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TO NUMISMATICS?
Numismatics is a scholarly discipline concerning coins, medals and like objects. It has attracted people from all eras and walks of life, including presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams, Enrico Caruso, Archduke Ferdinand, Petrarch, Peter Paul Rubens and Queen Christina of Sweden. During the Renaissance, popes and princes collected ancient Greek and Roman coins; more and more books were written about the subject. From the late 1800s an increase of academic pursuit found numismatics a rich area in which to explore, continuing to this day.
Since ancient coins are of growing interest to collectors, I am including some commonly asked questions with replies:
How are Greek coins described and arranged?
Chronological arrangement works very well for Roman and U.S. coinages, but all the existing types, fabrics, artistry and geography of the more than 500 years of Greek coinage confound such organization. Barclay V. Head, with his monumental Historia Numorum (first edition, 1886; third and best edition, 1911), promoted a geographical manner, west to east, which we still use today. In reading a coin's description, then, the order of the elements begins with the province, then the city, the period minted, denomination (AR = argentum or silver; AE = aes or copper alloy; AV = aurum or gold), followed by a description of the type, weight in grams (if struck in precious metal), reference, grade and today's collector value.
Why isn't the "head" side always the obverse?
As much as we would like to consider the obverse as the "head" side, numismatists have a more scientific means for determining obverse and reverse on ancient coins. When the coin was struck, the lower, obverse (or anvil) die created a convexity of the metal, and the upper, reverse (or punch) die created a concave nature to the coin. This lower or upper die placement is what determines obverse and reverse. For instance, heads are often relegated to reverses on the coinages of Syracuse, and of Corinth and her colonies.
Why did the city of Rhodes use a rose on her coinage?
Rhodos, or Rhodes, is one of the cities that utilized a speaking type, or type parlant, as the badge of their coinage. "Rhodos" in Greek means "rose," so we commonly observe either a profile or a full-blown rose on the reverses of her coinage. Other examples of Greek cities using speaking types which come to mind are Leontinoi (lion), Selinus (celery leaf) and Side (pomegranate).
What do the letters "RIC" mean in your descriptions of
Roman coins?
The volumes of The Roman Imperial Coinage, or RIC, was begun in 1923, with volume ten finally appearing in 1994. Written by several numismatic scholars, it is the most complete and often used reference on Roman numismatics. The authors even included a frequency guide in each volume. If a coin is deemed common by RIC, such as an Augustus denarius, a "c" for "common" is understood. If a coin is scarce, a rarity number (usually up to R5, R5 being unique) will appear after the RIC number. Other standard references include Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum (BMC) and the pioneering oeuvre by Henri Cohen (abbreviated "C.") completed in 1868.
How can you date the minting of Roman coins so accurately?
Roman Imperial coins usually have various titles given to the emperor; these are usually placed on the obverse or can appear on both sides of the coin. The number of consulships, the emperor's salutations as Imperator and the number of years holding the Tribunicia Potestas (or tribunician power), can effectively date most Roman coins of the A.D. 1st to mid-3rd centuries. After that time, an elaborate system of mintmarks, officina numbers (mint workshops) and emission marks evolved.
Can you recommend any good biographies and casual reading pertaining to the ancient world?
If you enjoy background reading and historical biographies, as I do, I recommend Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, Julian by Gore Vidal, any and all tomes by Michael Grant (one of my mentors), and a well-enjoyed The Man in the Roman Street by Harold Mattingly. Of course, nobody beats Robert Graves as an author, and for an overview of art history, The Voices of Silence by Andre Malraux is a classic. For mystery lovers, Lindsey Davis has written an entertaining series of detective Marcus Didius Falco adventures, set in Rome and the Empire during the time of Vespasian.
What to collect? Foremost, choose some areas
in which you have an interest, and feel excited about. Do you require
specific boundaries, like a U.S. gold type set or a coin minted
by each of the Byzantine emperors, or do you relish the variety
of European thalers or coinage of the 1000 or so ancient Greek city-states?
In any event, I would suggest you make your collection personal,
and perhaps work on 2 or 3 specialties in a long-range manner. A
Roman denomination collection can be a fascinating one, as are the
overdates on U.S. coinage, bust dollar varieties, or musical instruments
depicted on ancient coinage. A coin that looks its age can be a
negative factor to furthering a collection, rather than a positive
one; "buy the best quality you can afford" is excellent advice.
Part of the fun is selecting each coin yourself - use references,
compare dealers' reputations and their stocks. If possible, align
your requirements with those of your specialist. Some firms prefer
expensive coins, others offer their selection from hoards.
My eye is on quality with an emphasis on the art of coinage, whether
it be Liberty's well-struck effigy on a double eagle, or a remarkable
Athenian obverse die. Something special - in anything - tends to
always be special. If you need to make excuses or you visually gravitate
to a fault, don't buy the coin. There are too many coins in the
world to have to settle for mediocrity.
Now a couple caveats: be certain the people from whom you purchase coins stand behind the authenticity of everything they sell. Dealers who have been elected to the International Association of Professional Numismatists abide by this requirement; there are currently only about 100 IAPN members worldwide. If you like bronzes, be especially concerned about "improvements" made to the surfaces. Some large cents are artificially toned; ancient bronzes are sometimes repatinated. In particular, all too many ancient Jewish bronzes have had their surfaces stripped, then falsely colored with chemicals or painted, and finally epoxied with dirt and sand to bring out the highlights of the low-relief designs. Be wary when you notice this yellow-orange application, which is sometimes described as "earthen tones." I encourage you to research the qualifications and professional standing of any numismatic dealer whom you contact.
Finally, enjoy your collection. Become involved
in the historical implications, the aesthetics and the scientific
aspects of these wheels of fortune.
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