Ancient Coins

https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=96939

D E M O C R A C Y

The Ayyubid Dynasty was founded by Saladin, one of the most famous islamic war warriors of all time. Personally, this is one of my favorite historical coins, and he interests me the most out of all islamic figures. Of course, besides Khalid ibn Walid.

https://numismatics.org/exhibits/ancient-greece-and-the-mediterranean-world/

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22986247

https://numismatics.org/exhibits/ancient-greece-and-the-mediterranean-world/

https://numismatics.org/exhibits/medieval-byzantine-and-islamic-empires/

When I started collecting ancient coins I was stunned you could just, like, buy them. On ebay, via auctions, etc.

Ebay, however, is full of fakes, and as a new collector you have no means of spotting a fake coin unless it's very obvious. So where do you go?

Vcoins

Vcoins is a sort of marketplace for ancient coins, where trusted dealers list their coins for sale. Almost every dealer there provides a lifetime guarantee that their coins are genuine, and will take back a coin if it's fake.

You can find coins in all price ranges - from 10 dollar late roman bronze coins to gold coins costing thousands of dollars.

Recommended :)

Another Philip I Arabs for the collection :) Common but in good shape

This coin is a tetrachalkon from Rhodes struck between 229 and 205 BCE. It's a pretty special coin - and I'll try to explain why :)

Coins from Rhodes typically feature a rose on the reverse (back) - this is a play on words because the Greek work for rose is Rhodon - and Helios the sun god on the obverse (front). In fact, Helios was so important to Rhodes that they built a huge statue honouring him - the Colossus of Rhodes - on the entrance to the Harbour. It was 33 meters tall, roughly the same size as the Statue of Liberty today, and is recognized as one of the original wonders of the ancient world.

This particular issue features Zeus, though. Why? Well, around 226 BCE Rhodes was struck by a devastating earthquake which toppled the statue and destroyed much of the city and harbour. This was a significant event, and Greek states from all over the Mediterranean sent help and offers to help rebuild the city and raise the statue again.

According to Strabo, the statue had broken off at the knees. An oracle was consulted, and told the citizens of Rhodes not to rebuild it, and so they turned down this part of the relief effort.

The most important and riches of Greek kings at this time was Ptolemaios III of Egypt. In fact he was so generous that the Rhodeians must have wanted to honour him in some way.

And so they struck this coin - you see, Egyptian coins at this time almost always featured Zeus on the obverse in a very recognizable style which is replicated here. It is difficult to explain the obverse motif without this Egyptian connection, at least.

I bought this coin some 6 years ago, and I don't see many of them around. It wasn't particularly expensive, but it has a special place in my collection because I find the circumstances for it being struck so fascinating.

Obverse: Laureate head of Zeus right

Reverse: P - O, Rose with bud to right. Control: TE to left

18mm, 5.73g

Ashton 234; HGC 6, 1469.

HADRIANVS - AVGVSTVS, laureate bust right, drapery on left shoulder

COS - III, Roma standing right, holding spear and parazonium

RIC II 160

Bought in 2017 for 25 GBP

Roman coinage from the punic wars is interesting, but quite a bit rarer is coinage from Carthage before it was razed. They minted quite exquisite coins in gold, silver and copper. Below is an example of such a copper coin!

30mm, 17.4g Obverse: Head of Tanit left, wearing wreath of grain ears and single-pendant earring.

Reverse: Horse standing right, palm tree in background to left, ligate Punic T and S below.

MAA 84b, Muller Africa, 154 - SNG Copenhagen 341-3 VF

Obv: L AELIVS CAESAR. Bare head right.

Rev: TR POT COS II / CONCORD. Concordia seated left on throne, holding patera and resting elbow upon cornucopia.

RIC 436 (Hadrian).

Weight: 3.23 g. Diameter: 18 mm.

Lucius Aelius Caesar (13 January 101 – 1 January 138) was the father of Emperor Lucius Verus. In 136, he was adopted by the reigning emperor Hadrian and named heir to the throne. He died before Hadrian and thus never became emperor. After Lucius' death, he was replaced by Antoninus Pius, who succeeded Hadrian the same year.

A Latin alphabetic inscription on the coin bears the name "Esunertos," which can be translated as "mighty as the god Esos," (also spelled Esus) the statements said. The name itself is Gaulish

The head of Athena and an owl near an olive branch.

Credit: Laura Lipcsei / Royal Ontario Museum

This is a follis - a silvered bronze coin, although the silver is almost worn off here - struck in the city of Nicomedia, now Izmit in Turkey, around 310-311 CE.

Maximinus - called Daia - was the nephew of the emperor Galerius, but a series of complicated political decisions and maneuvers by Licinius I, Constantine, and his uncle ultimately led to his rebellion. Licinius quickly defeated him in two set battles and had him and his family executed.

Maximinus II is a fairly easy emperor to collect, his coins are common and readily available in good grade, althoug perhaps not exactly as common as his rivals Constantine I and Licinius I. Only in bronze, though - silver and gold coins were in this period infrequently struck and this makes them rare and expensive.

Folles from Nicomedia sometimes, like in this case, feature a CMH written as a ligature after the reverse legend. We don't know why - it could be a mark of value, it could be a shortened epithet honouring the emperor.

Obverse: IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMINUS PF AVG, Laureate bust right

Reverse: GENIO AVGVSTI CMH

6.78g and 22mm

RIC VI 66c