CPK

That's sad. I have only one of his courses - Great Battles of the Ancient World - but I have listened to that multiple times. Someday, I would love to get his History of Rome.

Kenneth Harl is one of my favorite professors from The Great Courses. I've listened to his course on the Vikings probably 3 or 4 times.

Was it part of your 119 B.C. Proof Set? 😜

This is one for @Octavius or @Romancollector - but I will give it a try - Next: Another fabulous portrait!

@Kaleun96 Thanks for providing that link to your collection - those images are astounding! Do you offer coin photography services? 😉

@expat I like that starfish coin!

Thanks! My favorites are the Trajan sestertius and that Alexander III tetradrachm.

Those are lovely coins!! Now I want to see a photo of the opposite sides. 🙂

Beautiful coins!

@jfp7375 Very nice coins! Those are a great start. I'm also partial to Trajan coins - not only was he one of Rome's greatest emperors, but his coinage tends to be pretty affordable too. My Trajan and Hadrian denarii also came from Tom Vossen:

In memory of the Last of the Julio-Claudians (What a crazy family!)

It's difficult to know what to think, since that article is only one small part of one side of the story...however, just going by the information in the article, it does seem excessively harsh.

@AncientJoe Stunning!!! 🤩 Here are my lowly offerings: 😉

I was hoping you would post here! 🙂You have an amazing collection - I love that Aegypto Capta denarius!

Those are absolutely beautiful!

@John060167 Lovely coin and funny story! 😄

Lately, I've been reading through Cassius Dio's history of Rome. Cassius Dio was a Roman senator who lived in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries A.D. Starting with the founding of Rome in the 753 B.C., he recounts the history of the early Kingdom of Rome, the Roman Republic, and finally (after the convulsive civil wars waged by the Imperators) the Imperial Empire. I just started book 4 of 6, which begins with the speeches of Marcus Agrippa and Maecenas advising Octavian (or Caesar, as Cassius Dio calls him), in the aftermath of the Battle of Actium and the deaths of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, how best to proceed now that he had unchallenged control of Rome. Agrippa advised returning the government to some form of democracy, while Maecenas advocated for Caesar to expand his power into a monarchy. Caesar favored Maecenas's advice, but he knew that such a goal would be attainable only with great caution, patience, and political skill. Even in 27 B.C., Caesar could not do just anything he wanted. Incidentally, even though Caesar ultimately decided to reject the advice of his friend Agrippa, Cassius Dio reports: "Agrippa cooperated with him [Caesar] in all his projects quite zealously, in spite of having stated a contrary opinion, just as if he had been the one to propose the plan [for Caesar to become monarch]." Here again is illustrated the immense loyalty and devotion Agrippa had for his long-time friend Caesar. Cassius Dio records the speech Caesar gave to the Senate in 27 B.C., in which Caesar voluntarily pledged to relinquished all of his power and authority back to the Senate and the people and return to private life. Of course, Caesar was being disingenuous; he had no intention of giving up his power, but merely wanted to gain even more political support and admiration by his seeming rejection of the power which so obviously lay in his grasp. The Senate for its part was much divided by this speech; some were suspicious of Caesar's real intentions, but dared not speak out; others, wearied of the turbulent past decades, wished for a change of government with Caesar as sole ruler, but they were also afraid to voice their opinions because of the intense Roman abhorrence of the concept of monarchy. In the end, Caesar got what he wished: a greater hold on power, while maintaining the image of a selfless liberator, sacrificing himself in the cause of his country. Part of the honors the Senate voted to Caesar in 27 B.C. was the title of "Augustus". Cassius Dio has this to say about that: "When he [Caesar] had really completed the details of the administration, the name Augustus was finally applied to him by the senate and by the people. They wanted to call him by some name of their own, and some proposed this, while others chose that. Caesar was exceedingly anxious to be called Romulus, but when he perceived that this caused him to be suspected of desiring the kingship, he no longer insisted on it but took the title of Augustus, signifying that he was more than human. All most precious and sacred objects are termed augusta. Therefore they saluted him also in Greek as sebastos, meaning an august person, from the verb sebazesthai. In this way all the power of the people and that of the senate reverted to Augustus, and from his time there was a genuine monarchy." A paragraph before this, Cassius Dio writes: "Caesar had received many honors previously, when the matter of declining the sovereignty and that regarding the division of the provinces were under discussion. For the right to fasten the laurel in front of his royal residence and to hang the oak-leaf crown above the doors was then voted him to symbolize the fact that he was always victorious over enemies and preserved the citizens." (emphasis added) And now, all this fascinating history distilled into three grams of silver! (I love how these ancient coins can make the history you read so real and personal!) This isn't a new coin, and I'm pretty sure some of you have already seen it, but reading the above accounts made me all the more appreciative of this coin's history and significance. On the obverse there is the - somewhat idealized? - portrait of Caesar, with the weighty title "CAESAR AVGVSTVS". The reverse features an oak wreath, just as Cassius Dio talks about, within which are the words "OB CIVIS SERVATOS" meaning "For saving (or "preserving") the citizens" - again, straight from the pen of Cassius Dio. Earlier in his work, Dio actually describes a specific coin - the famous "EID MAR" denarius of Brutus - but here I think he comes pretty close to another coin description. One can speculate whether Dio, while writing his history, had in his possession any coins such as this one, which hold so much history of the time. Feel free to post your own coins from this period, or anything else you find relevant to the topic!

I'm a member of another forum (different hobby). No FB, no Twitter, Instagram, etc. Reddit very occasionally (maybe once every few months). I enjoyed my time at CoinTalk and I still check in there every now and then. I wasn't involved personally in the recent drama, and I didn't want to be. When the bulk of the ancient coin discussion migrated here I was happy to be invited and continue participating in an active discussion forum. So far this has been a very nice place!

Nice little coin! I want to get one sometime, but somehow there's always something else to get instead.

Now, that is my kind of room!

This just in, from our very own @Ryro :

Ancient Coin Collecting (Vol. III) by Wayne G. Sayles is a good book for the beginner: Ancient Coin Collecting - Vol III, 2nd ed. : Roman Politics and Propaganda (vcoins.com) Also the first volume in Mr Sayles' series is highly recommended. This one is a more general book about collecting ancients, not focused on Imperial Rome in particular: Ancient Coin Collecting, Vol. I, 2nd Ed. | Ancient Coin Books (vcoins.com) I highly recommend Sear also. I don't know of any other affordable reference work that is reasonably comprehensive. I have the first volume (Rome is covered in 5 volumes) which covers the Roman Republic to Domitian. I enjoy looking up my coins even if I already have the RIC number. You can buy them one at a time or all 5 in one set if you want: Sear: Roman Coins & Their Values. 5 volumes complete | Roman Imperial Coins (vcoins.com) It isn't focused on Roman coins in particular, but I found this book to be immensely enjoyable and helped broaden my knowledge and appreciation of ancient coins. I highly recommend it! 100 Greatest Ancient Coins: Harlan Berk: 9780794846329: Amazon.com: Books

I've got a few coming. Chain-buying can be addictive. 🙄😜

@Lhevae Very interesting post! I was only able to skim read it just now, but I will for sure be re-reading it in detail later on today. In the meantime, here's one of my Chinese coins:

Welcome @JayAg47 !