On 5/2/2024 at 5:56 PM, Phil Anthos said:

One of the first half dozen ancient coins I ever bought was this Didrachm from the Frederick Rindge collection, although that meant little to me at the time...

Thurii, Lucania

300-280 BC AR Didrachm (21mm, 7.67g) O: Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet ornamented with Skylla hurling a stone. R: Bull butting right; ΘOYPIΩN and ΘE above, tunny fish in ex. SNG ANS 1081; HN Italy 1870; Sear 443v (inscription on exergual line) From the Frederick H. Rindge collection; ex Jack H. Beymer It was likely part of the 1985 Malter sale, and I'm hoping someone here might have that catalog and can post the entry here. Thanks in advance,  ~ Peter

Auction XXIX The Rindge Collection March 22, 23, 24, 1985 Joel L. Malter & Co., Inc. Classical Numismatists

18 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

That's certainly more generous than what Seth Stevenson had to say about it in A Dictionary of Roman Coins, Republican and Imperial.

Wow - that is surprisingly agressive....

2 hours ago, David Atherton said:

My latest addition is a Rome mint sestertius from 71 featuring the corona civica on the reverse - a most devilishly hard variety to come by! I already have two examples from Lugdunum (and they aren't exactly common either!), but could never seem to find one from Rome ... until now!

 

Vespasian
Æ Sestertius, 24.74g
Rome mint, 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: S P Q R / OB / CIVES / SERVATOS within oak wreath
RIC 254 (R2). BMC 573. BNC 551.
Acquired from Petasos Coins, March 2024.

In the great bronze issue of 71 a sestertius reverse type was struck at both Rome and Lugdunum which commemorates the Senate awarding the corona civica to Vespasian. The wreath was awarded to Vespasian by the Senate for rescuing the Roman people from civil war and bringing about peace. The legend within the wreath - S P Q R / OB CIVES / SERVATOS translates as: 'The Senate and the Roman People / For Having Saved the Citizens'. This rare Rome mint specimen commemorating the award was struck during the third sestertius issue of 71. Purchased from a European dealer, it appears to be from an old collection.

The corona civica was originally a military honour bestowed upon a Roman who had saved a fellow citizen's life in battle. It was one of the greatest public honours. In the imperial era the honour developed from a coveted military decoration into an imperial emblem granted by the Senate to the emperor. The wreath was made of oak leaves and is sometimes called a corona quercea after the common name for the oak. Artistically it is sometimes depicted with acorns scattered amongst the leaves. Plutarch believed the oak was chosen for this highest of honours for several reasons. The tree was easily found throughout the countryside and was quite convenient for fashioning a wreath when the need arose. Also, the oak is sacred to Jupiter and Juno and thus was an appropriate symbolic honour given to one who has saved the life of a fellow Roman citizen, or indeed the state. Finally, the early settlers of Rome, the Arcadians, were nicknamed 'acorn-eaters' in an oracle of Apollo.

In hand.

 

Thank you for looking/watching!

Another interesting post & coin @David Atherton! Congrats on your latest good looking Flavian coin. The reference to  βαλανηφdγοι or "acorn eaters" is one that I find entertaining: often used as a derogatory term to mean "primitive" or "barbarous"... not having yet discovered grain or not haveing been given grain by Ceres. 

Acorns appear on some early coins in Rome e.g. this semiuncia from Numismatica Ars Classica (not my coin)

Plutarch puts a noble spin on "acorn eaters":

"This is the civic crown which the law bestows upon one who has saved the life of a fellow-citizen in battle, either because the oak was held in special honour for the sake of the Arcadians,who were called acorn-eaters in an oracle of Apollo; or because they could speedily find an abundance of oak wherever they fought; or because it was thought that the garland of oak leaves, being sacred to Jupiter, the city’s guardian, was fittingly bestowed upon one who saved the life of a citizen."

-Plutarch, LIfe of Caius Marcius Coriolanus 3.3

I sold my Tiberius denarius a few years ago.  It wasn't my favorite coin and I thought that I would quickly find another one to fill its spot.  Then I am not sure what happened....a coin at the right price with the right style in the right condition didn't show up, I got distracted with other interests,....  The search ended this week, with this coin now taking the place of its predecessor.

Tiberius, 14-37, AR denarius (18mm, 3.61g), group 4, Lugdunum

Obv: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Tiberius to right

Rev: PONTIF MAXIM, Livia (as Pax) seated right on a chair with ornate legs, holding long scepter in her right hand and olive branch in her left, her feet set on footstool

Ref: BMC 48. Cohen 16. Giard 150. RIC 30

and here's the coin that it replaced:

for a story of Tiberius' favorite food - Pliny described it this way: "a delicacy for which the emperor Tiberius had a remarkable partiality" ....full story here: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/tiberius-cucumbers

Post your upgrades with their predecessors,stories of imperial eating habits, denarii of Tiberius, or anything else that you find interesting or entertaining.

15 hours ago, JeandAcre said:

But, No, the horizons are already expanding beyond that.

You may enjoy this movie:

and this coin of C. Papirius Carbo - who was on a roll until he returned from his governorship in Bithynia to be prosecuted by the son of Marcus Cotta and convicted of corruption.  He receded into obscurity afterwards.

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/romans-in-bythynia

Antoninius Pius (Elagabalus), priest of the sun god, worshiped in Emesa with the Phoenician name Elagabal. The followers worshiped a large black stone from Zeus as divine and linked to the sun god.  This coin explicitly references him on the reverse as "SACERD DEI SOLIS ELAGAB" or "priest of the god of the sun, Elagabal".

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/son-of-caracalla

Elagabalus, (A.D. 218-222), silver denarius, issued 221-222 A.D., Rome Mint, (3.33 g, 6h)

Obv: laureate draped head of Elagabalus to right, with horn over forehead, around, IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG,

Rev: SACERD DEI SOLIS ELAGAB, Elagabalus standing to right. sacrificing out of a patera over lighted altar, holding club upright, in field to right a star

Ref: S.7542, RIC 131, BMC 225 note, RSC 246

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/gallienus-and-usurpers-in-ad-260

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/gallienus-regnal-year-8

Egypt, Alexandria, Quietus, Usurper, AD 260-261, Tetradrachm dated RY 1 (circa September 260-May 261 AD)
Obv: A K T Φ IOVN KOVHTOC Є CЄB, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Rev: Eagle standing left, wings open, wreath in its beak; L A (date) to lower left
Ref: Dattari (Savio) 5382

“We knew Plato was buried at the academy, which was very large, but thanks to the scans we now know he was buried in a garden in a private area, near the sacred shrine to the Muses,” Prof Graziano Ranocchia

8 hours ago, panzerman said:

I would think that most of the FDC/ MS ones have never been cleaned/ polished/ brushed. Most were probably collected/ put in safe storage back in the era they were struck. Shipwreck coins are professionally conserved like the SS-Central America hoard of 1857-S Double Eagles/

Beautiful coins as always @panzerman, and I would agree that especially with gold coins there is higher probability that they were stored more carefully and there is a higher likelihood of finding a coin with an undisturbed surface as @Heliodromus notes: "Gold is mostly non-reactive".

3 hours ago, MrZun said:

You really think that my Coins has a valeu of less than 50 dollars?

one sold 2/26/2024 for 46 Euro https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=12272791, not including buyers fees - for me it is also the rough surface that puts the value in the <$50 range. (agree with RIC 343 - draped)

another one https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=11563479 10/6/2023 for 44 Euro, not including buyers fees.

Olbia:

Any coin that has survived ~1900 years and is readable is in my view a nice coin.  This is not a "high value coin" - I'd say <<$50 and it does show signs of cleaning that have removed tarnish and revealed the rough surface and pitting underneath.  I would guess some form of electrochemical cleaning applied not long ago.

Q: most classical Coins and medieval ones have been cleaned in the past, might have been cleaned even 500 years ago or 1000 years ago, that people in the past did not cared about luster or patina, he said that more that 90% of Coins in the market were cleaned or polished at some point, is that true?

There are probably some differences across types of coins, but these seems about right - most coins have had some sort of "cleaning"

Q: Also, a little question, does Coin that were polished in the past, when you polish one, It Just takes the dirt, patina and luster out, right? Or does It also makes the Coin lose metal and Weight?

Again depends on the specific coin - but often you might remove horn silver and encrustations that can reduce the weight of the coin.  "polishing" in general is not great - you will see some ancient coins that are slabbed and marked as "brushed" - this can be from heavily rubbing with brushes or cloth in a way that has damaged the surface.  Here are my notes on one of my cleaning experiments:

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/a-chemistry-experiment

"luster" is a word that I've never really understood properly - for me this just means "good surface", "good metal", not pitted, not crystalized, not rough, maybe a little shine showing through the patina or tarnish, but can also be some risk that this means "brushed:", "polished", and other negatives...

your video didn't work for me:

My favorite coins give at least the illusion that they haven't been cleaned in a long time...a bright shiney coin is unattractive to me.

4 hours ago, ambr0zie said:

18,6 mm, 2,8 g.
Byzantine Empire, Syracuse. Theophilus 829-842. Ӕ follis.
+ ΘEOFI / LOSbASI, diademed bust facing, wearing chlamys and holding globe cruciger / Large M at l., XXX, at r., NNN, above, cross, below, Θ.
DOC 30; Anastasi 548; Spahr 431; Sear 1681.

Next - follis

follis Licinius

Next : any AE with nice silvering.

On 4/13/2024 at 6:11 PM, robinjojo said:

Here's a coin that I think warrants its own thread, due to a very distinctive countermark, along with two other countermarks as well.

This imitative owl is a very recent arrival from VCoins.  Since I am awash in owls of various stripes, I would have passed on this coin were it not for its well centered and bold obverse countermarks.

Egypt, imitating Athens, pharaonic owl, circa late 5th-mid 4th century BC,

16.69 grams

 

I think the central cm is an anchor.  It really is quite distinctive in form.  It might have been struck over another cm.  To the upper right of it is what appears to be an Aramaic beth, slightly rotated.

An anchor of a very similar style appears on some of the well known coinage of Thrace, Apollonia Pontika, mid 4th century BC .

Photo courtesy of CNG

The Seleucid kings also had a longtime tradition of using the anchor countermark on coin whose origins were outside the empire, as a means of sanctioning their circulation.

Pamphylia, Side, AR tetradrachm, circa 205-100 BC.   Seleucid anchor countermark on obverse.

16.20 grams

The OP coin has another cm, to the upper right of the central cm.  I believe this smaller yet quite bold cm is an Aramaic "beth",  rotated about 90 degrees due to space limitations

.  

Finally, there is a much smaller and rather blurry cm on the reverse, to the right.  This could be an Aramaic "sadhe" when rotated 180 degrees, but this is just a guess on my part.

  

 

While the cm style on the OP coin more closely resembles the anchor used by Apollonia Pontika, I think it far more likely that the anchor cm was applied by someone, in an official or unofficial capacity, in the Seleucid Empire, following the death of Alexander III.  The presence of one clear Aramaic character on the obverse, prominently next to the anchor, supports this guess.  I know of no pharaonic owls found in what was Thrace, but doesn't mean that there were none; these coins, Athenian and imitative, had a wide area of circulation in that broad ancient region of the Levant and further east.  But Thrace?  I don't think so.  Additionally, I imagine that any countermark characters used in Thrace would be Greek, not Aramaic.   

So, there it is.  Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Far from any area that I can suggest that I have expertise, but I do have several anchor countermarked tetradrachms. 

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/between-the-seleucid-and-attalid-kingdom

Your countermark doesn't look like a Seleucid anchor to me, perhaps an owl of Syrian origin? with Persian style countermarks: more like those on Persian sigloi??  I would like this suggestion better if there were a countermark in van Alfen's paper that looked more like yours.

This paper may be helpful: van Alfen, Peter G. “The ‘Owls’ from the 1989 Syria Hoard, with a Review of Pre-Macedonian Coinage in Egypt.” American Journal of Numismatics (1989-), vol. 14, 2002, pp. 1–57.

1 hour ago, Phil Anthos said:

Here's an unusual item, a bird trap.

Note that neither of these coins belong to me, the first being a late 4th century bronze of Herakleia, Lucania (from Marc Breitsprecher), the second an early 4th century stater of Kaulonia, Bruttium (from Musa Numismatic Art).

Interesting - I haven't seen one of those before - but it reminded, me of this image of a bird sitting on a plow (Roman aratum; Greek arotron) from

SICILY, Kentoripai. Circa 211-190 BC. Æ Sextans

Obv: Draped bust of Demeter right, wearing stephane; grain ear behind

Rev: KENTO / PIΠΙΝΩΝ, bird perched on plow; two pellets to left.

Ref: Campana 5A/a; BAR Issue 4; CNS 7; HGC 2, 637; Virzi 914

1 hour ago, DonnaML said:

Great thread.

It's not furniture, but here's an unusual (and rather odd-looking) object that hasn't appeared in this thread yet: an apex.

Roman Republic, L. Valerius Flaccus, AR Denarius, Rome Mint, 108-107 BCE. Obv. Winged and draped bust of Victory right, wearing single-drop earring and necklace, with hair collected into a knot behind her head; below chin, * (= XVI monogram as mark of value) / Rev. Mars standing left, helmeted and with chlamys tied around his waist, holding transverse spear in right hand with point downwards, and trophy over shoulder in left hand; before him, an apex (flamen’s conical white cap with spindle on top [see fn.]); behind him, an ear of corn; in left field in two lines downwards, L•VALERI | FLACCI. 20 mm., 3.79 g. Crawford 306/1 (Vol. I p. 316); RSC I (Babelon) Valeria 11 (pp. 93-94, ill p. 93) [see also Babelon Vol. II p. 511 (1885 ed.)]; Sear RCV I 183 (ill. p. 107); BMCRR II Italy 647 (p. 309) (ill. Vol. III Pl. xcv.12); Yarrow pp. 141-142 (ill. p. 141, Fig. 3.38) [Liv Mariah Yarrow, The Roman Republic to 49 BCE: Using Coins as Sources (2021)]; RBW Collection 1147 (ill. p. 237); Sydenham 565; Albert 1098 (ill. p. 154) ) [Albert, Rainer, Die Münzen der Römischen Republik (2011)]; RBW Collection 1176 (ill. p. 243).* Purchased 23 Dec. 2023 from Münzenhandlung Dirk Löbbers, Wettringen, Germany; ex Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, Osnabruck, Germany, Auction 80, 5 Dec. 2023, Lot 1088 (with old coin envelope, pre-1974).**

*Crawford states (Vol. I p. 316) that the moneyer “is presumably L. Valerius Flaccus, Cos. 100. The figure of Mars and the apex together recall the fact that the moneyer’s father, Cos. 131, held the office of Flamen Martialis” (priest of Mars), an office that this moneyer had probably not yet held at the time of this issue according to Crawford (but see the quotation from Yarrow below), but did hold later on. Id.

For a further description of the apex depicted on the reverse of this type, as worn by Roman priests such as the Flamen Martialis, see https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Apex  : “The apex was a leather skull-cap worn by Flamen (Roman priests), with a chin-strap and a point of olive wood on its top, like a spindle, with a little fluff of wool at the base of the spindle”) (a definition based [see id.] on the entry for “Apex” in S.W. Stevenson’s A Dictionary of Roman Coins (1889), which notes, inter alia, that the apex “somewhat resemble[ed] a  bishop's mitre, for which its form probably, after ages, furnished a pattern.  On the top was a pointed piece of wood, the base of which was surrounded by a little woollen tuft. Two fillaments of the same material, hanging from the bottom of it, served to fasten it under the chin. The derivation of this word is not satisfactorily explained by learned writers. But its sometimes round -- sometimes conical shape -- and the pointed tassel on the top (Apex) most probably gave the name to the cap itself. It seems to have been first used by the Salian priests, and was afterwards worn by the Pontifex Maximus and the Flamines generally. . . . The Apex is found on a denarius of the Quinctia gens, as indicating the connection of Quinctius Flaminius with the priesthood of Jupiter. As a symbol of Valerius Flaccus [the father of the Crawford 306 moneyer] being a Salian, or priest of Mars [Flamen Martialis], it appears on a coin of the Valeria gens." As explained in John Melville Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (Seaby, London, 1990) (entry for “Flamen” at p. 117), the term “Flamen” is derived from “flare, ‘to blow’, a word which originally meant one who kindled a sacred fire. The word became the name of a class of priest of very high status at Rome. There were fifteen flamines, three major and twelve minor, who were in charge of the worship of various gods; for instance, the flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter (Diespiter), the flamen Martialis of Mars. . . . The flamines were distinguished by a white conical hat, crowned by a twig of olive wood and a woollen thread. The decoration at the top was called the apex, a word which later came to be used for the whole hat.” [Remainder of footnote omitted.]

Nice addition, @DonnaML! "Weird stuff I never heard of on ancient coins" might have been a better name for the thread .... here's another one: Astragalus (Greek) or Talus (Latin)

"In antiquity, one of the most popular games of chance was played with astragaloi, knucklebones of sheep and goats. They could be used like dice or like jacks, thrown in the air and caught on the back of the hand. Knucklebones have been found in tombs where they must have been intended to help the deceased while away endless time."

-The MET: Bronze astragalus (knucklebone)

Bronze astragalus (knuckle-bone), probably used as a gaming piece or for fortune telling.

-The British Museum: Astragalus

"An astragalos (plural astragaloi) was a ;gaming piece made from the "knuckle-bone" (typically the anklebone from the hind leg) of a sheep or goat, used in antiquity in for divination and games in a manner similar to dice. Each side had a unique numerical value and, like modern dice, the values on opposite sides added up to seven. They were also used in children's games games, where players attempted to knock an opponent's knucklebones out of the center of a circle, or throw their own knucklebones in the air, catching them on the back of their hand, like jacks."

-Numiswiki, Forvm Ancient Coins

"Ivory knucklebones (Tali eborei) When the bone (talus) you've thrown stands without the same face as another, you will say that I have given you a big present"

-Martial, XIV.14 (Note: iactus Veneris was a high throw in the game where each of 4 dice show a difference number)

Homonoia - as imagined by openAI's ChatGPT 4.0 edited to include the tetradrachm of Gallienus.

How is it that the word EYTYXHC has not yet appeared in this forum?....it must not be that common on ancient coins....yet the Roman Equivalent "FELIX" has 348 hits in searching NF. 

Roman Egypt, Alexandria, Gallienus, 253-268, BI tetradrachm (24mm, 10.38g, 11 h), RY 3 = 255/6

Obv: Α Κ Π ΛΙ ΟΥ ΓΑΛΛΙΗΝΟϹ ΕΥ ΕΥϹ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gallienus to right

Rev: L Γ, Homonoia seated left, raising her right hand and holding double-cornucopiae in her left

Ref: Dattari (Savio) 5204. Emmett 3735.3. K&G 90.16. RPC X online ID 75324.

Expanding the Greek Legend:

ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ PVBΛIOC ΛICINIOC OYAΛEPIANOC ΓAΛΛIHNOC EYTYXHC EYCEBHC

in Latin

IMPERATOR CAESAR PUBLIVS LICINIVS VALERIANVS GALLIENVS FELIX PIVS

in English:

Emperor Caesar Publius Licinius Valerian Gallienus Fortunate and Pious (or Dutiful)

Here are a few useful words for translating:

• ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡ (AUTOCRATOR, abbreviated: AVT or AVTOK) = EMPEROR
• ΚΑΙΣΑΡ (KAISAR), KAICAP (K. or KAI.) = CAESAR
• ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΣ, CΕΒΑCΤΟC (ΣΕΒ., CΕΒ.) = AVGVSTVS
• ΔΗΜΑΡΧΙΚΗC ΕΞΟΥCΙΑ (ΔΗΜΑΡΧ.ΕΞ.) = TRIBVNICA POTESTAS (TR.P.)
• ΥΠΑΤΟC, ΥΠΑΤΟC Β, ΥΠΑΤΟC Γ, etc. = CONSVL (COS. II, COS. III etc.)
• ΥΠΑΤΟC ΑΠΟΔΕΔΕΔΕΙΤ ΜΕΝΟC = CONSVL DESIGNATVS (COS. DES.)
• ΘΕΟΥ ΥΙΟC (OE. YI.) = DIVI FILIVS (DIVI F.)
• APICTOC (API.) = OPTIMVS
• ΕΠIΦΑΝΗC (ΕΠIΦ.) = NOBILISSMVS (NOB.)
• EYCEBHC (EYC.) = PIVS (P.)
• EYTYXHC (EY., EYTY.) = FELIX (F.)
• ΘΕΟΣ, ΘΕΟC, ΘΕω = DIVVS, DIVO

And here is a useful page from Barry P. Murphy for reading dates on Roman Provincials and Greek Coins

Dates on Roman Provincial Coins :http://bpmurphy.ancients.info/misc/rpcdates.htm

Post words that are useful in reading Greek legends on provincial coins and coins as examples

prize urns. cippus, and oomphalos - definitely fit in the right category: objects from ancient rome...stuff I wouldn't have ever heard of if it weren't on my coins....in the furniture category: here's a less obscure currule chair on a Roman republican coin of L Lollius Palikanus with Honos on the obverse circa 45 BC:

Some of my favorite ancient coins depict objects that I would not have heard of if they hadn't appeared on a coin of interested. Today I turned my attention to a coin from Perge, Pamphylia, that features an iron box or "arca ferrata" (a Roman safe).

My notes on this can be found here: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/arca-ferrata

Post your coins with unusual ancient objects on them or anything else you find interesting or entertaining.

maybe not the worst 🙂 but perhaps top 10!

With several caveats:

- I lean Roman more than Greek

- these books are modern not ancient sources

- I don't read these cover to cover, but use as starting point for cities that interest me (no surprise that this is often coin related)

Getzel Cohen's 3 volume series on Hellenistic settlements might interest you.

• Cohen, Getzel, The Hellenistic Settlements in Europe, the Islands & Asia Minor. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. Reviewed here: https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/1998/1998.11.19/
• Cohen, Getzel M., The Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Africa. Hellenistic Culture and Society XLVI. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. Reviewed here: https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2008/2008.08.40/
• Cohen, Getzel M. The Hellenistic Settlements in the East from Armenia and Mesopotamia to Bactria and India. 1st ed., University of California Press, 2013. 

Available from University of California Press (and many other places used and new) https://www.ucpress.edu/search.php?q=Getzel+M.+Cohen#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=Getzel M. Cohen&gsc.page=1

I just purchased the third having enjoyed the first two on my shelf for a while.

A lovely and relevant coin, @David Atherton.  I will add a few more coins that connect (at least loosely) to eclipses.

In Book 2 Chapter 30 of Natural History, Pliny the elder writes of "Unusually Long Eclipses of the Sun".

Quote

"Eclipses of the sun also take place which are portentous and unusually long, such as occurred when Cæsar the Dictator was slain, and in the war against Antony, the sun remained dim for almost a whole year."

-Pliny, Natural History, 2.30

Perhaps more likely this was something other than a solar eclipse that he is describing.  I will add this coin from a year or two after Julius Caesar's assassination from Mark Antony and Lepidus, shortly before they joined forces with Octavian.

Mark Antony and M Aemelius Lepidus, 43 BCE, AR Denarius (3.71g, 18mm)

Mint: Military mint traveling with Antony and Lepidus in Cisalpine Gaul

Date: Crawford dates this issue between 30-May-43 and early 42

Obv: M ANTON [IMP], lituus, capis, and raven

Rev: M LEPID IMP, simpulum, aspergillum, securis, apex

Ref: Crawford 489/2; Sydenham 1156; RSC 2

The death of Augustus again brings mention of an eclipse of the sun:

Quote

"Thus, the sun suffered a total eclipse and most of the sky seemed to be on fire; glowing embers appeared to be falling from it and blood-red comets were seen. When a meeting of the senate had been appointed on account of the emperor's illness, in order that they might offer prayers, the senate-house was found closed and an owl sitting on it hooted. 4 A thunderbolt fell upon his statue that stood upon the Capitol and blotted out the first letter of the name "Caesar.""

-Cassius Dio, Roman History, 29.2-4

This also seems a stretch - as the date of the eclipse is calculated as August 17th, AD 10, about 4 years before the death of Augustus.

The Romans had a different understanding of eclipses that we do.  Here Pliny shares some well established science:

Quote

"LXIX. Fire even by itself has a curative power. It is well established that epidemics caused by an eclipse of the sun are alleviated in many ways by the lighting of bonfires."

-Pliny, Natural History, 36.69

And the link between earthquakes and eclipses seems credible given the rare New Jersey Earthquake (Whitehouse Station 4.8) last week!

Quote

 

"The severest earthquakes occur in the morning and the evening, but they are frequent near dawn and in the daytime about noon. They also occur at an eclipse of the sun or moon, since then storms are lulled, but particularly when heat follows rain or rain heat."

-Pliny, Natural History, 2.82

 

Claudius felt the need to explain to all the real reason for eclipses as one was expected on his birthday (and that might not have ended well for him):

Quote

"Since there was to be an eclipse of the sun on his birthday, he feared that there might be some disturbance in consequence, inasmuch as some other portents had already occurred; he therefore issued a proclamation in which he stated not only the fact that there was to be an eclipse, and when, and for how long, but also the reasons for which this was bound to happen.  These reasons I will now give. The moon, which revolves in its orbit (or so it is believed), either directly below it or perhaps with Mercury and Venus intervening, has a longitudinal motion, just as the sun has, and a vertical motion, as the other perhaps likewise has, but it has also a latitudinal motion such as the sun never shows under any conditions.  When, therefore, the moon gets in a direct line with the sun over our heads and passes under its blazing orb, it obscures the rays from that body that extend toward the earth. To some of the earth's inhabitants this obscuration lasts for a longer and to others for a shorter time, whereas to still others it does not occur for even the briefest moment.  For since the sun always has a light of its own, it is never deprived of it, and consequently to all those between whom and the sun the moon does not pass, so as to throw a shadow over it, it always appears entire. This, then, is what happens to the sun, and it was made public by Claudius at that time."

-Cassius Dio, Roman History 26.1

Claudius, AD 41-54, Ephesus, AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm (26-28mm, 10.72g)

Obv: TI CLAVD CAES AVG, bare head left

Rev: Frontal view of the tetrastyle temple of Diana at Ephesus on a podium of four steps, her cult statue within with fillets hanging from her wrists and a polos on her head; pediment decorated with figures, DIAN-EPHE across fields

Ref: RIC 119; RPC 2222.

My last addition is this coin that seems appropriate for connecting Sun (Apollo Sun God) and Moon (Selene Moon Goddess) on one coin from the time of Domitian, Aegeae, Cilicia:

Roman Provincial, Domitian Æ (6.65g, 23mm, 12h) of Aegeae, Cilicia. Dated CY 135 = 88/9. Herakleon, magistrate.

Obv: Radiate head of Apollo-Phoibos (phoibos meaning shining or bright) with features of Domitian to right; laurel branch in right field

Rev: Draped bust of Artemis-Selene to left, crescent set on forehead, quiver over shoulder; ΑΙΓΕΑΙΩΝ behind, ΗΡΑΚΛΕΩΝΟϹ below, ЄΛΡ (date) in left field

Ref: RPC II 1776A (this coin specimen 3 of 3, additional coin-type added post publication); Haymann 24b.

20 minutes ago, Qcumbor said:

Sextus Pompeius and Q. Nasidius, Denarius - Mint moving with Sextus Pompeius, Sicily, 42-39 BCE
NEPTVNI, head of Pompey the great right, trident before head, dolphin below
Q.NASIDIVS at exergue, galley sailing right, star in upper field
3.92 gr
Ref : HCRI # 235, RCV # 1390, Crawford # 483/2, Sydenham # 1350, Cohen # 20
Ex Freeman & Sear, Ex Barry Feirstein collection (NAC auction # 42/279)
Ex Roma Numismatics

Next : imperatorial

Q

Next : imperatorial

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/coins-of-the-second-triumvirate

Next : Mark Antony

PAMPHYLIA. Perge. Trebonianus Gallus, 251-253. Diassarion (Bronze, 21 mm, 5.79 g, 11 h). ΑΥ•Κ Γ•ΟΥЄΙ•ΤΡЄ•ΓΑΛΛΟΝ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Trebonianus Gallus to right, seen from behind; below, globe. Rev. ΠЄPΓAIΩN Three-legged chest with folding doors, with three money purses upon it. RPC IX 1119. SNG von Aulock 4714.

11 hours ago, Victrix said:

Bought this encrusted Gallienus ant for a cleaning project. First time I attempted to clean a coin and the result is quite good 😄. 

I would call that amazing - well done.  not "over-cleaned", "scraped", ""brushed", looks very nice from your photo!