By David Yoon for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… Something we are asked from time to time is how much a past coin was worth in terms of present-day money. It can be hard enough sometimes to say what the coin was worth at the time it was in circulation. Equating it to present-day money […]
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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. In 1204, Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Crusade. Less than six months later, Enrico Dandolo, the Doge of Venice; Boniface, the Marquess of Montferrat; Baldwin, Count of Flanders; and Louis I, Count of Blois signed the Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae. Translated as “The Partition of the lands […]
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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. Flower of Scotland, when will we see your like again? That fought and died for your wee bit hill and glen…[1] BY ONE ESTIMATE, some 20-25 million Americans can trace their ancestry to Scotland[2]. But despite this, the dramatic and bloody medieval history of Scotland is often treated as […]
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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. An interesting group of Roman Republican coins, serrati (saw-edged) denarii have proved to be an enigma for numismatists for hundreds of years. As H. Mattingly states in his seminal 1924 piece on serrati, these Roman coins are completely different than Macedonian, Syrian, and Carthaginian serrati. Firstly, the Roman host […]
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By David Yoon for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… It has long been said that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. This is an essential principle in archaeology, where the formation of evidence is usually very complex and poorly understood. Various alternative possible explanations are always conceivable for the patterns observed. Nevertheless, […]
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By Bullion Shark LLC …… Following the California Gold Rush of 1848, the ratio between silver and gold that had stood at 16:1 for so long was upset, with large quantities of gold entering the American market. This helped push up the prices of other metals, especially silver, and so the melt value of circulating […]
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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. The Balkans produce more history than they can consume. — Attributed to Winston S. Churchill (1874-1965) THE SLAVS BEGAN migrating into southeastern Europe during the chaotic sixth century, interacting – sometimes as adversaries, sometimes as subjects or allies – with the Eastern Roman (“Byzantine”) Empire. By the time of […]
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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Now called the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, the order’s name was originally The Knights Hospitaller. A Roman Catholic religious order founded in 1048 by Italian merchants from the Amalfi coast, the group originally consisted solely of men who took […]
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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. MOST ANCIENT PEOPLE lived close to nature. Long before they built temples of stone, they worshipped their gods in sacred groves[1]. Greeks myths describe trees inhabited by supernatural spirits called dryads[2], who could take the form of beautiful young women. The ancient Mediterranean world was a much […]
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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. Portugal, a small, narrow country on the Atlantic coast of the Iberian peninsula … was created during the Christian reconquest of the peninsula from the Moors. Unlike other lands that eventually became Spain, Portugal asserted and maintained its independence, emerging at the end of the Middle Ages as a […]
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Bridges on Roman Coins By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) …… A number of Roman coins depict bridges, although not always exact likenesses. As engineers and architects, the Romans had few peers in the ancient world. Many of their buildings and monuments survive to this day, though most have vanished due to catastrophes or the recycling […]
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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. THE CILICIAN KINGDOM OF ARMENIA (1199 – 1375) produced a vibrant culture strongly influenced by interaction with neighboring Crusader states[1]. Wealth derived from trade between East and West led to an extensive royal coinage that includes some of the most handsome and popular medieval coins collected today. Cilicia[2] is a […]
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Excellent examples of Byzantine coins are easily affordable By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) …… As we discovered in the previous two columns, the fields of ancient Greek and Roman coins provide the budget-minded collector with opportunities perhaps unequaled in any other area of numismatics. This month we’ll continue the discovery with Byzantine coins, which […]
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The reverse designs of late Roman coins typically feature military themes By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) …… Coins of the Late Roman Empire have a remarkable variety of designs. In the previous column, we examined some of the principal types encountered on the obverse – typically the imperial portrait. In this installment (and the […]
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By Chris Chatigny – Numismatist & Cataloger, Stacks Bowers …… Rare Alexander of Carthage Rebellion Issue The upcoming Stack’s Bowers Galleries May Collectors Choice Online Coin Auction featuring Ancient and World coins is now online. This week’s ancient coin preview is lot 70113, a scarcely seen type produced by a rebellious Alexander of Carthage. […]
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The coinage of Nero spans his long reigns as Caesar and emperor Nero is among the best-known of all Roman emperors – but not for good reasons. During his eventful reign, from 54 to 68 CE, Nero had relatively few accomplishments, yet is credited with a long list of failures. The fact that he ruled […]
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