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 …

Sikyon and its Chimaira

Why do we find Chimaira on the staters of the city of Sikyon? A search for traces…

50 Years of Celtic Coin Index

Setting up an index of Celtic coins found in Britain was first thought of in 1959 by the archaeologist Professor Sheppard Frere and the numismatist Derek Allen. The growth of the CCI testifies to a commensurate increase in co-operation between professional archaeologists and amateur metal detectorists…

Gods Unto Themselves? Augustus and Caligula

The image of the Temple of Augustus on the sestertii of Caligula is among the most beautiful architectural motifs found on Roman coins. In its upcoming auction, Numismatica Genevensis is offering the finest known specimen of this fascinating issue.

Unique dragon coin from Kent

On 20 February 2014 an ancient British silver coin of the highest rarity was unearthed by a metal detectorist near Canterbury in Kent. It was probably struck sometime around the birth of Christ by an obscure Cantian ruler.

Medieval Sicily Part 1: The Byzantines

Since ancient times, Sicily has been a cultural melting pot, a junction of Africa and Europe, of West and East. The Byzantines even temporarily moved their capital there.