CPK

Very interesting coins and a terrific article, @Roman Collector! Thank you for sharing.

Here is a recent purchase, picked up in one of the latest Artemide auctions. I had slapped on a lowish bid and didn't really expect to win, but apparently all the other bidders had bigger fish to catch because when the lot went live, there were no additional bids. I thought it was a very handsome portrait of Hadrian, nicely centered, with an interesting reverse type that is also well-struck. Plus, the coin is nicely toned. Choice VF, I'd call it. 😉 HADRIAN, AD 117-138 AR Denarius (17.73mm, 3.00g, 6h) Struck AD 137. Rome mint Obverse: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, bare head of Hadrian right Reverse: VOTA PVBLICA, Hadrian, togate, standing left, sacrificing from patera over tripod-altar References: RIC II 2326, RCV 3550 Attractively toned with a fine portrait. The reverse of this coin depicts Hadrian performing one of his many duties as Emperor - offering votive sacrifices on behalf of the public well-being (VOTA PVBLICA).

That is fascinating! I had no idea that Rome issued Alexandrian coins like these. Thanks for sharing!

That is a terrific specimen @kirispupis! Great to see you branching out into Roman coins. 😉 Here is my only Nero denarius, from the other end of his reign: NERO, AD 54-68 AR Denarius (17.24mm, 3.47g, 7h) Struck AD 68. Rome mint Obverse: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P P, laureate head of Nero right Reverse: Legionary eagle between two standards References: RIC I 68, RCV 1947 A scarce type. Lightly toned with an excellent portrait. From the T. R. Hardaker Collection (1942-2019) "This type, among the last coins struck by the very unmilitary Nero, would seem to be an attempt to curry favor with the Roman legions of the provinces, which were beginning to rebel against his capricious rule. It did not work." - Classical Numismatic Group (lot description)

Thank you for the kind words! Your photo background idea looks/sounds neat. I've often thought it would be cool to try to photograph ancient coins as they might have appeared in ancient times - in a scene with props, etc. The trick would be getting the right balance of subject/background. Lovely coins, by the way!

If those are normal-sized dollar bills, yes. But in that case the burglars must be about 3 feet tall. 😆

Thank you! Both of your coins are remarkable - the denarius portrait especially. I agree that Severus Alexander's sideburns must have made a deep impression on whoever engraved that die. 😄

Lovely landscaping @panzerman - and that torte looks delicious!

That's interesting! We used to have a CO2 laser, but now all we have are fiber lasers. Fiber is just so much faster than CO2 and way more efficient. Of course, they're more expensive up front, too. As a matter of fact, I'm doing an etching job right now on our smallest laser, a 6KW which probably cost somewhere around $600K. 😉 These are stainless steel parts:

Nice! It's always fun to discover new and interesting aspects to coins already in your collection. That happened to me with this coin here: SICILY, SYRACUSE Time of Agathokles, 317-289 BC AE14 (14.22mm, 2.14g, 7h) Struck 305-295 BC Obverse: Head of Athena left, wearing crested Corinthian helmet Reverse: ΣΥΡΑ-ΚΟΣΙΩΝ above and below winged thunderbolt References: CNS 118, Favorito 38a (this coin illustrated) Attractive green patina. This coin is the illustrated plate coin in Emilo N. Favorito’s reference manual "The Bronze Coinage of Ancient Syracuse", published in 1990 by the Society Historia Numorum. Notated as being from the collection of Favorito himself. I bought this coin in a group lot with little to no description, and only much later found that it is actually a plate coin. I now own a copy of Favorito's reference catalog, which itself happens to be autographed by the author for one of the contributors.

Beautiful coin @CassiusMarcus!

That is a stunning portrait indeed! And you can even see Domitian's features in the reverse figure, too. Truly, a magnificent coin! In my opinion, this is artistry fully on par with the famed "Alphaeus Master" of Hadrian's coinage.

Whoa! That alligator - how common is it to see one crossing the street like that?? Shrimp looks good, too. 😉 Here's a view from my daily life - working at adjusting parameters for one of our fiber lasers. Boring? 😉 Perhaps slightly more interesting - a family trip to a local lake from a week or two ago. This is our youngest, 2 years old and about to turn 3 next month. Saw a black snake there too. Our oldest, 5, staring at the sun in the eerie half-light just before totality:

No doubt, Carthage produced some spectacular coins! Totally my coin: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4575650 Actually, I don't think I have any coins from Carthage. They're on my lengthy wish-list, though.

Lovely coin!