ComicMan

Link: Trebonianus Gallus Trebonianus Gallus AR Antoninianus. AD 251-253. IMP CAE C VIB TREB GALLVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / PIETAS AVGG, Pietas, veiled, standing left, raising both hands. RIC 41; Sear 9642. This is the least veiled looking pietas I have seen though, it kinda just looks like part of the hair lol.

Leu, right? I remember bidding on this coin 😁

Just watched that video, yeah I am going to be honest I would put money on the fact that these coins are not really ancient.

Another one of my Leu wins that will never arrive 😆 Aspurgus, as king, 14/5-37/8. 12 Units (Bronze, 21 mm, 7.88 g, 12 h). Diademed head of Aspurgus to right; to right, [IB] (mark of value); to left, monogram. Rev. ΓAIOY KA[IΣAPOΣ Γ]EPMANIKOY Bare head of Gaius (Caligula) to right. MacDonald 302. RPC I 1904. Next: A coin from the Ptolemaic / Seleucid dynasty

Link: Club This is I think my smallest coin, but it is very cute and it depicts an obscure diety! Troas, Birytis. Circa 300 BC. AE 11mm (1.27 gm). Obv.: Head of Kabeiros right, wearing pileos. Rev.: B-I/P-Y and club, all within laurel wreath. SNG München 170; SNG Tübingen 2574; SNG Copenhagen 250; BMC 6.

I present to you, 3 birds 🐦, and even a wolf 🐺! My win from Leu, still hasn't arrived but I really look forward to receiving it! Sex. Pompeius Fostlus, 137 BC. Denarius (Silver, 20 mm, 3.90 g, 7 h), Rome. Head of Roma to right, wearing crested and winged helmet; behind, jug; to right, X (mark of value). Rev. SEX•PO FOS[TLVS] She-wolf standing right, head turned back to left, suckling Romulus and Remus; to left, shepherd Faustulus leaning right on staff; behind, ficus Ruminalis with one bird on trunk and two on upper branches; in exergue, ROMA. Babelon (Pompeia) 1. Crawford 235/1c. RBW 972. Sydenham 461a. Next: A coin with an animal that is not a bird or a wolf.

Link: Also Lucius Verus CILICIA. Anazarbus. Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.(161-169). Ae. Obv : СЄΒΑС ΑΝΤΩΝЄΙΝΟV ΚΑΙ ΟVΗΡ ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑ. Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus standing facing one another, clasping hands and each holding scroll. Rev : ΚΑΙ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΟС ΤΩ ΑΝΑΖΑΡ / ЄΤ ΒΠΡ. Decastyle temple, with star in pediment. RPC IV online 3647. Weight : 8.2 gr Diameter : 23 mm

My first silver coin! To be honest, I am not sure I would have gotten it if I did a bit more research because the legends are pretty bad and the reverse is very worn, but for 32 euros I don't regret the purchase. It is an interesting reverse, and I really like the portrait. Postumus. 260-268 AD. AR Antoninianus (3.01 gm, 23mm). Mint I (Treveri). Struck 260/1 AD. Obv.: IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev.: HERC DEVSONIENSI, Hercules standing facing, head right, holding club and bow. RIC 64; RSC 91a. VF. Next: Hit me with your finest Constantius II Fel Temp Reparatio!

I had no idea, sorry! 😭 Damn, that is pretty funny, congrats on the coin! I love these, the heads looks so goofy! That's great, love the weird reverse on the second one and the story about trying to attribute the first! Kinda looks like a stick figure Sol on the reverse, no? I guess it could just as well be a soldier with ginormous feet though 😆

Thanks for the reply, this is exactly what I was looking for! That was an interesting read 😁 Damn, those are some interesting coins! Especially since during the Gallic secession the breakaway Empire minted a billion coins and they were still counterfeited like this. I like the portrait and lettering on #1, 2, and 4, but the most interesting one is the Divo Victorinus / Consecratio. I am actually finding only imitations when I google for that type, the official version seems to have been the one with the Eagle. Did they perhaps copy the reverse of an older type? Thanks for the link, I will see how far I can go with Google Translate.

Ex: Tom Vossen, Constantius II imitative, no clue where to start with this one but it is very charming.

Hey, I saw you on reddit! 👋 Nice coins, love the comparison.

As with any hobby, don't put in any money that you are not prepared to lose, right? Unfortunately (or fortunately), the only coins that I can even see working as an investment are unique pieces or those of exceptional quality in gold. Like the Diocletian medallion that was recently auctioned off for 2 million, I am willing to bet that that one will hold its value quite well. But think about it this way, if ancient coins really were a good investment I am sure I would never be able to purchase a truly nice piece. If I ever truly need to sell off my collection their resale value will also not be 0 as with my running shoes since these are ancient objects that are quite desirable for a lot of people. But I highly doubt I will ever make money off of them, maybe the next person who holds them will be as happy as I was though.

CILICIA. Anazarbus. Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.(161-169). Ae. Obv : СЄΒΑС ΑΝΤΩΝЄΙΝΟV ΚΑΙ ΟVΗΡ ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑ. Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus standing facing one another, clasping hands and each holding scroll. Rev : ΚΑΙ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΟС ΤΩ ΑΝΑΖΑΡ / ЄΤ ΒΠΡ. Decastyle temple, with star in pediment. RPC IV online 3647. Weight : 8.2 gr Diameter : 23 mm I just like it for having both Marcus and Verus, but I love the depiction of the temple. The patina is not bad, but that is not why I got it. It was relatively cheap, and not especially pleasant but I like it for the historical connections of the 2 emperors and the nice architecture.

If there is anyone that earned that many titles it is probably Trajan, the only reason that the 5 Good Emperors are remembered as such is because Nerva pulled off the absolute master stroke of adopting the most competent man on the planet 😆 As for my best buy, it is almost definitely this Julian coin that I got from Tom Vossen for 90 euros. This was the best looking Julian coin on the internet for a price that was affordable to me, I know because I looked. The lettering on the obverse, the crack, and the worn bull on the reverse are trade offs, but just look at that portrait he looks so amazing, so damn charming. It is also huge and heavy, so it feels amazing in hand. 10/10, would buy again. Next year, I am getting a silver Julian 😄

Oh, and congrats on your birthday, happy holidays too!

Nice! Cicero is probably the person that you can get the closest to in Roman history, because he left such a mountain of literature at our disposal and while I don't like him, I love him. But Marcus and his writing is some of the most amazing things that antiquity left us. Enjoy reading! Just one tip, the first chapter is just his acknowledgements section basically so while I don't think that you should skip it or anything it can be kinda though to parse since he is dropping so many names and why he admires them. This is the cover I have by the way 😄

Yeah, it was a joke, these ancient cultures were really something. At least when we ritually sacrifice animals we call it a chicken nugget 😄

Nefarious for some, spiritual for others 😆 Though I did read on /r/askhistorians that modern Christmas has basically nothing to do with the old pagan traditions, I can try and find the thread if you are interested. As for OP, I would look on etsy, I picked up a tree ornament that looks like the leaning tower of Piza, it was hand crafted though and idk where it is (still need to put up the tree), but honestly you can find just about everything there, can't believe that there would not be some Roman themed decorations though you might have to browse a bit. In case you don't find anything explicitly ancient themed, you could put an eagle as top decoration for example (also, angels are technically Roman themed in a way since they resemble Victory and actual angels were used on Roman coins too, though I know that is not exactly what you mean).

Link: Zeus Pontos, Amisos. Time of Mithradates VI. Circa 85-65 BC. AE 20mm (8.91 gm). Obv.: laureate head of Zeus right. Rev.: eagle standing left, head right, on thunderbolt; monogram to left. Malloy 14d; HGC 7, 245. gVF. One of my first coins, to be honest for the price I could have gotten one that is better centered, but you know not every ancient was perfectly struck in a factory which is kinda part of their charm for me.

Great choice! I didn't notice until now that he has not been mentioned yet. Another possible iconic coin would be the one that depicts his family. But I will go ahead and say that yours is probably more iconic afaik this is not really a common issue of his, though it does have a bronze version too.

Link: Constantius II Constantius II. 337-361 AD. AE Centenionalis (4.21 g, 20.5mm). Cyzicus mint. Struck 348-350 AD. Obv.: DN CONSTANTIVS PF AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust left, holding globe. Rev.: FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Constantius II standing left, holding labarum with Chistogram on banner and resting hand on shield set on ground; two captives to left, facing each other; star in left field: in exergue SMKB. RIC 84

I didn't post this coin in this thread before, right? 🤔 Link: Julian and Votis reverse. RIC VIII 221 var Julian II, AE follis, Antioch. 361-363 AD. DN FL CL IVLIANVS PF AVG, pearl-diademed, helmeted and cuirassed bust left, holding spear and shield. / VOT-X-MVLT-XX in four lines within wreath. Mintmark SMANTB. RIC VIII Antioch 221 var (officina and mintmark without palm branches). I believe that it is 221 var, maybe 220, but I am not seeing any palm branches. Let's keep the Julian train rolling woohoo! 🥳

Link: Bull My newest coin! Such a lovely portrait of my boy, and amazing in hand. Julian II. 360-363 AD. Maiorina, 29,00 mm, 8,75 g, Antioch mint. Obv.: D N FL CL IVLIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust to right. Rev.: SECVRITAS REIPVB, bull standing to right, two stars above; (palm)ANTΓ(palm) in exergue. RIC 216; LRBC 2640. aVF.

Wow, you have a whole museum exhibit!