Dafydd

I don't have any Greek coins. Here is a coin that I was pleased with as it was my first serrated denarius. Laur. head of Jupiter right , SC behind. Appears to be the principal coinage of the faction opposed to the return of Sulla to Rome. Balbus strikes as praetor by special decree of the Senate. Victory in quadriga right holding wreath and palm. Control letter M below. Ex-Navilles 2014.

Here is my Pupienus Sestertius and a favourite of mine too @Ancient Coin Hunter Pupienus, 22nd April # 29th July 238. Sestertius April-June 238, Æ 29mm., 18.91g. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. Victory standing facing, head l., holding wreath and palm branch. C 38. RIC 23a. Attractive brown tone, Very Fine. Ex Navilles 2021

Antoninus Pius Æ Dupondius. Rome, AD 140-144. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS I[II], radiate head to right / GENIO [SE]NATVS, Genius of the Senate standing to left, holding branch and sceptre. RIC III 660a; BMC 1336. 9.95g, 29mm, 12h. Near Very Fine; cleaning marks. Purchased from Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, September 2009.

This is my latest to fill a gap. Hostilian (Caesar, 250-251). AR Antoninianus (21mm, 3.13g, 12h). Rome, AD 251. Radiate and draped bust r. R/ Hostilian standing l., holding signum and spear. RIC IV 181d (Decius); RSC 34. VF Ex-LAC.

MAXIMINUS THRAX (235-238 AD) Sestertius. Rome. Obv: MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Maximinus Thrax, right. Rev: PM TR P IIII COS PP / S - C. Emperor in military dress standing left with three standards and sceptre. RIC IV, 40. Condition: VF. Weight: 17.95 g. Diameter: 30.2 mm. Ex Bucephalus Numismatic, Auction 4 Belgium Maximinus I Thrax AD 235-238. Rome Sestertius Æ 31mm., 18,59g. Ex Savoca Auction 16 2019.

Postumus Roman Imperial Coinage, Postumus, Double-Sestertius, Trier, 260-9, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, rev. Fides standing left, holding two standards, 20.94g (RIC 123; Banti 12; Holmes 604)

Bow = Archer. Roman Empire Aemilian (Jul-Oct 253) Antoninianus, Rome Obv: IMP AEMILIANVS PIVS FEL AVG Rev: ERCVL VICTORI, Hercules standing r., resting on club and holding bow and lion's skin on left arm. 3.06g, 21-22mm dia. RCV 9832, RSC 13. Good Very Fine.. Ex Baldwin, October 2005.

Caracalla and Geta GIC 2716 Obv: AV K M AV ANTONINOC AV K ? CE? GETAC Laureate, cuirassed and draped busts of Caracalla & Geta facing. (Sear GIC 2716v / Moushmov 469) Rev: V F? OV??IANOV-MAPKIANO?O?[ITON?] Tyche standing left with rudder and cornucopia. E in left field. Next Geta Sestertius.

Errr... sorry my page was frozen and I messed up. Next back to Isis.

Galba, 68-69 As Tarraco (?) September to December 68, Æ 27mm., 11.17g. Laureate head r., with globe at point of the bust. Rev. Libertas standing l., holding pileus in r. hand and rod in l. C #. RIC 73. Navilles 2019 Next another Galba

139 AD. Rome mint. Obv: FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG [PII P P] legend with draped bust right. Rev: [IVNONI] REGINAE legend with Juna standing front, head left, holding patera and sceptre; S-C in fields. RIC 1077a; BMC 1116; Sear 4675.25.82 grams total. ("). From the estate of a Cambridge University academic. Next Fortuna sitting.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and I'm not seeing any compliments. I would pass on it personally for every reason mentioned so far. I try to find positives in everything and the only positive I can say about this coin is that you would never have to have an argument about condition if you could find a future buyer. I've seem much better for less money over the past year or so at auction. You need the right auction and Fortuna on your side and not on the side of the competition. Here's a slabbed coin that sold last week at Tauler & Fau for 1300 Euros or about 2500 Australian Dollars when you include the buyers fee. To my eye, it's a more attractive coin and over 7 g.

I had a really bad experience with these cases and have several that are redundant and only used for storing low quality coins in accumulations. My advice is avoid, they are not fit for purpose. I am attaching an image so you can see the lid for comparison. What happened is that I knocked several over by accident and the tiny magnets holding the lid down are only useful to keep them closed against dust. Hundreds of coins flew out and it took me literally weeks in every spare moment to match them with labels and in order. What was worse was that I lost a coin only realising it some months later when I tried to find it to photograph. On another occasion my wife put one onto a book shelf upside down and the same thing happened, the coins went everywhere. I now use Abafil on most things as they have secure clasps and you can customise them to suit any size coin or number of trays you want. They are neat, high quality and will fit easily into a safe. You can spin them upside down ( not to be recommended ) and the coins stay in situ. I also have a wooden coin cabinet for Crown sized coins, not of the quality seen here but very traditional. Over 50 years I have tried most things. As a testament to quality my first Abafil case was given to me 50 years ago in 1973 and I still have it. I did not buy another for another 40 years as I considered them expensive. However, not as expensive as losing or damaging coins so my money is on Abafil. When I have an opportunity I will photograph the 50 year old case side by side with the identical one I bought 2 years ago. It is a mini porter. There is no change in design so clearly the design works.

Not that difficult at all as long as you don't mind mashing fish and being prepared to filter it a few times. Given the amount of shelf life it should have, you would not be doing it often. My interest was purely for self enjoyment and in a litigation mad world I probably wouldn't publish a recipe. With sterile jars and the amount of salt used I reckon it is relatively low risk. There are plenty of recipes including the one @Nerosmyfavorite68 posted. I have never cooked Parthian Chicken so that is now on my list and there is a recipe for it in the book I posted. The great thing about coin collecting is that it is so multi-dimensional because it can lead to so many interesting subjects like following endless rabbit holes , the list is only limited by ones imagination.

Yes @Cordoba Vietnamese Fish Sauce is very similar but contains 75% salt compared to the Roman sauce. Some time ago I bought a bottle of Hungh Thanh Vietnamese Fish Sauce (35oN) from Amazon. When it turned up it was 12 months past its sell by date but sell by dates have never bothered me as I consider them marketing tools only. When I was growing up sell by dates were your nose and common sense. I can recommend it but prefer my Garum as I am connected by my labour in making it. What can be lost in the discussion is that the fish sauce is diluted when you add it in the right proportion to a dish and it can add to the flavour. Lamb is a classic meat enhanced by Anchovies. Worcester sauce is a close comparison @CPK and used over here in casseroles and soups as an enhancer but I doubt if many would appreciate it contains anchovies. I can recall a "follow me" thread recently that featured coins with Silphium that apparently was harvested to extinction because of its popularity as a flavouring and use for medicinal and perfume. As the last stalk was apparently gifted to Nero, Silphium is something we will never taste but its existence has been perpetuated by coinage as well as the written word. This is the sauce available on Amazon.

Titus AR Denarius. Rome, AD 80. IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, laureate bust right / TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P, wreath on curule chair. RIC 108; RSC 318. 3.06g, 18mm, 6h. Next, another Titus.

By coincidence, or Serendipitous Synchronicity as I call it, I thought I would share my Roman culinary experience of todays date after reading @CPK's post and the comments that followed. In the past I have fermented Garum , and I was able to use some today. I can recall an erudite post on Garum elsewhere. I bought this book some time ago. My wife isn't fussed on Garum as she reckons it's a quick way to the Emergency Room and none of my family would consider Dormice however fat they were , so my Roman cooking tends to be fairly pedestrian. I live as far West as you can in the UK and you couldn't really say that the local food stores cater for sophisticated palettes as there is no demand , basically because of demographics. This does create some interesting opportunities as a large chain often stocks items they cannot sell. This is usually sold cheaply and this week I picked up a couple of Guinea Fowl for the equivalent of $3.00 each. I found a recipe called guinea fowl in the style of Vardanus, this was translated from Apicus .6.8.11. It's pretty simple, you cut the bird into chunks, add a couple of table spoons of what I call fish sauce ( it saves arguments and refusal to eat) half a bottle of cheap sweet wine and some olive oil and then place on top some Tyhme wrapped in a leek. (Leeks are a national food in Wales). You then simmer for about one and a half hours , pull the meat from the bones and serve with a sauce made from crushed pine kernels and the liquor from the cooking. Here is the prepped casserole pot before I added the wine, Garum and Olive oil. I don't normally photograph food but today two of our daughters were eating Sunday lunch in a fancy restaurant and asked us what we were eating on WhatsApp and sent us an image of their meal to impress us. This was their lunch , pretty traditional roast beef. My comments about the Roman recipe are that it was simple to make, preparation time was literally 15 minutes, and then another five minutes to grind the pine seeds in a pestle and mortar. You could a blender and also use Chicken as a substitute with Vietnamese Fish sauce instead of Garum. The most expensive part of the meal was not the meat or the wine but the pine kernels. Many will know this but for those that don't, Marcus Gavius Apicius ( AD 14-37) was famous for two things, sailing around the Mediterranean looking for the largest prawns , and for dying in style by poisoning his last banquet; he was certainly no cook! I've raised this post, although it is a bit off topic because food is featured on so many coins as it was politicised, weaponised and of course to some segments of society a massive display of social status. Bring on your Roman recipes , ingredients and experiences....

A great post thank you and also interesting comments. Here is an early depiction of a Modius and ears of corn. Helmeted head of Roma facing rght. X (XVI monogram) below chin, modius behind. Victory in biga right, M.MAR ( MAR in monogram)/ROMA divided by two corn ears below. 134 BC 3.89 gm

This is a coin we see frequently and features many subjects including an Axe. Next a pirate usurper. Ref Julius Caesar RSC 49 denarius Julius Caesar. 49-48 BC. AR Denarius. CAESAR in exergue, elephant right, trampling on serpent / Simpulum, sprinkler, axe and priest's hat. Cr443/1; Syd 1006; BMCRR (Gaul) 27.Ref Julius Caesar RSC 49 denarius

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. Honorius. AD 393-423. Æ Follis (19mm, 5.58 g) DN HONORIVS PF AVG. Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right. / GLORIA ROMANORVM / SMKB. Honorius standing facing, head right, holding labarum and globe. Price £4. / $5. HADRIAN, (A.D. 117-138), AE AS, (12.56 Gr. 25 mm.) RomeLaureate draped bust to right of HadrianRev. Fortuna-Concordia standing left holding patera and cornucopiae, S C across. £20 /$25 I was pleased to pick these 2 up at the N&N London Auction this month. With commission and carriage £39 /$50.00

Many years ago in the age of commonplace smoking indoors, I bought, as a Junior , a very shiny British Crown. An advanced collector who was a dealer said I could put it in a brown manilla envelope for a few years and it would tone down nicely enough to remove obvious cleaning, or I could put it on the curtain pelmet, dado or picture rail. In older British houses there is a wooden rail about 12 inches below the ceiling. My mentor said this would do the same thing but it would happen but much more quickly. Both my parents smoked as did my grandparents which was the reason I never took it up. I tried it and it worked perfectly. Recently I tried the egg trick on a Morgan Dollar that had arrived in a batch and was cleaned to beyond and back. I boiled an egg, mashed it and put it in a Tupperware box and let it cool. I then laid the Morgan Dollar on some Kleenex tissue paper on the other side of the box and a couple of days later there was a toned coin. I'm not sure if it would fool a third party grader but it was good enough for me to improve the look. Last year at the FUN show I bought a Didius Julianus denarius I featured in another thread. It was a good buy but the dealer said he thought it had been artificially toned. I understand why he made the comment and it had been sold only 2 months before in the UK with a unsightly stain. I had passed on the coin myself at the auction. Looking at the original auction images the coin has clearly been "doctored" and will ever remain so if the Provenance is checked, but I was happy to obtain a "gap filler" a couple of hundred dollars less than I had expected to pay. Therein lies the problem with artificial toning and that is future provenance........ From my perspective, collecting is not an investment and if my heirs sell at auction for prices more than I paid , great! However if investment is an issue to you, then artificial toning is something to be wary about because there is now infinite possibilities to check a coins journey if it has entered the public auction forum. I have a couple of "cleaned" English milled coins and would love to know how to get past a TPG detailed listing as their condition in respect of surface metal is great but clearly that was not good enough for some Bozo who wanted to see a bright coin. Any ideas would be most welcome.

This is quite a common reverse. Trajan AD 98-117. Rome As Æ 27mm., 10,97g. AUCTION 16 LOT 1028 2017 Savoca

I have to compliment you on the images! Perhaps it is my perception but I think they are great!

There are some beautiful coins in this thread. Here is my Pupienus Sestertius. Pupienus, 22nd April # 29th July 238. Sestertius April-June 238, Æ 29mm., 18.91g. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. Victory standing facing, head l., holding wreath and palm branch. C 38. RIC 23a. Attractive brown tone, Very Fine. Ex Navilles. Auction 55 Lot 636.