Severus Alexander

7 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

I acquired mine from William Rosenblum in 2009. Where did yours come from?

I got my Orbiana in a Künker group lot back in 2017.  It's ex Hannelore Scheiner (she had a sub-specialty in middle bronzes).  Mine is quite severely smoothed and possibly tooled a bit, but I was still happy to get it for significantly less than a hundred bucks.

Wanna see a boardwalk flan on an As?  Check this baby out:

31 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

This helmet is both "rad" and "radiate"!

Very well played, sir!!

24 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

Next, another coin depicting a snake or serpent -- and I'd love to know if there's a difference in a numismatic context!

Not as far as I know!  Here are a couple:

Next: an unusual conveyance

P.S. Hooray, @dougsmitis here! 🥳

1 hour ago, Roman Collector said:

Hey, @Severus Alexander, I got your wife ... RIGHT HERE!!

Orbiana, AD 225-227.
Roman Æ as, 11.43 gm, 24.5 mm.
Rome, AD 225.
Obv: SALL BARBIA ORBIANA AVG, diademed and draped bust, r.
Rev: CONCORDIA AVGVSTORVM SC, Concordia enthroned l., holding patera and double cornucopiae.
Refs: RIC 656; BMCRE 297-298; Cohen 5; RCV 8195.

I have one of those too, RC, but I like yours better... care to wife swap? 😁

Seriously, though, the portrait on your Orbiana looks VERY similar to the portrait on my Mamaea, don't you think?

Thanks, guys! ☺️

6 minutes ago, ambr0zie said:

I could keep it like this a little more, already deleted some philosophical stuff I was writing but I do not want to get banned from this forum.

🤣

7 minutes ago, ambr0zie said:

Herennia Etruscilla AD 249-251. Rome

Not an easy one to find as an As by any means!  Well done!

Next: neck beard!!

Seems to me we need some more Roman Empire content, so I thought I'd post a couple of lovely asses I acquired lately.  (As you may know, I'm a middle bronze fan.)

First, one of my namesake's mother, Julia Mamaea:

Is it just me, or does the portrait look more like Orbiana?  Which is ironic, given that Orbiana was banished at Mamaea's behest.  I doubt SA ever truly forgave his mother for that.

Second, Otacilia Severa:

The As really was a workhorse coin in the Empire (though perhaps less so in the 3rd century when these were issued), so I'm always quite happy when I manage to snag examples in higher grade, like these two.

Pile on with your middle bronzes!

12 hours ago, Alegandron said:

Post your Agrippas!  Without him, there would had been NO Augustus... only an Octavian!

Yes, I expect Octavian would have perished early on without his military genius by his side!

One of my favourite coins:

AE as, probably issued under Caligula

I'm just glad the great Q is here! 🥳

Here's an anonymous 197/1a (157-56 BCE) that I hardly ever posted back on that other site 😉:

Wow, that is hard to beat for a late Republican sestertius!

Is anyone here trying to get all the silver sestertius types?  Would be quite a challenge...

I only have this rather miserable example of the early issue:

18 hours ago, Theodosius said:

I realized I have a Greek coin that belonged to Jascha Heifetz, the famous violinist.

That is so cool!!

I like Apollo's lyre on this AE26 from Hierapolis in Phrygia:

And this tiny AE13 from Magnesia ad Sipylum seems to be the second known:

I should really get some more music-related coins...

I have a Demetrios horse/elephant bottlecap too, @Alegandron!

59 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

I think we should create sections for Persian, for South Asian, and for East Asian coins. Or perhaps one "non-western" section.

I vote for one non-western. Posts might be too thin on the ground otherwise. And we can always split it up later, like @Restitutordid for the initial Roman category. 

Absolutely fabulous coin, Z!!

Yay, unlimited likes/reacts now!  Thanks, @Restitutor!

1 hour ago, Theodosius said:

Is your coin overstruck?

No, I don't think so - just weakly struck.  Amazingly enough this is one of the better ones out there!  Those Byzantines and their sketchy production values... 🙄

2 hours ago, Furryfrog02 said:

When I got into Byzantines I thought it would be cool to do an Emperor set...lol....what a sweet summer child I was.

1 hour ago, Theodosius said:

I too once thought of collecting all the emperors and empresses.  Ha ha.

Ye faint of heart! Here's who I'm still missing:

Essential - Livia, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Balbinus, Pupienus, Pulcheria, Michael IV (7)

Non-essential (according to me) but reasonably obtainable - Nero Claudius Drusus, Agrippina Sr., Nero & Drusus Caesars, Britannicus, Octavia, Poppaea, Julia Titi, Paulina, Laelianus, Magnia Urbica, Constantine III, Majorian, Artavasdus, Theophylactus, Romanus II, Isaac I Comnenus, Nicephorus Basilacius, Michael II Angelos of Epiros (18)

Have: 229 others

Can I do it before the cancer finally gits me?  Well, probably not the non-essentials but I think I can do it with the 7 essentials!

My Messana hare litra (c. 461-396 BCE):

Next: a cute animal!

These are pretty cool in hand, aren't they?  I don't have many, but I love this one of Leopold the Hogmouth:

4 minutes ago, Spaniard said:

Looking to try and pick up a Samnium coin as per @Severus Alexander or a Malaca and I'm really between and betwix?

The Italian rendition seems to fit a little better but I do have a soft spot for the Spanish coin?

 

Easy solution: get one of each! 😃

@TIF's here! Woohoo!!! 🥳

I thought I'd inaugurate the Byzantine category with my favourite new Byzantine coin:

I picked it up in a Leu auction earlier this year, and it knocks two fairly difficult emperors off my list: John V Palaeologos and John VI Kantakouzenos.  When John V inherited the throne in 1341 (from his father, Andronikos III) he was only 9 years old and so needed a regent.  John K, a buddy of Andronikos III, was only too happy to oblige.  Unfortunately John V's mother, Anna, started worrying about John K's true ambitions and some other powerful people were jealous of his position, so he was tossed out.  John K's troops proclaimed him emperor, civil war ensued, and John K emerged victorious.  He was crowned co-emperor with John V, agreeing to relinquish seniority to John V when the kid came of age.  That's when this coin was issued, between 1347 and 1353 (it's a tornese, a small silver/billon denomination).  John V eventually forced John VI out and he retired to a monastery, writing a four volume history that is still extant.  He died around age 90 making him the longest lived Roman emperor.

This coin is super rare and I was ecstatic to land it!

Here's my Pyrrhos AE and my T. Quinctius Flamininus denarius:

This forum does seem to be pretty damn slick!  Kudos, @Restitutor!

What a beauty, Phil, especially the obverse!  I've chased a few Vulcans but have only ever managed to snag one:

Aesernia, c. 263-240 BCE, AE18