20130427

Greece/Seleucid; Antiochos II Theos BCE 261-246


AE 18 mm 3.92 g., Tarsus mint


SC 565  WSM 1313

O: dioscuri on horseback r, dotted border

R: BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ on left  ANTIOXOY on right Athena stg r on anchor l., brandishing spear and shield.

Greek/Thrace; Lysimachos BCE 305-281


AR Drachm, 17 mm, 3.94 g, Ephesos mint c. BCE 294-287

Essays Robinson, Thompson 170var (monogram on throne). rare example

O: diad hd of deified Alexander r wearing horn of Ammon

R: ΒΑΣΙΛΕ[ΩΣ]  on right [ΛΥΣ]IMAXO[Y] on left Athena Nikephoros seated left, spear behind; tripod to inner left, Φ on throne.

Greece/Seleucid; Antiochos VII Sidetes BCE 138-129; Unpublished Control from the mint of Tyre



AR Tetradrachm, 28 x 25 mm, 14.21 g, Tyre mint SE 175=BCE 138/7

SC 2109.3Ad, SCADS 58 (this coin)

O: diad draped bust of Ant r, diad ends falling straight behind dotted border
R: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ  curving on r., ANTIOXOY curving on l., round, eagle stg l., on ship’s ram, palm branch under far wing dotted border.

Mintmarks: A/PE above TYP monogram on club in l. field. AΣ in r field above, EOP (date). Unpublished control between eagle legs.





enlargement of the control which appears to be Phoenician rather than Greek


 
 
 
 
 
 
Update 11 November 2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It appears after some time that a similar tetradrachm from the mint of Tyre has come to market. This example likely clarifies the control as being Greek not Phoenician but nevertheless previously unrecorded as is the new example which differs from the above example in the horizontal rendering of the control rather than vertical:
 


enlargement of the photo followed by a close up of the control:
 

The difference is the rendering of the cursive Omega, on the example published above in the vertical rendering the link is missing on the right, in this horizontal example it is missing on the left. Both pieces were minted in the same year and therefore it can be concluded that the same magistrate signed both. This coin adds another control variety to the series for Antiochus VII from Tyre.

Greece/Seleucid; Seleucus III


Edward I Penny from the Colchester Hoard 1969

 

PLANTAGENET. Edward I. 1272-1307. AR Penny (18mm, 1.49 g, 11h). In the name and types of Henry III. Long Cross type, class VI. Bury St. Edmunds mint; Ion, (John de Burnedisse) moneyer. Struck 1272-1278. Crowned facing bust; scepter to left / Voided long cross; trefoils in quarters. North 1001; SCBC 1377

From the Ridgegate Collection. Purchased from P. Minns, April 1971. Ex Colchester Hoard, 1969.

for more info regarding the Colchester Hoards, please refer to this URL
https://www.yorkcoins.com/colchester_hoards_of_voided_long_cross_pennies.htm

During late July 2017, I visited the Tower of London and came across the following display in the "Mint" which has a very interesting history of the Tower Mint on display with numerous examples of coins minted there from Medieval times towards the early 18th Century. The exhibit is found of course on "Mint Street". The display discussed the Colchester Hoard:

 
The actual lead canister had a height of 235 mm.
 
Photo of coins on display from the Colchester Hoard

A book I obtained during a visit to the British Museum by Eleanor Ghey, Hoards; Hidden History published by the British Museum Press in 2015 discusses the Colchester Hoard on pp. 101-103. The 1969 hoard consisted of 14,065 coins and was made up of two batches dated 1256 and then 1268-78. Of interest regarding the coin illustrated above from Bury St. Edmunds, is noted "The latest batch was a small 'top-up' of about 2,000 freshly struck coins from the nearest local medieval mint at Bury St. Edmunds, which had been placed in the top of the container. This indicates several episodes of hoarding by the same individual(s) rather than a one-off event. The lead canister is likely to have been made especially for this purpose. It was almost full, but had it been so it would have just accommodated a volume of coins up to the value of 100 marks (a commonly used unit of account for larger sums). The amount of money involved equates to tens of thousands of pounds in modern terms and it is likely that it was held by someone involved in sizeable financial transactions as part of their business dealings, such as a merchant or a banker." (pp. 102-3).