In Owl We Trust

In the current (October) issue of The Celator, there is a fantastic article on
the "international currency" of the ancient world, the Athena/Owl tetradrachm.
Its author, Jamie Knapp, takes the reader on a virtual tour of the ancient
lands that minted their own peculiar version of this coin, and in doing so,
reveals its significance and impact on various civilizations. Helping to
illustrate his point are more than two dozen photos of distinct "owls." What a
treat!

If you are considering a subscription to this monthly journal of ancient and
medieval coinage, now is the time. You won't regret it.


Anka Z ----- not working on commission

On 16 Oct 2003 21:44:34 GMT, (Ankaaz) wrote:

In the current (October) issue of The Celator, there is a fantastic article on
the "international currency" of the ancient world, the Athena/Owl tetradrachm.
Its author, Jamie Knapp, takes the reader on a virtual tour of the ancient
lands that minted their own peculiar version of this coin, and in doing so,
reveals its significance and impact on various civilizations. Helping to
illustrate his point are more than two dozen photos of distinct "owls." What a
treat!

If you are considering a subscription to this monthly journal of ancient and
medieval coinage, now is the time. You won't regret it.

This was indeed a very good article, a perfect Celator piece. Jamie
Knapp did a nice job of sharing what he has learned about these types
of coins in his own collection, and though he didn't contribute any
new numismatic knowledge about the subject, he helped to more widely
disseminate the knowledge that's out there in a very readable way, and
I'm sure he got some readers interested in collecting these coins.
I've exchanged email with him, as I collect these Owl imitative issues
too, though he's much further along than me, having been at it longer.
I passed along a list of about a dozen scholarly articles about these
that I'll be picking up next time I'm at the ANS after it's finished
moving, which will supplement the three I previously found. These
coins, as do other imitative issues, represent in my mind the
borrowing and occasional improvement of something by one culture from
another culture, which is one of the agents of progress.

I have six of these coins in my collection, and I'm awaiting another
in the mail:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ategory=47 38

The chipped flan from the test cut is only mildly offputting, to my
eyes. Though it detracts from the integrity of the coin, it creates
visual interest as well. But the main visual interest comes from the
wildly distorted face of Athena, the big hook nose and tiny mouth. The
coin wasn't attributed in the auction description and in fact wasn't
even described as an imitative issue, though the seller emailed me
that it was just after the auction's close after he had received
emails himself about this. My best guess right now is that it's an
issue from Northern Arabia Felix, though I have a lot more literature
to look through to know with any degree of assurance. Part of the fun
of ancients...

One minor point: It's too much of a stretch to call the Owl the
international currency of the ancient world. In reality it was the
first widely used international currency. The Aigina Tortoise preceded
it as an international currency, though it wasn't issued in the same
quantity or used as widely. And quite a few coins have followed and
replaced the Owl as international currencies in the ancient world, not
the least of which were Alexander the Great's gold and silver imperial
issues.

--

Coin Collecting: Consumer Guide: http://rg.ancients.info/guide
Glomming: Coin Connoisseurship: http://rg.ancients.info/glom
Bogos: Counterfeit Coins: http://rg.ancients.info/bogos

"Ankaaz" wrote in message
...
In the current (October) issue of The Celator, there is a fantastic
article on
the "international currency" of the ancient world, the Athena/Owl
tetradrachm.
Its author, Jamie Knapp, takes the reader on a virtual tour of the ancient
lands that minted their own peculiar version of this coin, and in doing
so,
reveals its significance and impact on various civilizations. Helping to
illustrate his point are more than two dozen photos of distinct "owls."
What a
treat!

If you are considering a subscription to this monthly journal of ancient
and
medieval coinage, now is the time. You won't regret it.


Anka Z ----- not working on commission

Thanks for the heads up, 'tis one of my faves.

Dave


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.528 / Virus Database: 324 - Release Date: 10/16/03

Reid Goldsborough kvetched:

"Jamie Knapp did a nice job of sharing what he has learned about these types
of coins in his own collection, and though he didn't contribute any
new numismatic knowledge about the subject..."

Oy vey...

and

"One minor point: It's too much of a stretch to call the Owl the
international currency of the ancient world."

Uhhhh... That's why I put the phrase in quotes, Reid.




Anka Z ---- wonders sometimes...

On 16 Oct 2003 21:44:34 GMT, (Ankaaz) wrote:

In the current (October) issue of The Celator, there is a fantastic article on
the "international currency" of the ancient world, the Athena/Owl tetradrachm.

If you get beyond your misdescribing these coins, these imitative
issues are very interesting to explore, opening up new vistas into
civilizations that preceded, and contributed to, ours. The most widely
copied ancient coinage includes not only Athenian Owl tetradrachms and
Alexander the Great/Philip III tetradrachms and drachms but also
Philip II staters, tetradrachms, and drachms (prototypes of most
Celtic coinage), Thasos tetradrachms, Claudius asses, Imperial denarii
of various emperors (prototypes of limes denarii), Claudius Gothicus
and similar antoniniani (prototypes of barbarous radiates), and
Constantinian bronzes. Those doing the copying circled the classical
world of the ancient Greeks and Romans and included the Celts,
Germanics, Dacians, Thracians, Huns, Persians, Baktrians, Indians,
Ceylonese, Arabians, Samarians, Judeans, and Egyptians.

Of course, in a broad sense, most coins, including those today, are
derivative of earlier ones. The common practice of using a person's
head on the obverse (heads) and an animal (with a tail) or other
symbol on the reverse (tails), for instance, derived from the coins
minted by the ancient Greeks. But the term imitative coinage, as I'm
using it and as others commonly use it, has a far narrower definition,
meaning coins that closely copy contemporary or recent coins minted by
others.

--

Coin Collecting: Consumer Guide: http://rg.ancients.info/guide
Glomming: Coin Connoisseurship: http://rg.ancients.info/glom
Bogos: Counterfeit Coins: http://rg.ancients.info/bogos

Reid Goldsborough began:

On 16 Oct 2003 21:44:34 GMT, (Ankaaz) wrote:

In the current (October) issue of The Celator, there is a fantastic article
on
the "international currency" of the ancient world, the Athena/Owl
tetradrachm.

If you get beyond your misdescribing these coins.....snip

Why does Reid continue to insist that only he knows what a poster really meant
as they typed?

Why does Reid consistently do this when Ann and Michael post?

Why did Reid respond to this post again....nothing better to do on a Saturday
afternoon or just a another feeble excuse to spread his manure?

Why does only Reid's s--t not stink?



++++++++++
Phil DeMayo - always here for my fellow Stooge
When bidding online always sit on your helmet
Just say NO to counterfeits

ulsion (Phil DeMayo) ponders....

Why does only Reid's s--t not stink?

Zero in, zero out?
Always here for my fellow syngraphist or oenophile.
--=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=--

On 18 Oct 2003 21:58:38 GMT, rosit (Jim) wrote:

(Phil DeMayo) ponders....

Why does only Reid's s--t not stink?

Zero in, zero out?
Always here for my fellow syngraphist or oenophile.
--=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=----=*=--

I thought all a-holes stunk!!!!

Don

"Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today."

Phil DeMayo wrote:

Reid Goldsborough began:

On 16 Oct 2003 21:44:34 GMT, (Ankaaz) wrote:

In the current (October) issue of The Celator, there is a fantastic article
on
the "international currency" of the ancient world, the Athena/Owl
tetradrachm.

If you get beyond your misdescribing these coins.....snip

Why does Reid continue to insist that only he knows what a poster really meant
as they typed?

Why does Reid consistently do this when Ann and Michael post?

Why did Reid respond to this post again....nothing better to do on a Saturday
afternoon or just a another feeble excuse to spread his manure?

Why does only Reid's s--t not stink?

This Periodic Posting is intended to warn newcomers and remind regulars
of the true meanings behind the Orwellian New-Speak of the RCC Resident
Troll, Reid Goldsborough.

It is Reid's intention to use you as a plaything for his own amusement
and as a source of information for paid publication without attribution
or compensation. He accomplishes this through certain abuses and
misuses of language which have become frequent enough to justify this
Periodic Posting.

Discuss=Gather.
"I want to discuss the merits of the Lincoln Cent design." This seems
like a simple enough statement, but when posted by Reid, it is untrue.
The true meaning is "I am gathering opinions to be used in an article I
am writing. Any well-written opinion, information you share about the
Lincoln cent's history, contemporary accounts of the public response to
that design, or points you make about the artistry of this coin will
appear in print as having originated from me."

Periodic Posting=Work in Progress
From time to time Reid will post with the header "Periodic Posting" and
maintain the fiction that it is 'information for newcomers'. In
actuality, these are 'Works in Progress', where Reid wants you to act as
his editor/fact-checker. Once a general consensus has been reached that
all the glaring errors in his statement on a topic have been removed,
Reid will post that piece to a website, where he offers it for
publication. When a periodical does accept it for publication, not only
will it disappear from the website, all the archived versions of it will
be removed from Google. Reid will claim 'copyright protection' as the
reason for removing the evidence of his pilfered prose.

Replica=Counterfeit
Reid will attempt to lure you into joining him in his admiration of the
Bulgarian counterfeiter, Slavey Petrov. Praising his skill and
artistry, Reid will encourage you to search out his works for sale on
Ebay and elsewhere. Be warned, Petrov does not mark his 'replicas' as
required by Federal law, their importation is illegal, and in acting as
his shill, Reid is urging you to support a criminal enterprise.

Collect=Steal
In connection with that 'love of ancients', Reid will rail against the
'restrictive laws' of countries that want to protect their national art
treasures. He advocates smuggling ancient coins out of their homelands,
like Egypt and Turkey, citing the 'lack of conservation and
appreciation' they will encounter. I suppose if you didn't wax and
display your lawnmower, I'd be entitled to steal that, too? In any
case, Reid's desire to have those treasures smuggled out is to own them
himself, not out of any concern for their well-being. Be advised.

Professional Journalist=Poor writer
When challenged about his childish writing style, or many mis-statements
of fact, Reid will retreat to the label of 'professional journalist'.
If you can accept that as the reason for writing at a third-grade level,
or failing to follow the law, or his ethical lapses in using your
statements and corrections without compensation or attribution, then you
will have no problem with that one.

Intransigent=former victim
In exchanges with others, the word 'intransigent' (which means
'uncompromising') will be applied by Reid in a pejorative sense to mean
'relentless and inflexible'. This is usually a very big clue that one
of Reid's former victims is reminding him of one of his (many) previous errors.

mindless arguing=you were right
Caught in a falsehood or error, Reid will accuse the other poster of
'arguing mindlessly'. In addition to accusing that poster of missing
the nuances of an issue, this is Reid's typical first step in a
New-Speak admission that your facts are irrefutable. So he will simply
be dismissive of your repeating the information.

liar=you remember what I deleted
Typically, Reid will not begin calling another poster a liar and
demanding a cite until he has deleted his statements in question from
Google's archive of Usenet postings. It then becomes only the 'group
memory' that can protect us from a collective amnesia that Reid tries to
sell as 'truth'.

look it up=I had no citation
Often, when asked to provide proof of a bald assertion, Reid will tell
you to do your own reasearch or go look it up. This means he was
speaking from his duodenum and did not actually check his facts before
responding. If challenged on this, he will call you lazy or
intellectually sloppy, but he still will not provide a cite. Because
none exists.

It is, in the opinion of many regular RCC readers, best that you not
engage Reid and that his posts, however innocuous they may appear to be,
are actually traps for re-hashings of old and wearisome conflicts.
There are few numismatic topics remaining which Reid has not used as
springboards for self-aggrandizing comments and flame wars of
considerable length. The only consolation available to you should be
swept into one of those 'Black Holes of Logic' is that most of us have
visited that Alternate Universe at least once.

Reid Goldsborough wrote
This was indeed a very good article, a perfect Celator piece. Jamie
Knapp did a nice job of sharing what he has learned about these types
of coins in his own collection, and though he didn't contribute any
new numismatic knowledge about the subject ...

If he had you would denounce him for challenging the established
wisdom of the books you read. You would excoriate him for creating a
new paradigm. You would challenge him to debate you here.

How does one "contribute new numismatic knowledge"?

1. Describe coins previously uncatalogued. (New digs, for instance,
or simply unpublished examples.)

2. New explanations of previously unclear facts. (Who is the image
of? When was it struck? Why? Etc.)

4. New facts about the forms and uses of money. (New discoveries,
whether of the moneys themselves or of the ways they were used.)

5. New theories about the forms and uses of money to explain the newly
discovered forms and uses or to integrate new knowledge with old or
old with new.