I was surprised to learn today that The Punch Die is referenced on the Wikipedia page, "Historical Rankings of Roman Emperors":
"According to an unofficial poll conducted among historians on the blog "The Punch Die", Augustus was ranked as the greatest emperor with 29%. Trjan followed with 20% and Constantine ranked third with 18%. Marcus Aurelius, Vespasian and Hadrian also received votes."
The results of the poll are here.
Cool.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Gold-Standard of Roman Coin Blogs
Scott Head on the realities of uncleaned Roman coins. Posts like this one are why his blog is the gold-standard of Roman coin-collecting blogs!
Cool History
Having only re-started The Punch Die a week ago after a two-year absence, I'm obviously behind writing on some important news.
For example, the rise of the History Channel's show "Pawn Stars." I love this show--it's a collector's dream. I love the characters, who seem to be cool, regular guys, who not only know a ton about a lot of cool stuff, but who genuinely seem to care about the history behind the things they buy. Perhaps some purists dislike the idea that all sorts of historically and culturally important objects wind up in a Pawn Shop and not a museum, but I am totally cool with it. I learn something every time I watch the show, like the fact that a lot of ordinary people have a lot of cool stuff! At first I was surprised that people would take such historically and culturally significant--not to mention financially valuable--stuff to a pawn shop. However, something tells me the World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop is not like most pawn shops. And, beside, most ordinary people probably do not have the time, inclination, or accesses to sell at auctions.
I've seen most episodes since the series began this past summer, and there is no shortage of great historical pieces coming into the World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, including coins. And yet, I do not recall any Roman coins. So...I've decided to contact the shop and ask them if they have a Roman coin inventory, so I know if the next time I win big in Vegas (which would be my first time), I can make a purchase...
For example, the rise of the History Channel's show "Pawn Stars." I love this show--it's a collector's dream. I love the characters, who seem to be cool, regular guys, who not only know a ton about a lot of cool stuff, but who genuinely seem to care about the history behind the things they buy. Perhaps some purists dislike the idea that all sorts of historically and culturally important objects wind up in a Pawn Shop and not a museum, but I am totally cool with it. I learn something every time I watch the show, like the fact that a lot of ordinary people have a lot of cool stuff! At first I was surprised that people would take such historically and culturally significant--not to mention financially valuable--stuff to a pawn shop. However, something tells me the World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop is not like most pawn shops. And, beside, most ordinary people probably do not have the time, inclination, or accesses to sell at auctions.
I've seen most episodes since the series began this past summer, and there is no shortage of great historical pieces coming into the World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, including coins. And yet, I do not recall any Roman coins. So...I've decided to contact the shop and ask them if they have a Roman coin inventory, so I know if the next time I win big in Vegas (which would be my first time), I can make a purchase...
Friday, February 5, 2010
Save Palaeography!
King's College London is proposing to cut its Chair of Palaeography. There's an online petition and a Facebook group devoted to saving it.
The accurate deciphering of manuscript handwriting is a critical skill for an historian.
I'm sure medieval historians sometimes find counting minims tedious and boring, but never unnecessary. At least I never did. As a young grad student in Scotland and England, palaeography was one of my favorite courses. Latin, on the other hand, was an entirely different story...
CWCID: Dr. Richard Scott Nokes
The accurate deciphering of manuscript handwriting is a critical skill for an historian.
I'm sure medieval historians sometimes find counting minims tedious and boring, but never unnecessary. At least I never did. As a young grad student in Scotland and England, palaeography was one of my favorite courses. Latin, on the other hand, was an entirely different story...
CWCID: Dr. Richard Scott Nokes
Constantine SARMATIA DEVICTA
I hadn't bought any coins in quite a long time--in a previous post I explained how life had intervened for nearly two years and coin collecting had taken a back seat. When I finally got the urge to begin collecting again, I figured I should ease my wife back into the obsession she'd soon be dealing with again. The best way? Find some nice coins that were, well, nice but inexpensive. Enter this coin which, in hand, is one of my favorites.
I must say, I was not a fan of Constantinian bronzes--the coins, or the history. I don't know--the history never interested me as much as that of the earlier empire, and coins of Constantine's family were just two common for my taste. However, as a general collection taste, I prefer military-styled reverses, particularly (as explained in a previous post), reverses with military trophies and/or captives. I love Roman propaganda that publicizes a Roman military victory.
This AE 3 commemorates a Roman victory over the Samartians in 322 AD. The coin is 19mm, weighs 3.13g, has a gorgeous black patina and feels great in the hand. The obverse features Constantine's laureate head facing right, with the legend CONSTANTINVS AVG. On the reverse is Victory advancing right holding a trophy and branch, spurning a captive seated on the ground. The reverse legend is SARMATIA DEVICTA, and PTR is in the exergue. The coin was struck at Trier. The reference is RIC VII Trier 435. An interesting aspect of the coin is the very sharp detail. However, there are smudges in select places of the reverse. I guess indicating something weird about the reverse die...?
BTW, I am on a Constantinian-era bronze kick. Rarer emperors, though. I told you I bought two AE3s of Procopius and a Delmatius. In recent days, I tried hard, though ultimately unsuccessfully, to add a Hanniballianus, a Flavius Victor, a Vetranio, and a Magnentius to my collection.
I must say, I was not a fan of Constantinian bronzes--the coins, or the history. I don't know--the history never interested me as much as that of the earlier empire, and coins of Constantine's family were just two common for my taste. However, as a general collection taste, I prefer military-styled reverses, particularly (as explained in a previous post), reverses with military trophies and/or captives. I love Roman propaganda that publicizes a Roman military victory.
This AE 3 commemorates a Roman victory over the Samartians in 322 AD. The coin is 19mm, weighs 3.13g, has a gorgeous black patina and feels great in the hand. The obverse features Constantine's laureate head facing right, with the legend CONSTANTINVS AVG. On the reverse is Victory advancing right holding a trophy and branch, spurning a captive seated on the ground. The reverse legend is SARMATIA DEVICTA, and PTR is in the exergue. The coin was struck at Trier. The reference is RIC VII Trier 435. An interesting aspect of the coin is the very sharp detail. However, there are smudges in select places of the reverse. I guess indicating something weird about the reverse die...?
BTW, I am on a Constantinian-era bronze kick. Rarer emperors, though. I told you I bought two AE3s of Procopius and a Delmatius. In recent days, I tried hard, though ultimately unsuccessfully, to add a Hanniballianus, a Flavius Victor, a Vetranio, and a Magnentius to my collection.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
FEL TEMP REPARATIO! Or, Happy Times Are Here Again!
Why? Because I've r-energized my passion for Roman coin collecting, and have made several recent wonderful purchases, and they're starting to arrive in the mail!
I bought a barbarous imitation of a Tetricus II, the reverse of which has a "Spes" legend with sacrifical implements. The Spes reverse legend and sacrifical implements reverse type were both used on official issues of Tetricus II but never on the same coin. I bought a nearly FDC version of a Constantine II AE 3 and a really nice follis of Delmatius. I bought a beautiful Valens GLORIA ROMANORVM with gorgeous black patina (struck on a huge 21 mm flan!). I bought a cool Saloninus "Spes Pvblica" type. And I even bought some uncleaned coins from Noble Roman Coins that, after my rudimentary cleaning efforts, yielded a bronze Julian II, two bronze of Arcadius, a small bronze with a "cross" reverse type (very cool, I think it's a Theodosius II), and a posthumous Constantine I type.
However, my crowning recent achievement has been my acquisition of two bronze coins of Procopius, the unforntunate usurper from 365-366 AD, including one that has the SECVRITAS REIPVB reverse legend!
I'll be posting these soon.
I bought a barbarous imitation of a Tetricus II, the reverse of which has a "Spes" legend with sacrifical implements. The Spes reverse legend and sacrifical implements reverse type were both used on official issues of Tetricus II but never on the same coin. I bought a nearly FDC version of a Constantine II AE 3 and a really nice follis of Delmatius. I bought a beautiful Valens GLORIA ROMANORVM with gorgeous black patina (struck on a huge 21 mm flan!). I bought a cool Saloninus "Spes Pvblica" type. And I even bought some uncleaned coins from Noble Roman Coins that, after my rudimentary cleaning efforts, yielded a bronze Julian II, two bronze of Arcadius, a small bronze with a "cross" reverse type (very cool, I think it's a Theodosius II), and a posthumous Constantine I type.
However, my crowning recent achievement has been my acquisition of two bronze coins of Procopius, the unforntunate usurper from 365-366 AD, including one that has the SECVRITAS REIPVB reverse legend!
I'll be posting these soon.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
New Collecting Theme
I am fond of the emperor Gallienus. The Roman Empire had been at the brink of catastrophe since the murder of Severus Alexander in 235 AD, and severe internal and external stresses began to pull them empire apart in the joint reign of Valerian and his son Gallienus. Gallienus had to deal with devasting Germanic incursions, civil revolts that saw parts of the Empire break away from central control, and, of course, the ultimate humiliation of Valerian's capture by the Persians in 260 AD.
He was, however, quite energetic in meeting these crises. In fact, the coinage of Gallienus's reign is full of publicity and propganda themes which present interesting collecting avenues. For example, there is a "Legionary Series" in which Gallienus commemorated the fidelity of the legions involved in the defeat of the Alemmani at Milan and of Ingenuus and then Regalianus in Pannonia. There are the "Victory Types" in which Gallienus sought to renumber his victories over the Germans, possibly to stress his independence from his recently captured father Valerian. And there is also a "German Victory Series" which commemorates at least five successful campaigns against the Germanic tribes along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. There are at least 17 different versions of German Victory types. Below is a version that commemorates a Roman victory over the Alemmani at Milan in 259 AD.
The obverse features a radiate and draped bust of Gallienus facing left with the legend GALLIENVS PF AVG. The reverse features two bound captives sitting back-to-back under a Roman trophy. The legend reads GERMANICVS MAX V. While the reverse legend is specific to Gallienus, the reverse's "Roman Trophy" image is one common throughout Roman Imperial coingae and is one of my favorite. The coin was struck in 260 AD at Lyons. Though weakly struck, the coins shows much better in hand than it does in my crappy scan.
He was, however, quite energetic in meeting these crises. In fact, the coinage of Gallienus's reign is full of publicity and propganda themes which present interesting collecting avenues. For example, there is a "Legionary Series" in which Gallienus commemorated the fidelity of the legions involved in the defeat of the Alemmani at Milan and of Ingenuus and then Regalianus in Pannonia. There are the "Victory Types" in which Gallienus sought to renumber his victories over the Germans, possibly to stress his independence from his recently captured father Valerian. And there is also a "German Victory Series" which commemorates at least five successful campaigns against the Germanic tribes along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. There are at least 17 different versions of German Victory types. Below is a version that commemorates a Roman victory over the Alemmani at Milan in 259 AD.
The obverse features a radiate and draped bust of Gallienus facing left with the legend GALLIENVS PF AVG. The reverse features two bound captives sitting back-to-back under a Roman trophy. The legend reads GERMANICVS MAX V. While the reverse legend is specific to Gallienus, the reverse's "Roman Trophy" image is one common throughout Roman Imperial coingae and is one of my favorite. The coin was struck in 260 AD at Lyons. Though weakly struck, the coins shows much better in hand than it does in my crappy scan.
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