Vol. 19, Visit www.TomCederlind.com ... I a.=: III .:a III ~ E o I- ... or call for a complimentary catalog .... TOM CEDERLIND N UM ISMAT ICS & ANTIQUITIES PO Box 1963, Dept. C (503) 228·2746 Portland, OR 97207 Fax (503) 228·8130 www.TomCederlind.com/[email protected] Vol, 19, NO.4 Inside The Celatof"Y ... April 2005 Consecutive Issue No_ 214 Incorporating Roman CQin.r7l/U1 CII /lure FEATURES PublisherlEdilOr Kerry K. Wctterstrom [email protected] 6 The Mystery of the Left-Facing Denarius by John Bitner Copy Editor Cistophoric Tetradrachms - An Overview W. Jdl'rey Winter" 12 by Robert M. Harlick Page 6 For Back Issues From 24 Nero: The Actor Emperor - Part II 1987 to May 1999 contact: Doris J. Sayles by David A. Wend [email protected] DEPARTMENTS Art: Parnell Nelson 2 Guest Editorial- Coming Next Month Maps & Graphic Art: Kenny Grady 4 Letters to the Editor Page 12 32 Art and the Market - f)rofilt!l' ill ilumi!Smatir!l' p.e. Box 839 1...McaRIr, PA 17608 33 Art and the Market T.VFax;717~57 Express mall (FedEx & 36 Coming Events UPS onty) to: Kerry K. Wenerstrom 87 Aprlcol Ave 38 The Other Side by Phillip Davis Leola, PA 17540-1788 39 ANTIO!JITIES byOavidUebert www.ceIaIor.com by David Hendin The CelatO( (ISSN ~1048·0986) 40 \!:oinS of Ib' )!lib!, is an indeperldenl lournal pub­ lished on the first day 01 each 42 The Market - Recent Catalogs, etc. monTh at 87 Apllcot Ave, Leola. PA t 7540. It Is circulated Intel­ by Jeff Winter nationally through subscriptions and special distributiOns. Sub­ 43 'through the Cooking glass s<::ription rates. payable In U.S. funds, are 530 pllr yeal {Peliodl· by Wayne G. Sayles cal ralel wrth in the United States; About the cover: $36 to Canada; $48 pll' yeal to 44 The Internet Connection The obverse photo of a all other addlesses (lSAL). Ad­ vertising and copy deedline Is the by Kevin Barry & Zachary "Beast" Beasley left-facing bust of Faus­ first workday 01 each month. Un­ tina Sr., AIC 361. See solicited articles end news re­ 46 Cartoon this month's feature ar­ teases are welcome, however ticle by John Bitner. publication cannot be guaran­ teed. Unless expressly stated. 47 Professional Directory Photography by Alan The CeJalOroailhe. endorses nor Yarbrough. is responsible lOt" the contents of 54 Club & Society Directory advertisements, letterS-Io-the· editor. feature articles, regutar 55 Classifieds - Index of Advertisers columns and press releases In Its pages, Including any opinions stated therein, and the accuracy The Celator office 01 any data prov,ded by its con· will be closed tributors. Periodical postage paid from {USPS '0(6077) Lancaster, PA Jltursday, April 21 " 17603 and addilional oflices, i9 Monday, Apr! 25'> """"""''' 2005. _ fti< GICF iInd _ on ~ & PltlIishing, Inc. Friday, APril Postmaster: please send 0IIice "9<JrSJre get1; address changes to: eral~ t<oon to 6~ P.O, Box 839 EST. Please ~ in Lancaster, PA 17608 min<Uh8t::this is a one-person opera­ FOUNDED 1987 BY tion when you're try­ WAYNE G. SAYLES ing to reach me. GUEST " COMING NEXT ' . MONTH EDITORIAL ~C IN THE CELATOR® Afghan Treasures Lost The Coins of Alexandria- Four Regimes of Closed Currencies And Found by Matthew S. Reid By Peter K. Tampa The Numismatic Museum On February 24, 2005 , the National Artcr Hiebert unived, he was told that of Athens Geographic Society presented a lecture the Afghans had also located 16 more box­ by C. Kevin Ammons about treasures lost (and now found) of es of materials. These turned out to be the Afghan National Museum. This lec­ Kushan treasures from Bcgram that had Nero: The Actor Emperor - ture wa~ significant because it raised some previously been displayed in the museum. Part III serious questions about one of the key More boxes were then produced. These assumptions behind recently introduced leg­ included 2000 coins from the 40,((10 coin by David A Wend islation thaL would authorize impon restric­ collcction of thc National Museum. Hic­ tions on Afghan archaeological objects. bert indicated that the coins that wcre AND COMING SOON The speaker was Fred Hiebert, an ar­ found were the most important pieces chaeologist who has excavated Silk Road in the collection. To illustrate this point, The Coins of Hsienyang, City sites. He was invited by the Afghan Gov­ Dr. Hi ebert showed slides of a group of afthe First Emperor afChina ernment to inventory safes fou nd under high-grade tetradrachms of the Greco­ by Marvin Tameanko the Afghan Central Ban k that were thought Bactrian King Eucratides. to contain the "Tillya Tepe" (Mound of There are at least 20 additional boxcs Faces of Empire (julius Caesar Gold) Treasure excavated by Soviet ar­ to inventory, but Dr. Hieben indicated so to Justinian) chaeologists in 1978. and previously pre­ far99%oftheAfghan National Museum's by Cornelius Vermeule sumed los!. Once there, other boxes turned display items have been found in excel­ up (and continue to do so) from the Af­ lent condi ti on. What appears s\i ll to be Medusa the Centauress on ghan National Museum collections, and missing is material from the slores. There Greek Coins Hiebert has also been involved in inven­ appears La be a "don't ask, don't tell" pol­ torying these materials. icy on where all these boxes are coming by Joseph Wihnyk The Soviets first inventoried the Tillya from. Hiebert indicated that some of the Asklepios Temples on Tepc Treasure in 1978, the year it was box es are in poor condition (I.e., rusted found in Northern Afghanistan. At that or even covered with manure), but thc Ancient Coins time, there were 21,000 urtifucts, mostly contents have nevertheless been in ex­ by Bekircan Tahberer & of gold from the burial of five females and cclient condition. Prof. Dr. lIter Uzel one male ca. I" Ccntury AD.TIIC burials [n response to questions, Dr. Hiebert were of nomads of obviously high station ind icated that there is a serious loot ing The Later Roman Empresses in life. There were some wins in the hoard, problem in the countryside. Neverthe­ including a previously unknown type for less. he declined to take the all too usu­ by Jasper Burns the Greco-Bactrian KingAgathokles (Man al line vilifying collectors and Western Officina Mark Development resting on Wheel of Dharma/Lion with a museums. Instead , he suggested thatAf­ raised paw) and even an aureus of the ghanistan with the help of UNESCO and at the Mint of Antioch in Roman Emperor Tiberius (struck be­ the world community needs to do a bet­ the 3" Century AD tween 16 and 2 1 AD at Lugdunum in ter job identifying and protecting likely by Douglas O. Rosenberg Gaul). Finding this particular coin in the archaeological sites. He also indicated hoard proves that coins circulated wide­ that ultimately the root causes of loot­ Images of Power and Clory ly in ancient times based on their intrin­ ing, primarily warlord ism and ethnic sic value as bu llion. stri fe, need to be addressed. Hopefully, on the Coinage of Trajan The treasure was thought to have been he also hel ieves that Afghanistan's an ­ by Liladhar R. Pendse lost during the Afghan Civil War, but evi ­ cient past can be used to help un ify the dently remained locked up in vaul~ be­ Afg han people today. Coins of Knossos and low the Central Bank along with $60 mil ­ Despite the availability of this in for­ the Minotallr lion in gold bullion. No one knows (or is mation to decision makers in Congress, by Charles Suter saying) why the Tal iban ovcrlooked this on February 17,2005, Congressman En­ treasure. Afghans lovc stori es, and the gli sh (R-Pa) fe -int roduccd leg islation TIle Constantin ian COn1mCl1lO­ widely repeated yam that a devoted guard from th e last legislative scssion that rative issues of 317/18 thwat1ed Taliban thugs by breaking aIr would authorize import restrictions on keys in the locks of the safes is sheer non­ Afghan archaeological objects. (H.R. by Gelt Boersema sense. The Afghans announced that thcy 915-The Cultural Conservation of the had located the safcs with this treas ure in Crossroads of Civilization Act.) As was 2003. The inventory showed that no items were missing from the treasure. Cuc.vt editorial contillucd 011 page 22 ... 2 The Celator PUBLIC AUCTION to be held in conjunction with the Chicago International Coin Fair nd rd April 22 - 23 , 2005 Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel featuring ANCIENT COINS WORLD COINS MEXICAN COINS WORLD PAPER MONEY Catalogs available for $25 each. The entire catalog may be viewed on our web site starting April I", 2005 at: www.ponterio.com PONTERIO & ASSOCIATES - ,,",lI~'''' •. '1VISlI~n$ll I' \\ '"u .... ' M 1818 Robinson Ave., San Diego, CA 92103 P.N.G. #308 800-854-2888 or 619-299-0400 Fax 619-299-{)952; E-mail: [email protected] Licensed Auction Company #968 Richard H . Ponterio - President Apn'l2oo5 3 partially) had developed the concept of effort to collect any and all information movable cultural property. This concept about known fakes. I would ce rtainly has developed to the point where gov­ be willing to contribute to such an ef­ ernments now lay claim to anything fort. I also understand that people have ever produced in the territory they now a much easier time talking than doing htteF'j control. Turkey inherits Byzantine cul­ and thai generating funding for such a ture, Iraq inherits Sasanian cultural, It­ project could be difficult.