Numisnewbie

This is a very common and inexpensive coin, but it was very satisfying to me, because it's a die match to the example I had previously but had parted with. I regretted having parted ways with the original coin, and was pretty happy to find this die match to bring the coin back to me. This is the coin I'd had previously:

The coins range in date from 9 BC to 4 AD. From the article: "Not only are they all aurei of Augustus from the same narrow date range, but they all bear the same mark: a tiny nick that was done deliberately to ensure the coin was solid gold and not a plated forgery." http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/64585

I'm probably way off the mark, but if the spirit of this thread is about where we've been in the world then I'll give it a shot. I don't own any of these coins or even know anything about them...I just grabbed the images to illustrate my post. ------------------------------------------------------------------- My first 19 years were in Duluth, Minnesota, until I joined the military after I spent a year in college for some unknown reason... I spent the next three years stationed in California... Then a year stationed in Japan (the island of Okinawa, specifically)... Then I spent the next 4-1/2 years stationed in Texas... Then the Army sent me to Germany for 2-1/2 years, outside a tiny town named Goeppingen, about 40 minutes east of Stuttgart...I loved every minute of it! I was there when the Berlin Wall came down and flooded the autobahn with those tiny (and slow) Trabants. While in Germany, we got sent to Saudi Arabia for the first Gulf War...didn't love every minute of it... Then it was off to Louisiana for the final year of my military time... And, finally, I ended up in Pennsylvania for the last 30 years... (While in the military I also spent time in Korea, the Philippines, and a very short stop in Hong Kong. I've also been to Canada and Mexico, and a lot of U.S. states for visits)

Vespasian is by far my favorite emperor - and the urine tax was genius! This is the one Vespasian I have: And this is the one I gave to my grandson: And this is the one I'm still kicking myself for not bidding on when it was available:

For me, it's been very true - I have six granddaughters and a grandson, and they've been a ton of fun! When they're little and you go to their house to visit, you (as the grandparent) get to fill them up with sugary drinks and snacks until they're bouncing off the walls, and then turn to your child (as the parent) and say, "Well, look at the time...I have to go home now"!

I haven't started the list yet of what I'd give for just one Roman brick with a nice paw print on it, but it's probably going to be a lengthy list.

(please excuse the crappy photos shot on my phone) This is a pair of fossil ferns from the Llewellen formation in St. Clair, PA (300 million years old). I wouldn't call these especially rare, but the parcel of land in St. Clair where these fossils used to be found everywhere is no longer open to the public. I bought these because I loved the contrast between the white fossils and the black shale. They are each about 10-1/2 inches wide.

Is it possible to add a category for artifacts as well as coins?

That depends on which country's "justice" system you're dealing with.

I live in central Pennsylvania, two hours from Wilkes-Barre (but I've never been there).

This one has nothing to do with ancient Rome (or Greece, or Persia, or Egypt, or...), but it's my favorite artifact: a Neanderthal hand tool from around 75,000-100,000 years ago. This came from the estate of archaeologist Philip Schupp, and was found in the Ebro River Basin in northeastern Spain. It's around 5-3/4 inches long.

Wow, I really like how you mounted this spearhead...that's an impressive display! I see "Luristan" used for soooooo many artifacts...when I see that now, I think it means "seller has no idea where or when".

What a great look, a great feel to the forum, well done (and in such a hurry, too!). It's so nice now to have a place that has its own identity...very well done!

(Restitutor, if an artifacts thread won't be allowed here, feel free to remove it, but I really enjoyed seeing ancient artifacts from other members) I'll start with a bronze stylus that was sold as a 1st-2nd century Roman stylus. It's just over 5-1/4" long, so it's longer than many I've seen. Objects like this (much like coins) fascinate me because of the history they could tell of the people who handled and used it. I'll keep it coinlike and include my same-era 1st century Vespasian:

I chose a new avatar for this forum, and this one is that proverbial "one that got away". I don't think I've ever loved a Vespasian portrait more than the one on this coin, but I let it go in an auction because I thought it was too expensive for its condition. I've kicked myself ever since, and wish I could have another shot at it.

Just as it was on Coin Talk, I won't contribute much here, but I sure love to see and hear about everyone's coins. It's going to be nice to do it in a place like this, without a blowhard Admin like the one at Coin Talk with the enormous ego...ugh. I'll bring Julia Domna to the "first post" dance: