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 Replies: 10 / Views: 3,339 |
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Moderator
 United States
34427 Posts |
Ah, the Gepids, where to start? Well, the only other Gepid coin posted on CCF that I am aware of is here: http://goccf.com/t/192446I think that VisigothKing does a great job outlining the history, timescale, and geography of this small Gothic tribe. Rather than duplicate his efforts, I'll try to add a little more numismatic color, drawing from two resources: Zeljko Demo's "Ostrogothic Coinage from Collections in Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina" and Alain Gennari's "The 'Sirmium group': about the so-called Gepids siliquae with a specific catalogue". The latter is available for download on the interwebs: https://www.academia.edu/20402734/T...ic_catalogueGennari's work is more recent and, I believe, more representative of the latest thinking about Gepid coinage. However, Demo does a nice job discussing the known examples in museums, and also more broadly covers Ostrogothic coinage minted outside of Sirmium. These coins are wicked rare. In 1994, Demo estimated that there were 248 extant Ostrogothic coins attributable to the Gepids (including only 28 in private hands), while by 2016, Gennari had located 316. Presumably, some of this increased availability comes from that great archive of human knowledge, the interwebs. One question that remains unanswered to me, is why so many of these Gepid coins survive as fragments? Perhaps the particular silver alloy used by the Gepids has one or more impurities that make these coins more brittle than other coins? I would be interested if anyone on CCF has any ideas here. My coin is a quarter Siliqua with the obv inscription [ANAST] AISIVS P AV and the rev inscription [ V ]ICTA AROMAN. The monogram, which is of King Theoderic, is Gennari style #22. It was likely minted in the date range of 508 to 528 AD under the authority of Anastasius. The mint was located in Sirmium, which is currently in Serbia, near to the triple point border with Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina . The attribution is Demo 76, Gennari 57b (this coin!). As far as I know, this is my first plate coin, although when there are only a few hundred coins, maybe everyone owns a plate coin.   "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
23731 Posts |
This is the only the second one of these I'm seen. A nice rare coin congrats Dave.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
Very nice. That it's a plate coin is icing on the cake. Congrats.
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Valued Member
200 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
very nice coin , I love these coins . I was contacting Gennari last year and he told me he was working on a supplement on his work . I have now a small collection of 5 coins .albert http://goccf.com/t/270151&SearchTerms=gepids  |
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Moderator
 United States
34427 Posts |
Thanks everyone--this was a special pick-up for me. @albert, so sorry that I missed your earlier Gepid thread. I have been having a few issues with the CCF search function lately, but honestly this was just me dropping the ball. I'm honored to be in such good company with you and VK. Feel free to post close-ups of your other four coins onto this thread. Any thoughts on why so many of these coins are broken into pieces, despite being otherwise in amazingly good shape? Clearly, most were not circulated very heavily.  "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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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1269 Posts |
Wow @Spence, that is a great pickup. I know nothing about this area of collecting but it is very interesting.
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Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
@Spence , sorry for answering so lately . The only reason I see for the broken coins is the way they are produced .The coin is very thin and the impression of the details is often very sharp . Maybe causes this technique a weakening ?
As you said , the second problem is the amazing quality of the coins . Here , I see no explanation .
Very interesting also are the AE coins of the Gepids . They are more scarce then the silver ones .I saw only one onCatawiki , but I can not find it back .
Here is also a link of a sale of last year with beautiful coins . albert
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Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
34427 Posts |
Albert, thanks for that link! I agree that these coins are thin, but at least to a first approximation, they seem no thinner than many small silver coins from medieval Europe. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced it must be embrittlement from one or more impurities. Hmm, just one more reason why I need to invest in an XRF...
"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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Pillar of the Community
 Spain
2752 Posts |
Lovely rare coin  Thanks for sharing Paul |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 3,339 |
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Posted 03/27/2017 07:35 am
