Steppenfool

I tried really hard but this was the closest reverse I found, Portrait isn't a good match. URI https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/6/8155 json ttl rdf xml Volume VI Number 8155 (temporary) Province Syria Coele Region Syria City Laodicea ad Mare Reign Elagabalus Person (obv.) Elagabalus (Augustus) Issue Group 1b Obverse inscription [...] M AV ANTONEINVS [...] Obverse design laureate head of Elagabalus, r., with drapery Reverse inscription COL LAOD C METROPOL [...] Δ Ɛ Reverse design Marsyas standing, r., carrying wineskin on shoulder and raising hand in front of statue of goddess standing, l., wearing polos, hoding round shield and spear(?)

Another COS IIII with some beautiful toning.

I figured the Neptune was because he would have crossed the English channel a bunch of times owing to the territories he was ruler of. If I remember correctly, the Neptune reverse of Severus is linked to his visit to Britain. I like the other theories too though. Serapis was pretty international. When I visited the York Museum in England there was an inscription recording a temple of his.

It takes a few seconds to add shadows and reflections and such, if you are into that (I'm not)

I use Keynote on Macbook, it's pretty fantastic for an inbuilt and free program. I threw this together in under 5 minutes (including researching the attribution), I'll post what I started with too.

That coin evidence The Officina data is incredibly fascinating particularly how Constantine ranks above Maxentius! Thanks for informing me about it! It certainly seems that Maximian and Maxentius were trying to form a rival college and usurp the whole institution!

Very nice coin, and very cool write up. I only have one different opinion and it's about this: I don't think this this quite right. The power to promote to the Imperial College lay with the Senior Augustus, hence Diocletian before he retired was in charge of the nominations: An assembly of the soldiers was called. Diocletian, with tears, harangued them, and said that he was become infirm, that he needed repose after his fatigues, and that he would resign the empire into hands more vigorous and able, and at the same time appoint new Cæsars . The spectators, with the utmost earnestness, waited for the nomination. Suddenly he declared that the Cæsars were Severus and Maximinus. The amazement was universal. Constantine stood near in public view, and men began to question among themselves whether his name too had not been changed into Maximinus. Lactantius: On the Deaths of the Persecutors - Chapter 19 This means that Constantius on his death bed had the absolute right to promote Constantine to Caesar, being the senior Augustus at the time of his death. His seniority is shown in inscriptions, and reconstructions of the timeline also have him entering the Imperial College before Galerius. As a result, Constantine's promotion to Caesar did not contravene the succession policy of the Imperial College. If it did, the combined might of Galerius, Severus and Maximinus would have been waged against Constantine. Constantine's acclamation by his troops to the role of Augustus was in fact contrary to Tetrarchic policy. Hence the politically shrewd Constantine quickly returned to the role of Caesar for a short period, and Galerius and the others had no choice but to accept this. Constantine would later utilise this acclamation and generally act as Augustus once things kicked off with Maxentius, however. But legally, Constantine did nothing wrong taking the role of Caesar. Maxentius on the other hand, was never nominated by the Senior Augustus hence his claim was an usurpation, and it's why he avoided the title of Augustus for some time, calling himself Princeps Invictus. He was hoping that the new Senior Augustus, Galerius who was his father in law, would welcome him into the Imperial College. When he didn't, Maxentius opted for usurpation proper, calling himself Augustus. The fact that each succeeding Augustus didn't get to choose their Caesar is perhaps proven by the fact that Constantius seems to have been landed with Severus as his junior colleague, and the tradition is that Severus was closer to the Jovian side of the Imperial College. You'd think if Constantius was able to choose his own junior colleague, he would have picked his own son who was apparently the candidate expected to be chosen. A possible counter argument to this is that Constantius was following some rule that family dynasties were to be avoided in the Imperial College, but this doesn't seem to be consistent with the sheer amount of marriage alliances that went on the Imperial College, nor the fact that Maximinus was Galerius' nephew. It also explains why Maxentius felt the need to get his father involved and bump him up to Senior Augustus, as that legitimised Maxentius' entry into the Imperial College as it was coming from a purported Senior Augustus. Anyway, enough of that. Here's some coins: Retirement issue of Diocletian: Constantine as Caesar:

From wikipedia, which could explain why Venus (Aphrodite) is holding an apple. The Greek goddess of discord, Eris, became disgruntled after she was excluded from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.[39] In retaliation, she tossed a golden apple inscribed Καλλίστη (Kalliste, sometimes transliterated Kallisti, "For the most beautiful one"), into the wedding party. Three goddesses claimed the apple: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris of Troy was appointed to select the recipient. After being bribed by both Hera and Athena, Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite, thus indirectly causing the Trojan War. The apple was thus considered, in ancient Greece, sacred to Aphrodite. To throw an apple at someone was to symbolically declare one's love; and similarly, to catch it was to symbolically show one's acceptance of that love. An epigram claiming authorship by Plato states:[41] I throw the apple at you, and if you are willing to love me, take it and share your girlhood with me; but if your thoughts are what I pray they are not, even then take it, and consider how short-lived is beauty. — Plato, Epigram VII

My IVDAEA denarius. Much like Vespasian, it's rough but charming. 😁

Minerva on a Hadrian

One of Titus would have been funny due to the Talmudic Tradition about his death: He went up on dry land, and a gnat came, entered his nostril, and picked at his brain for seven years. Titus suffered greatly from this until one day he passed by the gate of a blacksmith’s shop. The gnat heard the sound of a hammer and was silent and still. Titus said: I see that there is a remedy for my pain. Every day they would bring a blacksmith who hammered before him. He would give four dinars as payment to a gentile blacksmith, and to a Jew he would simply say: It is enough for you that you see your enemy in so much pain. He did this for thirty days and it was effective until then. From that point forward, since the gnat became accustomed to the hammering, it became accustomed to it, and once again it began to pick away at Titus’s brain. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Pineḥas ben Arova said: I was at that time among the noblemen of Rome, and when Titus died they split open his head and found that the gnat had grown to the size of a sparrow weighing two sela. It was taught in another baraita: It was like a one-year-old pigeon weighing two litra. Abaye said: We have a tradition that its mouth was made of copper and its claws were fashioned of iron. Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 56b

On this one, the reverse seems to have been less exposed to corrosive forces than the obverse! The lion skin is beautifully detailed. Maximinus II AE Nummus. IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMINVS P F AVG, laureate head right / HERCVLI-VICTORI, Hercules Farnese standing right, right hand behind back, leaning on club covered by lion's skin with left; Β in left field. Mintmark SMN.

Worn or less intricately engraved reverse dies seem to be more prevalent, particularly in the later Empire. I remember reading that it was deduced that reverse dies were replaced much less often than the obverse ones, due to the image of the Emperor being the most important message of the coin. I want to see your examples where the reverse has somehow been struck stronger or better withstood the test of time! Here's mine! Magnentius AE3. AD 350-353. DN MAGNEN-TIVS PF AVG, bare-headed, draped, cuirassed bust right, A behind bust / GLORIA ROMANORVM, emperor on horseback right, holding shield on left arm, about to throw a spear at a bare-headed enemy in front of the horse, shield and broken spear beneath the horse. Mintmark TRS crescent. RIC VIII Trier 271; Cohen 20; Sear 18798.

I always thought the portrait style on these ones makes Vespasian look like a god from a Repubican denarius.

I was wondering if the plan was to act as a middleman (dropshipper), once you ordered from him at an elevated price, he would order from the relevant legitimate shop and have the legitimate shop ship it to you. The owner of this site would then take the profits. However, the prices are also identical so it seems you simply won't receive anything if you order from here!

I collect Imperial Rome from the time of Vespasian to the time of Julian II. This is the period of history I find the most interesting, and I know the most about! Furthermore, I think these coins are the most beautiful and are often important pieces of evidence regarding historical events due to the fact they communicate the messages of the Imperial apparatus. They are also quite affordable! The reason for not collecting the Julio Claudians, is that I didn't really become engrossed in them until very recently. I always found the Third Century Crisis and the Christianization periods the most interesting previously. My interest in the Julio-Claudians has substantially increased in the last year, however the price of the coins (and in my opinion the lack of historically relevant reverses that aren't eye-wateringly expensive) has resulted in me keeping my original time boundary in place.

Hello everyone. I have produced a long-form video (nearly 18 minutes!!!) on the subject of Nerva's Adoption of Trajan, and how it relates to Nerva's ancestry, Domitianic politics and Domitian's assasination. Plenty of information about numismatics therein.

What a case of Serendipity! I had an example of this coin from CGB on my bookmarks for a couple of weeks now, and was intently staring at it for a good few days. I have wanted this issue for some time due to the uniqueness you talked about @Claudius_Gothicus. This post has convinced me to pull the trigger! Your example is very beautiful and has a very interesting portrait of Philip. I always thought the portrait on your example is almost like an older and more rugged Gordian, I think the features and proportions are similar. Regardless, he certainly looks imposing! Mines is an underweight issue, coming in at 3.04g. However the remaining details on Spes are so beautiful and really drive home the message on the reverse legend.

Some theories: A reverse of FORTVNA or some such other thing relevant to luck or chance. Didius Julianus who engaged in an auction for the Empire (he didn't truly know what he was getting into) Many Emperors loved gambling, among them Caligula, Nero, Claudius and Commodus. Perhaps it will be of one of these guys. A coin of Augustus ("may he be luckier than Augustus")

Compare to reproduction portrait from: https://coinantix.com/product/the-twelve-caesars-julius-caesar-and-the-first-11-emperors-of-the-roman-empire-ar-denarius-lot-solid-sterling-silver-coins-julius-caesar-augustus-tiberius-caligula-claudius-nero-galba/ Not the same coin of course, so not conclusive, but the style and lettering is a touch off in the same way imo, in addition to what @Qcumbor said.

I thought this was absolutely mad, who on earth would participate in this? N&N London (Location:London, coins shipped from Belgium) are ambiguous about their location, and land you with a £35 shipping charge. Therefore, they would be the last house I would engage in such a gamble with.

Yep, in @GregH example, he has a Nero hairdo, hence my comment about the portrait! Antioch was a long way to send an official portrait considering the shortness and instability of Otho's rule! Suetonius states that Otho's hairpiece was imperceptible, but the coins tell a different story! The engravers even seem to differentiate between the natural hair at the back, and the blatant wig on the top. Perhaps that is simply the way the wigs were made however. He had the hair of his body plucked out, and because of the thinness of his locks wore a wig so carefully fashioned and fitted to his head, that no one suspected it. Suetonius: Life of Otho - Chapter 12

I only order from overseas under £135 to avoid customs charges in the UK. It's one of the reasons I think N&N London saying they are from London but shipping from Belgium is so egregious. I was very close to bidding above this limit before I realised. This hinders my ability to buy coins but admin headaches leave a real lasting effect on my psyche and a particularly annoying one would probably turn me off the hobby. 😆

Very nice coin, a very Nero inspired portrait!

I know some auction houses were doing this, but I've never seen it on vcoins/ma-shops.