Smackdown V The Fable Of The Seven Sleepers

oh man, what a tough one.

gold: AN's axum coin...that's one of my all time favorites posted on this forum.

silver: MV's theodosius ii...dang.

bronze: WB khruso ii.

many other great ones!

great topic FR!

I dare say that with but a few minutes left ...... we seem to have some 'leaders' in this pack. I must at this time say that I am heading out the door and paying a visit to a good friend. As I expect to be consuming a few 'adult beverages' (Guinness & Heineken 50/50 ..... for medicinal purposes) the final tally need wait for a few more hours. No votes will be considered as being too late to count so I encourage any stragglers to speak up !

Tough choices indeed !

My own selections in order of appearance would be .........

DavidUK Justin II & Sophia AE Follis (The green ones are the sweetest !)
Victorioso - Decius Antoninianus (The reverse is the deciding factor)
Ancientnoob - Kingdom of Axum

As for the 'winner' there is little doubt ......

The first time I ever heard of Axum was about 15 years ago when one bright sunny morning I picked up my New York Times (Jan 27 1998) and could not help but notice the story at the bottom of the front page. Something like 'Arc of Covenant Located'. .... Huh ?

Now having been a devoted reader of the Times for a long long time it was difficult to see this and not have a rather strong reaction to this "report". I drove straight to the Worcester Public Library and found the book mentioned in the story. It does seem preposterous but the Ethiopians are rather smug about the whole thing and openly confess that they 'stole' the darn thing a long long time ago. Why would they steal it ? "We were Jews back then" is the response. They claim the descendants of King David and the Queen of Sheba felt like they were being treated poorly. Something about skin color. Again it sounds absurd but think about this fact. The black "falasha" Jews who were admitted into Israel from Ethiopia were found to be genuine practicing Jews by the Israeli religious authorities. Only one thing was missing from the belief system which they faithfully practiced. They had never heard of Hannukah. The implication is they had split off and become isolated from the 'mainstream' before the miracle celebrated by the Holiday. Now why would they intentionally go to all that effort to make themselves scarce ? I wonder .....

Anyhow we do have a clear winner. What is not so clear is the Silver and Bronze. The feel the need to let my mind clear a bit and will return in the morning with an answer ...... I hope !
But as it stands now we may have a statistical tie I am slightly unsure (I invite any help !)

MartiVltori Theo II & Whizb4ng Khruso II (590-628 AD)

Perhaps it is best to leave it so

I almost forgot
Inside this tiny Church is said to be .... you know what !
A single solitary monk stands guard ..... for his entire life inside of the sanctuary. When he dies another is chosen to be the guardian. It is considered the highest honor in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to spend an entire lifetime inside this Church.

Never too late to have an opinion though .... is it !
Cast your ballot Jimbo it will be taken for what it is worth
afterwards we can ceremoniously burn it !

In The Name of the Senate and the People of Rome

I hearby declare the debate to be over and the winner 'Anoob' shall select a token of
Victory !





(Bet I know which one he picks)

After which MartiVltori and Whizb4ng may fight it out (first one to shout)


When we have dispensed with the victors I have some AE's which the rest of the entrants may lay claim to ..... nothing extraordinary ...... the thought that counts !

Congrats Nate, fantastic coin.