Every coin tells a story. Coins can tell stories of love, greed, hate, and many other things. Anyone who collects coins can do a little research and bring these stories to light. Ancient coins tell especially amazing stories. The paragraphs below tell of two coins that I earned through the ANA’s David R. Cervin Ancient Coin Project and the story that they tell.

I recently acquired a Septimius Severus Silver Denarius through the ANA’s David R. Cervin Ancient Coin Project. I researched the coin recently and I found out many interesting things. The coin told a story that encompassed a whole era of Roman History.

In my research, I discovered that the emperor that is depicted on the obverse and the reverse of the coin, Septimius Severus, is one of the greatest Roman Emperors of all time. His full name is Imperator Caesar Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax Augustus Arabicus, Adiabenicus, Pius, Parthicus Maximus, Britannicus Maximus.

These titles came from a variety of sources: “Arabicus”- Meaning Arab, refers to place of birth, “Adiabenicus”- referring to one of the peoples that Severus conquered, “Pius”- meaning humble, “Parthicus Maximus”- meaning greatest Parthian, “Britannicus Maximus”-meaning greatest Briton.

He ascended to the throne through the murder and defeat of his political rivals. This took some time, but when he succeeded, Severus held a fi rm grip on the empire and conquered many lands. He had two sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla was notoriously cruel and was known for murdering his brother, wife, and father-in-law in A.D. 211. But aside from all this bloodshed, Caracalla also made his own contribution to numismatics. He instituted a new denomination of coins in the Roman Empire, the antoninianus.

This coin is believed to have been valued at twice that of a denarius, but its metal content at the time of its institution was only 1.5 times that of a denarius. To add to this, the metals were gradually debased after that to a point where the denarii were hoarded because the coins that were said by the government to be worth twice as much were actually worth less. The metal content of the antoninianus was debased because of the lack of silver and gold coming into Rome from its dominions. The government still needed to bankroll its large army and had to make more coins with a debased metal content to continue paying its troops, which were guarding the empire from invaders along the borders. When the general public found out about the debasement of the coins, a period of hyperinfl ation occurred. This continued until the monetary reforms of Diocletian, when the economy was stabilized. Diocletian completely reorganized the monetary system, creating new denominations and values for Roman Currency.

Diocletian had all the citizens of the empire turn in their old currency and exchange it for the new, reformed currency. This is similar to what happened in the early 1920’s in Germany when prices doubled every two days and people would burn their old currency in lieu of wood because it lasted longer than the amount of fi rewood that it could buy. The German government then reformed the currency system and stabilized the economy. They had all the citizens of Germany turn in their old, devalued marks in exchange for new ones at a rate of a trillion (1,000,000,000,000) to one. This near-collapse of the empire from within marked a new era in Roman history. This era would last until the military defeat of the empire and the sacking of Rome by Germanic tribesmen several centuries later.

The period of economic mayhem described above can be traced all the way to Caracalla and his institution of the antoninianus. I happened to acquire an antoninianus, also through the David R. Cervin project. It was issued by a rebel emperor in Gaul (modern day France.) This coin is also known as barbarous radiate because of the shape of the crown depicted and also the fact that the persons depicted on them were frowned upon by Roman citizens because they were attempting to overthrow the true emperor. This coin would have never been minted if it were not for Caracalla. Caracalla would have never become emperor if his father had not fought his way into becoming emperor. I wonder how this coin or the person depicted on it affected world history.

All coins tell a story. These stories can tell of greed or love, hatred and revolts, but all of these stories are refl ected through the coinage of the time. Those who are fortunate enough to own or to collect ancient coins, or any type of coins for that matter, can take a trip back in time to learn about history, economics, and our world as it was many years ago.

Cole Schenewerk will be submitting part 2 of his article to run in the next issue of TCN. Look for it! [GB]

The earliest prototype in the Croesus series is a heavy gold stater (#120/1) of which I have owned two examples. It is such a perfect missing link that I would have been fearful of it had I not discovered a worn example in the Ashmolean Museum collection, placed there almost 100 years ago. In a way the Ashmolean specimen has been a negative for me personally as dealers in Europe and the U.S. have plagerized this idea by quoting the Ashmolean and stating, “Like Ashmolean must be the earliest Creosus gold Stater”. The prototype is of somewhat rough, crude style with the lion in a stretched, leaping position resembling the silver staters of Caria which had been found in hoards with coins of Croesus. The bull has a head similar to that of an Uncertain Ionian silver tetrobol (Rosen 376). The crowning glory that establishes this missing link is the fact that the lion has a wart on the bridge of the nose, just like the 1/3 staters of Lydia that preceded the coinage of Croesus. It is important to note that on the prototype piece the protomes are extremely animated in lifelike poses. On the regular issues (#120/2), while the protomes are well done, they are somewhat immobile and the front leg of the lion, as well as the front leg of the bull, are rather stiff acting like pedestals.

In the silver series, I have recently discovered a prototype earlier than one that I had identified in 1990 when I first published my work on Croesus. (#120/16, 10.41 grams) This silver stater is later than the earlier gold prototype in that the lion has no wart on the bridge of its nose. The type is very animated and much more elaborately resolved than the prototype I identified in 1990. (#120/17, 10.67 grams) The second prototype, a silver stater of 10.67 grams, is also very animated in that the four legs of the lion and the bull are in natural positions, but less elaborated than the first prototype. The second prototype stater was found with a prototype siglos (#120/21) which is struck from the same dies. All of these three prototype coins are the only specimens recorded of their types. (Recently another die of the second prototype was discovered and is in this collection #120/18)

In the regular issues of silver coinage (#120/20) a silver stater weighing 10.68 grams has a heretofore unrecognized banding on the top of the head below the horn extending down the forehead of the bull. I have studied this coin very carefully. The banding is not a die-break or an undertype, but may have been ribbons or some type of ceremonial dressing placed on the bull’s head. Confirming this, the silver siglos (#120/23) of 5.35 grams has the same banding. Other silver Croesus coins of excellent quality (EF or better) show no banding. The “banding” is probably some sort of ceremonial draping placed on the bull. (This led to my idea that the lion and bull were not fighting but represented the two strongest aspects of the Lydians as they perceived it. The lion normally represents strength, military or otherwise and the bull represents fertility.) Since they are more elaborate, I call them Class I of the regular silver issues. This is thought of as a regular issue because the lion’s foreleg is rather stiff and straight like a pedestal. The silver stater (#120/20) of 10.74 grams is the standard regular issue silver stater of Croesus with no banding on the bull’s horn; therefore, it is Class II.

Going back to the gold issues, #120/2 is a standard heavy gold stater of 10.76 grams where the lion’s front foot while somewhat modeled, is still pedestal-like. #120/3 is a light gold stater of Croesus of 8.07 grams which should be distinguished from #120/4, a light Persian gold stater of 8.06 grams. The difference between the Persian and the Croesoid gold staters is the fact that the protomes, the lion and the bull, are very delicately rendered in the Croesus model and rather large and somewhat clumsy in the Persian version. The Persian type also has a somewhat less intelligent look to the lion. This is attributable to the fact that possibly a Persian die-cutter may have been cutting a type that was meaningless to him.

Denominations of less than a siglos from a 1/3 stater to a 1/24 stater were made in relatively small quantities for local use. This is indicated by the fact that when you study examples 120/10, 120/11, 120/12 1/12 light gold Staters 120/13 and 120/29 1/24 silver Stater, we discover they were even struck with the same die. This denominational and metallic crossover in coin striking indicates a small issue which is not something that would be exported. Small Greek coins are not struck for export; and normally only circulated locally.

In studying the coinage of Croesus in general, I noticed a very interesting characteristic. The lion always has his skin tightly pulled over his skull as though he were a well-toned hunter and the eye of the lion is a raised, round dot within a diamond-shaped recess. Look for this when obtaining a coin of Croesus as forgers seem to miss this nuance. The collection plated in this article does not contain a light weight 1/24 stater which would weigh approximately 0.36 grams. The reason that I do not have this coin in the article is that it has not been discovered yet, but knowing the consistency with which Croesus operated, a 1/24 light stater of 0.36 grams existed, and hopefully, one still exists. (It was discovered in 1998 and I bought it. It is #120/30)

From time to time, scholars and collectors like to say that what is obvious is not and that what is true is in fact false. In the case of the coinage of Croesus, there are those who say that all of Croesus’ coinage was struck by Darius, the conqueror of Croesus. This is simply not the case. The coinage Darius struck was an accommodation to the Greek people that he had conquered since he issued no coinage in his homeland. The coinage that depicted a kneeling, running king, which was from 510 to 330 B.C., is a bi-metallic, bi-denomination issue: a gold Daric and a silver siglos. Fractional denominations exist but only in extremely rare situations. The regular issue was the Daric and the siglos. Backing up one step to the lion and bull types, the heavy large foreparts of the lion and bull which were Darius’ issues of Croesus’ types, can be rather easily separated from the much more delicate work of the Lydians. It would seem the height of improbability for Darius to issue this complex coinage system of Croesus’ just to accommodate people whom he had conquered then stop it. Croesus accomplished what no one in the Greek world ever did. He created a large, bi-metallic, interrelated coinage where silver coins traded for gold coins at a rate of 13:1. Only under Berenike did the Ptolemies came close to what Croesus accomplished. The Romans had a multiple metallic denominational system for a sustained amount of time, but did not have as many denominations. The Romans had nine denominations while Croesus had 16. The coinage of Croesus was simple in concept yet very versatile. Croesus was a mercantile genius or his treasurer was.

This is the first time a complete denominational set of Croesus has ever been assembled. This is also the first time all of the denominations have ever been identified. The coins in this collection took 14 years to find and they are either the finest known or equal to the finest known in almost every case.

This is a revised and updated version of the article published in SAN 1997 which itself updated the yet earlier 1990 Celator article.

Copyright @ 1997 by Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. – http://www.harlanjberk.com – E-Mail: info@harlanjberk.com
.

Greek coins describe coins of Mediterranean city-states and kingdoms before the Roman Empire, Celtic tribes and Indo-Greek kingdoms, most bearing Greek legends though other languages appear. There are many opportunities for specialization. Some collectors focus on artistic interest. The collection of Calouste Gulbenkian is an outstanding example of the artistic appeal of the finest coins of ancient Greece. Leonidas at Thermopylae other collectors specialize in issues of a single city. Catalogues of specialized collections, such as the Tarentine collection of Michel Vlasto, often become valued standard references. There are also topical collection themes such as ships, birds, horses etc. Many collectors begin by seeking to acquire one nice example of the coinage of each city, such as Athenian owls.

In ancient Greece, money originated as metal rings, rods or spits. Money took a variety of forms before the adoption of coins, and early coinage is often found mixed together with other kinds of primeval money. Coins originated as small precious metal ingots, stamped with badges guaranteeing weight and purity, in western Asia Minor about 650 BC. After the Lydian has developed a bimetallic coinage, by 500 BC silver staters were being used throughout the Mediterranean world. Most early coinage was struck to support governmental spending, particularly military expenditures, which were very high during the constant warfare of the fifth and fourth centuries BC. In 338 BC, this internecine warfare ended when Philip II of Macedon conquered mainland Greece.

The Macedonian monarchy then soon vastly expanded when his son Alexander conquered the Persian Empire. On Alexander’s death, his empire fragmented into the kingdoms of Macedon, Syria, Thrace, and Egypt, beginning the era of Hellenistic royal coinage. To the West, the prosperous cities of Magna Graecia were soon caught up in struggles involving the competing power of two great city-states, Rome and Carthage. Carthage issued a voluminous coinage for its wars against Hellenistic Sicily, and later Rome, which ultimately ended in her total destruction 146 BC. However, Greek coinage continued into the first century ad, after the fall of Carthage the rest of the Mediterranean world was then rapidly absorbed into the Roman Empire. Gold and silver specimens of the ancient coins of Greece in the very finest style and condition can be expensive, but many very attractive examples in these metals are reasonably priced. Bronze coins of ancient Greece offer may outstanding values, and their prices are rapidly appreciating. The artistic merit of many bronzes is high, and the darker patination of the most artistic bronzes can be very striking.

————————

Unearth authentic age-old works of art antiquities, uncover genuine artifacts, reveal ancient archaeological finds, Large selecton of antiquites to chose from.

http://www.worldwidestore.com/AScomputerM4.htm