Sulla80

a great pair to show the progression of Faustina's portrait. here's another coin a couple of years after your first example AD 151-152: Faustina Junior BI Tetradrachm of Alexandria, Egypt. Year 15 = AD 151-152. Draped bust right / Dikaiosyne standing left, holding scales and cornucopiae; LI-E across fields. Emmett 1937.

Your emerald green Probus a particularly great example...

You and @Qcumbor are both posting some very nice coins from my early RR wishlist. I'll add this worn beauty from Egypt that recalls the end of the Roman Republic. I have no plans to spend tens of thousands on a perfect bronze coin of Cleopatra VII. However, I do find this well-aged lump of Egyptian bronze quite satisfying. It was issued by Queen Cleopatra. Her title, ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ, is just readable on the reverse. Cleopatra was allied with Mark Antony, who was fighting Octavian for control of the republic. Octavian used this alliance against Mark Antony. More on Cleopatra here: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/cleopatra-queen-of-egypt

Thanks Donna, you point out an important omission in the OP (Crawford's comment). While many have read the Crawford reference, few have probably read the argument from Cavedoni in which he does provide some evidence. With this entry, Crawford's argument would be more credible if he provided examples that could compete with Cavedoni's proposed Q. Minucius Thermus who was known for heroism against a Thracian fighter or perhaps offered an argument that the Thracian fighter is incorrectly identified on the coin or perhaps that it was not common to reference a relative with the same name. This Q. Minucius Thermus is the first known member of this branch of the Minucii, and was a military tribune in 202 BC, tribune of the plebs in 201 BC, praetor in 196 BC, he received a triumph for his victories in Hispania Citerior, consul in 193 BC, and he defeated the Ligurians / Ligures as proconsul in 191 BC. At the time issued (103 BC) there is only one other Q. Minucius Thermus who is still known today: the triumvir monetalis of 103BC. This sounds like someone a rising politician might want to be associated with, and seems more than coincidence unless we challenge the Thacian dress argument or have evidence of other heroic Minucii Thermi before 103 BC. As we look from 2000 years later, the story of this Q. Minucius Thermus was so well known that it is still not forgotten. Adding another coin of this type that I have: this one EF+ and showing a scrape on the nose that that is from the day it was minted. This coin also seems that have a moon shaped Thacian pelta (shield) in the hands of the warrior on the right:

Ancient coins don't all come in MS-70 (perfect mint state, with no flaws, scratches, or wear visible under 5x magnification). This coin looks like all of its 2100+ years - some interesting coloring, a little de-lamination on the left cheek of Mars, some light roughness on the reverse, the metal overall looks brittle and crystalized, even a little light encrustation on the obverse. All told, it is also a coin that I found attractive with a high relief reverse and expressive portrait on the obverse. Roman Republic, Q. Minucius Thermus M. f., AR Denarius, Rome, 103 BC Obv: Helmeted head of Mars to left Rev: Two warriors in combat, one on left protecting a fallen comrade; Q•THERM•MF (ligate) in exergue Ref: Crawford 319/1; BMCRR Italy 653-6; RSC Minucia 19. The moneyer's ancestor of the same name, Quintus Minucius Q. f. L. n. Thermus, was elected consul in 193 and assigned Liguria as his province. He was victorious over the Ligurians and ramained in Liguria for 191–190. C. Cavedoni in "Di alcune medaglie di famiglie romane," Bullettino dell'Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica, in 1845, on pages 184-185 writes about this coin: "Of the two fighters, on each side of the Roman citizen on the ground, the Roman seems to me to be the one on the left. His opponent holds a clipeus (shield) very similar to the Thracian pelta (shield) (See: Xenoph. Anab. VII.4, 13.Pollux, I, 134: Varrò, Lingua Latina VII.43 : Eurip. Alcest. v. 498. cf. Trésor de Glypt. B. rèi. du Parthenon, PI. I, VI). We learn from Livy that Q. Mìnucio Termo, who had defeated the Ligurians and triumphed over Hispania, was sent as a legate to Asia, and on his return was mortally wounded in a conflict with the Thracian robbers, who attacked the army of Gnaeus Manlius in year 566 of Rome (Livius XXXVIII, 44, 46, 49) "In eo proelio cum et impedimentorum et calonum pars et milites aliquot, cum passim toto prope saltu pugnaretur, cecidissent, plurimum Q. Minuci Thermi morte damni est acceptum, fortis ac strenui viri." "In that battle, since it was fought at various points virtually all along the defile, some of the baggage and some camp followers were lost as well as a number of fighting men, but the most serious setback was the death of Quintus Minucius Thermus, a man of great courage and energy." However, he did not die on the spot, since Gn. Manlius in his defense said that it was not in his power to prevent neither the wound, nor the death of the brave and energetic man, Q. Minucius. Fortunately the match of the name and the Thracian armor of the adversary leads me to find that this coin represents the saved citizen, otherwise I could have searched in a vain through historical memories of the Minncii Termi. It can therefore be assumed that the brave Q. Minucius Termus suffered a mortal wound while he saved the life of the citizen who fell to the ground at the feet of the two combatants. If not long after, he died from the wound he received, this does not detract from the glory of the heroic deed; just as Scipio Africanus in order to save his father in the battle of Trebbia, sustained a serious wound, and would not have been less noble and glorious had the wound subsequently resulted in his death." "Attic red-figure drinking cup depicting a warrior (“peltast”) wearing a Thracian cloak (decorated with stripes and geometric patterns), a cap with flaps, and boots while holding both a crescent shield (peltē) decorated with large eyes and a spear (ca. 470-460 BCE; now in the Sackler Museum, Harvard, inv. 1959.219):" Thanks to @DonnaML for highlighting an important omission in this post: I am adding a couple of notes here for those who don't read the whole thread. Paully's Realencyclopädie for the entry RE: Minucius 65 is hesitant on the association of the reverse : "Minucius's death in the fight against the Thracians was glorified a hundred years later by his descendant of the same name No. 66 on his denarii, if the barbarian depicted here, from whom a Roman warrior is protecting his fallen companion, is really characterized by the horn decorations on his helmet as a Thracian." Crawford is more dismissive of the precise alignment to this fight: "The types doubtless allude to an act of martial heroism of one the moneyer's ancestors - it is idle (pace C Cavedoni Bulletino 1843, 184) to speculate which." Crawford could be a more specific about his objection to Cavedoni's argument. Post your coins that show their age - and are more attractive because they do (or anything else you find interesting or entertaining).

Several variations on spacing for this issue. Here's my LIE next to its Dattari-Savio reference coin (not a die match): and here is your L-I-E coin with it's Dattari-Savio reference coin (not a die match). It looks like the E is partially visible on your coin: on the flan defect or break.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Maximinus I (Thrax). AD 235-238. Potin Tetradrachm Dated RY 4 (AD 237/238) Obv: AVTO MAXIMINOS EV CEB, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind Rev: Nike advancing left, holding wreath and palm frond; L ∆ (date) to left. Ref: Köln 2582 var. (obv. legend); Dattari (Savio) 4584 var. (same); K&G 65.63; RPC VI Online 10739; Emmett 3288.4. Next: another coin from Roman Egypt

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

Wow - that is surprisingly agressive.... 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.

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

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".

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.

follis Licinius Next : any AE with nice silvering.

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.

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

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: