Limes

Job well done restitutor! New look looks great and love the logo.

Thanks everyone for replying! Thank you Egry! I mentioned in another topic that I live near the limes. When i was in college, i used to walk over the visualization of the limes shown in my profile picture almost on a daily basis. Back then, I didn't notice it actually, only when I started to read more on Roman history and the limes did 'the quarter fall'. There are some nice bars around the corner of that street, where that limes is in, by the way. Good times, good times... 🙂 Thank you Donna, you're too kind! And thank your for sharing that dupondius of AP. 🙂 And your aureus is still stunning. I remember when your first showed it. I can image you are still delighted with it!

That's a great addition, congratulations. I hope it softens the feeling of the losses you had. Here are some personal highlights, big prices realized. Weighing a massive 42.77 gr. this golden Decadrachm received a new owner for 700.000 CHF. An absolute beautiful rendering of this (perhaps?) now extinct plant yielded 150.000 CHF. The golden version (tetrobol) of this plan (not the same coin) was auction at 11.000 CHF. The absolute highlight of this auction, the famous British Museum EID MAR aureus, changed owner for an amount of 2.2 million CHF (2.137.896 euros)! 2.2 million however is not as much as the 2.7 million POUND (3.17 million euro's) of the EID MAR aureus auctioned 29-10-2020 by ROMA NUMISMATICS. The provenance of the NAC piece is in my opinion better and there's I think no debate on authenticity. But then again, wwhat do I know...?? Anothing extreme rarity, this aureus of the famous and side-switching general, Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus caught an amount of 700.000 CHF. The new owner is the owner of an aureus that "ranks high amongst the prizes of Roman numismatics". Many more amazing coins for even more amazing prices were auctioned. This is just a small and personal selection. What was your favorite of the auction? Let me know!

I practically live around the corner, so I just pick up the lots. If you need any help, pm me.

Pardonez moi for bumping this thread. But round 2 is coming up! To get you in the right mood, here's a video of the EID MAR aureus that comes up for auction, today! If you'll participate in todays auction, good luck! I'll be watching most of the action, online. PS: I dont have any financial, commercial or otherwise interest in NAC or toldinstone (awesome video's by the way, I really enjoy them). My only interest is from a (over-enthousiastic) hobby point of view. and I find the coins offered by NAC very interesting from a numismatic point of view. The descriptions given make for a good history book.

Those are beauties! Im not afraid to admit that i own zero coins of Gordian as of yet. But i can see they are collectable. Many are available, affordable and of good quality. So i will get one too,one day...

Otho! (Usually I'm late for these things, hopefully not this time) Next: more scales!

Well, you're in luck mr Egry 🙂 I did a write up about a coin of Marcus Aurelius, with a similar reverse as the Lucius Verus onen. Below the coin and part of that write up. Enjoy the read! Emperor Marcus Aurelius was part of the so called ‘five good emperors’ (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius), or ‘adoptive emperors’ (idem) or ‘the antonines’ (Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus and Commodus). The era ended when Marcus Aurelius appointed his son, Commodus, as his heir. Marcus Aurelius was, together with Lucius Verus, the successor of Antoninus Pius. Under the reign of Antoninus Pius, the Roman Empire experienced its most peaceful and prosporus period in history. By the time Marcus Aurelius was to ascend the throne, he was 40 years old. Marcus Aurelius was to be known as a philosofical and gentle emperor. Despite his charactaristisc, it would become his destiny to be consumed with frontier warfare and other devestating occurences such as the outbreak of the plague which was brought back to Roman territory by the army that fought the Parthians. The denarius shown below is one of the many, many coins struck under Marcus Aurelius commemorating the various frontier wars in the East against the Parthians and the North - the Marcomannic Wars. This specific type celebrates the victory over the Parthian empire. There are several interesting - and desirable ! - coins struck in these ‘warfare’ series, bronze, silver and gold issues of both Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. The coins with ‘vic par’ reverse, written on a shield held by Victory, is a well known type of course. Other types display bound captives, such as mine, or display the (re)-installation of Sohaemus as king of Armenia (struck under Antoninus Pius, and Lucius Verus (aureus, sestertius) for example). About the war itself, it started just after the death of Antoninus Pius with the invasion of Armenia by Vologases IV of Parthia, in 161 AD. In response to the invasion of Armenia and following raids into Syria by the Parthian army, Lucius Verus headed east while Marcus Aurelius stayed in Rome. Either a dandy and charmer, or hardened wartime soldier-emperor (or somewhere in between), Lucius Verus (well, his generals of course), defeated the Partians in Armenia, reinstalled the Roman puppet Armenian king Sohaemus, and furthermore sacked the capital of the Parthian empire in 165 AD. For their efforts, Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius were given the honorary title ‘ARMENIACVS’, conqueror of Armenia, and hailed imperator.

+ 1 Happy to contribute! Ow yessss! traffic accident denarii time! 😄 I don't know if the reverse shows horses, unicorns, or sea cucumbers. I believe this one was set on fire. I truly do. The surfaces are horrible and black, and that silver feel is just not there. Don't care though, I love this coin!

Those are two very nice siliqua Donna! Congratulations. Very interesting to have two coins of which you now exactly where they were found, and when. Thats a solid provenance! As requested, my one and only siliqua. I absolutely love this coin.

Hi there Egry, welcome to this board! There's defintely more activity here, then on CT these days... Congratulations on your Lucius Verus, the emperor that Rome hardly could enjoy, so to say. Although I think he loved partying more then ruling an empire. Your denarius is a very nice one, good portrait and sharp details. Anyway, i have two Lucius Verus denarii, not as nice as yours. I love the portrait of this one, but his stare into the void makes me wonder what he's thinking about. Perhaps about the disapointing reverse? On this one he looks like he needs a snickers, and fast. But it's the historical reverse that attracted me to this one.

With auction 131 finished and 132 partly finished, what are your opinions so far? I saw some high prices, but the quality of the coins was amazing, so not unexpected. What did suprise me, was that some lots went unsold, including an appealing Nerva sestertius (lot 25). The first part of the Greek section went strong as well, but I'll leave it to the more experienced collectors to comment on the result so far. Some (personal) highlights: This stunning Claudius cistophorus was sold for 50.000 CHF. It was deemed a fdc. Who doesn't love a big chunky Nero? Sold for 65.000 CHF. What a beauty! If you're into architectural issues, you'll love this one. Amazing reverse, and sold for 110.000 CHF! The artist went all the way with this masterpiece. That portrait.... The new owner has to transfer 120.000 CHF to NAC for this beauty. This mesmerizing dolphin rider sold for 60.000 CHF. Just look at the movement of the rider on the horse. Beautiful. And the - I think - main target of today, this Agrigentum tetradrachm sold for 440.000 CHF! More fun tomorrow! I truly hope you'll win it Phil. And the holes make it actually cheaper, right? 😉 That's too bad! Do you have any more targets, tomorrow? If so, I wish you good luck!

Hi everyone, The latest NAC auctions are coming up. Will other members watch ( of perhaps even participate) them? I ll try to follow the bidding as much as I can. Jumping on the bidding wagon is out of the question, though. Im curious especially how the EID MAR aureus will go. I wont single out other specific lots to avoid generating unwanted interest for the sake of interested parties. The again, seeing the high grade material offered, and that NAC will attract high end bidders anyway, I dont believe this post will in any way affect that 😄 (And the auctions have been mentioned by lots of people already.) Have a good day and enjoy the show!

Hello and welcome! I believe you will like it here! And a stunning portrait of Julia Domna.

Wow, that Agathokles tet is a beauty! Thats on my wishlist. Too bad prices of Greek silver have risen significantly, it will take some time (or a millennium) to acquire one... That's amazing eye candy! I'll share my two tets. I have quite a few on my wishlist. Maybe one day... First, the obvious owl. I got it for a more then fair price, due to the insignificant hole in the cheek. The Sicily one is quite beaten up, but shows a lovely portrait of Aretusa, the reason why I got it.

Thanks! Interesting video's, I believe I have seen one before, with Nero 🙂 It all comes together now 😄 Thanks SA! Nice to see you here as well! It sure is very quiet on CT... It makes choosing the appropriate venue for showing coins easier I guess 🙂

Yes it was, in Leiden. Great museum. It has a lot of very interesting Dutch finds of the Roman era on display. It never bores me, I have visites the museum three times already.

Thanks! This is the link: https://www.lindner-original.de/numismatik/muenzboxen/muenzboxen-hoehe-20-mm/muenzbox-inletts Take a good look for the right size!

Sorry to hear that. Its sad to have to depart from such a good friend... Good question. I have no Idea. Seems strange to post the same things on different forums, to mostly the same people....? Thats a very nice drawing. What are your videos (excuse my ignorance) About my picture. Its a photo of the roman limes in the city where I used to live, trajectum. Its marked in the street and shows the location of the border. When its dark the line is lighted, which looks really Nice. And now i live in a small town 15 minuten away which gave its name to Brooklyn apparently. Edit: well, seems my avatar photo doesnt show. Ill fix that later.

Yes, but this never gets old! I really like to see everyone's display. Especially the one by Spaniard, which is fit for a museum. I have fewer coins then most members here. So my coins fit in our cabinet. I use two larger trays, which are standing up. A smaller display for my smaller bronzes of the Julio Claudio emperors. I added a close up. It opens easily. In my workroom I have a bookcase with my Roman/coinbooks and with another tray standing up. It only holds two Greek tet's and one AE of Constantine, with the eyes upwards. My idea was to add the 'famous' rulers of the ancient world and a few other coins that I just find awesome (hence the tets) in that one case. So far, I have one 'famous' ruler added. I have plenty of time left to fill it 🙂 The tourist collosseum is a must have, for everyone that has visited Rome of course 😉

Hi everybody! Good to see many known (nick)names. This forum is alive and kicking! I realy like being part of it. And welcome to the new people I have not met before on CT 🙂

Wow! So much eye candy! I'll add the following: Dark-grey toning, with brighter devices. Man of steel(grey): Rainbow! (no unicorns unfortunately)

Hi everyone, I was wondering what was happening at CT. Little activity going on there, although I admit I have not been active very much either, lately. Thanks to Ryro, who sent me the link to this place, the first mystery is solved! This place is absolutely buzzing with activity, I like it! Kudo's to Restitutor who, if I'm correct, started this forum? I just finished registration, and will update my profile later. About the inactivity from my part; well, the last couple of months have been very busy. On February 1st, our daughter was born (child no. 3)! I thought that the birth of child no. 3 was less special so to say, but I was wrong. I can't describe (especially not in english) how special she is, and how much we love her. And to see the interaction between her older sister and brother, who are very happy with her, is really heaven on earth. Oh, and did I mention I started a education last November? What was i thinking..... busy times, less time for the hobby. But every now and then, when the kids are sleeping, and I have a moment to spare, I browse some auctions, or CT or the facebook group, and try to make a post or a reply. And now this forum too...! The real reason for this thread, is this. To celebrate the birth of our daughter, I caught my first aureus. The reason I got this one, is because of the reverse. (And I could not afford other appropriate reverses or higher grades ones). Despite the scratches, wear, and so on, it's a coin I will cherish the rest of my life. Coin-cidentally (haha, I used this word deliberately, thank you google translate!) my wife and I took a day off a few weeks ago, and visited a museum here in Holland with the baby. The ladies did not enjoy it that much, but there was a display going on that I just had to see. It was about Domitian, and according to the brochure the question was whether or not he really was a 'bad' emperor. I added some photo's of the display. The story goes that his relationship with the Senate was horrible, which led to his downfall. His policies however paved the road for the new line of emperors to emerge and usher in the most prosperous era of the roman empire: the time of the adoptive emperors. Not quite sure if this is new info, I don't think so, but the display was really well put up and the stuff on display was amazing, including a lot of coins. We were welcomed by the man himself, with a appropriate dagger... I dont think this was the dagger 😉 Busted head of Galba, with some coins on display next to the statue. The show started with the youth of Domitian, which included a 3d short clip of the house he grew up in. Next was the rise of Flavian dynasty (and the civil war in 68/69 AD) and Domitian eventually came to power. As emperor, he loved poetry, arts and building stuff. On this rather vague fresco, you can see building projects going on in Rome. Charts are driving, you can see cranes, workers, and so on. According to the description, people actually complained about sleep shortage, because a lot of building material was driven around at night. During the day, the streets were too crowed. I really enjoyed looking at it. It makes the city really come alive. But it wasn't all poetry and building things and so, there was some fighting going on as well. This mask of a roman cavalry man (or some other officer, I forgot...) was found in Germany. Below you can see the sestertius of the heroic emperor on a horse, thrusting his spear into a barbarian. On one the reverses of two aureii, you can see a mourning Germania. In the end he was killed, the Senate truly hated him. This was really interesting, a damnatio memoriae in effect, on a coin. They showed another complete specimen, next to it: So, that concludes the coin and the short museum tour. I will enjoy reading the posts on this forum, and I hope in the near future, I will have more time to post. All the best! Limes (Martijn)