I know I'm going to sound like a 5-year-old at
Christmas, but I received my
Julia Domna silver
denarius today from
Forum Ancient Coins, and I can't tell you how thrilled I am.
I can't afford this hobby, so just to have an ancient coin is extremely special to me. I've been almost obsessively interested in ancient
Roman history for years, and that's what led me to reading about
ancient coins in the first place, which in turn led me to
Forum Ancient Coins. Regardless of not being able to buy coins, I
still love reading about them, looking at the listings, and learning about the
history associated with them - fascinating stuff.
For the longest time, my primary interest was mostly in the first century
Roman emperors, but looking at coins made me expand my interest into later emperors and their stories, and after seeing so many
Julia Domna coins online I read more about her and her family, and she really got my respect, so I decided to look for the best coin of hers that I could afford. Naturally, I found it right here at
Forum Ancient Coins, and it's a beauty!
Honestly, the first time I saw the coin I was done. I
had never seen another coin
portrait of
Julia Domna anywhere that looked so believable, so genuine, or so realistic, unlike pretty much every other coin
portrait of hers that I'd seen. She was around 43 when this coin was minted, and (refreshingly) she looks like it on this coin, but in a very noble, dignified, and experienced way, and she looks much more like her sister,
Julia Maesa, than in the usual coin
portraits of her. Finally, an artist depicted her not in a "make her look young" way, but in a "let her shine as she is" way. That probably sounds ridiculous, but I absolutely love this coin!
If you can remember what it felt like when you got your first really nice ancient coin, that's how I feel. Thanks again, Joe!