Picking Up Where I Left Off

 

It’s been nearly 18 years since I wrote a blog post. About the time that my two sons started sports, scouts, and all the other endeavors young men engage in. It was a great time to be a Dad. In a lot of ways, it was a chance at a second childhood, and to make memories with my sons. Coins, blogs, and other grown-up pastimes took a back seat (as they should!)

Now the boys are men, I have passed the 6 decades mark, and time has slowed a bit.  There they were waiting for me, the coins. The 18 years or so waiting for my return only a blip on their journey of millennia. The coins. I used to call them my coins, but the passage of time has made me realize that I am only a stop in their journey, they will endure beyond me. They are not my coins; I am more accurately their caretaker.

With more free time, I revisited them in their flips. I got reacquainted with reference books and dusted off old equipment. How did I set the camera and lighting to get good pictures? Turns out it didn’t matter; the camera was dead.  My back and neck no longer enjoyed using the stereo microscope. (My eyes weren’t as big a fan either). Where were my calipers? Drat, my scales aren’t working either.

So, a new digital microscope replaced my camera and stereo microscope. LED ring lights replaced my old lighting set up. The camera on my cell phone also takes great pics if the coin is too large for the digital microscope. Back when I last posted to this blog, I had a Blackberry phone, I never used it for coin pictures. Now I have a Samsung phone, it makes better images than the camera I used 18 years ago and is much easier to set up and use. I purchased new scales, and upgraded to digital calipers, much more accurate and easier on my eyes. Things have changed. Except the coins.

Saturday and Sunday mornings early, before the rest of the house rises is my coin time. It’s when I revisit and sometimes rephotograph coins that have been in my collection. I enjoy revisiting them, sometimes lamenting my younger self’s failure to keep better records. I find attribution errors, add citations from my expanded library and expanded experience, Younger me cared less about the details. I was all about finding the coins (either by cleaning, or purchasing) assigning or reconfirming the attribution, getting it catalogued into my collection and uploading to my website. Then, on to the next.

Older me can’t afford to purchase many coins, and the uncleaned coins I used to enjoy 20 years ago are not the same quality or variety. That’s ok, the coins currently with me offer plenty of opportunities for enjoyment, learning and relaxation. I find I spend more time on investigating the historical context. I enjoy adding notations of the who, what, why of the coins in my database.

Between studying the detail and deeper historical context of the coins, learning to use new equipment, upgrading  my website I find the coins enrich me on many different level. Just the ticket to help keep my mind flexible. Most of all, after all this time, I still marvel at the age of these coins.  Imagine the times they travelled through, the hand they passed thru on their way to mine. Now I’m starting to think about their future after my time with them is done. I deeply desire their next steward get as much from them as I have.

A "Fun" Coin of Elagabalus

Moesia Inferior Markianopolis AD 218-222
(26mm 11.05g) 4 Assaria
Obv: AVT KM AVR ANTWNEINOC laureate draped bust right
Rev: P CEPG TITIANOV MARKIANOPOLIT L N Hera standing with patera and scepter. (Sergius Titianus, Magistrate)
Ref: Moushmov 656 c.f. , AMNG 903 c.f. Ex Harry Stewart

Here is a Provincial coin of Elagablaus, issued from the city of Marcianopolis. Marcianopolis was a city in Moesia Inferior. It was located near modern day Devnya, Bulgaria. Previously known as Parthenopolis, it was renamed by the Emperor Trajan after his sister Ulpia Marciana. It issued coins from the reign of Commodus (AD 180-192) through about 248 A.D. during the reign of Philip I.

Elagabalus (Varivs Avitvs Bassianvs) was born either in late 204 or early 205 to Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus He entered the service of the Emesan sun-god, Elagabal, (hence his nickname Elagabalus). His bizarre and erratic behavior quickly eroded the support of the people and more importantly his troops. He married a Vestal Virgin, which went against Roman law and tradition and shocked the people of Rome. He also installed the sun god Elagabal above Jupiter in the Roman Pantheon of gods. Coupled with his scandalous sexual behavior, he quickly fell out of favor with the Roman people and was killed by members of the Praetorian Guard on March 6, 222. His body was dragged through the streets of Rome and was eventually tossed into the Tiber River. So much for ol’ Gabby!

Now for the fun part! Some coins are just fun to play with. This coin is one of my fun coins. I don’t normally collect provincial coins, but when Harry Stewart offered this one up at an Ancient Peddler’s Peddlers Market Auction, something about it caught my interest. The portrait of Elagabalus is good, even with the centration dimple, the lettering is clear and legible, the coin is well centered and of good metal. The color and texture of the coin is interesting, at least to me the coin has great eye appeal.

I enjoy handling all of my coins, what better way to enjoy a collection of ancient coins than to hold them in your hands, feel their heft, their texture and imagine the countless hands they have passed through on their way to yours. At least for me some coins for whatever reason are just more fun to hold. This coin is one of them! At 26mm and 11.05g it has a nice heft to it. It has a unique texture that my fingers find interesting. It has a very solid feel to it, heck its just fun to play with! It is often the first coin I hand people when I show them my collection for the first time, (you know, just before their eyes glaze over from boredom!)

Is it weird to have a favorite coin to handle? Perhaps. There are many things to enjoy when collecting coins, so why can't a coin just be "fun" to handle. I’d like to know if others have favorite coins to handle, or am I the only weirdo? (More than likely!) Thanks for reading.

A “Game” Coin of Domitian

AE As (29mm, 10.35g) Struck 88-89 A.D.. Rome
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIII CENS PER P P Laureate head right
Rev: COS XIIII LVD SAEC FEC S C Domitian sacrificing over and altar facing left, harpist and flute player facing right, temple in background
RIC II 385a, Sear 2803 ex Mastrario ex Dr Busso Peus Nachf.

I seem to start every blog entry with something like “this is one of my favorite coins”, well, here I go again! This is one of my favorite coins :D The Flavians are one of my focus collections. Although this coin is a little rough, the deep green patina is quite attractive. You guessed it, its even better in hand!

This coin commemorates the Secular Games that Domitian held in October of A.D. 88. The Secular games were held every generation or “saeculum”. A generation was considered 100yrs, but they seemed to be held when ever the emperor wanted a good party! The Secular Games were a pagan celebration held to entertain and appease the gods. The first known Roman games were held in 249 BC, the second in 146, and the third in 17 held by Caesar Augustus. Later games, held in AD 47, 88, 147, 204, 248, and 262, included sports, music, theatre, and circuses. Constantine I finally put an end to the game in the 4th century A.D likely due to his conversion to Christianity.

Beside the brilliant patina, I like this coin because, at least in my opinion, it represents one of Domitian’s more interesting reverse types. This coin shows the emperor performing his duties as Pontifex Maximus, the supreme head of the state religion, sacrificing in front of what is probably the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Looking at the reverse I can almost hear the music played by the musicians, smell the smoke from the altar and hear the sounds of the crowd. Even though the portrait of Domitian on the reverse is tiny, I can recognize Domitian’s face. Coins like this one provide a glimpse of daily life in the Roman Empire, a snap shot in time! We can read about history, we can read about the Secular games. We can understand why they were held, we can know when they were held. In this coin we have tangible connection to that history. We can read that Domitian sacrificed at the games, but with this coin we can see it! If we let our imagination work a bit, we can imagine the coin circulating, much like commemorative coins today. We can imagine the ancient Romans looking at the reverse and remembering the games, much as we might look at a Bicentennial quarter and remember that time in our lives.

I won this coin from one of Joe Mastrario’s (Imperator Coins) e-bay auctions. I won it way too cheap (sorry Joe!) A good buy makes a coin more enjoyable! On top of that it is ex Dr Busso Peus Nachf, and came with the auction ticket. It’s fun to know a coin’s history.

So, I have a cool coin with great “eye appeal” that lies within my collecting focus. It has an incredible green patina that is much better in hand. The imagery on the reverse is interesting and provides us with a unique snapshot of life in ancient Rome. On top of that it was won from an honorable dealer and friend (thanks Joe!). If we use our imagination, we can see how in nearly 2000 years the basic function of coinage, and folks reactions to the imagery on coins hasn’t changed that much. That might lead us to the conclusion that people really haven’t changed that much in 2000 years. One of the reasons that I enjoy collecting ancient coins is the very tangible connection with the past. This coin is an attractive and excellent example of that connection. How could I not enjoy this coin? Thanks for reading!!!