Valentinian

Pompey the Great conquered much of the East for Rome in the 60s BC. In Cilicia there was a city Soloi/Soli that he renamed (modestly!) Pompeiopolis. Tarsos was the main city of the region and Pompeiopolis was not an important place, but it did mint coins for five small issues (in AD 30/1, 64/5, 83/4, 86/7, and 86/7 -- the local dates are visible on some examples). Two (the last two, under Domitian) have the distinctive portrait of Pompey: 23 mm. 8.90 grams. Struck under Domitian in 83/4 RPC II online 1725 under Domitian. SNG France 2, 1223-1225 (same dies as 1223). SNG Levante 878. Supplement 238. Lewis II --, Hunterian --, SGI --, Lindgren & Kovacs --, Lindgren III --, Weber III --, McClean --, Boston --. A posthumous portrait on Pompey on a Roman Republican denarius would be expensive. This portrait is good, larger, and less expensive. Show us anything related!

We have had threads on very small coins before: https://www.numisforums.com/topic/45-a-small-coin-for-a-small-forum-but-with-a-ferocious-bite/ Although Greek coins are not my main focus, I find the earliest tiny issues interesting. Here are three from one city, Kolophon in Ionia, which are dated to the "late sixth century BC" by Koray Konuk, author of SMG Turkey I, the Kayhan Collection. I am showing them because I feel I have completed a set. All have the same obverse, Archaic head left (Apollo?) and pretty much the same reverse, a quadrapartite incuse square, but the denominations are supposed to be 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 obol. They are, left to right, 0.36 grams (a "Persic standard hemiobol"), 0.185 grams, and 0.08 grams. SNG Turkey I, 342 for the largest one. If the largest one really is a hemiobol, I don't know that an obol was issued. There are other designs for small coins of these weights at Kolophon, but none I have found have, even approximately, the weight of an obol. If these were intended to be different denominations, and the weights cluster in a manner suggesting they are intentionally different, I wonder how the ancients distinguished them?

What a wonderful and rare coin! When I first looked at I thought "Arcadius" and then the legend said "MAXIMVS"! Arcadius at Constantinople recognizes Maximus! Here is the same reverse type and mint for Arcadius: The obverse legend is interesting for spelling out the title "Augustus" as "AVGVSIVS" with an "I", which is not a mistake on one die, but the way it is spelled on this issue. Presumably, that reflects a change in pronunciation. 23 mm. 5.87 grams. RIC IX Constantinople 83c2, Struck 383-388. RIC did not notice the correct spelling and neither did several other sources, all giving what was expected rather than what was actually there. For more about the AE of Valentinian and later, see my pages: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/

I have a large web site on late Roman AE of Valentinian and later: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/ It has many subpages (over 100) and could be explored for a long time, but the main page has most of what you would want to know: what the types look like, their dates, who issued them, etc. Among many other links, there is one to types sets of all the emperors. For example, do you want to know which AE types Valentinian issued? Look here: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/ValentinianI.html Here is a very rare type for Valens: AE3. FELICITAS ROMANORVM. Victory advancing left with wreath and palm. [The design of the very common SECVRITAS REPVBLICAE (type 6) but the legend FELICITAS ROMANORVM.] Obverse bust can be right or left. Struck only at Aquileia. Valens. FELICITAS ROMANORVM AE3. 17 mm. 2.24 grams. RIC Aquileia 16b, "R5". This type is very rare. This type was also struck for Gratian and Valentinian II. RIC has it R5 for both. It is very rare for Gratian. I love late Roman AE. They are often both in nice shape and inexpensive. The history is interesting. Take a look at the main page: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/ for much more about them.

You are writing about Romania, correct? You mentioned three cities now in Romania that minted ancient coins: Istrus (Istros), Tomis, and Callatis. Is that list complete for cities in Romania? Here is my coin from Istros, in Thrace: 18 mm. 5.84 grams. Two young male heads facing, side by side, one upright an one upside down. IΣTPIH above sea-eagle on dolphin, underneath, S. Sear Greek 1669. SNG Copenhagen II Thrace 191-197 "Fourth C. B.C."

@Heliodromus showed how Victory with both wings visible can look. Here is another one, with the same configuration. Just to the left of the head the forward edge of her right wing can be seen, and its end projects out behind the left wing toward 3:00. 20 mm. 2.92 grams. SiliquaCONSTANTIVS PF AVGVICTORIA AVGVSTORVMSIS with dotted crescent in exergue. RIC Siscia 162 At 2.92 grams it is a heavy (pre-reform) siliqua. It is also rosette-diademed. That's right. However, I don't think many people care much about the distinction. For this general type there are "pearl-diademed", "rosette-diademed," and "laurel and rosette-diademed" busts. This one is "laurel and rosette-diademed." The difference is not large.

Cites is Lower Moesia often put Diana/Artemis on coins. Here are coins of Macrinus (reigned 16 months in 217-218) and his son Diadumenian. Both have Diana right, about to draw an arrow from her quiver with her hound racing right behind her. Macrinus. 28 mm. Nicopolis ad Istrum. Hristova, Nicopolis p. 288, 8.23.13.1. Diadumenian, 25 mm. 8.22 grams. Marcianopolis. Hristova, Marcianopolis, p. 124, 6.25.13.3

We have had threads on the silver siliqua denomination before. This thread is to announce a new web page on the denomination: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/siliqua/siliqua.html The top coin on the page is this one, with a common type: Constantius II, a pre-reform siliqua from before 355. Go to the page to read about it and the evolution of the denomination. (Again, the page is: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/siliqua/siliqua.html ) Show us some siliquae!

I went to the supporter link (near the upper left), chose to pay with PayPal, and it took me to PayPal which, upon logging in, did not offer me the option to pay from my balance--only from my bank account or a credit card. Until now (including earlier today) PayPal has always given me the option to pay with my balance. I backed out and didn't do it. I tried again, wondering if I had missed something, but it appears not. Why would PayPal not allow me to pay from my balance? I am willing to bypass the link and login to PayPal the normal way and pay using the proper email address if @Restitutorwill let me know what address to use.

Nice coin! The bulls are beautiful and energetic on that coin. Bigas of animals other than horses are neat (horses are neat, too, but more common). A mini-collection of all the species would be interesting. To keep with the bull theme: 29-28 mm. 6.99 grams. Sybaris, Lucania, Italy. Bull standing left, head turned back (possibly licking his side?) Incuse version of the same design. Sear Greek 245. HN 1729. SNG Cop I 1388 "c. 560-510" The city was destroyed in 510 BC so we are sure the type is from before that. Hoover HGC I 1231. This coin came with an NGC photo certificate, so I didn't have to crack it out. Rutter, in Greek Coinages of Southern Italy and Sicily, says it may be the very first coin type from the region (There is no clear evidence which among Sybaris, Metapontum, and Kroton, was first).

Here is an interesting and extremely rare variety of a common type of Justin (518-527), Sear 100 from Antioch. It is large at 34-32 mm and 17.08 grams. The obverse has a "cross above the head" which is somewhat unusual. (But among all the Sear types that have a cross above the head, Sear 100 might be the most common.) That served as a collection-focus of my friend Dan Clark and I eventually wrote a web site about the coins illustrated by his collection: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ByzCross/Cross-above-head.html But the really unusual part is on the reverse. Take a look. Do you see what is unusual? Look above the M. What do you see? Above the M are both a star and a cross. This is the only Byzantine "M" coin (not just coin type, but coin) I have seen with two symbols above the M. Yes, I got it from Dan. If anyone has another Byzantine "M" coin with two symbols above the "M", I would love to see it!

The bull and lion represent particular legions which were numbered on coins of Gordian III: Gordian III, 238-244. 28 mm. 21.24 grams. Legion IIII Flavia and legion VII Claudia Pia Flavia Year IIII = 242/3. Grant, Army of the Caesars, p. 233. ex Berk 85, lot 542.

The example I posted above was badly off-center on the obverse, so I sought another one. Also, most are very close to 0.19 grams and when I saw one said to be 0.1 grams, I went for it. So here are the two new-to-me coins: The first is 0.18 grams and 5.7-4.7 mm. The reference is SNG Turkey I Kayhan Collection 343-348. Rosen 386 and 387 are the same type, with, in that older reference, an attribution to an "uncertain mint" and a later date. The second is only 0.08 grams and 4.7-3.7 mm. The design is clear, which is remarkable for such a small coin. @Alegandronquoted the wikipedia page which says there is a hemitetartemorion denomination (half a quarter of an obol) which in this region would be half of 0.19 grams or about 0.09 grams. I doubt there was that much precision in ancient minting, and I wonder how, in practice, an ancient merchant would distinguish a hemi from a full tetartemorion. That second coin has vaulted into the lead as the smallest coin in my collection. My wife noted the engraver must have been seriously nearsighted.

Here is a denarius of Faustina II with an even black toning. Denarius. 17 mm. 3.23 grams. VENVS, Venus standing left holding out and apple in her right hand and resting her left hand on a rudder. RIC 517a. Sear II 4708. Struck 148-152 at Rome.

I have been collecting ancient coins for 50 years and bought the books. As you know, I have written many web pages on ancient coins: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ which are intended to help potential collectors get interested and to help anyone who already has an interest in ancient coins to learn more. So, I have had a role in making the web a resource. Nevertheless, books remain essential to getting past the rank-beginner stage. As others have noted above, you can look up ID numbers on the web and some beginners' books don't add much to what can be learned on the web. Here I recommend some well written books that will add a lot to your knowledge and enjoyment of ancient coins in a way that the web cannot. This list takes into account their cost. I am not recommending expensive books (except for one). Every one of these I still find worth opening and reading. For Roman: Coinage in the Roman World by Andrew Burnett is packed with information from one the world's top scholars (and, former Curator of the British Museum collection). In summary form, it incorporates all of the most recent scholarship on Roman coinage from its beginnings to the end of the empire. It has chapters on mint authority, monetary history, designs and propaganda, circulation and function, inflation, the coming of Christianity, and the transition to medieval coinage. It is only 168 pages plus plates of 187 coins, but a super book. This would be my top recommendation. For Greek: Coinage in the Greek World by Ian Carradice and Martin Price (1998), is an excellent work, very well suited to beginners and advanced collectors alike. Written by two top scholars, it is completely authoritative. Nevertheless, it is completely user-friendly. It is not a "How to collect" guide, but a chronologically organized well-illustrated discussion of ancient Greek coins. This is an outstandingly good book. If you are thinking of collecting Greek coins, buy this book. It is easy to start with, but, no matter how far you advance, you will never outgrow it. For Roman Provincial: Roman Provincial Coins: An Introduction to the Greek Imperials, by Kevin Butcher, is an excellent introduction with a great deal of "meat". It can be read again and again. A slim book, it has excellent photographs of 95 coins and 258 line drawings of coins. It has many maps so you can tell where all those cities are. I must have already read it 8 times, and scanned it many more, and I still like it. If you might be interested in Roman Provincial coins, buy this book. For Byzantine: David Sear, Byzantine Coins and their Values is essential. Philip Grierson, Byzantine Coins has all the scholarly information you could want plus 1527 good B&W photos of most of the types. I use it frequently. P. D. Whitting, Byzantine Coins, is fun and chatty with lots of beautiful enlarged photos and good discussions. For Roman Republican at a level above beginner: Liv Mariah Yarrow, The Roman Republic to 49 BC using coins as sources and Clare Rowan From Caesar to Augustus (c. 49 BC - AD 14) using coins as sources For Greek: G. K. Jenkins Ancient Greek Coins, first edition Putnam Press (not the second edition Seaby Press). A beautiful book with lots of great pictures and good discussion. [This book changed more, and not for the better, between the first and second editions than any other book I have heard of. It went down from 320 pages to 182 pages!] For Roman: Roman Coins, by C. H. V. Sutherland, is a beautiful book by a major scholar. It has 572 excellent enlargements and even color plates of coins. There is little emphasis on common late Roman coins. He was a major contributor to our knowledge of the early imperial coins, and it shows in his choice of material. It is not a list of coins, rather a history of Roman coinage. General: Christopher Howgego, Ancient History from Coins, is packed with information about ancient Greek and Roman coins and how they relate to history. Howgego is a leading scholar and crams a ton of information into not very many pages (176 pages with 184 coins photographed beautifully). His extensive footnotes lead you to the publications that discuss matters in greater detail. This book is "over the head" of novices, but can be read many times with increasing comprehension. If you want to glimpse the scholarly side of ancient coins, this is a great way to do it. There are many more good books that can add to your knowledge and enjoyment in ways the internet cannot, but, in your collecting area, these would be a good start. Here is a web page with some additional book reviews: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/numis/learnmore.html I remark that university libraries usually have some books on ancient coins and even some public libraries do too. The odds are very good they will not be checked out!

It is not always evident whether a small Roman imperial AE coin is a semis or a quadrans. Here is one I think is a semis: Domitian as Caesar, struck under Vespasian, 74 16 mm. 2.78 grams. CAES - AVG F Laureate head of Domitian DOMIT - COS II Winged cadeuceus RIC II Vespasian 1581 "R2" "Minted in Rome for Syria(?)" 74 Sear I 2667 "Samosota in Commegene, AD 73" RIC says it is of orichalcum and a semis. I have a web page devoted to the quadrans and semis denominations: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/quadrans/ Show us some quadrantes and semisses!

This coin is from c. 158-9 after twenty years. The legend with "DEC II" means ten years, twice, (thus 20) and "SOL" means "soluta", that is, "paid". So Antoninus Pius has just finished paying his vows for 20 years of reign. I have a sestetrius with "DEC II" for "20". Antoninus Pius, 138-161 A sestertuus. 31-30 mm. 24.87 grams. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TRP XXII Refers to year 22 = 158/9. VOTA SOL DEC II Emperor veiled and togate holding patera over tripod altar, (tiny) bull behind altar. "DEC II" refers to ten years for the second time. RIC 1008. BMC 2046. Sear II 4261. The TRP date is year 22 while the vows are paid for 20. This may be because the reckoning of TRP powers changed in 147 when Antoninus Pius finished year 9 and had year 10 and began year 11, effectively squeezing two years into one.

Here is one of two new VOTA coins, now on my website on VOTA coins: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/VOTA/ Caracalla, struck 208. Denarius. 19 mm. 3.33 grams. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG VOTA SOLVT DEC COS III, which is somewhat unusual for mentioning vows paid as opposed to the usual vows taken. Emperor, togate, sacrificing over tripod altar, sacrificial bull reclining (dead?) behind altar. Caracalla became Augustus in 198 and COS III in 208 (and COS IIII in 213), so this coin was probably struck in 208, right after the vows for ten years had been paid. RIC 204. Sear II 6906. BMC 578. The other new coin of Caracalla is on the page about vota coins from the third century: https://augustuscoins.com/ed/VOTA/third.html Show us some VOTA coins!

I connected with a private seller in Texas who was unloading his collection in 2014. He had a nice one of those that was much nicer than my typical Republican coins, which are not in top grade. It cost more more, but I love it: 46 BC. References as in @DonnaML's post. Ex Sternberg XXXII (Oct, 1996) Lot 440. Ex Cederlind 129 lot 158, Dec. 2013. Private sale (name withheld), Sept. 2014.

When I was writing my page on how scholars date Roman Republican coins and their connection with history, I included comments on XVI under "c. 141" and c. 136: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Repub/TimelineTable.html After reading many sources, I got the impression that the change from 10 to 16 was noted on coins with the change from X to XVI (which was very short-lived), but scholars avoided trying to explain why X was reused later--probably because it is hard to explain! @Alegandronshowed an XVI example of L. Julius. Here is one from the same year, 141, but of C. Titinus, Cr 226/1, Sear I 102.

Crispus, anepigraphic: 18 mm. 1.99 grams. Anepigraphic. Bust left. CRISPVS/CAESAR/SMANTЄ RIC VII Antioch 53 Antioch is by far the most common mint for coins of the anepigraphic series. Crispus, Fausta, and Helena are the three rarest in the series.

Here is a Crispus of a type only from Thessalonica. 18 mm. 3.35 grams. VICTORIA CAESS NN RIC VII Thessalonica 62, page 506 "319" I got it last year to fill out the emperor-set for this type: Constantine. 17 mm. VICTORIA AVGG NN (For Constantine and Licinius [below]) RIC VII Thessalonica 59 Constantine II. 19 mm. 2.51 grams. RIC VII Thessalonica 65 Licinius. 19 mm. 2.83 grams. VICTORIA AVGG NN RIC VII Thessalonica 6 It also exists for Licinius II, but I don't have one to show.

Hadrian: From Ephesos, a cistophorus. 28 mm. 10.46 grams. DIANA EPHESIA, cult statue, arms supported. Stags either side. Next: A coin from Ephesos

The E-Sylum https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/club_nbs_esylum_v25n23.html#article26 The publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society, has a link to a BBC article of May 21 about the find of a 748-coin hoard found in England in 2019. This is the link you want to use: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-61526245 It has one nice photograph of a handful of coins, mostly Roman Republican. Views from Google Earth helped him find the place to search.

I enjoyed the article. It is a simple story, well told. It recounts an experience the like of which I will never have.