Octavius

M. Plaetorius M. f. Cestianus. Denarius 69, Draped female bust r.; behind, unidentified symbol. Rev. M PLAETORI CEST S·C Half-length bust of Sors facing, holding tablet inscribed SORS. Babelon Plaetoria 10. Sydenham 801. RBW –. Crawford 405/2.

Faustus Cornelius Sulla, c. BCE with Hercules and reverse of four coronae commemorating Pompey's triumphs.... Denarius of Lucius Junius Brutus and Gaius Servillius Ahala...c. BCE. I believe thr portrait of Ahala would be considered the reverse on this one...

Cassius denarius , c. 78 BCE. Obverse is Bacchus, sometimes referred to as Liber, and on reverse is depiction of his wife, Libera.

Lucretius Trio denarius , c.7 BCE, Sol with reverse of crescent moon and stars ; another juxtaposition of day and night...

Valerius Flaccus denarius with Victory obverse, and nice legionary eagle on reverse with Roman standards. c. 84 BCE...

Denarius c. 112 BCE Philippus V of Macedon with reverse of equestrian riding right.

Postumius Albinus denarius c. 96BC. Diana with reverse of three warrior horsemen galloping and trampling over a fallen warrior...

Denarius of Manlius Aquillius with Sol on obverse and Luna driving biga on reverse with a crescent moon and constellation of stars... c. 109 BCE.

It's not that it's hard to make garum; It's just hard to stay friendly with your neighbors if you do! You can buy it on Amazon.

Titus Deidius with two fighters on reverse probably archaic type of gladiators. c. 113 BCE

RR denarius of Serveilius, c. 136 BC. Reverse has two horsemen riding past each other, but appear to be talking to each other... maybe asking for directions?

I hope they don't "yellow".

I'm speechless! When you return to collecting you surely return in a big way!

I think the postage to send these things to Italy costs more than they're worth. I've seen many better pieces as well as fakes offered in open markets of Rome , as in Porta Portese. Personally , I'm still waiting for Italy to "repatriate" all the Obelisks in the piazzas back to Egypt.

There is no difference in meaning between IVDAEA and IVDEA. Around this time the Latin diphthong AE was undergoing a change in pronunciation. In the Classical period @ 1st century BC it was nearly always pronounced like "eye". In the countryside this sort of morphed into an "AY" sound. In archaic Latin many words with the "eye"sounding diphthong were spelled with an AI. If I recall , I think Cicero lamented the rustic change in pronunciation. Ironically Vespasian himself had a rural accent. In later Latin the AE diphthong is still retained in spelling but pronounced "AY". In Italian the A is dropped . I think some of the engravers probably spelled it phonetically. We have a similar variant in spelling of the word Libertas /Leibertas on some republican coins (ie Brutus).

Looks like a DIVVS AVGVSTVS As to me. Don't know if it's real, but those stones sure look nice.

Three Flavian dupondii - 2 of Vespasian and one of his son Titus commemorating Felicitas. Lastly, a sestertius of Gordian III commemorating the same...

That's how I refer to my weight!

Or possibly "enhanced", which I seem to see more often. To me the word enhanced implies a better state of condition than the previous one. Caveat emptor "word games".

Several of Caligula's Vestal Asses... (somehow, that doesn't sound very good!) ; Happy Vestalia!

Yet more violence depicted on Roman Republican coins. here are two denarii of Sabinus... first depicting Tarpeia being crushed to death by Sabine shields. She betrayed Rome to the Sabines for "what they carried on their arms". Thinking that she would be rewarded for her treachery with gold bracelets, the Sabines instead paid her off by crushing her to death with the shields which they carried on their arms. Ah, Karma. Second, another RR denarius of Sabinus depicting the rape of the Sabine women by the Romans....

several scenes of violence... RR denarius of A. Lininius Nerva with reverse of one-armed Roman cavalryman dragging a barbarian by his hair. c. 46 BCE. RR denarius - Regulus with reverse scene of bestiarii fighting in the arena.... RR denarius -Titus Dedius - with reverse of two combatants - probably early gladiatorial match...

This is my entire Byzantine collection - three bronzes of Justinian...

That's one great ,realistic portrait. Nice acquisition. a few sestertii of him and one of his son...

Firstly, don' panic - your coins are beautifully toned. I also have kept my coins in Abafil trays and noticed toning on many of my silver denarii after a year or so. That was about 20 to 30 years ago, and they have stayed more or less the same ever since. To me, the toning gives them a richer tone. Given enough time , however,silver will always oxide and blacken. If you keep your trays in a safe, add a desiccant - you can get them on Amazon. But again, your coins are very handsome.