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 Replies: 161 / Views: 16,446 |
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Moderator
United States
114961 Posts |
Excellent!  |
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Moderator
United States
24271 Posts |
Travel seems to be opening up a smidge and so I've got an update for this thread and the "coins in art" thread. I'm hoping others will be venturing out (and posting here) too! I recently visited the Tampa (FL) Museum of Art and immediately found "The Classical World" Exhibit. There are items from ancient Greece, Etruria, and Rome, including a somewhat sizeable group of vases. For the numismatist, there were four coins on display, including a Syracuse Decadrachm (412 BC), a pair of Athenian Tets (5th Century BC), and a Lucanian Stater (335-350 BC). Here are my pics of these items, along with an Owl from my own collection for comparison: Syracuse Decadrachm  Athens Tetradrachm   Lucanian Stater  Athens Tet from my collection:   "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
24271 Posts |
In the capital city of Zagreb, Croatia there are multiple areas of interest for the travelling numismatist. Here is one of them. Lotrscak Tower was built in the mid-13th Century as part of a defense system for the town. Around this time, Bela IV, the Croatian-Hungarian King, was fleeing the Tartars and holed up in Zagreb to escape. As a reward for the citizen's hospitality, he proclaimed Zagreb to be a Free Royal City. This proclamation, or Golden Bull, was issued in 1242 AD and directed the city to complete its fortifications. These were completed some twenty years later and the Lotrscak Tower is the best surviving remnant. The name derives from the Latin term campana latrunculorum (bell of thieves) which refers to the tower bell that would ring at 9 pm in the winter and 10 pm in the summer, immediately prior to the locking of the town gates. There is a small fee to enter and climb the winding metal staircase, but the views of the city are well worth the sweat. There are plenty of informational placards and displays, all with at least some English. One of these contains detailed close-ups of that original Golden Bull of Bella IV.  The above summary came from information placards at the tower, but there is more info at wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Bull_of_1242 "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
114961 Posts |
Fantastic! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2283 Posts |
At Banco Industrial on 5 Av. Sur No. 4 Antigua Guatemala, tbey have a very small but excellent numismatic museum featuring coins from the early days of colonization to modern times. For instance, I saw some gorgeous coins from the Central American Republic displayed.
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Moderator
United States
24271 Posts |
Good input @numised--thanks! Speaking of small museums, I was a bit underwhelmed by the the Museo Filatelico e Numismatico (Museum of stamp and coin collecting) at the Vatican Museums. Based on the quality of sculpture, paintings, and fresco in the earlier sections and considering the length of time that there has been a pope, I was expecting a pretty comprehensive viewing of papal state coins. Instead, this museum is basically the hallway on your way out. More than half is devoted to stamp collecting, and most of the remaining portion is focused on the modern day proofs. Non-flash photography is permitted and all the signs are in Italian, with occasional English translations. There was one Byzantine medal plus a few coins of the 18th and 19th Centuries. With that said, one aspect that I really liked was the inclusion of the full size plaster/bronze models from which some master dies to strike coins were made. 6th Century Byzantine medal of Constantinianus:   18th Century Papal State Baiocco:  19th Century Papal State Lira:  Modern day plaster model and resulting coin:   Modern day bronze model and resulting coin:   2014 Vatican Proof set:  "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10452 Posts |
nice Vatican set - I didn't know they had a mint...
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Moderator
United States
114961 Posts |
Fascinating! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2295 Posts |
Impressive coins! Thanks for sharing.
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
780 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10452 Posts |
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Replies: 161 / Views: 16,446 |
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Posted 04/16/2022 5:33 pm
