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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3670 Posts |
I imagine that these old coins have been cleaned an polished many times over the centuries. Once they became a hundred plus years old or so they probably then had defined clear value beyond face even way back then say around 200 A.D.. And probably have been traded an bartered across the sands of time for eons. Imagine the stories they could tell if they could talk....
Very interesting insight thanks guys! And even if that toning does fade away in time, I bet I will long since be dead an forgotten by then. So the lucky winner of this great piece can enjoy crossing paths with this ancient relic at this point in time when it is as beautiful as it probably will ever be IMO.....
Edited by Silverhawk74 04/03/2012 5:45 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
I don't know much about ancient coins but this one sure looks as if it is in great condition. Hey, maybe this coin was one of the 30 pieces of silver that Judas collected for his dirty-work? 
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3670 Posts |
I am with you Ed on little to ZERO ancient coin knowledge, but most of the few I have investigated thus far were not in as nice of condition as this one. Often they are covered in green patina, and little to zero image definition still present on the obverse or reverse of the coin. And as it should be one would figure for anything that is around two thousand years old....
Edited by Silverhawk74 04/03/2012 5:46 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Quote: Once they became a hundred plus years old or so they probably then had defined clear value beyond face even way back then say around 200 A.D.. And probably have been traded an bartered across the sands of time for eons. Imagine the stories they could tell if they could talk.... If only coins could talk!  Just like our recent coins, they probably circulated until monetary changes or bad economic times hit and coinage was devalued, prompting hoarding and melting. I don't know if ancient coin collectors existed. Most ancient coins surviving today were dug up fairly recently, forgotten for milennia.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
If only coins could talk: That is why I acquired a humble Widow's Mite many years ago. To my way of thinking, this humble coin appeals to me more than an example of a silver tetradrachm of the type that was paid to Judas.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3670 Posts |
Interesting to think about DVcollector and you are probably right, if there were so called ancient collectors of old antiquities an coins an such, it was probably in the highest of classes in the most elite of the royal blood in very small numbers I would think....
I recall a story of Julius Caesar standing before a Statue of Alexander the Great an he wept as he was then 25 years old an had conquered nothing to that point and Alexander the great had conquered the world....
This is a fine example of the ancient world having yet respect for their history, as man has been civilized for way longer then modern science figures in my estimation. An new finds today have backed that up....
The mountain ax man from like 5000 B.C. had many technologies an tools on his person that few scientists would have believed before that find....
I also feel in the ancient market places going way back into the pre B.C., you would have had dealers of old antiquities and perhaps old coins from an empire who once rained supreme but now had faded away like the Persian or Carthaginian empires....
But alas in the end like you said DV collector that empire that perhaps dealt in those items eventually faded away and was lost again in the sands of time, as these coins would have been buried an forgotten. In fact being preserved for a later civilization to find them.....
For a rare coin like that to survive all that time say two thousand years, it would have to be protected in some old organization like the Knights Templar or something, and past on from generation to generation an protected along the way.....
Edited by Silverhawk74 04/03/2012 9:36 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
648 Posts |
Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Silverhawk74: It seems to me that you may have at least some passing interest for things ancient. Knowing of your established interest in bullion silver, perhaps it may be a good idea to acquire a token ancient silver coin as well.
Even the Hunt Brothers did that! Theirs was a silver decadrachm (10 drams) of Athens. That particular coin later sold for $10 million.
If that is the case, I would suggest getting an antoninianus (double denarius) of the Roman Emperor Gordian 111. Silver coins of this Emperor are easy to obtain in attractive condition, for not much money. Perhaps around $50 to $100 for a nice one. Do a search on the 'VCOINS' website, under 'Gordian antoninianus', to get an idea of what the market is offering for this type of coin.
Edited by sel_69l 04/04/2012 01:27 am
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3670 Posts |
Thanks Sel that is great advice and I found some of those on ebay going way higher in cost of course.... I have a local shop I swing by often as well who has many smaller name Emperors from the later less attractive years so to speak, which like you said can be found for a relatively cheap price I plan in looking into....
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3670 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
A reasonably attractive coin. One thing to look for with ancients is for legends and devices to be fully struck up on a full flan. This one fits the bill.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
 Nicely struck coin--I like that one!  Quote: The mountain ax man from like 5000 B.C. had many technologies and tools on his person that few scientists would have believed before that find... Do you mean 5,300 year-old Ã-tzi the Iceman? What is really remarkable about that discovery is the preservation of the body and the completeness of his clothing and tools. It sure is an interesting reconstruction of his appearance and life in "copper age" Europe.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3670 Posts |
That is exactly what I was speaking of DV.... Another very interesting thing to note is he had like ancient stick style tattooing aligned PERFECTLY with the modern day acupuncture chart. And he also had some mushrooms on his person of this day that the hippies enjoy, and I am sure it was more used then for medicinal purposes  ....
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3670 Posts |
Check out this copy an paste from that wiki DV provided below....
"Influenced by the "Curse of the pharaohs" and the media theme of cursed mummies, claims have been made that Ã-tzi is cursed. The allegation revolves around the deaths of several people connected to the discovery, recovery and subsequent examination of Ã-tzi. It is alleged that they have died under mysterious circumstances. These persons include co-discoverer Helmut Simon,[53] and Konrad Spindler, the first examiner of the mummy in Austria at a local morgue in 1991.[54] To date, the deaths of seven people, of which four were the result of some violence in the form of accidents, have been attributed to the alleged curse. In reality hundreds of people were involved in the recovery of Ã-tzi and are still involved in studying the body and the artifacts found with it. The fact that a small percentage of them have died over the years is not peculiar."
The last line above really sums up the coincidences of the world which will occur. If say five hundred highly qualified people an scientists worked with him, sure some of them are gonna have past on by now since 1991. Still, stuff like that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, real or not like the similar stories that surround the Hope Diamond. Plus new theories now that point to it possibly being cut form the stolen French blue, just shows many have killed for it along the way, lied, cheated, whatever and many generations attached to it, so yeah people are gonna die along the way, and some early from unnatural acts of violence or unusual accident....
Edited by Silverhawk74 04/04/2012 3:05 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
Quote: And he also had some mushrooms on his person of this day that the hippies enjoy, and I am sure it was more used then for medicinal purposes.... I think that it was pretty common for ancient and primitive people to "keep in touch with their gods" via hallucinogenic plants of various kinds. Some Indian tribes of the US Southwest and Mexican deserts caught on to peyote pretty early on.
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