Fine Coins Showcase
Antiquities Showcase
New & Reduced
Apr 19, 2024
Roman Coins
Judean & Biblical Coins
Medieval & Modern Coins
Apr 18, 2024
Apr 17, 2024
Apr 16, 2024
Greek Coins
Roman Coins
Byzantine Coins
Medieval & Modern Coins
Apr 15, 2024
Greek Coins
Roman Coins
Apr 14, 2024
Byzantine Coins
Apr 09, 2024
Greek Coins
Apr 08, 2024
Greek Coins
Apr 07, 2024
Greek Coins
Byzantine Coins
Apr 06, 2024
Apr 05, 2024
Greek Coins
Apr 04, 2024
Apr 03, 2024
Apr 01, 2024
Mar 31, 2024
Mar 05, 2024
Medieval & Modern Coins
Feb 24, 2024
Judean & Biblical Coins
Feb 23, 2024
Greek Coins
Feb 18, 2024
Roman Coins
Feb 12, 2024
Medieval & Modern Coins
Feb 11, 2024
Medieval & Modern Coins
Feb 09, 2024
Medieval & Modern Coins
Feb 01, 2024
Medieval & Modern Coins
Nov 19, 2023
Medieval & Modern Coins
Oct 23, 2023
Greek Coins
Oct 22, 2023
Greek Coins
Oct 18, 2023
Greek Coins
Oct 14, 2023
Medieval & Modern Coins
Oct 07, 2023
Roman Coins
Oct 05, 2023
Medieval & Modern Coins
Oct 03, 2023
Judean & Biblical Coins
Sep 28, 2023
Byzantine Coins
Sep 26, 2023
Roman Coins
Sep 22, 2023
Sep 21, 2023
Roman Coins
Sep 19, 2023
Roman Coins
Sep 18, 2023
Roman Coins
Sep 13, 2023
Roman Coins
Sep 11, 2023
Greek Coins
Aug 01, 2023
Greek Coins
Jul 28, 2023
Greek Coins
Jul 17, 2023
Jul 16, 2023
Greek Coins
Jul 09, 2023
Roman Coins
Jun 26, 2023
Roman Coins
Jun 11, 2023
Roman Coins
May 04, 2023
Medieval & Modern Coins
May 03, 2023
Medieval & Modern Coins
Apr 06, 2023
Greek Coins
Roman Coins
Mar 30, 2023
Roman Coins
Mar 29, 2023
Roman Coins
Mar 28, 2023
Judean & Biblical Coins
Medieval & Modern Coins
Mar 26, 2023
Judean & Biblical Coins
Mar 25, 2023
Judean & Biblical Coins
Mar 17, 2023
Greek Coins
Mar 16, 2023
Mar 15, 2023
Greek Coins
Feb 27, 2023
Medieval & Modern Coins
Feb 05, 2023
Judean & Biblical Coins
Jan 18, 2023
Roman Coins
Dec 31, 2022
Roman Coins
Dec 15, 2022
Antiquities
Oct 09, 2022
Judean & Biblical Coins
Medieval & Modern Coins
Sep 27, 2022
Greek Coins
Sep 24, 2022
Greek Coins
Aug 29, 2022
Judean & Biblical Coins
Jul 11, 2022
Greek Coins
Judean & Biblical Coins
Jul 10, 2022
Medieval & Modern Coins
Jun 17, 2022
Greek Coins
Jun 14, 2022
Greek Coins
May 30, 2022
Greek Coins
Apr 11, 2022
Greek Coins
Apr 09, 2022
Medieval & Modern Coins
Apr 02, 2022
Themes & Provenance
Feb 04, 2022
Medieval & Modern Coins
Feb 02, 2022
Medieval & Modern Coins
Oct 05, 2021
Judean & Biblical Coins
Jun 23, 2021
Feb 02, 2021
Books, Supplies & Services
Sep 30, 2020
Books, Supplies & Services
Books, Supplies & Services
Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Themes & Provenance| ▸ |Types||View Options:   | | | |
Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") was the sun god of the later Roman Empire and a patron of soldiers. In 274 the Roman emperor Aurelian made it an official cult alongside the traditional Roman cults. The god was favored by emperors after Aurelian and appeared on their coins until Constantine. The last inscription referring to Sol Invictus dates to 387 and there were enough devotees in the 5th century that Augustine found it necessary to preach against them. The date 25 December was selected for Christmas to replace the popular Roman festival Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun."RS114895. Silver denarius, RIC IV 111, RSC IV 39, Hunter III 43, SRCV III 8672, Choice VF, well centered and struck, flow lines, die wear, frosty surfaces, weight 2.366 g, maximum diameter 20.6 mm, die axis 0o, Rome mint, 1 Jan 241 - Jul 243 A.D.; obverse IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; reverse AETERNITATI AVG, Sol standing slightly right, radiate head left, nude but for chlamys over shoulders and left arm, raising right hand commanding the sun to rise, globe in left hand; ex NBS web auction 20 (11 Nov 2023), lot 318; $110.00 (€103.40)
Laodicea ad Lycum, Phrygia, c. 189 - 133 B.C.
The affectionate dove, the bird of love, was sacred to the goddess Venus (Aphrodite). Doves were said to draw her heavenly chariot, and the Syrian Aphrodite Ashtarte was said to have been hatched from an egg nursed by doves. The phrase attributed to Jesus, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10.16), was no random metaphor but a traditional Syrian invocation.GB114988. Bronze AE 13, BMC Phrygia, p. 284, 30; SNG Cop 497; SNGvA -, aVF, green patina, weight 2.967 g, maximum diameter 12.8 mm, die axis 0o, Laodicea ad Lycum (near Denizli, Turkey) mint, c. 189 - 133 B.C.; obverse draped bust of Aphrodite right, wearing stephane, hair tied in bunch behind; reverse Aphrodite standing left, wearing long chiton, dove in extended right hand, rose on stem in left field, ΛAOΔIKEΩN downward on right; scarce; $60.00 (€56.40)
Roman Republic, L. Farsuleius Mensor, 75 B.C.
RSC notes, " The type may allude to the Lex Julia (B.C. 90) by which the rights of citizenship was granted to all Italians." Sydenham and Crawford both indicate the historical allusion is uncertain.RR114995. Silver denarius, Crawford 392/1b, RSC I Farsuleia 2, Sydenham 789, BMCRR Rome 3298, SRCV I 329, VF, attractive dark toning, a little off center, light deposits, tiny edge splits, weight 3.226 g, maximum diameter 19.0 mm, die axis 270o, Rome mint, 75 B.C.; obverse draped and diademed bust of Libertas right, S C downward over liberty cap behind, MENSOR upward before; reverse helmeted warrior standing facing in biga right, head left, extending right hand to assist citizen into biga, reins and spear in left, Roman numeral control below horse's forelegs, L•FARSVLEI in exergue; ex Pegasi Numismatics; $130.00 (€122.20)
Trajan, 25 January 98 - 8 or 9 August 117 A.D., Koinon of Lycia
| Lycia, on the southern coast of Anatolia, was first recorded in the Late Bronze Age records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire. Lycia was totally Hellenized under the Macedonians. The Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage. On defeating Antiochus III in 188 the Romans gave Lycia to Rhodes for 20 years, taking it back in 168 B.C. The Romans allowed home rule under the Lycian League, a federation with republican principles, which later influenced the framers of the United States Constitution. In 43 A.D. Claudius dissolved the league and made Lycia a Roman province. It was an eparchy of Byzantine Empire. A substantial Christian Greek community lived in Lycia until the 1920s when they were forced to migrate to Greece following the Greco-Turkish War. |  |
Syracuse, Sicily, Roman Rule, 212 - c. 189 B.C.
Overcoming formidable resistance and the ingenious devices of Archimedes, the Roman General Marcus Claudius Marcellus took Syracuse in the summer of 212 B.C. Archimedes was killed during the attack. The plundered artworks taken back to Rome from Syracuse lit the initial spark of Greek influence on Roman culture.GI114972. Bronze AE 12, Calciatti II 223, SNG Cop 908, SNG München 1494, HGC 2 1529 (R1), SNG ANS -, F, green patina, earthen deposits, weight 1.772 g, maximum diameter 12.2 mm, die axis 0o, Syracuse mint, 212 - c. 189 B.C.; obverse bearded and laureate head of Asklepios right; reverse ΣYPAKOΣIΩN, serpent coiled around a staff; ex Classical Numismatic Group mail bid 78 (14 May 2008), lot 124, (part of); first example of this type handled by FORVM; scarce; $80.00 (€75.20)
Rhodos, Carian Islands, 190 - 85 B.C.
In 190 B.C. a fleet from Rhodes defeated the Seleucid fleet under command of the fugitive Carthaginian general Hannibal. Rhodes was rewarded with territory and enhanced status, but clearly Rome now ruled the world and autonomy was dependent upon good relations. Those good graces evaporated in the wake of the Third Macedonian War. Rhodes had remained scrupulously neutral, but some Senators felt she had been too friendly with the defeated King Perseus. Some even proposed declaring war. In 164, Rhodes became a permanent ally of Rome, ending an independence that no longer had meaning. It was said that the Romans ultimately turned against the Rhodians because the islanders were the only people they had encountered who were more arrogant than themselves.
Although the exergue area on our coin is not clear, the obverse is identical to a specimen in the BnF (Fonds général 1605 = HN Online T546.10). The style of the latter's reverse is also very similar. GB114979. Bronze AE 16, HN Online T546.10 (same obv. die); SNG Keckman I 727 & 729-730; SNG Ashmolean XI 690-692; SNG Cop 797; BMC Caria p. 250, 225; HGC 6 1475 (S), F, some striking weakness, good centering on slightly irregular flan with brushing of reddish sediments, weight 1.600 g, maximum diameter 16.0 mm, die axis 0o, Rhodos (Rhodes, Greece) mint, 190 - 85 B.C.; obverse laureate head of Zeus right; reverse rose surmounted by radiate solar disk, bud and/or branch on either side and the abbreviated ethnic P-O (obscured); scarce; $65.00 (€61.10)
Macedonian Kingdom, Philip III Arrhidaeus and Alexander IV, 323 - 317 B.C.
Struck shortly after Alexander the Great's death during the joint reign of Philip III, Alexander's brother, and the infant king Alexander IV, Alexander's son with the Bactrian princess Roxana. The two were made joint kings by Alexander's generals who only intended to use them as pawns. Philip III was imprisoned upon his return to Macedonia, and in 317 B.C. he was executed under orders from Olympias. Alexander IV and his mother Roxana were executed by the boy's regent, Kassander, in 311 B.C. Sardes also struck coins during this period in the name of Philip. Traditionally coins naming Alexander have been attributed to Alexander III the Great, but the Alexander named on this coin was more likely the infant son of Roxana, Alexander IV.GS112924. Silver drachm, ADM I, series XIV, 288; Price 2626; Müller Alexander 521; SNG Cop 961; SNG Munchen 635; SNG Berry 262; SNG Alpha Bank -, aVF, weight 4.188 g, maximum diameter 16.0 mm, die axis 0o, Lydia, Sardes (Sart, Turkey) mint, c. 320 - 319 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse AΛEΞANΔPOY, Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on throne without back, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, right leg drawn back, feet on footstool, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, bee head upward above TI left; $130.00 (€122.20)
Byzantine Empire, Duchy of Trebizond, Theodore Gabras, c. 1075 - 1126 A.D.
The general Theodore Gabras captured Trebizond and ruled it and the theme of Chaldia as a virtually autonomous state (c. 1081 - 1098). He was celebrated for his martial exploits, and was later venerated as a saint in the region. Following the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the region became the center of the new Empire of Trebizond which survived until falling to the Ottomans in 1461.BZ113699. Bronze follis, Bendall Trebizond, issue 12, pl. 7, 15 - 16; DOC IV Trebizond p. 432, 12; undertype: Bendall Trebizond, issue 11, pl. 6, 13, aVF, strong undertype effects resulting in an obscure reverse type, encrustations, porosity, clipped polygonal flan with 8 sides (as minted), weight 3.411 g, maximum diameter 23.5 mm, die axis 180o, Trebizond (Trabzon, Turkey) mint, reign of Alexius I Comnenus, c. 1100 A.D.; obverse facing bust of Christ, bearded and nimbate, larger pellet with four smaller pellets around in each limb of cross, wearing tunic and himation, Gospels in right hand, IC - XC (Greek abbreviation: Ihsoús Xristós - Jesus Christ) across field; reverse bust of St. Demetrius, beardless, nimbate, wearing tunic, breastplate and sagion, spear in right hand over right shoulder, Θ left, Δ/I/M in a column right (Greek abbreviation: St. Demetrius); first specimen of this type handled by FORVM, zero sales of this type listed on Coin Archives in the last two decades; extremely rare; $200.00 (€188.00)
Byzantine Empire, Duchy of Chaldia, Gregorios Taronites, c. 1103 - 1106 A.D., In the Name of Alexius I Comnenus
Gregorios Taronites was made Dux of Trebizond by Alexius I after military successes against the Seljuks. He almost immediately rebelled. While the emperor sought a diplomatic solution, Taronites went so far as to publicly insult the imperial family. Captured, Alexius intended to have him blinded but he was granted clemency and instead paraded through the streets of Constantinople and then thrown into the Prison of Anemas. At first, Gregory remained obstinate and continued to hurl abuse on the emperor from his cell, but was persuaded to recant and beseech the emperor's pardon. In the end, he was not only released and pardoned, but accorded even higher honors.BZ113700. Bronze follis, Bendall Trebizond p. 133, 13B & pl. 7, 19; DOC IV-1 p. 433, 13b; Schlumberger pl. ii, 5; Hendy -; Wroth BMC -; Ratto -, aVF, off center, overstruck (on Alexius I anonymous Class J?) with strong undertype effects, pitting, weight 4.175 g, maximum diameter 27.2 mm, die axis 0o, Trebizond (Trabzon, Turkey) mint, reign of Alexius I Comnenus, c. 1103 - 1106 A.D.; obverse facing bust of Christ, bearded and nimbate, wearing tunic and himation, Gospels in right hand, IC - XC (Greek abbreviation: Ihsoús Xristós - Jesus Christ) across field; reverse Latin cross on three steps, globule at end of each arm, A-Λ / B - P (Greek abbreviation: Αλεξιο Βασιλευς Ρωμαιων - Alexius king of the Romans) in angles; rare; $160.00 (€150.40)
Byzantine Empire, Michael VII Ducas, 24 October 1071 - 24 March 1078 A.D.
Sear notes the type is frequently overstruck on folles of Romanus IV, SBCV 1866.BZ112960. Bronze follis, DOC III-2 14a; Wroth BMC 24; Morrisson BnF 55/Cp/AE/03; Ratto 2041; Berk 958; Sommer 55.8; SBCV 1878, VF, overstruck, rev. off center, edge split, weight 5.414 g, maximum diameter 27.2 mm, die axis 180o, Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) mint, obverse bust of Christ facing, cross behind head, wearing pallium and colobium, raising right in benediction, star on cover of Gospels in left hand, IC - XC (Greek abbreviation: Ihsoús Xristós - Jesus Christ) flanking above stars; reverse + MIXAHΛ RACIΛ O Δ, bearded bust facing, wearing crown and loros, labarum in right hand, globus cruciger in left hand; $70.00 (€65.80)
Page created in 2.86 seconds.
