bucranium in ex.
anyway, see what you think...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-102257
~ Peter
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A wonderful coin and a great write -up.
Occasionally my wife calls me a pig. Should i be worried? :)
Cic
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lol!
thank you cicerokid.
no new coin today, but a new image of a Carthaginian bronze i bought many years ago. i've been trying to get a good photo but just can't seem to light it well enough. so i've reworked an old scan and at least it looks better than before...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-102822
... i hope so anyway. in any case i think it is a pretty portrait underneath that patchy patina.
but my best 'new addition' is pictured below.
i had been looking for a dog for a long time, even getting long distance help from a friend. but i found my new buddy at the local shelter. he had actually been adopted two weeks earlier and then brought back, so i named him Repo.
he's not ancient, only 10 months old, but he is a gem. :)
~ Peter
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but my best 'new addition' is pictured below.
i had been looking for a dog for a long time, even getting long distance help from a friend. but i found my new buddy at the local shelter. he had actually been adopted two weeks earlier and then brought back, so i named him Repo.
he's not ancient, only 10 months old, but he is a gem. :)
Great acquisition... congratulations. Nice smooth dark patina, with great style and in EF grade! Repo ;D... he'll be a loyal friend for life!
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but my best 'new addition' is pictured below.
i had been looking for a dog for a long time, even getting long distance help from a friend. but i found my new buddy at the local shelter. he had actually been adopted two weeks earlier and then brought back, so i named him Repo.
he's not ancient, only 10 months old, but he is a gem. :)
~ Peter
WTG Peter. Thanks so much for giving a home to a shelter animal. Probably will be your best acquisition for a while. He's a cutie.
;D
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i can't add anything which will top my last addition :) , but i did just aquire this new bronze from Syracuse under Agathokles...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-106038
the charging bull is a common theme on Syracusan bronzes, and this one is pretty cool. but what really drew me to this coin was the portrait of Persephone (Kore).
i hope you like it too.
~ Peter
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Love you dog! We rescued 2 last year. It's a very rewarding experience. ;D
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Love you dog! We rescued 2 last year. It's a very rewarding experience. ;D
VERY rewarding carthago, and i couldn't be happier. he is a flat-coat retriever, a scarcer breed.
it took a long time and he was nothing like what i was looking for, but everything i needed. fate? :)
i recently added another Syracusan bronze from the reign of Dionysius I to my collection, and a very nice one i think. i have only participated in the Member Auctions here at Forvm a few times, and this is the first one i have won. it is quite lovely in hand (much nicer than my picture), and i'm glad to add it...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-107992
thanks for looking,
~ Peter
(and thank you Andre C)
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it was only just brought to my attention that the link for my new bronze (above) was incorrect. it has now been fixed.
sorry for the confusion!
~ Peter
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a new addition received as a gift from a friend...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-113165
i don't know how this coin would grade at NGC, nor do i care. the personal significance to me is immeasurable. the obverse shows a the portrait of the goddess Persephone (my wife's favorite myth), while the reverse depicts a filltted cornucopia.
that it was struck at Aitna makes this coin particularly relevent to me.
my wife and i enjoyed reading the classics out loud to each other, and often did so while on the Olympian-like heights of the many active volcanoes here in the Pacific Northwest. Mounts Shasta, Ranier, Hood, Adams and the notorius St. Helens all got to share in our enjoyment of The Illiad and Odyssey, The Aeneid and The Argonautica.
so the fact that this coin is from Mt. Aitna touches me deeply, and i am proud to add it to my collection.
~ Peter
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today's addition is a coin which i've had for over a month now, but haven't been able to get a good picture of it. i guess this one will have to do...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-113380
this was actually a birthday present from my bff. :)
it is a tetradrachm from Syracuse under Agathokles, featuring a portrait of Persephone on the obverse and Nike on the back.
when i first started collecting ancients back in the 80's i got very excited and bought the Sears books, which i would read through almost like a novel. i would sit in the bath or lie in bed turning page after page studying all the amazing coins within the covers and choosing which ones i wanted to try and aquire (they say catalogs are for dreamers ;) ). i quickly fell in love with the coins from Syracuse, and decided that more than anything else i wanted a tetradrachm from that city. i would try to figure out how much that would cost based on different formulas, the most common being to double the price listed in Sear and then add a zero.
but going to various shows during that time i soon realized that, short of winning the lottery, my collection was probably never going to contain a Syracusan tet.
it now does!
i hope you like it,
~ Peter
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I've never seen that type before. It's very nice and I'm so glad you got what you've wanted for so long!
As usual, love the write-up :)
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thanks Nick!
while not pristine, it really does look much better in hand. Persephone's portrait is quite lovely, but my imaging doesn't do Her justice.
at one time many years ago i aspired to specialize in Syracusan coinage, but this is actually my first truly Sicilian AR. and it is quite a chunk of silver!
~ Peter
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another new Persephone...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-113601
this coin was very cheap, but it is actually quite charming. "much better in hand" as they say, especially with such a tiny little blob of bronze.
i have an issue with the traditional attribution though, but what's new? :evil:
~ Peter
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here's the latest addition to my gallery, an AE hemidrachm from right here at Forvm...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-115689
i noticed a short while back that my Syracuse collection had no representation from the 'Time of Timoleon', so that has now been corrected. :)
~ Peter
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i just added another AE3 of Julian as Augustus, this one from Siscia...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-118398
i don't really collect Late Roman coins anymore but this guy fascinates me. and since i'm right in the middle of Gore Vidal's Julian i thought i'd treat myself. :)
~ Peter
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Hi Peter
Yes I agree Julian was an interesting people....
I have some type of his coin may be interest you :)
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=3914
Best regards
Q.
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that's an impressive Julian collection quadrans, thanks for sharing. :)
~ Peter
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that's an impressive Julian collection quadrans, thanks for sharing. :)
~ Peter
Thank you Peter..
Q.
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my latest addition is a bronze from Pella, featuring a veiled facing Demeter.
although it is not rare or historically important, it has great personal significance to me.
and even though the condition isn't great, the wear gives it a certain haunting feel i think, almost like Demeter is approaching out of the mist...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-121786
~ Peter
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Nice addition..
Q. +++
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thank you quadrans.
i just added a new Julian II bronze purchased from here at Forvm, this one a Fel Temp Reparatio...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-122334
this is my first FTR of Julian, and i find the reverse scene rather funny considering the inscription. nothing says "Happy Days" quite like impaling someone to the ground with a spear.
ahhh, those really were the good old days! :)
~ Peter
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today's addition is an MFB didrachm from Nola in Campania...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-122832
this coin has some wear but i love the style of the nymph, who is quite beautiful (despite the tattooed eyebrows ;) ).
i purchased this one as a didrachm from Neapolis, but the ethnic, while not complete, is clearly that of Nola which was located about 15 miles northeast.
i think it is really cool, and hope you like it too!
~ Peter
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not the coin, which is a very common type, but the purchase itself. this is my third coin this week!...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-122863
i know many here add coins by the bucketful and probably don't understand my excitement, but being on a budget i pick and choose very carefully what i add to my collection, especially when it takes me outside of my beloved Magna Graecia. and after my last two didrachms the bank is pretty dry! i rarely get 3 coins in a month, let alone in one week, so even though it is a budget piece i'm pretty jazzed about this one from Forvm Auctions.
so check it out and see what you think,
~ Peter
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and yet another!
this time a Julian II bronze from Antioch. i didn't really need another votive type, but i love the portrait on this one. and since i didn't have one from the Antioch mint i decided to get it...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-123012
i was also intrigued by the 'ANT B' mintmark. ;D
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i picked up this bronze of Smyrna from my favorite old coin shop in California during an otherwise disastrous vacation... :(
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-123126
the attributions are from Wildwinds but i am not entirely sure of their accuracy. i include them here hoping someone might be able to confirm or correct them.
thanks for looking.
~ Peter
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The inscription should have Y, not :Greek_Psi:.
Nice coin. I've never seen this type with wreath surrounding Apollo before.
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nor had i Nick, which is one reason i was interested in it.
and the Y must've changed when i used the automatic converter, but is now corrected.
thanks!
~ Peter
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i picked up a new bronze coin from Arpi, a city i didn't previously have in my collection. it isn't in great condition, but it also wasn't very expensive so i decided to treat myself...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-123699
some of the details are faint, but the Kalydonian boar is pretty cool and the mottled green patina is much nicer than the image shows.
~ Peter
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i picked up a new bronze coin from Arpi, a city i didn't previously have in my collection. it isn't in great condition, but it also wasn't very expensive so i decided to treat myself...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-123699
some of the details are faint, but the Kalydonian boar is pretty cool and the mottled green patina is much nicer than the image shows.
~ Peter
Hi Peter, good specimen.. +++
You can find mine to compare :
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-115019
regards
Q.
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that's a nice example with a very clear thunderbolt quadrans, which seems to be a scarce feature on this series.
~ Peter
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that's a nice example with a very clear thunderbolt quadrans, which seems to be a scarce feature on this series.
~ Peter
Thank you :)
Q.
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my newest coin is an extremely rare silver fraction from Enna in Sicily...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-125035
all coins from this city are scarce, and the silver issues especially so, being minted for only a brief period in the 5th century BC.
Enna was the location of Persephone's abduction by Hades, and so becomes a very important place in Greek religion. the cult of Persephone and Her mother Demeter was very active here, as is reflected within the imagery of this coin.
as such this becomes a very special coin to me, and makes a nice bookend to my bronze coin from Eleusis, the location of Persephone's annual return...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-102257
~ Peter
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Nice Addition both.. +++ :)
Q.
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thanks Q!
i've added two coins recently received as gifts, one from a friend and one from myself. 8)
the first (from me to me) is a fraction from Samos, featuring a lion's scalp obverse.
when i first started collecting ancients in the late 80's, i was fascinated by this new (to me) field of numismatics! i used to lay in the bath reading SGV and dreaming of all the coins i would buy, completely ignorant of their current values. an Athenian owl, an Ephesian bee, a Boetian shield, an Aegean turtle; a facing head Larissa... and a lions's scalp from Samos.
well, my interests changed and i now look to fill those needs without breaking the war chest. i have a pretty nice bronze bee, and a smaller Boetian shield. so i got this obol from Samos as my latest virtual tetradrachm. 8) it's a bit pitted and worn, but...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-125792
the next is from a friend, and is a really nice example of early Magna Graecian incuse coinage. this and the Metapontine type with an incuse bucranium are two of my favorite MG fractionals, so this is a happy addition...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-125773
~ Peter
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Hi Peter,
Both of them are very nice addition :), +++
Regards
Q.
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nice small silver +++
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thank you gentlemen! :)
my latest acquisition is a bronze from Neapolis in Campania featuring Apollo and the man-faced bull.
it is a common type but i thought this was a nice one, with the mfb's details unusually clear and well-centered.
enjoy (and please hit 'Position +' for proper order)...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-127160
~ Peter
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thank you gentlemen! :)
my latest acquisition is a bronze from Neapolis in Campania featuring Apollo and the man-faced bull.
it is a common type but i thought this was a nice one, with the mfb's details unusually clear and well-centered.
enjoy (and please hit 'Position +' for proper order)...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-127160
~ Peter
Nice piece .. :)
Q.
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Nice one, Peter! Is it I or :Greek_Xi_2: behind?
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Nice one, Peter! Is it I or :Greek_Xi_2: behind?
thanks Nick!
i can't be sure about the symbol behind Apollo. i went with I because i wasn't aware of anything similar. however, the top crossbar seems longer than normal so maybe it is :Greek_Xi_2: .
how does that change the attribution, if at all?
thanks in advance,
~ Peter
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If it is truly I behind Apollo/ IS below MFB with nothing in ex, then it is Taliercio IIIa.21 (she cited two examples)
If it is :Greek_Xi_2: behind/ IS below MFB with nothing in ex, it is unlisted by Taliercio, but it is listed by Graziano as "Graziano 423". These have been appearing a lot recently so I think it is this type, and examples weren't discovered when Taliercio did her study.
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thanks Nick.
there definitely is nothing in ex, and the IS is quite clear, but the coin is a bit rough where this symbol should be so i may never know for sure (damn, i keep finding these 'tweeners'). i didn't think there was anything there until i got the coin in hand, although i think i can see the top half of an I, but the defining bits would be beneath that. :(
curiously,
~ Peter
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I believe the "I" coins never feature "lined" tops and bottoms, just a straight line, but the Taliercio plate is very dark. I can look at other "I" varieties and confirm that tomorrow. Also, the style of the obverse is consistent with the :Greek_Xi_2: types.
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it could be a straight line too! lol
this coin is very dark, with an almost black patina.
i'm going to compare it to some more online images just to make sure my eyes aren't crossing and that there really is something there at all.
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So all the "I" coins I examined are simple "I" forms with no crossbar. This coin is therefore either a :Greek_Xi_2: variety or a simple horizontal dash, but the second, smaller horizontal line indicates a :Greek_Xi:. These are often poorly struck and sometimes it looks like three dots, which are actually the ends of the horizontal lines of the :Greek_Xi_2:.
Helpful links (I don't want to crowd your gallery page with other coins!):
I type:
https://manfacedbulls.wordpress.com/neapolis-part-ii/attachment/301009/
Horizontal dash type (has something in ex.):
https://manfacedbulls.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/659var.jpg
:Greek_Xi_2: types:
https://manfacedbulls.wordpress.com/neapolis-part-ii/coin-86/ (I think this is your variety)
https://manfacedbulls.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/677crop.jpg
So, if you want to be really fancy, you could say it is "Graziano 423; MSP I, 364," and you would be the first person ever to catalog a coin in one's collection with Potamikon number :)
Hope this is helpful!
Nick
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So all the "I" coins I examined are simple "I" forms with no crossbar. This coin is therefore either a :Greek_Xi_2: variety or a simple horizontal dash, but the second, smaller horizontal line indicates a :Greek_Xi:. These are often poorly struck and sometimes it looks like three dots, which are actually the ends of the horizontal lines of the :Greek_Xi_2:.
:Greek_Xi_2: types:
https://manfacedbulls.wordpress.com/neapolis-part-ii/coin-86/ (I think this is your variety)
browsing through your site i landed on this same coin as the most likely candidate. and i agree that the portraiture on the :Greek_Xi_2: types is closer to my coin than most. however Sambon 659 is described as having an I with crossbars and nothing in exergue, and this leaves me curious. unfortunately 659 is not illustrated.
So, if you want to be really fancy, you could say it is "Graziano 423; MSP I, 364," and you would be the first person ever to catalog a coin in their collection with Potamikon number :)
Hope this is helpful!
very helpful Nick, thank you. and the temptation to be the first to quote Potamikon as a source is just too irresistible! ;)
gratefully,
~ Peter
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Sambon 659 is actually a Z behind Apollo, and Taliercio corrected his mistake (presumably) when she examined the specimen he cited (Taliercio IIIa.11).
Glad you are using the Potamikon number!!!
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Sambon 659 is actually a Z behind Apollo, and Taliercio corrected his mistake (presumably) when she examined the specimen he cited (Taliercio IIIa.11).
well that just about seals it then.
so can we safely state that this type is unlisted in Sambon?
Glad you are using the Potamikon number!!!
8)
~ Peter
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Yes, your coin isn't listed by Sambon or Taliercio, though it would fall under the more general HN Italy type. Sambon catalogs similar coins under his no. 673-77.
My guess is a new (post 1987) hoard was discovered which accounts for the new type, though I'm not entirely sure where Graziano noticed the first one. He should list it, but I don't have his work on me at home. He might have uploaded it to academia if you want to check.
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Edit: Graziano doesn't list this type either! I'll have to correct my catalog. Graziano repeats Sambon's mistake in his listing no. 391.
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So the plate for Graziano 423 is your coin variety, but Graziano's description is wrong, claiming there is a mark in ex. that isn't there (which would make it Sambon 677). We corrected Graziano's mistake, accounting for your new variety (see HJB 58282) and listing Sambon 677 separately.
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thanks Nick, i think i've got all that sorted out. 8)
here's my latest coin, a weird little bronze from Corinth i recently got at auction...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-127783
normally i would never have looked twice at this beat up little coin, but it was sold as being a very rare and unpublished type from Taras, with a hippocamp obverse and what seems to be Phalanthos swimming with a dolphin on the reverse.
and while i was almost certain it was not Tarentine, i did think it might be a coin from a neighboring city in Calabria or Apulia, so i decided to get it as a project.
thanks to the diligence of a friend i discovered that not only it is not from Taras, but it isn't even from Magna Graecia. it is not a hippocamp, it is not Phalanthos, nor is it particularly rare. in fact it isn't really even Greek!
this is a Roman provincial piece struck at Corinth under Roman rule during the time of Tiberius.
and while it obviously has been harshly cleaned, it may also in fact be tooled (not sure looking at it under a glass, but the scratches are suspicious).
oh well, live and learn. :(
~ Peter
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here's a nice little coin from Kroton in Bruttium. it is considered a triobol by one standard, and a diobol by another. i prefer diobol, as the term tribol indicates 3 obols, which is half a drachm. and this is certainly not a hemidrachm...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-127795
~ Peter
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here's a nice little coin from Kroton in Bruttium. it is considered a triobol by one standard, and a diobol by another. i prefer diobol, as the term tribol indicates 3 obols, which is half a drachm. and this is certainly not a hemidrachm...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-127795
~ Peter
Hi Peter,
your coin cannot be a diobol. The weight of the achaean obol in south Italy was 0,447g. I already discussed this topic on this forum some years ago.
During the second half of the 6th and the first half of 5th centuries BC, southern Italy was divided in three distinct monetary "districts".
The first, between the rivers Sele and the Alento, dominated by a "Phoenician" stater of 7.76 g (binary system: 1 stater = 2 drachms =12 obols).
The second, restricted to the only territory of Rhegion, which uses a drachm of g 5.82, as well as all the other Chalcidian colonies of Sicily.
The third, by far the most important for this issue, (extended from Kroton to Tarentum) that issued a stater defined "Achaean" or "reduced Corinthian" (ternary system: 1stater = 3 drachms = 18 obols).
"Achaean", because originally adopted by all Achaean poleis of Magna Graecia, from Metaponto to Sybaris, to Kroton.
"Reduced Corinthian" because divided into thirds like the Corinthian, but with mass under the standard established for this unit.
It was probably a measure aimed to ensure more tax revenue to the community. In other words, the local currency was issued at lowest weight compared to the foreign currency, and the gain came by imposing an equal rate to merchants using foreign currency.
We can determine the mass of "Achaean" Stater looking to the coinage of Kroton in the fifth century. Colin M. Kraay identified in the triobol, issued at that time in considerable quantity, a fractional having an economic-technical function, that allowed the passage from local currency to original Corinthian currency.
2 corinthian Staters = 2 achaean Staters + 1 triobol
So, for a corinthian stater (weight standard 8,72g) we have:
(2 x g 8,72) = 2 achaean Staters + 1 triobol = g 17,44
..and, turning into obols the achaean:
(2 x g 8,72) = [(2 x 18) + 3] obols
therefore:
17,44 : 39 = g 0,447, which is the weight of the achaean obol (multiplying by 18 this unit we can set for the achaean Stater 8,04 g)
However, a beautiful acquisition, congratulations!!
Best :)
Nico
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+++ ;) :)
Very nice coin Peter...
and a very nice useful explanation by Nico..
Regards
Q.
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the past month was not a very good one for me, numismatically speaking. i lost out on 3 different coins from Magna Graecia at auction, all of which should have ended up in my collection (at least according to me).
so i went in a different direction and bought a coin which i have wanted since i first started collecting ancients 28 years ago. somehow another coin was always available when i had money and so i never pulled the trigger.
that has now changed.
the facing head nymphs of Larissa are not uncommon, and you can find one at nearly any dealer or auction. however the artistic quality varies greatly from engraver to engraver, with the nymphs covering every aesthetic point from Salma Hayak to Larry Fine.
really, some of them are quite hideous, but many are among the most beautiful coins ever produced, imo.
i believe my latest acquisition is from the latter group, and i'm so glad to finally strike this one from my list with a coin of such fine style. as pretty as the image appears, in hand it is even more so, with a remarkably high relief for such a spread flan...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-128203
~ Peter
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the past month was not a very good one for me, numismatically speaking. i lost out on 3 different coins from Magna Graecia at auction, all of which should have ended up in my collection (at least according to me).
so i went in a different direction and bought a coin which i have wanted since i first started collecting ancients 28 years ago. somehow another coin was always available when i had money and so i never pulled the trigger.
that has now changed.
the facing head nymphs of Larissa are not uncommon, and you can find one at nearly any dealer or auction. however the artistic quality varies greatly from engraver to engraver, with the nymphs covering every aesthetic point from Salma Hayak to Larry Fine.
really, some of them are quite hideous, but many are among the most beautiful coins ever produced, imo.
i believe my latest acquisition is from the latter group, and i'm so glad to finally strike this one from my list with a coin of such fine style. as pretty as the image appears, in hand it is even more so, with a remarkably high relief for such a spread flan...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-128203
~ Peter
Nice specimen.. +++
Q.
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thanks Q!
computer problems have kept me from announcing some of my latest purchases. i can access the gallery about half of the time, but my success rate with the discussion board is about 10%, and then it usually times out before i can post. strangely enough i've found i can get to the discussion board from the gallery with a little more success.
anyway...
i picked up this scarce bronze from Syracuse featuring Pyrrhus' mother Phthia...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-129562
the coin is nicer in hand, and has a dark patina which i was not able to capture without losing detail.
the next is a bronze from Ephesus...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-129660
this was not a coin i really had to have, but it was cheap and i really love these little bees. :)
i also added a couple of rarities to my Taras collection recently, but i will post those here...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=78345.125
~ Peter
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Nice acquisitions.... +++
I hope you solved your computer problem :)
Regards
Q.
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my latest acquisition, a gift from a friend, is a severely underweight tetradrachm from Athens. ;)
actually this tiny little fraction is quite charming, and much much nicer than the image shows, especially the owl. it really does look like the iconic tetradrachm in miniature, and in fact is probably harder to find than the larger version.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-132172
~ Peter
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Hi Peter,
Nice coin indeed.... +++ :) ;)
Q.
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here's a couple of new additions.
i got this denarius of Marcus Aurelius from Joe a few weeks ago, but i'm still having access issues so i couldn't post it until today. the inscription is a bit mangled, but as i don't really collect Romans i just wanted a nice portrait of the Philosopher King, and i think this one has that...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-132663
and i still think he looks like Alec Guiness!
the second one is another budget coin, this one from Syracuse...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-132785
although it cost little more than a tank of gas it really is quite pretty in hand.
~ Peter
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Nice additions. I especially like the Aurelius.
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Great coins Peter,
The Marcus Aurelius one of my favourit :) +++
And your Greek coin are always enjoyable.. :)
Q.
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thank you both!
my latest additions are an eclectic pair. the first is this extremely rare variety of a Marcus Aurelius bronze from Cassandreia...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-133351
uncommon with Poseidon facing left, this is only the second known specimen with Poseidon facing right, the other being in the Leake collection (misattributed to Commodus).
the next is a 5th century BC Magna Graecian didrachm (stater) from Kaulonia in Bruttium...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-133368
these are not uncommon at all, but i've wanted an example for some time. and while the coin was struck at the beginning of the classical era, the imagery is strongly late archaic, and i love the Apollo figure with the little daimon running along His arm. :)
enjoy,
~ Peter
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Nice coins again .. :) +++
Q.
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The Aurelius is really valuable +++ . the Macedonian art power gave the guy a portrait of a philosopher .
Congratulations my friend.
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I have to get a Kaulonia some day. I've been to the town a few times. There isn't much there but a few scattered ruins along the roads. I wonder what still lies beneath everyone's houses!
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thank you all!
I have to get a Kaulonia some day. I've been to the town a few times. There isn't much there but a few scattered ruins along the roads. I wonder what still lies beneath everyone's houses!
Taranto is much the same way, or so i've been told. everything has been built over, and very little of the original polis remains extant.
what a great pity. :(
~ Peter
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here's a couple of additions I've been waiting to post, but my computer is finally down for the count. so i'm posting this from work (don't tell them, ok?)
this veiled Tyche is from Tarsos...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-134867
and this Mesembria AE I picked up at a local coin show, just to keep from coming home empty-handed. the portrait is actually very pleasant in-hand...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-134954
have a look!
~ Peter
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Both nice additions!
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+++ +++ Nice bronzes!
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thank you!
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the sudden need to buy a new car has kept me from buying any coins of late. it has also required me to patch this old broken down computer back together one more time!
but i did manage to acquire a couple of new coins this month, a silver didrachm which i will post in my Taras thread, and this Seleukid AE which i got through the Forvm Auction...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-136855
the serrated bronze is a type i've wanted to add for some time, and this one seemed rather nice for the price. i'd still like to get a Republican denari though. :)
~ Peter
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Good choice .. +++ :)
Q.
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thanks Q :)
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Great addition!
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i just added this silver drachm from Velia...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-137483
these are the earlier of two similar types issued by Velia, and the more archaic look of this series, in both the appearance of the nymph and the incuse reverse, really grabbed me. these were struck prior to the beautiful and more famous Athena/lion types, and represent a very significant event in the history and political/economic development of southern Italy.
i've always been a sucker for the coins of Velia, and the first 'major' ancient i ever bought was from there (Williams 297), but i really like this one!
enjoy,
~ Peter
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here's another new didrachm just recently acquired, this one from Neapolis...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-137501
this is one i've wanted for a long time. although the obverse appears rather rough, it really does look much better in hand, especially after a little light cleaning. but it was the reverse that i am most interested in. many affordable examples of this type have very worn reverses, as these coins circulated well into the Roman era. but this one is well centered and not too badly worn, considering.
i'm happy with it! :)
~ Peter
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Great additions!
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Nice Neapolis, Campania
+++ +++
Q.
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thank you gentlemen, and thank you both for the gracious gallery comments as well. those always make my day! :)
~ Peter
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Nice one! I wish we had a MFB emoticon for times like this! (Hint hint Joe...)
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that could be the cover for Volume II. 8)
~ Peter
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Haha nice +++
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here's another new one, a bronze from Kyzikos...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-137527
this seems to be a rather unimpressive coin, but it actually means quite a lot to me (apart of its connection with Persephone).
when i first started collecting ancients back in the late 80's many of my cheaper purchases in those pre-internet days were made from non-illustrated price lists which i would get from dealers listed in the back pages of various coin magazines. if the description was interesting and the price reasonable i would send a letter off and a few weeks later my new 'treasure' would arrive, and my wife would be looking over my shoulder as i opened up the envelope for the big reveal.
one of the coins i bought this way, back before i thought of specializing, was a common bronze from Kyzikos, very much like this one.
years later, after we moved to Oregon, i saw a special on PBS about a group of people in England who were attempting to raise a standing stone in a way which could possibly explain how our ancient ancestors might have done it. this fascinated me as i had always been impressed by the various standing stone sites throughout Europe, and had even dreamed of trying it myself one day. so some friends and i decided to give it a go at a communal garden we had established a year earlier, which was 20 years ago this summer. so we lifted 17.5 tons of columnar basalt and granite into a trilithon, using no modern machines, nothing more than ropes and pulleys, and a LOT of people power! as a dedication i decided to bury a coin from my collection beneath the garden, and it seemed only natural that it be my bronze from Kyzikos... Persephone returning to the Underworld!
so since this is the 20th anniversary of the garden i went looking for a similar coin, and this is it.
pretty long story for a very common coin, huh? ;)
~ Peter
PS; i've attached a picture of the original structure, which has now been joined by a complete circle of smaller stones.
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Wow, that's amazing! Nice work (and coin too).
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thanks Nick.
it was a true labor of love, and the second greatest thing i ever did.
~ Peter
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here's another new bronze, this time from Soloi in Cilicia...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-137573
~ Peter
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Nice coin,
It would be great to see a photo of the completed structure you posted earlier at some stage. :)
Peter
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thanks Peter.
the stone circle was completed about 10 years ago, although it's hard to see the entire thing from any one vantage point. the garden is 39 feet in diameter and composed of three concentric beds divided by walkways, with a fire pit at the center. besides the large 'gate' in the above picture there are 12 more smaller stones around the perimeter. i always get a kick out of thinking about the future archaeologists who will be arguing about whether or not the ancient Greeks ever made it to Jefferson Oregon. 8)
here are a few more pics, the first from the west looking east, and the second from the north looking east....
~ Peter
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What a marvelous feature for your garden.
I am envious of your large garden. Inner metropolitan suburbs in Australia rarely come the large backyards my parents generation were accustomed to. I have become accustomed to looking out of my windows and straight into a colorbond fence. One day I'll retire in the Barossa Valley (our wine region) and make sure I have lots of land.
It would be funny if those stones survived many generations until one day some future archaeologist wonders how they came to be put on your land and what their connection is with Stonehenge!
Peter
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thanks Nick.
it was a true labor of love, and the second greatest thing i ever did.
~ Peter
What was the greatest, if you don't mind me asking?
-
marrying my wife, Debbie.
~ Peter
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and yet another new coin, this one a silver fraction from Eion in Macedonia...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-137595
i really love this little coin.
~ Peter
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Ah, yes, of course!
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What a marvelous feature for your garden.
I am envious of your large garden. Inner metropolitan suburbs in Australia rarely come the large backyards my parents generation were accustomed to. I have become accustomed to looking out of my windows and straight into a colorbond fence. One day I'll retire in the Barossa Valley (our wine region) and make sure I have lots of land.
It would be funny if those stones survived many generations until one day some future archaeologist wonders how they came to be put on your land and what their connection is with Stonehenge!
Peter
i'm on .7 acres in the middle of Salem, but the house is situated in the center so i don't have enough usable room for a garden like this either, although my dog Repo can stretch his legs.
this garden is located at a friends house about 18 miles south of here in a small town where most of the homes have a least an acre, and many are small farms. it is, in fact, the mint capitol of the world!
my latest addition is a diobol from Ephesus which i purchased last weekend from Joe. i like these little bees and didn't have one in silver until now. i think it's kinda cute...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-138209
~ Peter
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Hmm both :
the Eion, Macedonia and the diobol from Ephesus are great
Congratulation +++
Q.
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i may bee going buggy, since my last three coins have all featured bees, but i am currently all a-buzz about this sweet early 5th century diobol from Ephesus...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-138281
and remember to choose 'Position +' if you're browsing my gallery so everything shows up in the proper order.
~ Peter
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That's an anatomically reasonable bee, with the wings in the position adopted by flies, and a shortened abdomen. That's what a dead and dried bee looks like, and it's very common, so I suspect they tended to work from old dried specimens at times. Other times they're anatomically all over the place.
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interesting observation Robert, and i remember a similar discussion on this very subject a few years ago.
my newest addition is a beautiful silver drachm from Herakleia in Lucania...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-138339
i went through a lot of hassle with this coin, including unnecessary delays and what i consider to be excessive fees, overly high postage (for the service), etc. i was getting so frustrated that i just knew i would never be able to look at it without remembering those frustrations.
and then it arrived, and i have to say i'm enthralled.
this is from the final period of Herkleia as a Greek mint, but they sure went out with a bang!
have a look and see if you don't agree.
~ Peter
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I'm actually quite impressed by some of these representations of bees. Old bee identification books (I have one from the 1930's) have pics done from dried museum specimens, and they show similar distortions.
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here's an AE drachm from early 4th century Syracuse, an enormous hunk of bronze!...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-139054
i've wanted one of these for a long time, but they are usually, imo, quite overpriced. it is also a coin which is very often faked, which made me a bit shy as well.
i got this one at auction for what i think was a very reasonable price, although it is far from pristine.
it occurred to me that if launched from a sling this coin could be as lethal as a sling bullet!
~ Peter
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Nice addition Peter,
I like this style of small Greek coin... :) ;) +++
Regards
Q.
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thanks Q! :)
here's a couple of new coins I picked up from Joe during the recent sale.
the first is a cool little billon fraction from the island of Lesbos, c. 500 BC, featuring a very interesting visual illusion...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-141775
and the second is a bronze from Campania after the Roman occupation. I had actually been considering this one for quite awhile, but something else always turned up...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-141774
enjoy, and remember to hit 'Position +' to view my gallery in the proper order. 8)
~ Peter
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Great additions.
I had my eye on the one from Cales, Campania. I am glad it went to a good home.
Peter
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yeah, it seems like a few people were eying that one. 8)
here's my latest acquisition, a bronze from Pherai in Thessaly...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-142947
~ Peter
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Interesting coin. A lion-head fountain!
Peter
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Wow, Enodia => you have several cool new gallery additions (congrats)
I love the lion fountain examples from Thessaly (I have a Pherai example as well ... very cool addition)
+++
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very nice coin. Stkp
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here's a few new ones I've just uploaded to my gallery.
the first I've actually had awhile, but i'm just now adding it here. it is a bronze from Pherai which I was given for my birthday back in September...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-143328
the second is a Provincial with a veiled Demeter from Anazarbus i bought just last week...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-143270
enjoy!
~ Peter
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Great additions Peter,
How did you pick up the reference to Hamlet?
Peter
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from a paper I once wrote regarding Shakespeare's obsession with Hekate called (what else?) Shakespeare in Love... With Hekate?
in fact the Immortal Bard makes reference to Her in no less than 4 different plays, Hamlet, King Lear, Midsummer Night's Dream, and of course the wonderful scene in MacBeth with the Weird Sisters. She also appears again in that same play.
go figure!
~ Peter
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here's my newest coin, another bronze from Pherai which bookends a different one I have that depicts Hekate facing left...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-145306
~ Peter
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I like this :)
Q.
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thanks Q!
I haven't added many coins so far this year, but that should change soon as I have a new coin from Taras on the way which i'm pretty excited about.
stay tuned,
~ Peter
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this post is not to announce a new addition, but rather a number of subtractions.
I have come to an agreement with the Hallie Ford museum here in Salem to donate my wife's collection of antiquities to their permanent collection...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=2424
everything but the arrowheads will be on display there in her memory sometime soon.
this was something I've thought about doing for a few years now, and I think under the circumstances she would approve.
however actually taking them out of her display cabinet and packing them up was harder than I thought it would be.
the Hallie Ford museum is an extension of Willamette University, and they have a rather nice collection of Greco-Roman items already, including coins. it will be nice to see her small collection of glass and statuary in context with the other permanent pieces displayed there, and now everyone who cares for such things will be able to enjoy them too.
~ Peter
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That is a very thoughtful gesture (neat little collection)
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Very nice of you. I’m sure the museum and patrons will appreciate them.
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Indeed. Great idea. It would be nice to see a picture of the display once they arrange it.
SC
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Congratulation +++
Q.
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thank you all.
I will be signing the papers this week, and they should be on display at the museum in a few months time.
along the same lines I just added this Thracian bronze of Demeter in Her veil...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-146958
~ Peter
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my latest additions are this bronze coin from Poseidonia which I got from Joe last week, very rare with the left-facing Poseidon...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-147145
and a bronze Roman key from around the 3rd to 4th centuries AD...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-147222
~ Peter
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Great additions Peter. I somehow missed the Poseidonia bronze.
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yeah, I grabbed it almost as soon as Joe put it up! ;D
~ Peter
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That's a very cool Poseidon coin ... oh, and the bull reverse is also very appealing (congrats on that sweet addition)
Man, your entire Magna Graecia - Italy grouping is a fantastic sub-gallery (it was a pleasure to thumb-through your awesome examples)
+++
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thank you Steve, very kind of you to say so. :)
today I added a charming little seated griffin from Teos in Ionia. I've wanted one of these for along time (although to tell the truth I was hoping for a stater ;) )...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-147457
~ Peter
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here is my latest addition, and also my oldest coin.
it is an obol from the earliest days of Sybaris (550-510) before its destruction by the Krotones...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-149273
these are usually described as "bull with head turned back", and of course the staters from this period are of the classic Magna Graecian incuse type (which I wish I could afford!).
but reading through one of my books about Sybaris I find that the white ox was the most common and preferred beast of burden there, and this (to me anyway) looks more like an ox than the bull devices usually seen on Greek coins of this region. it is certainly different than the bull types of Sybaris' colonies of Poseidonia and Thurii.
what do you think?
~ Peter
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Nice!
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Fantastic!
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great looking bull
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Moooo => sweet bull (congrats)
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I haven't posted here for a couple of months, as i haven't bought any new coins during that time. However i did have three coins lying around which i hadn't added to my gallery until now.
Since i changed jobs (and my home computer is DOA) i no longer have office access to the internet. But after a lot of trial and error and cursing i finally figured out how to add coins from my phone! So here they are...
This one is a type I've been after for a long time, but the nice ones are usually too expensive and the budget examples are often kind of, well, ugly. But i found this one reasonably priced so i snagged it. It is from Terina in Bruttium and features a lovely nymph on the obverse and a delicate Nike holding a bird on the reverse...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-150948
The next one is a really cool provincial bronze from the time of Claudius which was a birthday gift from a friend. It depicts both Livia and Hekate, and for me that is a hard combination to beat! ...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-150944
Check them out,
- Peter ;)
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Both, great addition, +++
Q.
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Cha-ching! ... Enodia, congrats on adding those two new babies to your already kick-arse collection!
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Here's a couple of new ones;
First up is a veiled Demeter from Thessaly with a lovely green patina...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-153010
And next is an interesting Pan from the Black Sea region...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-152990
Hope you like 'em,
- Peter
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Nice ... I like both of your cool new additions
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:Greek_Rho: :Aupsidedown: :Nline: :reversedR: :Greek_Theta: :Csquare: :Greek_Kappa: :Greek_Stigma:
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Thanks! :)
- Peter
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My newest piece is a bit outside my usual collecting area, but so have the last two.
This is a coin I've actually been wanting for awhile but they don't come up too often, and I've had a bit of bother trying to get a decent catalog attribution for it. Of course this one showed up when I was broke, but that's what obsessions are all about right?
It is a 20mm bronze from Asia Minor featuring the goddess Hekate. Let me know what you think...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-153568
- Peter
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I haven't bought many new coins lately, but I just got this one last week...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-155727
This is a rare variant of an otherwise rather common bronze of Syracuse. I have only found one other with the right-facing bull online (so far), and that one appears to be a die match.
The portrait is a bit plain, but l think the bull is pretty nice.
- Peter
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Nice coin, Peter. Are you certain about the control mark letters? They seem a bit different to me from the photo, but they are probably more easily discernable in hand.
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They are questionable. Most of the references suggest AY above and IE in ex, but it looks to me like a lambda above, and below might even be a sigma.
- Peter
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It's been more than a year since I've added a non-Tarentine coin to my collection, and even longer since a new Roman coin has come my way. However this provincial Nero really grabbed me, and although I really bought it for the Hekate reverse the portrait is bold and high relief, far moreso in hand than the image shows...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-166266
Hey, it doesn't hurt to have another of the twelve caesars, right? ☺
And since this is the 11th Hekate coin in my collection I thought it only right to give Her a specific gallery, so meet me at the crossroads...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=7410
~ Peter
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Just sayin'. ☺
~ Peter
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Here are a couple of bronze coins I picked up over the winter.
First is a Greek AE22 from Dionysopolis in Moesia with a veiled Demeter obverse (this one is pretty rare)...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-168298
And next is another Hekate coin, this one as Triformis, a pseudo-autonomous provincial from Apameia in Phrygia...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-168280
~ Peter
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That's a cool reverse!
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Thanks Jay, and for the comment.
The next coin I just bought last week, and it completes a dream I've had since 1988. That is when I first started collecting ancients, and from that first day until now I have wanted an Athenian tetradrachm of the classical period. I firmly believed that my collection would never be complete without one of the most iconic coins from the ancient world.
That desire has now been fulfilled, and I'm very happy! 🙂
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-168998
~ Peter
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Great coin, Peter,
Congratulation +++
Joe
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Thanks Jay, and for the comment.
The next coin I just bought last week, and it completes a dream I've had since 1988. That is when I first started collecting ancients, and from that first day until now I have wanted an Athenian tetradrachm of the classical period. I firmly believed that my collection would never be complete without one of the most iconic coins from the ancient world.
That desire has now been fulfilled, and I'm very happy! 🙂
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-168998
~ Peter
Your comment has really made my day because the first ancient coin I acquired was the Athenian Owl. They are the most recognisable ancient coins. It’s always nice when others enthuse about the coin. I love your apt description of Athena’s Mona Lisa smile.
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Hey Peter
Great looking owl. That iconic coin is on my want list and I have set a soft goal of acquiring one this year. If one doesnt come along that speaks to me it might turn into a multi year goal :)
Congrats on getting a gorgeous one.
Blayne
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Thanks Jay, and for the comment.
The next coin I just bought last week, and it completes a dream I've had since 1988. That is when I first started collecting ancients, and from that first day until now I have wanted an Athenian tetradrachm of the classical period. I firmly believed that my collection would never be complete without one of the most iconic coins from the ancient world.
That desire has now been fulfilled, and I'm very happy! 🙂
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-168998
~ Peter
Fantastic! And no test cuts either! Congrats.
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That is a beautiful coin, certainly an owl is on my wish list, as well.
Virgil
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Thank you all!
This is the most expensive coin I have ever bought, but with retirement looming in the next year it was now or never.
So it'll be ramen noodles for a few weeks, but I'm happy. 🙂
~ Peter
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Nothing wrong with Raman! I am glad to see names I recognize still here. :) That is a beautiful coin for sure.
Chris
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Chris! Good to see you back man!
And thank you.
~ Peter
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along with ancient coins my other big hobby is collecting Sherlock Holmes. To that end I just picked up this coin...
~ Peter
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Pretty cool Peter
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along with ancient coins my other big hobby is collecting Sherlock zHolmes. To that end I just picked up this coin...
~ Peter
They appear to have used Basil Rathbone as Holmes. ;D
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I think it's the classic Sidney Paget image, but I must say that although I'm happy they honored the world's greatest sleuth I find the design somewhat uninspired.
Rathbone's depiction was great, but pressed to decide I have to go with Jeremy Brett.
Still, I'm glad to have it, and it only cost a six-pack. 🙂
~ Peter
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along with ancient coins my other big hobby is collecting Sherlock Holmes. To that end I just picked up this coin...
~ Peter
Interesting piece... +++
Joe
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Yeah, thanks Joe.
It's part of a long series including Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Rabbit, etc. I'm sure our UK members are familiar with them.
~ Peter
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An older coin I just wanted to highlight...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=87946
~ Peter
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It's been a long time since I've added anything significant to my gallery, but here are 2 coins from Velia i recently acquired.
The first is a rare tiny obol featuring the forepart of a lion gnawing on a stag's leg. The small size and dark toning make it very difficult to make out in hand, but I think it is a great example of late archaic style. It is also the oldest coin in my collection.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=176941
Next up is a stealthy bronze of 15mm. I say 'stealthy' because it is SO much prettier in hand than the picture shows. Another dark coin, I had to lighten the image uite a bit just to be able to see any details. Obviously the owl is quite lovely, but what is harder to see is the amazing portrait of Herakles. I was very pleased when I opened my package!
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=176934
~ Peter
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Both are wonderful coins, nice to see you posting some new ones.
Virgil
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What a fascinating collection of ancient coins and antiquities! I also enjoy reading your erudite descriptions! Thanks very much for sharing your wonderful collection with us!
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Thank you both for the kind words. 🙂
The archaic obol is an unusual coin. Williams only list 2 samples, both described as 'lion facing left'. However the plates show both coins facing right. The coin is rare in any case, but I wonder which is more so.
In any case it is a miniature version of a contemporary drachm which I have wanted for awhile but which is seldom offered. This I guess this is my consolation prize.
~ Peter
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Every now and then a coin jumps up an says "I'm yours". This coin did that to me, and I'm so glad. I wasn't looking for anything like it, although I do have an affinity for veiled goddess coins.
Joe, you hooked me!
Looking around the internet I found many many examples but only one as pretty as this specimen (I suspect from the same dies), but not in as nice a grade...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=177361
I haven't decided on the best way to de-plasticize it yet, but it will happen soon. I like to touch my ancient coins!
~ Peter
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Beautiful coin. Getting them out of their prisons is pretty easy, there are threads here about it. I just use a thin screwdriver, stick it into the side and twist in a few places and it pops apart.
Virgil
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HELLO... Hello... hello... 😕
Oh well, should anybody wander by here is my latest addition...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=177903
The Nike reverse is not very well struck and the dies were obviously worn, but I like the Hekate portrait.
Please turn off the lights on the way out.
~ Peter
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Interesting how the portrait fits the oblong flan perfectly!
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I love the portrait. Nice coin.
Virgil
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Thanks guys.
Interesting how the portrait fits the oblong flan perfectly!
Yeah, that's cool. I have a few like that, and it makes me think of some guy in the back room of the mint trying to reclaim odd flans by engraving them individually.
🤔
Nah, probably not.
~ Peter
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Okay obviously this retirement buying moratorium isn't going as planned.
There have just been too many coins in my collecting area coming up lately, and most of them reasonably priced. What's a poor boy to do?
Well indulge myself of course. I've always been able to resist anything but temptation! 😄
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=178701
This one, my first didrachm from Herakleia, really does look [cliche mode] so much better in hand [/cliche mode]. The image definitely exaggerates the surface problems.
But this coin is, to me, such a classic example of a Magna Graecian didrachm that I just had to give it a good home.
Enjoy...
~ Peter
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It is a beauty, Peter. I know what you mean about dialing back the purchasing. LOL.
Virgil
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Thanks for sharing. I was just rummaging among my 'Greek Italians' and wishing I had more than the one specimen for Velia. I hadn't made the connection of the K as (possibly) Kleodoras in Heraklea. I have a Kleudoras "˃Ε" monogram coin (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=155942) (as do you (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=97831)) for Velia (330-325 BC) and a "K" coin (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=155931) for Heraklea (400-350 BC). The dates on these coins neither disqualify nor confirm any such connection, but wouldn't it be nice if they did!
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It would indeed! 🙂
~ Peter
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What a great Hercules reverse Peter! Great coin!
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Thanks Ron.
My newest is still another coin from Velia...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=179821
This was sold as a litra, which didn't ring true. But the stated weight of 0.73g was incorrect and the coin is actually a diobol, slightly underweight due to wear, but certainly not a smaller denomination.
~ Peter
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Lovely owl
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Thanks Jay.
Yeah, that's what sealed it for me.
~ Peter
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That is a great little coin. I echo Jay's sentiment: lovely owl indeed.
Tracy
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Thanks Ron.
My newest is still another coin from Velia...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=179821
This was sold as a litra, which didn't ring true. But the stated weight of 0.73g was incorrect and the coin is actually a diobol, slightly underweight due to wear, but certainly not a smaller denomination.
~ Peter
Cute little thing... +++
Joe :)
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Got this little beauty from Metapontum for a song, and I think it was a bargain...
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=181955
~ Peter
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Lovely little coin.
Virgil
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I hadn't planned on adding any more coins since retirement has curtailed my finances rather severely. However I really needed a fix and this coin was very cheap, so I pulled the trigger. It's not at all beautiful but it is nicer than the image.
As I get older It's becoming a lot harder to keep up with my joneses! 😇
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=186177
~ Peter
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Glad to see you back Peter
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Thanks Jay.
My collecting days are drawing to a close unfortunately, but a surprise kicker in my tax return has allowed me to buy something a little nicer... stay tuned!
~ Peter
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Can’t say I’ve noticed coins with dual equestrian sides before. I like it.
By the way, any chance either you or jay - fine gentlemen that you are - would be willing to post a new gallery of the year poll for 2023?
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You still haven't Ron, as the reverse is actually a very scrawny bull. It doesn't look very bovine, but his head is turned toward you in a butting posture.
As far as the Gallery of the Year goes, it very difficult to do and keep up with without a real computer. Currently I only have my cell, so I say go for it! 😉
~ Peter
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I'll start the thread for nominations for gallery of the year
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It’s OK +++ +++
Joe
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This tiny coin was offered for no more than the cost of dinner, so I had to go for it. I think it's kinda nice with the full crest helmet. What d'you think?
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=186762
~ Peter
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I think that it's a lovely coin and for the cost of a dinner, probably a bargain. Congrats!
Tracy
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Thanks Tracy.
Yeah, too pretty to pass up.