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Posted 02/12/2018 5:19 pm
In the last challenge, we were looking for fairly recent undated coins.
Now, we're going the opposite way - this one is about old dated ones!
(For the record, I decided the theme I would use for my next challenge well before the last one started. It was a coincidence.)
The coin above is an AE unit of Antiochos VII Euergetes, who ruled the Seleukid Empire in 138-129 BC.
If you squint a bit, you might be able to see three letters at the bottom: ΔΟΡ. (They're somewhat clearer in hand, but I suck at photography.)
Those letters? That's the date. It translates to 174 in the Seleukid calendar; in the modern calendar, that's 139/8 BC.
Since this type belongs to Antiochos VII, who, as far as I can tell, wasn't reigning yet in 139 BC, this particular coin must have been made in the year 138 BC.
This is currently the oldest dated coin in my collection.
I'm now encouraging you to post yours.
Points for this round:
9 points: a dated coin from the same year as mine (138 BC)
8 points: ...from within 10 years (148 BC to 128 BC)
7 points: within 50 years (188 BC to 88 BC)
6 points: within 137 years (275 BC to 1 BC)
5 points: within 250 years (488 BC to 113 AD)
4 points: within 500 years (up to 363 AD)
3 points: within 1000 years (up to 863 AD)
2 points: within 1500 years (up to 1363 AD)
1 point: within 2000 years (up to 1863 AD)
2.5 point bonus: too old for 6 points (276 BC or older)
1.75 point extra bonus (stacks with above): too old even for 5 points (489 BC or older)
0.2 point mini-bonus: older than mine (139 BC or older)
0.25 point disambiguation bonus: full match to mine (same type, same date)
0.5 point consolation prize: 1864 AD or later, but still your oldest dated coin
Tiebreaker: whichever coin's date is closer to 138 BC (and by posting time, as usual, if there's still a tie).
Note: coins can be dated in any calendar (even a regnal one), but the corresponding modern date needs to be given as well; and known single-year types also count even if they don't technically have a date (so the coin of the previous challenge would have gotten 1 point, assuming that it was truly limited to 1847 AD).
Coins that cannot be dated to a single year and/or 12-month (or smaller) period at all don't get any points, however.
(I'm willing to admit frozen dates for the moment, though; but they are complicated, and I'd probably need to rule on each example separately - assuming there are any.)
Mild clarification: the double-year dates round in favor of more points. So 149/8 BC and 128/7 BC would both get 8 points.
However, if the coin qualifies for 6 points, it doesn't qualify for the "too old for 6 points" bonus (and similarly for 5 points).
Similarly, a coin that qualifies for 1 point doesn't qualify for the consolation bonus (so in the unlikely case than your oldest dated coin is from 1863/4 AD, you still only get 1 point and not 1.5 points).
And yes, technically this would mean that a 138/7 BC coin from the same series as mine would get the full 9 points. Thus the disambiguation bonus. (Note: I highly suspect that it won't come up. But why not.)
And just for the record - no, I don't really expect anyone on CCF to actually have any of the dated coins from 489 BC or older.
Would certainly be nice though!
(And, um, sorry for the overly complicated rules again?)
Now, we're going the opposite way - this one is about old dated ones!
(For the record, I decided the theme I would use for my next challenge well before the last one started. It was a coincidence.)
The coin above is an AE unit of Antiochos VII Euergetes, who ruled the Seleukid Empire in 138-129 BC.
If you squint a bit, you might be able to see three letters at the bottom: ΔΟΡ. (They're somewhat clearer in hand, but I suck at photography.)
Those letters? That's the date. It translates to 174 in the Seleukid calendar; in the modern calendar, that's 139/8 BC.
Since this type belongs to Antiochos VII, who, as far as I can tell, wasn't reigning yet in 139 BC, this particular coin must have been made in the year 138 BC.
This is currently the oldest dated coin in my collection.
I'm now encouraging you to post yours.
Points for this round:
9 points: a dated coin from the same year as mine (138 BC)
8 points: ...from within 10 years (148 BC to 128 BC)
7 points: within 50 years (188 BC to 88 BC)
6 points: within 137 years (275 BC to 1 BC)
5 points: within 250 years (488 BC to 113 AD)
4 points: within 500 years (up to 363 AD)
3 points: within 1000 years (up to 863 AD)
2 points: within 1500 years (up to 1363 AD)
1 point: within 2000 years (up to 1863 AD)
2.5 point bonus: too old for 6 points (276 BC or older)
1.75 point extra bonus (stacks with above): too old even for 5 points (489 BC or older)
0.2 point mini-bonus: older than mine (139 BC or older)
0.25 point disambiguation bonus: full match to mine (same type, same date)
0.5 point consolation prize: 1864 AD or later, but still your oldest dated coin
Tiebreaker: whichever coin's date is closer to 138 BC (and by posting time, as usual, if there's still a tie).
Note: coins can be dated in any calendar (even a regnal one), but the corresponding modern date needs to be given as well; and known single-year types also count even if they don't technically have a date (so the coin of the previous challenge would have gotten 1 point, assuming that it was truly limited to 1847 AD).
Coins that cannot be dated to a single year and/or 12-month (or smaller) period at all don't get any points, however.
(I'm willing to admit frozen dates for the moment, though; but they are complicated, and I'd probably need to rule on each example separately - assuming there are any.)
Mild clarification: the double-year dates round in favor of more points. So 149/8 BC and 128/7 BC would both get 8 points.
However, if the coin qualifies for 6 points, it doesn't qualify for the "too old for 6 points" bonus (and similarly for 5 points).
Similarly, a coin that qualifies for 1 point doesn't qualify for the consolation bonus (so in the unlikely case than your oldest dated coin is from 1863/4 AD, you still only get 1 point and not 1.5 points).
And yes, technically this would mean that a 138/7 BC coin from the same series as mine would get the full 9 points. Thus the disambiguation bonus. (Note: I highly suspect that it won't come up. But why not.)
And just for the record - no, I don't really expect anyone on CCF to actually have any of the dated coins from 489 BC or older.
Would certainly be nice though!
(And, um, sorry for the overly complicated rules again?)
