Monday 16 December 2013

Come on Coiney "Researchers", Show us What you can do


Over on Wayne Sayles blog the coineys are still reacting (with insults of course) to the fact that somebody questioned the wisdom of their guru who (instead of actually finding out why two pictures did not match) blithely suggested that foreign archaeologists might be "pulling a fast one".

One pseudonymous "Alexander" tries not to sound like the Arthur Houghton sock-puppet on the Tompa blog (we've come across this guy before on the Aleppo Codex and casting aspersions about "archaeologists' dark secrets"). Tompa himself solemnly intones that "this coin does not appear to be anything like others of this rule in the trade [...] most of this ruler's coins are bractates" - apparently oblivious to the fact that the medievalist blogger had already pointed that out.

“[...]ZL REX BOEMO”?

These supportive commentators are also trying hard not to see that I issued the coiney "researcher" and "professional numismatist" a direct challenge. Let me repeat it, as I think it is an important point:
There is a huge limitation to what can be told from this coin if it had "surfaced" in Dealer Sayle's online stockroom with no collecting history or provenance (and yes, if Mr Sayles would like to take up the challenge and show what can be done with just the pictures and writing on this coin and no provenance and no way to identify by date the issuer ("[...]ZL") - great, we are all ears
And if Mr Sayles cannot do it, let me throw the challenge open to all coineys of two continents (no archaeologists or Medieval historians, just numismatists please). Ignoring the findspot of this coin totally, what can you tell by looking at the pictures and writing on the obverse and reverse, what do they show and why? Who was the issuer and where might it have been produced? Can one learn any of this from just the decontextualised object? Go on, show us your stuff coineys. Show how your "heap of coins discipline" works. Can you? Please?


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