ComicMan

Just now, Roman Collector said:

LInk: Providentia.

Trebonianus Gallus, AD 251-253.

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.

21 hours ago, Deinomenid said:

These are pretty common and fairly inexpensive and to me tell a sad tale of the (end of the) beginning of the decline for Athens, broken by Syracuse and Sparta. And her own hubris!

Just a few decades after her peak…
 

 ATTICA. Athens. Circa 393-355 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 23 mm, 16.86 g, 9 h). Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves and palmette. Rev. AΘE Owl standing right, head facing; to left, olive sprig and crescent; all within incuse square. Kroll 15. Svoronos pl. 20 passim. Graffiti and test punches on the obverse and test cuts on the reverse, otherwise, very fine

 

 

Leu, right? I remember bidding on this coin 😁

3 hours ago, AETHER said:

 

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.

38 minutes ago, Edessa said:

Next: Caligula, Claudius or Nero.

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

37 minutes ago, kirispupis said:

Link: grain

Kings of Macedon. Miletos. Alexander III "the Great"
Bronze AE 17 mm, 5,71 g
Minted 323-319 BCE under Asandros
Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, bow-in-bowcase and club; grain ear below.
Price 2102

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.

1 hour ago, shanxi said:

 

Next: two or more birds

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.

1 hour ago, DonnaML said:

 

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

15 minutes ago, Phil Davis said:

7 hours > 6 hours, so... This coin's on my mind from a current FB thread which some of you may have seen.

Next: Hercules/Herakles, but no lion.

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!

6 hours ago, Ryro said:

How dare you ask me such a question!?

 

I had no idea, sorry! 😭

6 hours ago, Orange Julius said:

How about this super cool Nero with a mirrored obverse legend!?

It's an ancient Gallic (maybe?) imitation of the common Victory and shield coins.

It would have the legend:
IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P MAX T P P. (It's there but written backwards, copied directly from an example on to the die without thinking of the resulting coin having the mirrored impression... you can see the ...ESAR AVG P MA...)

Damn, that is pretty funny, congrats on the coin!

4 hours ago, arizonarobin said:

I love Barbaric imitations.

Here are a two of mine imitating Domna and Septimius from Emesa:

 

I love these, the heads looks so goofy!

37 minutes ago, ambr0zie said:

How about this barbarous VRBS ROMA, where the "moneyers" wanted to save some metal and make a cute little coin, and the little old beginner me was anxiously trying to attribute this "Greek" coin? 

Compared to an official issue

I have only 1 other - a barbarous Tetricus, with a reverse showing an alien (Klingon?) using his station on the starship - probably raising shields. 

That's great, love the weird reverse on the second one and the story about trying to attribute the first!

2 minutes ago, shanxi said:

My ugly Barbarian

Barbarous Radiate, imitating Tetricus I
Obv: …ICVS M / radiate head right
Rev: soldier standing, holding spear, C
AE, 1.96g, 17mm
Ref.: Cf. RIC 5b, p.411,148 ?

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 😆

7 hours ago, DLTcoins said:

To begin, I suggest Pierre Bastien (1985), 'Imitations of Roman Bronze Coins, A.D. 318-363', ANS Museum Notes 30, New York, pp. 143-177; pls.41-44. You can read the article or download a copy at the link below. Your coin belongs to what Bastien describes as a "wave" of "epidemic" counterfeiting, largely in Gaul and Britain, that began with the Fel Temp Reparatio reforms, the first c. 348 and another several years later. This "wave" seems to have continued until the coinage was again reformed under Julian c. 361.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000108391198

Thanks for the reply, this is exactly what I was looking for! That was an interesting read 😁

6 hours ago, Ocatarinetabellatchitchix said:

I collect barbaric imitations of the Gallic empire (3rd century). Here is a very useful link for them, sorry it’s in French, and some favorites from my collection:

http://www.fredericweber.com/articles/imitations_radiees.htm

 

 

 

 

 

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.

37 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

Yes, that title is so obsequious as to be cringe-worthy. But it's Trajan we're talking about!

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 😄

1 minute ago, TheTrachyEnjoyer said:

I think human sacrifice can generally be agreed as poor practice!

Yeah, it was a joke, these ancient cultures were really something.

At least when we ritually sacrifice animals we call it a chicken nugget 😄

37 minutes ago, TheTrachyEnjoyer said:

Are you asking about ornaments from antiquity or modern day ornaments decorated with the theme of antiquity?

 

If the former, the kinds of decorations you find might be rather ghastly. The pagan Germanic peoples would have ornamented their trees with the sacrifices of people and animals. If you are seeking to replicate this theme at home, some family members may not be happy with living remains offered in front of your tree. Some of the historical sacred grove examples conveniently located on Wikipedia are: 

Grove of the Semnones

Possibly northern Germany

According to Tacitus, the Semnones, a populous and powerful Germanic people, allowed none to enter the grove without being fettered and blindfolded. If the blindfolded falls, they must crawl out of the grove. There they venerated what Tacitus refers to as "regnator omnium deus" and regularly gather to execute a human sacrifice. (See grove of fetters.)[17]

Grove of Baduhenna

Ancient Frisia

According to Roman senator Tacitus in his first century CE work Annals, the Frisians dismembered 900 Roman soldiers in a grove dedicated to the goddess in 28 CE.

Thankfully mostly of these groves were abolished. In some/many cases, churches were built on top of the sites once used for human sacrifices and other nefarious worship.

Charles the Great/Charlemagne destroys Irminsul 

Some of the pagan traditions remain…we still bring trees into our homes (although I would wager most people no longer consider them sacred…only sacrilegious if put up before thanksgiving!) 

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).

2 hours ago, maridvnvm said:

 

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.

45 minutes ago, Spaniard said:

Wonderful examples shown!

For me Septimius Severus legionary denarius are quite iconic?

Septimius Severus. 193-211 AD. AR Denarius (3.26 gm, 18mm). Rome mint. Struck 193 AD.
Obv.: IMP CAEL SEP SEV PERT AVG, laureate head right.
Rev.: LEG XIIII GEM M V / TR P COS, legionary eagle between two standards. RIC 14; RSC 272; BMCRE 19. VF

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.

2 hours ago, maridvnvm said:

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

2 hours ago, maridvnvm said:

Link:- Julian II

Julian II - AR Reduced Siliqua

Obv:– FL CL IVLIA-NVS P P AVG, Pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev:– VOTIS V MVLTIS X, within wreath
Minted in Lugdunum (//SLVG), Spring A.D. 360 - 26th June A.D. 363
Reference:– RIC VIII Lugdunum 227

17.26 mm. 2.0 gms. 0 degrees

East Harptree Hoard, which was discovered near Bath in 1887. There were 36 coins of this type found in the hoard

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! 🥳

4 hours ago, maridvnvm said:

Link:- Bull

Lucania, Thurium, Ar Nomos

Obv:- Head of Athena in Attic helmet decorated with Skylla
Rev:- ΘOYPIΩN above, Bull butting right, tunny fish in exe.
Minted in Thurium. 4th Century B.C.

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.

7 hours ago, Spaniard said:

Glass cabinet...Easels....Pick em up every day....

Actually changed some of the themes last week, top shelf is now Kashmir...

Wow, you have a whole museum exhibit!