The Year of the Four Emperors (68–69) and the beginning of the Flavian Dynasty The suicide of emperor Nero, in AD 68, was followed by a brief period of civil war – the first Roman civil war since Mark Antony’s death in 30 BC. Between June and December of AD 69, Rome witnessed the successive rise and…
Introduction There are two facets of grading coins that are frequently discussed at coin fairs and exhibitions – condition and rarity ! The former is relatively straight forward (albeit subject to several different standards) whereas the latter is often the subject of spirited debate. In order to address both, I will deal with them separately. …
One of the most asked questions relating to hammered coins is “how are they made?” Rather than go into a long speech about how it was done, perhaps it is best if I leave this to the experts …. Dave Greenhalgh (Cosmeston Medieval Village) & Barrie Cook (Curator of Medieval Coins, British Museum) Dave reckons…
Piedfort is a term used by numismatists to describe coins specially struck as either gifts or souvenirs by monarchs as far back as the twelfth century in France. In England, the monarchs being of French blood, continued the tradition – most notably by Edward I, who issued extra thick silver pennies. Since minting coins was…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 