Category Archives: electrum stater

CIT Introduces Series of Coins Inspired by Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece Series Cook Islands, 5 Dollars 2022. Gold .9999. 0.5 g. 11 mm. Silk finish. Mintage: 15,000 pieces each. Minted by B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich. Description of the Coin The obverse of all issues features the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley (initials: IRB); around it the name of the ruler, […]

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Mythology and Ancient Coins

By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. The mythology of ancient Greece and Rome is vast, and many volumes have been written on it over the centuries. In the United States, several books have popularized the subject, with Bulfinch’s Mythology (1855) being the gold standard. Using it as a guide, the following is a brief exploration […]

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Music on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. MUSIC IS MUCH older than civilization — it may be as old as language itself. The earliest known musical instrument, a flute made from a bear’s shinbone found in 1995 in a cave in Slovenia, dates from 43,000 years ago[1]. In the ancient world, musical instruments played […]

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Eagles on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. Majestic, powerful, swift, and intelligent, the eagle has held a strong grip on human imagination since the earliest times. The bald eagle, native to North America, features prominently on the Great Seal of the United States, and on many classic and modern American coins. The U.S. $10 […]

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Ancient Coin Highlights of the Heritage January 2021 NYINC Auction

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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Ancient Greek Coins: Archaic to Classical

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Archaic Greece, born out of the ruins of the Bronze Age Mycenaean culture, quickly began to dominate the eastern Mediterranean Sea. For roughly three hundred years after that great Mediterranean power–centered on the city of Mycenae but with trading cities throughout the Peloponnese and Asia Minor–violently collapsed, Greece descended […]

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The Ancient Coins of Phanes

By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. The first coins to be struck appeared c. 650 BCE in what is now western Turkey. These coins were little more than blobs of electrum; what made these blobs “coins” rather than “bullion” is that they were cast to fit precisely within a measured system of weights and […]

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Reading Ancient Greek Coins

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. Perhaps one reason for the comparatively small interest in Greek coins in the country is the difficulty of understanding their inscriptions. This difficulty is not as great as might be supposed… (Pennington, 1) MODERN AMERICAN COINS are required by law to include quite a lot of text[1]. For example, […]

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The Life and Death of Pan and His Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. First appearing during the early sixth century in Arcadia, a wild mountainous region centrally located in the Peloponnesian peninsula, the Greek god Pan served as a deeply important religious figure. As the god of the wilderness, fields, sex, shepherds, panic, and hunters, this multifaceted the god served as a […]

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Mythical Monsters on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed. ― G.K. Chesterton, a la Criminal Minds (CBS, 2007) CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY IS FILLED with monsters. For the civilizations of the ancient […]

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Sea Creatures on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …..   ANCIENT PEOPLE WHO lived around the shores of the Mediterranean were intimately familiar with the marine life around them. Fish were a critical resource for these societies, figuring prominently in their culture, art, and mythology from very early times. When coinage came into wide […]

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Heritage Auctions – Seldom Seen Ancient Coins: Gold Light Stater of Croesus

In numismatic circles, Croesus is most famous for introducing the world’s first bimetallic standard, issuing coins of both gold and silver. Prior to this, coins were produced in electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. This situation obviously caused a number of problems, most notably because the proportions of gold to silver were […]

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NGC Ancients: Classic Greek Coins, Part 5

NGC’s David Vagi finishes his discussion of some of the most familiar designs of ancient Greek coins in the last of a multi-part series By David Vagi – Director, NGC Ancients …… 1. Celts. Some of the most fascinating coins of the ancient world were struck by Celts and contemporary Iron Age cultures in Spain, Britain […]

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NGC Ancient Coins Highlight January 2018 Auctions

A 2,600-year-old stater and a Jewish War shekel are among the coins expected to realize six-figure prices Coins graded by NGC Ancients, a division of Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) devoted to ancient coins of the Western World, are well represented in Heritage Auctions’ NYINC World Coins Signature Auction, to be held January 7-8, 2018 in […]

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Heritage Auction Offerings at January 2018 NYINC Sale

With the calendar turning to a new year, it’s time for our highly anticipated New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC) auction, scheduled for January 7-8 at its new Grand Hyatt (@ Grand Central Station) venue. We’re honored and excited about the numismatic treasures we’ve assembled for this auction, totaling nearly 6,200 lots, our largest offering […]

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Ancient Gold Coin Profiles – Civic Badge of Cyzicus

Ancient Gold Coin – Mysia, Cyzicus. Hekte circa 500-450 By Russell A. Augustin – AU Capital Management, LLC …. Cyzicus was one of the great trade cities of the ancient world. It was located on the Sea of Marmara and ruled by the Persian Empire until its capture by Alexander the Great in 334 BCE. […]

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Ancient and World Coin Auction 165 at Numismatik Lanz

By Numismatik Lanz ……   On December 8, 2017, Numismatik Lanz will conduct its 165th Auction. For Dr. Hubert Lanz this constitutes a personal jubilee, for exactly 45 years ago, he auctioned his very first coin in Graz. Ever since, Numismatik Lanz has been one of the numismatic dealerships which place a focus not on […]

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American Numismatic Society Announces 2018 Gala Honorees

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is pleased to announce that on Thursday, January 11, 2018, it will honor the Rosen Family with the Trustees’ Award at the Annual Gala Dinner at the Harvard Club in New York City. The Rosen Family have been generous supporters of the ANS for over four decades and have greatly […]

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CoinWeek Ancients Series: War as Depicted on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. FOR MUCH OF HUMAN HISTORY, WARFARE has absorbed our resources, energy and creativity. War is much older than coinage. One of the earliest images of war in Western art is the “Battlefield Palette”, a carved slate from pre-Dynastic Egypt dated c. 3100 BCE[1]. It depicts the aftermath […]

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Heritage Inaugural Chicago World Coin Auction Open for Bidding

We are pleased to present our inaugural Chicago Coin Expo World and Ancient Coin Auction April 7-11 in the historic Chicago Cultural Center in vibrant downtown Chicago. In addition to the exciting new venue, we’ve put together an auction equally enticing in diversity and quality. Our Ancients section features a strong offering of some of […]

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Oldest Coin in the World Acquired by Texas Collector

The oldest coin in the world was just sold by a rare coin company in Austin to a private collector. Estimated to be one of only 12 known in the world today, the coin was struck 2,650 years ago in Ionia, or modern-day Turkey By Austin Rare Coins and Bullion …..   Austin Rare Coins […]

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Exquisite ancient coins in Harlan J. Berk’s current Buy or Bid Sale

Coins of exceptional beauty often deriving from famous old collections are a specialty of Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. The firm’s latest Buy or Bid Sale, which closes on 30 April 2015, offers collectors a choice of 542 ancient coins, plus 21 coins of the world and 46 antiquities or antique maps. Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., […]

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