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Ancient roman coins identification10/18/2023 I think these correspondences can hardly be coincidental, so do not doubt that coin and Wiczay’s represent one and the same original! …” If not for the eagle eye of a highly-acclaimed numismatist, this coin probably would never have been identified as the coin cited in Cohen! “JUDGING FROM ECKHEL’S DRAWING, THE WICZAY SPECIMEN, LIKE, HAD A LITTLE EXTRA METAL OUTSIDE THE BORDER OF DOTS AT THE LEFT ON THE OBVERSE, AND HAD TWO SMALL INDENTATIONS ON ITS UPPER EDGE ON THE REVERSE, AT A LITTLE BEFORE 12 O’CLOCK AND A LITTLE AFTER 1 O’CLOCK RESPECTIVELY.” In an online discussion concerning this coin, Curtis Clay wrote: 1830 by the Parisian coin dealer Rollin, it had been missing until its recent chance discovery at a coin show in the United States. The coin, formerly residing in the Wiczay collection, was first published by Eckhel in 1775, and subsequently cited in Cohen. 1830 and had lost all of its provenance information. In the Agora Auctions Electronic Sale #31 of Ancient and Medieval coins closing on April 28th 2015, is an apparently unique Roman medallion of the emperor Volusian, that has a very old pedigree! What is of particular interest is that this coin had been “missing” since ca. There have been several notable examples over the past thirty years where dealers have gotten “lucky”. But more often than not, once a coin has lost its provenance the information is lost forever. Occasionally a dealer will get “lucky” and stumble upon a coin’s pedigree when researching a specific coin–especially if it is rare or unusual. When attempting to research a “lost pedigree”, one quickly discovers that many coins have been cleaned or conserved throughout the years, making it more difficult to easily identify a coin from an earlier photograph or plaster cast. Thanks in large part to the advent of the internet and the use of online stores and internet based auctions, that situation is changing. Photography did not even exist until the mid 19th century and did not become common in the numismatic trade until the later 20th century. The vast majority of coins sold in private transactions were not photographed. Many common or low value coins were sold without provenance information and typically were not photographed for the sale catalogs-If there even was a catalog or public record. In the antiquities trade, these items are considered “orphaned artifacts”. Simply put, this information rarely exists. In my experience, less than one coin in a thousand has retained its provenance/pedigree information over the past five centuries of active coin collecting. She asked if NAC can provide such documentation why can’t other firms? Of Course, NAC cannot provide provenance for all the coins in its sales and the documentation cited would undoubtedly be some form of certification by personal knowledge or belief. Patty Gerstenblith, Chair of CPAC, cited text from a Numismatica Ars Classica catalog stating that the firm will provide documentation for coins subject to US import restrictions. At the 2015 Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) hearing to discuss a potential renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Italy, Prof.
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