Human Faces Part 3: The Nymph of the Spring Arethusa
For centuries the nymph Arethusa had been the beautiful face of the city of Syracuse. Here you will get information why she figured on the Syracusan coins.
Tag Archive for: Antiquity
Human Faces Part 1: The Father of the Gods, Zeus, in Olympia
Why is it that for centuries – or rather thousands of years – the head has served as the motif for the side of a coin? And why has this changed in the last 200 years? Ursula Kampmann poses these questions in her book ‘MenschenGesichter,’” from which the texts for our new series are taken.
Agrippa’s Meeting of Kings at Tiberias
Josephus tells us of a most interesting meeting in Tiberias, apparently convened by Agrippa I (37-44 CE), grandson of Herod the Great, probably around 42 CE…
The courtesan Laïs in Corinth
Sex sells. That is common knowledge to the yellow press and tour guides alike, as early as ancient times. Already the Corinthians cashed in on that and promoted a tourist attraction of a particular kind: the tomb of the famous courtesan Laïs…
Manual to identify Roman coins
England’s Portable Antiquities Scheme is the most successful program on coin finds world-wide. No other country has won so many supporters to …
How to detect forgeries
Part 3: Electrotypes
The last two parts on news from the forgery front have dealt with fakes that have been produced by newly cut dies and with cast fakes. This part is dedicated to a third kind of fakes: the electrotypes.
You will surely recognize …
Buckingham gold hoard
Around midday on Saturday 16 December 2006 two metal detectorists strolled onto a field near Buckingham and within a few minutes picked up a valuable gold coin that was lying on the surface. By the end of the weekend …
A Struggle for Rome
During the auction week from October 8th-12th, Künker will be putting a rare solidus of Theodoric the Great up for auction. The piece, minted in Rome in the name of Emperor Anastasius I, presents a good opportunity to retell the history behind the coin.
A cownapper as royal role model
On 10 March 2014, an octodrachm of the Edones tribe will be auctioned off at Gorny & Mosch featuring on its obverse Hermes who, after just being born, stole the cattle from Apollo. One wonders why King Getas chose that scene to be depicted on his coins.
Emperors bearing Gifts
June 9, 2017, Münzen und Medaillen GmbH will auction off the Markus Weder collection at Weil am Rhein featuring some extremely rare miliarense. Claire Franklin will tell us the story of these coins.
