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Author Topic: My Taras collection  (Read 66763 times)

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Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #275 on: May 27, 2023, 01:58:22 pm »
A couple more fractions added this week, one a rare variety.
The first is an early hemiobol featuring a skyphos (cup) with the handle right, a more common (and unfortunately lower grade) example than the left-handled specimen already in my gallery...

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=182761

Next is a later and much scarcer hemiobol with winged Eros riding the dolphin, which may be the only Tarentine coin featuring the son of Aphrodite. However the image of Eros appears quite frequently in other aspects of the cities' art, particularly votives and vase paintings. This is probably a nod to Sparta, the mother city, where Aphrodite's cult was well imbedded...

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=182760

~ Peter

Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #276 on: June 12, 2023, 03:06:49 pm »
Another fraction, this one with a provenance...

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=183085

I actually bid on the wrong coin as I already have one like this with an even better provenance (Vlasto himself!), although they are from different dies. However I wanted another fraction from the auction but placed the bid incorrectly (d'oh). And of course the little rarity I meant to buy may never be offered again.
*sigh*

~ Peter

Offline Anaximander

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #277 on: June 12, 2023, 03:16:39 pm »
Been there, done that (doh!) (facepalm). 

Must say, though, that's really a lovely coin, fraction or not. 
I didn't know that you count the "teeth" of scallop shells. And I thought I knew everything...


Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #278 on: June 12, 2023, 03:41:28 pm »
I thouht so too!
But it is a lovely little thing so I'm not too disappointed. Still...

~ Peter

Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #279 on: September 16, 2023, 11:55:23 pm »
No new coins sadly, but with retirement comes the project I've been putting off...
re-cataloging my collection.
Serendipitously a new set of books has come out this past year which is now the definitive study of Tarentine coinage. So I  have had my nose to the books for the past week and I'm about 1/3 of the way through, mostly the easy ones.
What is exciting is going through all these endless varieties and finding my own coins illustrated. I now have 4 (so far) D'Andrea plate coins!
So my gallery will be a bit confused for the next month or so, but I'm sure no one will notice. After Taras I'll tackle the rest of the gallery with the goal of having it finished by the end of the year.

~ Peter

Offline Curtis JJ

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #280 on: September 17, 2023, 10:55:13 am »
I'm jealous of your D'Andrea et al. books! It seems like they have much more narrative explanation than the major collection vols., Vlasto & Cote, and it's nice they are in English (I read German very slowly, so trying to work through all of Fischer-Bossert would take me ages).

I just got Ravel's Vlasto Collection (reprint) a few weeks ago, and I've already seen a couple of the Vlasto coins not noted as such at current auctions (others must've noticed as well, because I was convincingly outbid). I've been wondering how many D'Andrea "plate coins" have sold unnoticed in the same period.
“Collect the collectors…” John W Adams’ advice to J Orosz (Asylum 38, 2: p51)

Galleries https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/index.php?cat=27154

Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #281 on: September 17, 2023, 11:18:01 am »
I'm still waiting for the third volume of the catalog to become available. The D'Andrea site says it has been released and has a link to their shop but it doesn't work. I'm at the point with my re-cataloging where I need it.
The format is a bit awkward and I wish their was a symbol index like Vlasto. Also the Diobols book does not cross-reference the other three volumes, which would be very helpful.
Since the data is drawn from auction records there would be a pretty good chance of a buyer finding a coin from their collection, especially in the Diobols volume.
This coin is a plate coin from Vlasto, 'The Coins of Tarentum From VI Century BC To 350 BC' and 'The Diobols Of Tarentum'...

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=129324

~ Peter

Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #282 on: September 22, 2023, 10:56:47 am »
I contacted Alberto D'Andrea a few days ago and he said that Volume 3 has been delayed but should be out in October. I can't wait!
The good news is I am up to 9 plate coins so far.  🙂

~ Peter

Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #283 on: March 12, 2024, 04:31:36 pm »
It's been a long time since I've posted a new coin here, but a surprise windfall on my tax return provided me with the means to payoff some bills, get new tires, etc. But instead I bought a new coin!
This one is a later didrachm that was priced nicely and the cool little bucranium sealed the deal for me. A Dionysian reference perhaps?
Have a look...

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=186313

~ Peter


Offline Anaximander

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #284 on: March 15, 2024, 08:15:03 am »
Quote from: Enodia
I contacted Alberto D'Andrea a few days ago and he said that Volume 3 has been delayed but should be out in October. I can't wait!
The good news is I am up to 9 plate coins so far.  🙂

Did the third (and final?) volume of D'Andrea get issued? And is there a Numiswiki entry for these titles?  I've not seen anything for this author and would welcome additional information.  I was pleased to finally get an Obol Int'l reprint of Vlasto (by O. Ravel), but something more up-to-date would be helpful.

Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #285 on: March 16, 2024, 06:00:22 pm »
Yes!
I have all four volumes now and I really like them. I spent the holidays updating my Taras collection, at least as far as dating which is now much more specific. The attention to fractionals is unprecedented in my knowledge, and the diobols are looked into quite deeply, both from a numismatic point of view as well as the economic role this series had on the entire region.
I found a few errors, but nothing major. One description was of the wrong plate, etc. One interesting entry showed the plate coin as being gleaned from an auction in 2019  but which has been in my collection since 2013ish.

Giving up the Vlasto priority was a huge jump for me, but I'm happier now that the chronology is sorted. Now I still need to rewrite all those descriptions.
Being retired means new coins will be fewer and much further between, but the upside is I can finally get caught up on all my gallery homework. (if I could still read. When did they start using smaller, fuzzier type?)

~ Peter

Oh, I'm up to 17 plate coins!

Offline Anaximander

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #286 on: March 21, 2024, 10:29:24 am »
That's a lot of plate coins for just one person  ;). And with that hoard of yours, the coins of Taras, I can see your wanting all those books. For me, lacking that depth with just seven coins, not so much. I've got HN Italy and Vlasto to lean on. I'll say that it's been fun matching up my coins with dies found in the various collections. I can't image doing so with more than 100 coins  :o

Here's what I've gleaned:

Authors: Alberto D'Andrea, Marco Miglioli, Giuseppe Tafuri, Enrico Vonghia.
Publisher: Edizioni D'Andrea s.n.c. di Alberto D'Andrea & Christian Andreani. Bari, Italy.
 
The complete project on the Tarentine coinage provides for the publication of four volumes: the first three are only on the coins (from the beginning to the Roman conquest), while the fourth deals with the typological, epigraphic and figurative aspects connected to the coinage.

The coins of Tarentum from the beginning to the Roman conquest. (Bari, Edizioni D'Andrea, 2022-2024)

Offline Anaximander

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #287 on: March 21, 2024, 10:36:17 am »
Here's the rest of my reply (I have technical difficulties posting. Error 403, like 50 times)
1. From VI century to 350 BC (2022) 366 pp.
2. From 350 BC to 281 BC (2023) 340 pp.
3. From 281 BC to 209 BC (?) 388 pp.
4. TBA

See also:
The Diobols of Tarentum (2022) 238 pp.
The Diobols of Tarentum in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. (2023) 124 pp.

Sound right?

Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #288 on: March 21, 2024, 11:19:33 am »
That's about right. The 4th volume is an in depth study of the diobol series alone and probably necessary only if one specializes in this series. However it is a fascinating study of the economic impact these little coins had on the entire region during the late 4th and 3rd centuries BC. This is also the cheapest book in the series (about $80).
Overall I can't recommend this set enough, but in your case I would stick with Vlasto, or maybe SNG France (Calabria). Seven coins may not be worth the expense. But for someone like Leo, with his beautiful and quite substantial Taras collection, I think it will prove essential.

Anaximander if you would like the newer dating for your coins I'd be more than happy to look them up for you.

~ Peter

Offline CPK

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #289 on: March 21, 2024, 01:12:03 pm »
this also arrived today...
Taras: Its History and Coinage, by George C. Brauer.

i'm in the middle of a Sharpe novel at the moment so it'll be a day or two before i can really dive into this, but as soon as the musket smoke clears...   :)

~ Peter

Great coins!
I know I'm quoting a 12-year-old post, but I thought it was interesting because just recently I've been going through Cornwell's Sharpe novels. I'm on the fifth one and really enjoying them so far.

Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #290 on: March 21, 2024, 01:18:33 pm »
Are you reading the 'prequels' first? I think these are one the absolute best in the military historical fiction genre, right up there with O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books.

So have you seen the Sharpe TV series? 16 made for TV movies from the '90s starring Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley. Quite a lot of fun.  🙂

~ Peter

Offline CPK

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #291 on: March 21, 2024, 06:29:52 pm »
Are you reading the 'prequels' first? I think these are one the absolute best in the military historical fiction genre, right up there with O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books.

So have you seen the Sharpe TV series? 16 made for TV movies from the '90s starring Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley. Quite a lot of fun.  🙂

~ Peter

I'm not sure...haven't heard of any prequels. I started with Sharpe's Tiger - set in India during the war against the Tipu Sultan. Listening to them on audio, by the way. Right now I am finishing up Sharpe's Prey (Seige of Copenhagen)

I haven't seen any of the TV series (don't have a TV) but I'm sure they'd do well in that medium!

Offline Enodia

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Re: My Taras collection
« Reply #292 on: March 21, 2024, 06:44:06 pm »
Yes, Sharpe's Tiger was written as a prequel and is the chronological beginning.

 

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