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 Replies: 8 / Views: 1,729 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4000 Posts |
Trying to help a friend identify a coin she brought in today. She bought it off "some TV guy" back in '95 and paid $34 for it. I told her that most likely, she'd be lucky if it were worth that today. But, this all about finding out it's history. Can anyone help shed some some light on info that I can share with her? It was kind of tough to take a picture of. It's dark and hard (for me) to see the design. Age, denomination, anything you can point me to so that I can learn about it? It gets swallowed up by a dime. EDIT: All the receipt said was "Herod the Great" (but, you guys probably knew that).  Edited by Scooby Due
08/09/2010 10:24 pm
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Moderator
 Australia
16859 Posts |
Yep, it's a bronze prutah of Herod I, puppet king of Judaea under the Romans. You can see the W-shaped letter omega from Herod's name spelled in Greek, EPWD, at 9 o'clock on the image on the left hand side. In better condition, it looks like this example on Wildwinds. The obverse (left pic) depicts an anchor with Herod's abbreviated name around it, while the reverse depicts a double cornucopia. The actual date of issue appears to be unknown, or perhaps the same design was issued several times throughout his reign (40 BC - 4 BC). See this Wildwinds pagefor other coins of Herod. It qualifies as a "Biblical coin"; this was issued by the King Herod mentioned in the Christmas stories. As such, they are often over-hyped by the "TV guy" mass-marketeers. $34 was probably a typical price from them for a low-grade piece like this at the time. The better condition one linked to above sold in 2000 for $53. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Valued Member
Israel
423 Posts |
I think that I have the same coin in somewhat better condition   |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4000 Posts |
Thanks Sap! I was hoping to hear from you. She'll be excited to know a little more about it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4000 Posts |
Would soaking this do any good to help bring out a little of the detail?
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Valued Member
Israel
423 Posts |
I am not an expert but I have had another coin soaking in olive oil for the past few months. See this post https://goccf.com/t/64272From what I have read it takes a lot of patiemce. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4000 Posts |
Thanks as always. Based on the info above, I have been able to put together a nice little history lesson for her. She'll be very excited - thanks for all your help!
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Moderator
Australia
16859 Posts |
Quote:
Would soaking this do any good to help bring out a little of the detail? This coin looks like it's already been stripped down to bare metal - it was probably cleaned by electrolysis. Soaking does no good in such cases, as there's nothing left to soak off. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4000 Posts |
Thanks Sap! I had given her instructions on how to soak it, but it sounds like she should just leave well enough alone!
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Replies: 8 / Views: 1,729 |
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Posted 08/10/2010 08:50 am
