Ancient Coin Hunter

This one was not that expensive and nothing like those high multiples of the bullion value... Constantine X, 1059-1067 A.D. AV gold nomisma, 4.42 grams Christ enthroned, Constantine X holding labarum and globus cruciger

Definitely very cool.

Very beautiful and interesting, Furthermore, a bunch of latter day rulers of the West are depicted - for example Olybrius. These ephemeral rulers are not very common in the numismatic world.

I also have a Leo VI that I like. The patina like @Alexios is spot on I think. It seems these were struck in great numbers - presumably a high point in the Medieval Byzantine economy. One must consider that the Empire had been, up to this point, ascendant once again with the decline of the Abbasids in the East. During his reign, the renaissance of letters, begun by his predecessor Basil I, continued; but now the empire also saw several military defeats in the Balkans against Bulgaria and against the Arabs in Sicily and the Aegean. His reign also witnessed the formal discontinuation of several ancient Roman institutions, such as the separate office of Roman consul.

Nice wish I was able to attend.

Nice Galba. I also have him in Tet format from Alexandria. With my tribute Penny of Tiberius acquisition last month I only need two more to complete my twelve Caesars

NICE!

Wow that's weird. Amazing to see it recorded first here on the coin forum instead of the news outlets! Edit: NYC Earthquake now trending

Nice. By the 4th and 5th centuries the.old rectangular shield fell out of use and was replaced by a round shield. The many patterns displayed on the shields seems to indicate that each unit had a custom design. The notitia dignitatum illustrates these in its list of soldiers of the line and auxiliaries. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Bodl_Canon.Misc.378_roll159B_frame28.jpg There was a practical aspect in this since units could be identified in battle by their shields, useful for Roman on Roman combat I would suppose.

I once found a penny with an S mintmark rather than a D. How cool is that? I even found a wheat back and a worn buffalo head nickel in a merchant's change. Enough to give one goosebumps!

It's supposed to start the night of April 2nd on our local PBS channel. I recorded all five episodes. You may want to check your local listings

Oh gosh where to start. My number of Jesus coins has expanded. But I'll pick out this one which features Mary on the reverse. This is courtesy of the last Leu Web auction of 2023. I sort of consider Byzantine coins "ancient" because they represent continuity from the world of Late Antiquity, when the solidus and follis were introduced. Meanwhile the Byzantines never called themselves anything other than "Romans." Jesus' face is in good condition. Likewise so is the Virgin Mary's. Anonymous types usually feature the "Jesus Christ, King of Kings" inscribed legend on the reverse, Mary is somewhat rare as it turns out. This was my second to last purchase in 2023. Anonymous Folle, time of Romanus IV, circa 1068-1071. Follis (Bronze, 26 mm, 9.69 g, 5 h), Constantinopolis. Nimbate bust of Christ facing, wearing tunic and pallium, raising his right hand in benediction and holding book of Gospels in his left; in fields, IC - XC. Rev. Nimbate bust of the Virgin Mary facing, orans, wearing pallium and maphorium; in fields MHP - ΘV. DOC Class G. SB 1867. Some deposits, otherwise, very fine.

Here is an example of mine procured from @JAZ Numismatics. Note the peribolos on the reverse. I always thought that it was a scene seen from perspective rather than a hill. Also, it was listed as Philip I or II. My personal conclusion, like yours, was that Philip I is depicted. One of the more interesting coins in the collection as far as reverse types go. You mentioned that the city ceased to strike coins soon after. Note that within 5 years the city was sacked by the Persians and razed to the ground.

Incredible

Very nice Penny! Also we need to start a "free Ptolemy" campaign...I'm sure he'd feel better out of the slab

Nice. I saw the base in Istanbul in my travels in Anatolia in the 2010's. There is a placard sign there declaring Theodosius "the last roman emperor." I thought this most strange given that the leaders of the great city, other than the Latins between 1204 and 1261, were the emperors of the reigning empire of the Romans. Hence the sign was tone deaf. I sent an email to the head of antiquities in the City asking for this blunder to be remedied. Don't know if anything was done and a few days later I flew back to Cairo.

I picked this one up at the post office today. A "Tribute Penny" of Tiberius. Livia, of course, is featured on the reverse. I just photographed it. AR denarius 19mm 3.85 grams Leu web auction 29 24-26 Feb 2024 lot 1844

Very detailed and solid work Donna and exceptionally well referenced. You should be in the Academy. For me, I got tired of footnotes when I completed my dissertation back in 2000. Since I didn't end up in academia as I once had planned it's nice to see someone else carrying the torch high.

I just got the USPS signature required slip in my mailbox for my Leu Tribute Penny, so it has arrived after a slight delay in customs. Will probably post it on Monday after I pick it up at the post office and take my own photos. "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's"

Magnus Maximus also struck the turreted woman type. I have one on an AE2. Agree that in this mostly Christian era it is probably not Tyche. Then it that case whom might it represent? Also wonderful selection Donna. I have the Alexandria kissing Hadrian's hand, head bowed, on a drachm. Edit: I've added the relevant coins. Note that the Hadrian piece was acquired from the forum's own @JAZ Numismatics a couple of years ago.

The Gordian III Mars reverse antononianus MARTEM PROPVGNATOREM from 1979, my first coin that I procured for $30 in Pearl City, Hawaii of all places at the coin shop in the shopping mall (in the days when going to the mall was the thing to do). When I sold my first collection before college I was sad to see it go. Don't know where, long term, it ended up. Here's one of similar reverse though not a die match. Gordian seemed to strike lots of these coins.

Here is one with Julia and Isis holding the infant Horus or Hr-pa-Chered (Horus the Child in Egyptian); dark toned denarius

My first coin was Gordian III I bought at age 11 with a MARTEM PROPVGNATOREM reverse struck for the onset of the Persian war. It was the last time in Roman history that the temple of Janus was opened as a positive augur for the campaign, which did not end well. Took me a awhile to figure out what MARTEM PROPVGNATOREM meant especially in those days before the Internet when Latin resources were scarce. I wish you the best of luck and with that budget you can assemble a high-quality collection and perhaps acquire some gold pieces as well, especially Byzantine solidi if you want to go that far chronologically.

Nice coin. I always envision Herod as Peter Ustinov, who played his role in the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.

I also have read that it was the Chi-Rho he saw and caused to be painted on his soldiers shields before the battle. Certainly Christ would have intervened on the side of the guy whose greatest enemies (perhaps) were within his own family, as history says? He may have had some kind of stress-induced psychotic break instead, seeing visions in the heavens.