By Austin Andrews for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… Infanthood is one of the few universal conditions that every adult has once experienced, which they cannot explicitly recall. Within this known ignorance, there is a fascinating projection of humanity onto the divine, in terms of religious sentiment and human psychology. If the gods look and […]
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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. BORN IN 247 BCE at Carthage (near modern Tunis in North Africa), Hannibal Barca[1] is remembered as one of the greatest military commanders of ancient history. His father, Hamilcar Barca[2] (lived 275-228 BCE), led Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the 23 year-long First Punic War, defeating a revolt by […]
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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. BORN IN 247 BCE at Carthage (near modern Tunis in North Africa), Hannibal Barca[1] is remembered as one of the greatest military commanders of ancient history. His father, Hamilcar Barca[2] (lived 275-228 BCE), led Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the 23 year-long First Punic War, defeating a revolt […]
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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. Pamphylia was not a country unto itself but a region. It is located on the southern coast of Asia Minor (Modern Turkey) surrounded by Lycia to the west, Cilicia to the east, and Pisidia to the north. In ancient Greek, Pamphylia meant “of mingled tribes or races”, and […]
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Ancient Coins and The Colosseo Collection, by Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC …… Depending on who was in control at the time, the electrum coinage of Phokaia and Mytilene in Ionia was struck as payment to either the Persian Empire or the Delian League. Issued semi-annually, the volume of ancient coins minted […]
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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 * * * This article is the second part on the coinage of Troas, a region of northwest Asia Minor adjacent to the Hellespont. Its history goes back to the Bronze Age and the Hittites, and Troy (Ilium), […]
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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …… IN 2007, CANADA captured a world record by producing five examples of a 100-kilogram gold piece (220.5 pounds, or a bit over 3215 troy ounces). It was 53 centimeters in diameter (21 inches) and three centimeters thick, denominated at one million Canadian dollars. “Why did the Royal […]
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Zeus – Father of the Gods Cook Islands. 20 Dollars 2022. Silver .999. Gilded. 3 oz. Silk finish. Size 60 x 30 mm. Mintage: 501 pieces. Special technology: smartminting® (Ultra High Relief); Special Shape. B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich. Description of the Coin The blank is minted in the shape of an enthroned Zeus. One […]
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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Mithridates VI Eupator (b.120 – d.63 BCE) was born into Pontic royalty under an auspicious sign. Justinus relays, in his recounting of Pompeius Trogus’s Historiae Philippicae, the story of how two comets lit the night sky for 70 consecutive days. This event was memorialized in a series of […]
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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. I consider myself well-read in ancient Greek history, but I have to admit that I wasn’t very familiar with Paeonia. I actually own a very nice Patraus tetradrachm, which probably triggered my interest in looking deeper into their history. The Paeonians were said to have derived their name from […]
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By Oliver Hoover for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… Everyone loves to find coins in unexpected places. There’s a certain thrill that comes from discovering dropped coins on a city sidewalk or loose change behind the couch cushions. The thrill is even greater when the find is more unusual or esoteric, like a bronze follis […]
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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. Kephallenia is the sixth-largest island of Greece and the largest in the Ionian Sea. It is located opposite the Gulf of Corinth (Figure 1). The island was associated with the city of Elis on the mainland but functioned independently. Kephallenia is about 31 miles long and 20 to three […]
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Seleucus I Nicator, the founder of the Seleucid Empire, never put his own portrait on the empire’s coinage. Why? By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Since coins were one of the most effective tools for mass propaganda in the pre-modern world, it quickly became standard practice for a ruler to put their likeness […]
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By David Hendin for CoinWeek ….. Over the years I have spent three seasons as numismatist at excavations of Sepphoris in the Galilee, sponsored by Duke and Hebrew Universities. This is one of the reasons I’ve become so fond of the city the ancient historian Josephus dubbed “the ornament of all Galilee.” The coins of […]
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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Istros, also known as Histria, was an ancient Greek colony located on the western Dobrudja coast of the Black Sea. Situated approximately 300 miles north of Byzantium, this small city was founded by Miletian traders around 657 or 656 BCE. As the oldest Greek colony on the Black Sea, […]
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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. What does it take for an ancient historian to claim that you died by having molten gold poured down your throat? Easy – you just need to be the richest Roman to have ever lived. It also helps if you earned your vast fortune through slavery, dubious business dealings, […]
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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As a collector, you have many different options when deciding on your collecting strategy. And while everyone starts in a different place, most run into the two main questions of quality or price. But it is important to realize that there are no correct answers to these questions, and […]
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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. In recent years, Heritage Auctions has become a major player in the ancient coin market. Traditionally in America, the most important ancient coin auctions of the year take place in January, in association with the New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC). This year is no exception, even though the […]
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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. The god Achelous was associated with the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece. This river still flows from the Pindar Mountains through western Greece and down into the Ionian Sea. It formed the border between Akarnania and Aetolia for part of its length. Like other river gods, Achelous […]
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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. EPIRUS IS A rugged corner of northwestern Greece and southern Albania. It emerged as an independent kingdom in the fourth century BCE, a time when other contemporary Greeks regarded the region’s tribes as “semi-barbarian”. About 319 BCE a prince of Epirus was born, named Pyrrhus, whose father was a […]
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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. High in the mountains of Pisidia in Anatolia, near the Mediterranean coast of what is now southwestern Turkey), lay the remarkably well-preserved ruins of Termessos Major. Unconquered by man, the city was felled by nature when an earthquake destroyed a local aqueduct in the fifth century CE (AD). Despite […]
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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. High in the mountains of Pisidia in Anatolia, near the Mediterranean coast of what is now southwestern Turkey), lay the remarkably well-preserved ruins of Termessos Major. Unconquered by man, the city was felled by nature when an earthquake destroyed a local aqueduct in the fifth century CE (AD). Despite […]
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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. “This is a very rare coin; only two examples known! Unfortunately, the only guy in the world who cares has the other one.” — Classic Numismatic Joke (source unknown) “Unique” means one of a kind. The ultimate rarity. The rarest anything can be. This designation, […]
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By Jeremy Bostwick – Senior Numismatist & Cataloger, Stack’s Bowers …… Outside of an Athenian “owl”, there may be no more desired and iconic coinage from antiquity than that featuring one of the most successful military commanders in history, Alexander the Great. Born in 356 BCE to Philip II, king of Macedon, at age 20 […]
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Interesting silver coins from Central Greece are available for modest prices By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) …… One popular area for ancient Greek coinage is central Greece, home to a number of important cities, notably Athens. From the sixth century BCE onward, a great variety of coins were struck there, principally in silver and […]
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Ancient Olympics – Elis, Olympia, 87th-90th Olympiad, 432-420 BC. AR Stater [1] Coins of the Ancient Olympics By Russell A. Augustin – AU Capital Management, LLC The Colosseo Collection …… One of the few ancient traditions to survive until the modern world is the Olympic games. Occurring in the same four-year cycle today as in […]
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Greek coins are available for every budget By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) …… As we saw in the last column, ancient Roman coins offer some unexpected opportunities for collectors at most every level of budget. This month we’ll focus on similar bargains available in the field of ancient Greek coins, many of which are […]
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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. The Seleucid empire fell apart as things do – internal failures and others’ successes, inevitability and chance. The epithets of kinglets accumulated, reechoing because the core was hollow… When at last the lots were shaken and the world divided, the kingdom’s west fell to Rome and its east to […]
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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. Part I | Part II Antiochus V & Timarchus When Seleucid king Antiochus IV died unexpectedly in 164 BCE, he left his nine-year-old son in the care of Lysias, a trusted official. As Antiochus V, the boy’s portrait appears on the coinage[1] with the epithet Eupatoros (“son of a […]
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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. Part I Antiochus III When Seleucus III was poisoned by his officers in 223 BCE, his 18-year-old son, Antiochus, inherited an empire that was rapidly falling apart. In a reign of 35 years, Antiochus III tried to emulate the conquests of Alexander, earning the epithet Megas (“the Great”). The […]
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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. Ptolemy IV Philopator (222 – 204 BCE) THE LONG DECLINE OF Ptolemaic Egypt began with the reign of Ptolemy IV, who was born about 245 BCE and came to the throne on the death of his father in 221. He is known by the epithet “Philopator” (“Beloved of His […]
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Ancient Greek CoinsBy Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC…. The Colosseo Collection Philip II was the father of Alexander the Great and the youngest son of King Amyntas III. He took the throne in 359 BCE upon the death of his elder brothers, at a time when Macedonia was a poorly organized, economically insignificant, […]
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Greek Coin Profile By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC …… As the Olympics became progressively more popular, the city of Elis sought to build a new, larger temple which was worthy of Zeus, the king of the gods. The project to build the Temple of Zeus began in 470 BCE and was completed […]
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Ancient Greek Coins By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC Lampsakos has a storied past, having been a frequent source of contention between battling powers, changing hands between Lydia, Persia, Athens, and Sparta between the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. It was the first ancient Greek coins from city-state to see its gold coinage […]
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By Joël van Dam – Owner, Joëlnumismatics, for MA-Shops.com …… Jupiter, the Roman Zeus Last month I spoke a little about mythology on ancient coins. This month, I want to begin to discuss the gods and goddesses, and heroes and monsters of myth–beginning with the Roman god Jupiter. I came to the conclusion when I […]
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By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC The Colosseo Collection …… Akragas was a wealthy and powerful Greek state on the southern coast of Sicily, second only to Syracuse in importance. The city was famous for its lavish building projects, proudly displaying its wealth in the form of numerous massive temples, many of which […]
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David Vagi continues his discussion of the designs of select ancient Greek coins in the fourth of a multi-part series By David Vagi – Director, NGC Ancients …… As our survey of Greek silver coins continues, we’ll depart from the geographical format and investigate the coins of the Hellenistic Kingdoms. With the expansion of the […]
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NGC’s David Vagi discusses the design varieties of select ancient Greek coins in this first of a multi-part series By David Vagi – Director, NGC Ancients …… The variety of designs found on ancient Greek coins seems limitless, and trying to pick the 10 most famous coin types is like trying to choose the 10 best […]
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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. COINAGE IS CONSERVATIVE. IF a denizen of ancient Rome picked up a modern American dime, he would recognize familiar symbols: a torch, an olive branch, oak leaves. He could even understand the Latin motto E PLURIBUS UNUM (“Out of Many, One”). Similarly, if that ancient Roman picked […]
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By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC The Colosseo Collection …… Depending on who was in control at the time, the electrum coinage of Phokaia and Mytilene in Ionia was struck as payment to either the Persian Empire or the Delian League. Issued semi-annually, the volume of coins minted was prolific – both mints […]
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Olynthus, 355-352. Chalcidian league, 432-348. Tetradrachm, silver Ancient Greek “guitar” – the reverse depicts a kithara from which the word “guitar” is derived. By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC …… Fearful of Athens and the growing power of the Macedonian Kingdom, Olynthus and the other free cities of the Chalcidice banded together […]
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By Joël van Dam – Owner of Joëlnumismatics, for MA-Shops.com …… There is no theme based on myths in the history of coinage that can be detected so frequently as the ” Hercules ” theme. If you don’t know a lot about this theme, then it isn’t strange that you might expect that he was popular only […]
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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. And if any man will sue thee at law and take away thy coat [Greek: chiton; Latin: tunica], let him have thy cloak [Greek: himation; Latin: pallium] also. —Matthew, 5:40[1] LIVING IN A WORLD OF CHEAP, machine-made textiles, it is easy for us to forget that every […]
The post Does This Toga Make Me Look Fat? Clothing on Ancient Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. As with politicians, nothing is more important to gods than image … Perhaps this is the secret of the longevity of the God of Israel, that He never allowed an image of Himself[1]. THE OLD TESTAMENT’S STRICT PROHIBITION of idolatry inhibited the development of religious art in […]
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By Joël van Dam – Owner of Joëlnumismatics, for MA-Shops.com …… The city of Akragas was one of the predominant cities of ancient Sicily. A typically Greek city, it was founded in 688 BCE by the Geloans in Sican territory in the southern part of the island settled by Dorians. They started minting coins in […]
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By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC…. As the Olympics became progressively more popular, the city of Elis sought to build a new, larger temple which was worthy of Zeus, the king of the gods. The project to build the Temple of Zeus began in 470 BCE and was completed in 456 BCE. It […]
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The tomb of Philip II of Macedon at the Museum of the Royal Tombs in Vergina By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC…. The Colosseo Collection Philip II was the father of Alexander the Great and the youngest son of King Amyntas III. He took the throne in 359 BCE upon the death of […]
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By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC The Colosseo Collection ….. Lampsakos has a storied past, having been a frequent source of contention between battling powers, changing hands between Lydia, Persia, Athens, and Sparta between the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. It was the first Greek city-state to see its gold coinage reach broad […]
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By Atlas Numismatics …… New Inventory These six coins are just a sample of the 738 recent additions to our inventory. We have added new material in Ancient (37), World (751) and US (13). Beautifully Toned Alexander III Tetradrachm http://atlasnumismatics.com/1040195 This and the following images courtesy of Atlas Numismatics 1040195 | GREEK. KINGDOM OF […]
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By Atlas Numismatics …… New Inventory These six coins are just a sample of the 738 recent additions to our inventory. We have added new material in Ancient (37), World (751) and US (13). Beautifully Toned Alexander III Tetradrachm http://atlasnumismatics.com/1040195 This and the following images courtesy of Atlas Numismatics 1040195 | GREEK. KINGDOM OF […]
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By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC The Colosseo Collection …… Depending on who was in control at the time, the electrum coinage of Phokaia and Mytilene in Ionia was struck as payment to either the Persian Empire or the Delian League. Issued semi-annually, the volume of coins minted was prolific – both mints […]
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Olynthus, 355-352. Chalcidian league, 432-348. Tetradrachm, silver Ancient Greek “guitar” – the reverse depicts a kithara from which the word “guitar” is derived. By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC …. Fearful of Athens and the growing power of the Macedonian Kingdom, Olynthus and the other free cities of the Chalcidice banded together in […]
The post Ancient Coins – A Celebration of Music with a Greek “Guitar” appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC The Colosseo Collection …… Depending on who was in control at the time, the electrum coinage of Phokaia and Mytilene in Ionia was struck as payment to either the Persian Empire or the Delian League. Issued semi-annually, the volume of coins minted was prolific – both mints […]
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