The WESTERN CANDIDATE A drachma of Vonones I By: Terrance Cheesman The Kingdom of Parthia occupied what is today Iraq and Iran and for over two centuries was in conflict with the Roman Empire whose eastern provinces of Syria and Cappadocia were on the western frontier of that kingdom. Despite many bitter wars there was from time to time an interchange of ideas and religion beyond the usual interchange of goods. In fact the last known Olympic victor from the ancient games was a man named Arsaces, very likely a prince of the royal house of Parthia. Initial Roman efforts to destroy this … [Read more...]

La BANQUE de FRANCE the early years By: Pierre Driessen Following the coup d'état of 9 November 1799 and his 'election' as First Consul of the French Republic, General Napoleon Bonaparte moved quickly to consolidate his power. The previous government, the Directoire, had left France in a desperate situation. It had been corrupt and incapable of dealing with the myriad of political, military, social and economic issues facing the nation, both domestically and internationally. The people were exhausted. Ten years of unrest, war and hardship made them desperate for peace and stability. In … [Read more...]

Olympic Coinage By: Roger Grove If you are looking for something to collect, why not work towards a collection of Olympic coinage? We are all familiar with the multitude of issues from the Royal Canadian Mint, issued for Vancouver 2010, which can easily be found in your pocket change. What about all the other countries and their circulating and non-circulating issues from when they were selected to showcase the Olympics? If you want a challenge, try and collect one type coin from each of the participating countries. In recent times, those who host the Olympics will issue coinage but don’t … [Read more...]

1965 Pennies Explained By: Marc Bink, with Photos and research by Dean Silver Pointed 5 verse Blunt 5 The 1965 run of Canadian pennies has always been one of the most confusing to beginning collectors. It usually takes a long time for the beginning collector to determine whether or not the “5” is blunt or pointed. Dean Silver, who does the “dts Average” for the Planchet, was asked about the subtle differences between the two types. He writes, “An individual from South Dakota asked me how do you tell the differences between the 1965 1 cent, the blunt and pointed fives”. So he composed a … [Read more...]

BEFORE HE BECAME A MONSTER "A Denarius of Nero" By: Terry Cheesman Nero has been for a long time an exemplar of the cruel and corrupt Roman Emperor. This is a title which he does have a valid claim. Though it is unlikely that he set fire to the city of Rome in order to recite heroic poetry, he had certainly murdered his mother, his wife, and numerous other Roman citizens. About the only good thing that Seutonius, the Roman historian can say about him is that he ordered the first massacre of Christians. Nero was not born to become an Emperor, though he was part of the Imperial family. … [Read more...]