Your Guide to the Standard Reference Books on Early American Copper: The Top Ten
For the uninitiated, the world of early American copper can be a confusing place. The fledgling United States was decidedly behind their European contemporaries… [more]
A Counterstamped Sloop
Some years ago I received this Upper Canada halfpenny token as part of a trade. The "T.F. Haywood" counterstamp was very intriguing and has afforded me… [more]
Bonding With Our Coins by James Higby
This story comes from fellow Early American Coppers member James Higby. His experiences mirror our own as we become custodians of our little pieces of… [more]
Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents
In last week's post, "An 1809 Half Cent from eBay", I mentioned as my attribution guide "Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents". Published… [more]
An 1809 Half Cent from eBay
As a break from my usual posts, I thought it might be fun to present a coin and explain my thought process when I was contemplating the purchase. A perfect… [more]
Ancient Coins
2000 Years of History: $25
The Coin From a historical perspective, there is no greater bang for the buck than ancient Roman coinage. The bronze coin pictured here is usually referred to as a follis, or nummi. It was struck about 335 A.D. during the reign of Emperor Constantine I the Great in Antioch, a city in what is now [...]
An Ancient Soap Opera
Here we have another follis struck during the reign of the emperor Constantine I, the Great around 321 to 324 A.D. The portrait here is of Constantine’s eldest son Crispus with the legend IUL CRISPUS NOB C, or Julius Crispus Nobillisimus Caesar. Note that he wears a laurel wreath rather than a pearl diadem, denoting [...]
Top 10 Christmas Gift Ideas for the Coin Collector
Christmas is just about upon us and everywhere you look someone has a “Top 10 Hottest Gifts for 2009″ list. A quick search will yield up Top 10 Toys for Boys, Toys for Girls, Top 10 Electronics, Movies, CDs, etc. but what about Top 10 Gifts for the Numismatist? In the world of coin collecting, [...]
A 4th Century Tragedy, Part I
The fall of the Roman Empire has always held a great fascination for me. If you’ve ever read any Roman history, you know everyone has their own idea of when this began. In my opinion the empire began to rapidly decay after the death of Constantine I, the Great when his three surviving sons split [...]
A 4th Century Tragedy,Part II
Before we set the stage for our story, here’s a $12.00 purchase I made a year ago that illustrates the central figure of the western Roman Empire from 375 to 392 A.D. This bronze follis of Valentinian II was struck sometime between 383 and 392 A.D. The bust of Valentinian appears on the obverse wearing [...]
