| Image search results - "1985" |
PALEO-AKKADIAN CUNEIFORM TABLET RELATING TO BARLEY FROM LUGALNITAZI
CIRCA 2300 B.C.
1 3/8 in. (20.1 grams, 36 mm wide).
A broadly pillow-shaped clay tablet bearing cuneiform text to one face, a Paleo-Akkadian receipt (from Adab?): barley from Lugalnitazi received by the men of the kitchens. Quant.Geek
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055. Andronicus I, 1183-1185. BI Trachy.Obv. Mary crowning Andronicus
Rev. Christ
S1985LordBest
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0680 Hadrian Sestertius Roma 119-23 AD Spes Reference.
Strack 576; RIC II, 612b; Banti 595; RIC 680
Bust B1 crop
Obv. IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG
Laureate, cuirassed bust cropped of its pteryges (thunderbolt on leather strap)
Rev. P M TR P COS III S C
Spes advancing left, holding flower and hitching robe
28.15 gr
33 mm
6h
From the J. Eric Engstrom Collection. Ex Lepczyk 61 (13 March 1985), lot 365; Vatican Museum duplicate from St. John’s College Collection, no. 429.okidoki
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1. Constantine I (AD 307/310-337)Denomination: AR Half Argenteus
Date: AD 306-307
Obv: IMP CONSTANTINVS AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust right, slight drapery on left shoulder.
Rev: VIRTVS MILITVM, four-turreted camp gate; no doors; PTR.
Diameter: 15mm
Weight: 1.6 grams
Mint: Trier mint, 1st officina
Ex Praefectus Coins
Ex Gorny & Mosch Auction 276 (19 April 2021), lot 645.
Ex Credit Suisse Bern Auction 4 (4 December 1985), lot 624.
Ex British Museum CollectionRomancollector
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1985 ANDRONICUS Trachy SBCV-1985Simon
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1989 ELIZABETH II DECIMAL CuNi LARGE FIFTY PENCEObverse: ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D.1989. Diademed bust of Elizabeth II facing right.
Reverse: FIFTY PENCE. Britannia seated facing right, left hand holding laurel branch, right holding trident and resting on shield; recumbent lion behind at her feet; 50 in exergue.
Proof issue struck from polished dies with frosted highlights.
Diameter 30mm | Weight 13.5gms
SPINK: 4351 PROOF (Large module)
This "Third Portrait" of Elizabeth II was Raphael Maklouf's first coin design and it was used on the coinage from 1985 to 1997 inclusive. Raphael Maklouf was born in Jerusalem in 1937 and came to the United Kingdom after the Second World War. The Royal diadem which the Queen is shown wearing on this coin is the one she wears on her way to and from the State Opening of Parliament.*Alex
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1997 ELIZABETH II DECIMAL CuNi SMALL FIFTY PENCEObverse: ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D.1997. Diademed bust of Elizabeth II facing right.
Reverse: FIFTY PENCE. Britannia seated facing right, left hand holding laurel branch, right holding trident and resting on shield; recumbent lion behind at her feet; 50 in exergue.
Proof issue struck from polished dies with frosted highlights.
Diameter 27.3mm | Weight 8.0gms
SPINK: 4351 PROOF (Small module)
This "Third Portrait" of Elizabeth II was Raphael Maklouf's first coin design and it was used on the coinage from 1985 to 1997 inclusive. Raphael Maklouf was born in Jerusalem in 1937 and came to the United Kingdom after the Second World War. The Royal diadem which the Queen is shown wearing on this coin is the one she wears on her way to and from the State Opening of Parliament.*Alex
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32. Myrina.Tetradrachm, ca 160 - 150 BC, minted in Myrina.
Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo of Grynion.
Reverse: ΜΥΡΙΝΑΙΩΝ / Apollo standing, holding patera and laurel branch with fillets, omphalos and amphora at his feet; all within laurel wreath. Monogram at left.
16.49 gm., 32 mm.
Sacks #20 . 20g.
See K.S. Sacks, "The Wreathed Coins of Aeolian Myrina," ANS Museum Notes #30 (1985), p. 1-43.
According to Sacks' classification, the monogram makes this issue #20. The obverse die is also #20. A coin with these two dies is pictured as 20 . 20g on plate #7. The identifying features of the obverse die are the "4'th strand of hair" (actually a die flaw) up under Apollo's jaw and the several cracks in the die.Callimachus
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3962 SAMARIA, Caesarea Maritima. Hadrian AE 15 LionReference.
RPC III, 3962; Kadman 30; BMC p. 21, 76 and pl. III.9; CNP II p. 102, 30; De Saulcy p. 123, 5corr. (Av.); Lindgren & Kovacs 2415; SNG ANS 773.
Obv. [IMP TR] [HAD]RIANO CA [A]
Laureate head right.
Rev. C I F A C (Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta Caesarea)
Lion walking right; above, serpent
2.47 gr
15 mm
12h
Note.
Ex Schulten, Auction, Cologne, 22-23 April 1985, lot 467; ex Frank Sternberg, Auction 33, Zurich, 18-19 September 1997, lot 87, A.K. Collection: Coin ID C011 from Lot no. 559okidoki
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710a, Vespasian, 1 July 69 - 24 June 79 A.D.Silver denarius, RIC II, 10, aVF, 3.5 g, 18mm, Rome mint, 69-71 AD; Obverse: IMP CAESA[R] VESPASIANV[S AV]G - Laureate head right; Reverse: COS ITER [T]R POT - Pax seated left holding branch and caduceus. Ex Imperial Coins.
De Imperatoribus Romanis:
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (A.D. 69-79)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary
Introduction
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (b. A.D. 9, d. A.D. 79, emperor A.D. 69-79) restored peace and stability to an empire in disarray following the death of Nero in A.D. 68. In the process he established the Flavian dynasty as the legitimate successor to the Imperial throne. Although we lack many details about the events and chronology of his reign, Vespasian provided practical leadership and a return to stable government - accomplishments which, when combined with his other achievements, make his emperorship particularly notable within the history of the Principate.
Early Life and Career
Vespasian was born at Falacrina near Sabine Reate on 17 November, A.D. 9, the son of T. Flavius Sabinus, a successful tax collector and banker, and Vespasia Polla. Both parents were of equestrian status. Few details of his first fifteen years survive, yet it appears that his father and mother were often away from home on business for long periods. As a result, Vespasian's early education became the responsibility of his paternal grandmother, Tertulla. [[1]] In about A.D. 25 Vespasian assumed the toga virilis and later accepted the wearing of the latus clavus, and with it the senatorial path that his older brother, T. Flavius Sabinus, had already chosen. [[2]] Although many of the particulars are lacking, the posts typically occupied by one intent upon a senatorial career soon followed: a military tribunate in Thrace, perhaps for three or four years; a quaestorship in Crete-Cyrene; and the offices of aedile and praetor, successively, under the emperor Gaius. [[3]]
It was during this period that Vespasian married Flavia Domitilla. Daughter of a treasury clerk and former mistress of an African knight, Flavia lacked the social standing and family connections that the politically ambitious usually sought through marriage. In any case, the couple produced three children, a daughter, also named Flavia Domitilla, and two sons, the future emperors Titus and Domitian . Flavia did not live to witness her husband's emperorship and after her death Vespasian returned to his former mistress Caenis, who had been secretary to Antonia (daughter of Marc Antony and mother of Claudius). Caenis apparently exerted considerable influence over Vespasian, prompting Suetonius to assert that she remained his wife in all but name, even after he became emperor. [[4]]
Following the assassination of Gaius on 24 January, A.D. 41, Vespasian advanced rapidly, thanks in large part to the new princeps Claudius, whose favor the Flavians had wisely secured with that of Antonia, the mother of Germanicus, and of Claudius' freedmen, especially Narcissus. [[5]] The emperor soon dispatched Vespasian to Argentoratum (Strasbourg) as legatus legionis II Augustae, apparently to prepare the legion for the invasion of Britain. Vespasian first appeared at the battle of Medway in A.D. 43, and soon thereafter led his legion across the south of England, where he engaged the enemy thirty times in battle, subdued two tribes, and conquered the Isle of Wight. According to Suetonius, these operations were conducted partly under Claudius and partly under Vespasian's commander, Aulus Plautius. Vespasian's contributions, however, did not go unnoticed; he received the ornamenta triumphalia and two priesthoods from Claudius for his exploits in Britain. [[6]]
By the end of A.D. 51 Vespasian had reached the consulship, the pinnacle of a political career at Rome. For reasons that remain obscure he withdrew from political life at this point, only to return when chosen proconsul of Africa about A.D. 63-64. His subsequent administration of the province was marked by severity and parsimony, earning him a reputation for being scrupulous but unpopular. [[7]] Upon completion of his term, Vespasian returned to Rome where, as a senior senator, he became a man of influence in the emperor Nero's court. [[8]] Important enough to be included on Nero's tour of Greece in A.D. 66-67, Vespasian soon found himself in the vicinity of increasing political turbulence in the East. The situation would prove pivotal in advancing his career.
Judaea and the Accession to Power
In response to rioting in Caesarea and Jerusalem that had led to the slaughter in the latter city of Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers, Nero granted to Vespasian in A.D. 66 a special command in the East with the objective of settling the revolt in Judaea. By spring A.D. 67, with 60,000 legionaries, auxiliaries, and allies under his control, Vespasian set out to subdue Galilee and then to cut off Jerusalem. Success was quick and decisive. By October all of Galilee had been pacified and plans for the strategic encirclement of Jerusalem were soon formed. [[9]] Meanwhile, at the other end of the empire, the revolts of Gaius Iulius Vindex, governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, and Servius Sulpicius Galba , governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, had brought Nero's reign to the brink of collapse. The emperor committed suicide in June, A.D. 68, thereby ensuring chaos for the next eighteen months, as first Galba and then Marcus Salvius Otho and Aulus Vitellius acceded to power. Each lacked broad-based military and senatorial support; each would be violently deposed in turn. [[10]]
Still occupied with plans against Jerusalem, Vespasian swore allegiance to each emperor. Shortly after Vitellius assumed power in spring, A.D. 69, however, Vespasian met on the border of Judaea and Syria with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria, and after a series of private and public consultations, the two decided to revolt. [[11]] On July 1, at the urging of Tiberius Alexander, prefect of Egypt, the legions of Alexandria declared for Vespasian, as did the legions of Judaea two days later. By August all of Syria and the Danube legions had done likewise. Vespasian next dispatched Mucianus to Italy with 20,000 troops, while he set out from Syria to Alexandria in order to control grain shipments for the purpose of starving Italy into submission. [[12]] The siege of Jerusalem he placed in the hands of his son Titus.
Meanwhile, the Danubian legions, unwilling to wait for Mucianus' arrival, began their march against Vitellius ' forces. The latter army, suffering from a lack of discipline and training, and unaccustomed to the heat of Rome, was defeated at Cremona in late October. [[13]] By mid-December the Flavian forces had reached Carsulae, 95 kilometers north of Rome on the Flaminian Road, where the Vitellians, with no further hope of reinforcements, soon surrendered. At Rome, unable to persuade his followers to accept terms for his abdication, Vitellius was in peril. On the morning of December 20 the Flavian army entered Rome. By that afternoon, the emperor was dead. [[14]]
Tacitus records that by December 22, A.D. 69, Vespasian had been given all the honors and privileges usually granted to emperors. Even so, the issue remains unclear, owing largely to a surviving fragment of an enabling law, the lex de imperio Vespasiani, which conferred powers, privileges, and exemptions, most with Julio-Claudian precedents, on the new emperor. Whether the fragment represents a typical granting of imperial powers that has uniquely survived in Vespasian's case, or is an attempt to limit or expand such powers, remains difficult to know. In any case, the lex sanctioned all that Vespasian had done up to its passing and gave him authority to act as he saw fit on behalf of the Roman people. [[15]]
What does seem clear is that Vespasian felt the need to legitimize his new reign with vigor. He zealously publicized the number of divine omens that predicted his accession and at every opportunity he accumulated multiple consulships and imperial salutations. He also actively promoted the principle of dynastic succession, insisting that the emperorship would fall to his son. The initiative was fulfilled when Titus succeeded his father in A.D. 79.[[16]]
Emperorship
Upon his arrival in Rome in late summer, A.D. 70, Vespasian faced the daunting task of restoring a city and a government ravaged by the recent civil wars. Although many particulars are missing, a portrait nevertheles emerges of a ruler conscientiously committed to the methodical renewal of both city and empire. Concerning Rome itself, the emperor encouraged rebuilding on vacated lots, restored the Capitol (burned in A.D. 69), and also began work on several new buildings: a temple to the deified Claudius on the Caelian Hill, a project designed to identify Vespasian as a legitimate heir to the Julio-Claudians, while distancing himself from Nero ; a temple of Peace near the Forum; and the magnificent Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre), located on the site of the lake of Nero 's Golden House. [[17]]
Claiming that he needed forty thousand million sesterces for these projects and for others aimed at putting the state on more secure footing, Vespasian is said to have revoked various imperial immunities, manipulated the supply of certain commodities to inflate their price, and increased provincial taxation. [[18]] The measures are consistent with his characterization in the sources as both obdurate and avaricious. There were occasional political problems as well: Helvidius Priscus, an advocate of senatorial independence and a critic of the Flavian regime from the start, was exiled after A.D. 75 and later executed; Marcellus Eprius and A. Alienus Caecina were condemned by Titus for conspiracy, the former committing suicide, the latter executed in A.D. 79.
As Suetonius claims, however, in financial matters Vespasian always put revenues to the best possible advantage, regardless of their source. Tacitus, too, offers a generally favorable assessment, citing Vespasian as the first man to improve after becoming emperor. [[19]] Thus do we find the princeps offering subventions to senators not possessing the property qualifications of their rank, restoring many cities throughout the empire, and granting state salaries for the first time to teachers of Latin and Greek rhetoric. To enhance Roman economic and social life even further, he encouraged theatrical productions by building a new stage for the Theatre of Marcellus, and he also put on lavish state dinners to assist the food trades. [[20]]
In other matters the emperor displayed similar concern. He restored the depleted ranks of the senatorial and equestrian orders with eligible Italian and provincial candidates and reduced the backlog of pending court cases at Rome. Vespasian also re-established discipline in the army, while punishing or dismissing large numbers of Vitellius ' men. [[21]]
Beyond Rome, the emperor increased the number of legions in the East and continued the process of imperial expansion by the annexation of northern England, the pacification of Wales, and by advances into Scotland and southwest Germany between the Rhine and the Danube. Vespasian also conferred rights on communities abroad, especially in Spain, where the granting of Latin rights to all native communities contributed to the rapid Romanization of that province during the Imperial period. [[22]]
Death and Assessment
In contrast to his immediate imperial predecessors, Vespasian died peacefully - at Aquae Cutiliae near his birthplace in Sabine country on 23 June, A.D. 79, after contracting a brief illness. The occasion is said to have inspired his deathbed quip: "Oh my, I must be turning into a god!" [[23]] In fact, public deification did follow his death, as did his internment in the Mausoleum of Augustus alongside the Julio-Claudians.
A man of strict military discipline and simple tastes, Vespasian proved to be a conscientious and generally tolerant administrator. More importantly, following the upheavals of A.D. 68-69, his reign was welcome for its general tranquility and restoration of peace. In Vespasian Rome found a leader who made no great breaks with tradition, yet his ability ro rebuild the empire and especially his willingness to expand the composition of the governing class helped to establish a positive working model for the "good emperors" of the second century.
Bibliography
Since the scholarship on Vespasian is more comprehensive than can be treated here, the works listed below are main accounts or bear directly upon issues discussed in the entry above. A comprehensive modern anglophone study of this emperor is yet to be produced.
Atti congresso internazionale di studi Flaviani, 2 vols. Rieti, 1983.
Atti congresso internazionale di studi Vespasianei, 2 vols. Rieti, 1981.
Bosworth, A.B. "Vespasian and the Provinces: Some Problems of the Early 70s A.D." Athenaeum 51 (1973): 49-78.
Brunt, P. A. "Lex de imperio Vespasiani." JRS (67) 1977: 95-116.
D'Espèrey, S. Franchet. "Vespasien, Titus et la littérature." ANRW II.32.5: 3048-3086.
Dudley, D. and Webster, G. The Roman Conquest of Britain. London, 1965.
Gonzalez, J. "The Lex Irnitana: A New Copy of the Flavian Municipal Law." JRS 76 (1986): 147-243.
Grant, M. The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Rome, 31 B.C. - A.D. 476. New York, 1985.
Homo, L. Vespasien, l'Empereur du bons sens (69-79 ap. J.-C.). Paris, 1949.
Levi, M.A. "I Flavi." ANRW II.2: 177-207.
McCrum, M. and Woodhead, A. G. Select Documents of the Principates of the Flavian Emperors Including the Year of the Revolution. Cambridge, 1966.
Nicols, John. Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae. Wiesbaden, 1978.
Scarre, C. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors. The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome. London, 1995.
Suddington, D. B. The Development of the Roman Auxiliary Forces from Caesar to Vespasian, 49 B.C. - A.D. 79. Harare: U. of Zimbabwe, 1982.
Syme, R. Tacitus. Oxford, 1958.
Wardel, David. "Vespasian, Helvidius Priscus and the Restoration of the Capitol." Historia 45 (1996): 208-222.
Wellesley, K. The Long Year: A.D. 69. Bristol, 1989, 2nd ed.
Notes
[[1]] Suet. Vesp. 2.1. Suetonius remains the major source but see also Tac. Hist. 2-5; Cass. Dio 65; Joseph. BJ 3-4.
[[2]] Suetonius (Vesp. 2.1) claims that Vespasian did not accept the latus clavus, the broad striped toga worn by one aspiring to a senatorial career, immediately. The delay, however, was perhaps no more than three years. See J. Nicols, Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae (Wiesbaden, 1978), 2.
[[3]] Military tribunate and quaestorship: Suet. Vesp. 2.3; aedileship: ibid., 5.3, in which Gaius, furious that Vespasian had not kept the streets clean, as was his duty, ordered some soldiers to load him with filth;,they complied by stuffing his toga with as much as it could hold. See also Dio 59.12.2-3; praetorship: Suet. Vesp. 2.3, in which Vespasian is depicted as one of Gaius' leading adulators, an account consistent with Tacitus' portrayal (Hist 1.50.4; 2.5.1) of his early career. For a more complete discussion of these posts and attendant problems of dating, see Nicols, Vespasian, 2-7.
[[4]] Marriage and Caenis: Suet. Vesp. 3; Cass. Dio 65.14.
[[5]] Nicols, Vespasian, 12-39.
[[6]] Suet. Vesp. 4.1 For additional details on Vespasian's exploits in Britain, see D. Dudley and G. Webster, The Roman Conquest of Britain (London, 1965), 55 ff., 98.
[[7]] Concerning Vespasian's years between his consulship and proconsulship, see Suet. Vesp. 4.2 and Nicols, Vespasian, 9. On his unpopularity in Africa, see Suet. Vesp. 4.3, an account of a riot at Hadrumentum, where he was once pelted with turnips. In recording that Africa supported Vitellius in A.D. 69, Tacitus too suggests popular dissatisfaction with Vespasian's proconsulship. See Hist. 2.97.2.
[[8]] This despite the fact that the sources record two rebukes of Vespasian, one for extorting money from a young man seeking career advancement (Suet. Vesp. 4.3), the other for either leaving the room or dozing off during one of the emperor's recitals (Suet. Vesp. 4.4 and 14, which places the transgression in Greece; Tac. (Ann. 16.5.3), who makes Rome and the Quinquennial Games of A.D. 65 the setting; A. Braithwaite, C. Suetoni Tranquilli Divus Vespasianus, Oxford, 1927, 30, who argues for both Greece and Rome).
[[9]] Subjugation of Galilee: Joseph. BJ 3.65-4.106; siege of Jerusalem: ibid., 4.366-376, 414.
[[10]] Revolt of Vindex: Suet. Nero 40; Tac. Ann. 14.4; revolt of Galba: Suet. Galba 10; Plut. Galba, 4-5; suicide of Nero: Suet. Nero 49; Cass. Dio 63.29.2. For the most complete account of the period between Nero's death and the accession of Vespasian, see K. Wellesley, The Long Year: A.D. 69, 2nd. ed. (Bristol, 1989).
[[11]] Tac. Hist. 2.76.
[[12]] Troops in support of Vespasian: Suet. Vit. 15; Mucianus and his forces: Tac. Hist. 2.83; Vespasian and grain shipments: Joseph. BJ 4.605 ff.; see also Tac. Hist. 3.48, on Vespasian's possible plan to shut off grain shipments to Italy from Carthage as well.
[[13]] On Vitellius' army and its lack of discipline, see Tac. Hist. 2.93-94; illness of army: ibid., 2.99.1; Cremona: ibid., 3.32-33.
[[14]] On Vitellius' last days, see Tac. Hist. 3.68-81. On the complicated issue of Vitellius' death date, see L. Holzapfel, "Römische Kaiserdaten," Klio 13 (1913): 301.
[[15]] Honors, etc. Tac. Hist. 4.3. For more on the lex de imperio Vespasiani, see P. A. Brunt, "Lex de imperio Vespasiani," JRS (67) 1977: 95-116.
[[16]] Omens: Suet. Vesp. 5; consulships and honors: ibid., 8; succession of sons: ibid., 25.
[[17]] On Vespasian's restoration of Rome, see Suet. Vesp. 9; Cass. Dio 65.10; D. Wardel, "Vespasian, Helvidius Priscus and the Restoration of the Capitol," Historia 45 (1996): 208-222.
[[18]] Suet. Vesp. 16.
[[19]] Ibid.; Tac. Hist. 1.50.
[[20]] Suet. Vesp. 17-19.
[[21]] Ibid., 8-10.
[[22]] On Vespasian's exploits in Britain, see esp. Tac., Agricola, eds. R. M. Ogilvie and I. A. Richmond (1967), and W. S. Hanson, Agricola and the Conquest of the North (1987); on the granting of Latin rights in Spain, see, e.g., J. Gonzalez, "The Lex Irnitana: a New Copy of the Flavian Municipal Law." JRS 76 (1986): 147-243.
[[23]] For this witticism and other anecdotes concerning Vespasian's sense of humor, see Suet. Vesp. 23.
Copyright (C) 1998, John Donahue. Published on De Imperatoribus Romanis, an Online Encyplopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families.
http://www.roman-emperors.org/vespasia.htm
Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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Achaemenid Empire. Siglos of Lydia. Asia Minor. Persia, Achaemenid Empire. 450-420 BC. Artaxerxes I-Darius II. (5.35 gm, 9.9mm), AR Siglos, Sardis Running/kneeling beardless king right, wearing kidaris & kandys, holding bow & daggar, quiver at shoulder. To right, countermark: head of an eagle right. / Oblong incuse punch. gF. Bt. Centurian Coins 1999. ATEC 1983-1985; Babelon Traite pl.87 #18-19; Carradice 43-49, Type IVa, GRPC Lydia S28; Klein 763; SNG Kayhan #1031-1033, 1746-1748. cf Leu Numismatik Web Auction 15 #873 (similar c/m).Anaximander
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Andronicus AE Trachy S-1985 DOC 30 var BFull length figure of Virgin nimbate. Wearing tunic ans maphorion standing on gias holding nimbate Christ at breast.
REV Full lenghth figure of emperor on l. being crowned by Christ bearded and nimbate. Emperor wears stemma , divitision collar piece and jeweled loros of simplified type holds in r. hand labarum headed sceptre and in l. Gl Cr. Christ wears tunic and kolobion holds gospels in l. hand. Var B Three jewels between colar piece and waist. 30mmSimon
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Andronicus AE Trachy SBVC-1985 DOC 30
Full length figure of Virgin nimbate. Wearing tunic ans maphorion standing on gias holding nimbate Christ at breast.
REV Full lenghth figure of emperor on l. being crowned by Christ bearded and nimbate. Emperor wears stemma , divitision collar piece and jeweled loros of simplified type holds in r. hand labarum headed sceptre and in l. Gl Cr. Christ wears tunic and kolobion holds gospels in l. hand. Var B Three jewels between colar piece and waistSimon
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Andronicus I Comnenus (1183 - 1185 A.D.)Billon Trachy
O: MP - ΘV. The Theotokos (Virgin Mary) standing facing on dais, holding bust of the infant Christ.
R: ANΔPONIKOC ΔECΠOTHC / IC - XC. Andronicus standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger, being crowned by Christ to right, holding Gospels.
Constantinople Mint
2.95
sb 1985Mat
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Andronicus I, SBCV 1985Nimbate standing and facing figure of Virgin holding icon of head of infant Christ, MV - ΘV to sides
[ANΔPONIKOC ΔECΠOTHC]
Standing facing figure of Andronicus with forked beard being crowned by nimbate, bearded figure of Christ, IC - XC to sides of head
Constantinople
AE trachy, 32mm, 2.69gnovacystis
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ANTONINUS PIUSAR denarius. 3.46 gr. Bare headed bust right, slight drapery on shoulders. DIVVS ANTONINVS. / Column surmounted by statue of Pius holding eagle and sceptre.Fencing in front. DIVO PIO. RIC III 440 (M.Aurelius). RSC 353.
CNG EA107, Lot 177. Coin Galleries (7 August 1985) lot 395.
benito
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ANTONINUS PIUSAR denarius. 3.46 gr. Bare headed bust right, slight drapery on shoulders. DIVVS ANTONINVS. / Column surmounted by statue of Pius holding eagle and sceptre.Fencing in front. DIVO PIO. RIC III 440 (M.Aurelius). RSC 353.
CNG EA107, Lot 177. Coin Galleries (7 August 1985) lot 395
benito
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Antoninus Pius. Thrace, Philippopolis; Ares
In Greek mythology, Ares ("battle strife") is the god of war and son of Zeus (king of the gods) and Hera. The Romans identified Mars, the god of war (whom they had inherited from the Etruscans) with Hellenic Ares, but among them, Mars stood in much higher esteem. Among the Hellenes, Ares was always mistrusted: his birthplace and true home was placed far off, among the barbarous and warlike Thracians (Iliad 13.301; Ovid); to Thrace he withdrew after he was discovered on a couch with Aphrodite ( Odyssey 8.361).
Although important in poetry, Ares was only rarely the recipient of cult worship, save at Sparta, where he was propriated before battle, and in the founding myth of Thebes, and he appeared in few myths (Burkert 1985, p.169). At Sparta there was a statue of the god in chains, to show that the spirit of war and victory was never to leave the city. At Sparta young dogs and even humans were sacrificed to him. The temple to Ares in the agora of Athens that Pausanias saw in the 2nd century AD had only been moved and rededicated there during the time of Augustus; in essence it was a Roman temple to Mars. The Areopagus, the "hill of Ares" where Paul preached, is sited at some distance from the Acropolis; from archaic times it was a site of trials. Its connection with Ares, perhaps based on a false etymology, may be purely etiological. Ares s throne at Mount Olympus is said to be covered with human skin.
Antoninus Pius AE18 of Philippopolis, Thrace. AVT AI ADRIA ANTWNEIN, bare head right / FILIPPOPOLEITWN, Ares standing left, holding spear in left hand, shield leaning against him at right. BMC 10.
ecoli
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BahamasKm2 - 1 cent - 1966
Km59 - 1 cent - 1974
Km61 - 10 Cents - 1987
Km6 - 25 Cents - 1966
Km63 - 25 Cents - 1985
Daniel F
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Baktria, Antiochos I Antiochos I. 280-261 BC. AE Dichalkoi (5.77 gm, 20mm, 6h) or Denomination C. Head of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet. / Winged Nike stdg l., holding out wreath in r. hand, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ. VF / F. SNG ANS 9 #68; HGC 11 (Syria) #190; SNG Spaer #245-256; P.Bernard Monnaies hors trésors MDAFA 28 (1985) #72.Anaximander
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Balbinus AR DenariusBalbinus AR Denarius. April - June 238 AD. Rome mint. IMP C D CAEL BALBINVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / P M TR P COS II PP, Emperor, togate, standing l., holding branch and parazonium. RIC 5
RARE
EXTREMELY FINE
Ex. Münzen & Medaillen AG Basel - Fixed price list 473 (1985), 39.
Ex. Hess-Divo 2007Rich Beale
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Billion Aspron Trachy Andronicus I SB 1985Obverse: The virgin stg. facing on dais, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium, she hold before her nimbate head of the infant Christ facing to l.
Reverse: AN(delta)PONIKOC (delta)ECIIOTHC or similar. Christ bearded and with nimbus cross or r. and Andronicus with forked beard on l., both stg. facing. Christ wears pallium and colobium holds book of gospels in l. hand, and with his r. crowns the emperor who wears divitision and loros. Holds labarum and gl. cr., between their heads IC ro r., XC.
Mint: Constantinople
Date 1183-1185 CE
Sear 1985
27mm 4.25gmwileyc
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Billion Aspron Trachy Andronicus I SB 1985Obverse: The virgin stg. facing on dais, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium, she hold before her nimbate head of the infant Christ facing to l.
Reverse: AN(delta)PONIKOC (delta)ECIIOTHC or similar. Christ bearded and with nimbus cross or r. and Andronicus with forked beard on l., both stg. facing. Christ wears pallium and colobium holds book of gospels in l. hand, and with his r. crowns the emperor who wears divitision and loros. Holds labarum and gl. cr., between their heads IC ro r., XC.
Mint: Constantinople
Date 1183-1185 CE
Sear 1985
27mm 4.43 gmwileyc
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Billion Aspron Trachy Andronicus I SB 1985Obverse: The virgin stg. facing on dais, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium, she hold before her nimbate head of the infant Christ facing to l.
Reverse: AN(delta)PONIKOC (delta)ECIIOTHC or similar. Christ bearded and with nimbus cross or r. and Andronicus with forked beard on l., both stg. facing. Christ wears pallium and colobium holds book of gospels in l. hand, and with his r. crowns the emperor who wears divitision and loros. Holds labarum and gl. cr., between their heads IC ro r., XC.
Mint: Constantinople
Date 1183-1185 CE
Sear 1985
29mm 3.00 gmwileyc
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Billion Aspron Trachy Andronicus I SB 1985Obverse: The virgin stg. facing on dais, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium, she hold before her nimbate head of the infant Christ facing to l.
Reverse: AN(delta)PONIKOC (delta)ECIIOTHC or similar. Christ bearded and with nimbus cross or r. and Andronicus with forked beard on l., both stg. facing. Christ wears pallium and colobium holds book of gospels in l. hand, and with his r. crowns the emperor who wears divitision and loros. Holds labarum and gl. cr., between their heads IC ro r., XC.
Mint: Constantinople
Date 1183-1185 CE
Sear 1985
30mm 4.24 gmwileyc
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BotswanaKm3 - 1 Thebe (Turako) - 1989 (1976-1991)
Km14 - 2 Thebe - 1981 (1981-1985)
Km4a.2 - 5 Thebe - 1996 (1996)
Km26 - 5 Thebe - 1998 (1998-2007)Daniel F
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Byzantine Empire: Andronicus I Commenos (1183-1185) Trachy, Constantinople (Sear-1985)Obv: MP - ΘV. The Theotokos (Virgin Mary) standing facing on dais, holding bust of the infant Christ.
Rev: ANΔPONIKOC ΔECΠOTHC / IC - XC. Andronicus standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger, being crowned by Christ to right, holding GospelsQuant.Geek
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Byzantine Empire: Andronicus I Commenos (1183-1185) Trachy, Constantinople (Sear-1985)Obv: MP - ΘV. The Theotokos (Virgin Mary) standing facing on dais, holding bust of the infant Christ.
Rev: ANΔPONIKOC ΔECΠOTHC / IC - XC. Andronicus standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger, being crowned by Christ to right, holding Gospels Quant.Geek
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Byzantine Empire: Andronicus I Commenos (1183-1185) Trachy, Constantinople (Sear-1985)Obv: MP - ΘV. The Theotokos (Virgin Mary) standing facing on dais, holding bust of the infant Christ.
Rev: ANΔPONIKOC ΔECΠOTHC / IC - XC. Andronicus standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger, being crowned by Christ to right, holding Gospels Quant.Geek
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Calabria, Taras AR Nomos circa 290-2817.72 g
Helmeted horseman galloping l., holding spears and shield decorated with dolphin; below, KAΛ and around, A – Z – Λ.
Rev. ΤΑΡΑΣ Dolphin rider l., holding distaff; in l. field, COI and in r. field, trident pointing downwards.
Vlasto 650 (these dies). SNG Sweden II, 157. Fischer-Bossert 1136b (this coin illustrated). Historia Numorum Italy 940.
Rare. Of pleasant style and with a lovely iridescent tone, minor marks, otherwise about extremely fine Ex Vinchon sale 13th April 1985, 22.Leo
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Caracall or Elagabalus - Palaeopolis198/218 - 217/222 AD
laureate bust right, shoulder draped
AV·K·M·AV·_ANTΩNINOC·
Men facing head left, crescent on shoulders holding globe(?) and spear
ΠΑΛEΟΠΟ_ΛEΙΤΩΝ
RPC VI, 5912 (temporary); vA Pisid. 1100–5 (as Caracalla)
4,1g 19mm
ex BigaJ. B.
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Cilicia Tarsos, Gordian III Großbronze (36mm, 34g), Ex Lindgren & Kovacs 1635Roman Provincial. Cilicia, Tarsos, Gordian III AE Hexassarion (?) (36mm, 33.94 g, 6h), 238-244 CE.
Obv: Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind, holding spear and shield decorated with gorgoneion.
Rev: Gordian, laureate and in military dress, on horseback right, thrusting spear at lion running right below.
Ref: Lindgren & Kovacs 1635 (this coin); SNG Levante 1132; RPC VII.2 3060 (this coin = ex. 29 Online [LINK].
Prov: Ex Collection of Dr. Henry Clay Lindgren (1914-2005), published in Lindgren I (w/ Frank Kovacs, 1985), No. 1635; M.D.A. Collection (acq. Aug 2000; CNG EA 509 [9 Feb 2022], 360); Antioch Associates MBS 15 (1 Jun 1998), 150.
Notes: Heavy specimen. Of 29 Specimens in RPC Online (or the 60 total of similar types, RPC 3060-3064), only 1 is heavier (3060.6, but it has been modified -- mounted and tooled). I find no other heavier specimens in RPC among the other related large bronzes of Gordian III at Tarsos.
[ALT: Tarsus, Kilikia]Curtis JJ
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Clipped trachy of Andronicus I SB 1985Obverse: The virgin stg. facing on dais, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium, she hold before her nimbate head of the infant Christ facing to l.
Reverse: AN(delta)PONIKOC (delta)ECIIOTHC or similar. Christ bearded and with nimbus cross or r. and Andronicus with forked beard on l., both stg. facing. Christ wears pallium and colobium holds book of gospels in l. hand, and with his r. crowns the emperor who wears divitision and loros. Holds labarum and gl. cr., between their heads IC ro r., XC.
Mint: Constantinople
Date 1183-1185 CE
Sear 1985
20mm, 1.29gwileyc
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Clipped trachy of Andronicus I SB 1985Obverse: The virgin stg. facing on dais, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium, she hold before her nimbate head of the infant Christ facing to l.
Reverse: AN(delta)PONIKOC (delta)ECIIOTHC or similar. Christ bearded and with nimbus cross or r. and Andronicus with forked beard on l., both stg. facing. Christ wears pallium and colobium holds book of gospels in l. hand, and with his r. crowns the emperor who wears divitision and loros. Holds labarum and gl. cr., between their heads IC ro r., XC.
Mint: Constantinople
Date 1183-1185 CE
Sear 1985
19mm, 1.57gwileyc
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Clipped trachy of Andronicus I SB 1985Obverse: The virgin stg. facing on dais, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium, she hold before her nimbate head of the infant Christ facing to l.
Reverse: AN(delta)PONIKOC (delta)ECIIOTHC or similar. Christ bearded and with nimbus cross or r. and Andronicus with forked beard on l., both stg. facing. Christ wears pallium and colobium holds book of gospels in l. hand, and with his r. crowns the emperor who wears divitision and loros. Holds labarum and gl. cr., between their heads IC ro r., XC.
Mint: Constantinople
Date 1183-1185 CE
Sear 1985
20mm, 1.85gwileyc
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Constans, AE4, GLORIA EXERCITVS, TRS(Crescent)AE4
Constans
Caesar: 333 - 337AD
Augustus: 337 - 350AD
Issued: 340AD
15.5mm 1.40gr 6h
O: CONSTAN-S PF AVG; Diademed (pearls), draped and cuirassed bust, right.
R: GLORI-A EXER-CITVS; Two soldiers on either side of one standard with "M" on banner; soldiers' inner hands each on shield, outer hands each holding a spear.
Exergue: TRS(Crescent)
Trier Mint
RIC VIII Trier 106; Aorta: -: B5, O8, R11, T39, M14.
Holding History Coins 221721919859
3/28/15 4/28/17Nicholas Z
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Constans, AE4, VICTORIAE DD AVGG Q NN, SMTSBAE4
Constans
Caesar: 333 - 337AD
Augustus: 337 - 350AD
Issued: 347 - 348AD
17.0 x 16.0mm 1.70gr 0h
O: CONSTANS PF AVG; Diademed (rosettes), draped and cuirassed bust, right.
R: VICTORIAE DD AVGG Q NN; Two Victories, facing each other, each holding a wreath and a palm.
Exergue: SMTSB
Thessalonica Mint
RIC VIII Thessalonica 101; Aorta: 1388: B16, O8, R40, T46, M13.
Rated C2.
okta2000-2013 271985932341
9/24/15 1/31/17Nicholas Z
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Constans. Soldiers flanking standard centenionalis of Cyzicus.Roman Empire. Constans. 337-350 AD. BI Follis (1.47 gm, 18.2mm, 1h) AE3 of Cyzicus 337-240 AD. Laureate head right, DN CONSTANS P F AVG. / Two soldiers standing, facing each other, holding spears & shields, standard between; GLOR⦁IA EXERCITVS, ex: SMK A. gVF. Bt. Lenox Coins, Atlanta c. 1985. None in acsearch. RIC VIII p.490 #14 [Cn8/H2]/GE(a); Cohen 59; LRBC I #1286; SRCV V #18555.Anaximander
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Costa RicaKm210.1 - 1 Colon - 1991
Km214.1 - 5 Colones - 1989
Km216.2 - 20 colones - 1985
Km230a - 100 colones - 1998Daniel F
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Crawford 13/1, ROMAN REPUBLIC - AR DidrachmRome, The Republic.
Anonymous, 310-300 (c. 295?) BCE.
AR Didrachm (7.13g; 21mm).
Mint in Central Italy (Neapolis?).
Obverse: Head of Mars, bearded, in crested Corinthian helmet, facing left; oak spray behind.
Reverse: Bridled horse head facing right; [ROMANO] on base below; wheat stalk behind.
References: Crawford 13/1; HNI 266; Sydenham 1; BMCRR (Romano-Campanian) 1-4.
Provenance: Ex vAuctions Sale 343 (6 Dec 2019) Lot 155; Pegasi Auction VI (8 April 2002), Lot 316.
This coin is part of the very first series of Didrachms produced in the name of Rome. It was a small issue, with only four obverse dies and fifteen reverse dies currently known. In 1974’s Roman Republican Coinage, Crawford assigned the issue to 280-276, however, subsequent evidence and scholarship caused him to reassign the coins to 310-300 BCE. Later scholars, including Rutter in Historia Numorum Italy (2001) have concurred with this revised dating. In a recent tweet, Professor Liv Yarrow announced that her forthcoming book will propose a more recent date of c. 295 BCE; we’ll have to wait for her book to see the evidence to support this re-dating.
While these didrachms bore the inscription ROMANO, they were not struck in Rome and didn’t really circulate in Rome! They were likely produced in Naples or some other nearby mint for a particular purpose. In Coinage & Money Under the Roman Republic (1985), Crawford proposed that the purpose for the issue was the construction of the Appian Way from Rome to Capua, begun in 312 BCE. If Professor Yarrow's proposed later dating is correct, the purpose would need to be reconsidered. The average weight and purity of these coins is consistent with contemporaneous Neapolitan standards, and the fabric of the coins is also consistent with Neapolitan silver issues.
The ROMANO inscription may have been either an abbreviation of the genitive plural ROMANORVM (“of the Romans”) or dative ROMANO (“by the Romans”) either of which would be similar grammar to Greek coin inscriptions.
Carausius
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Crawford 183/1, ROMAN REPUBLIC, Wolf and Twins Series, AE AsRome. The Republic
Wolf and Twins Series, 169-158 BCE.
AE As (26.42g; 35mm).
Rome Mint.
Obverse: Laureate head of Janus; I (mark of value), above.
Reverse: Galley prow facing right; she-wolf suckling the twins, Romulus and Remus, above; I (mark of value) to right; ROMA below.
References: Crawford 183/1; Sydenham 297; BMCRR 514-6; RBW 775.
Provenance: Ex SteveX6 Collection; ex CNG eSale 307, Lot 269; ex RBW duplicates (not in prior sales); purchased from Bank Leu (Jan 1985).
Apparently RBW purchased more than one Wolf and Twins As from Bank Leu in January 1985, as the specimen in the NAC auction shares the same Bank Leu origin and date. I have the original RBW ticket for this coin and so I’m confident that the provenance information is correct.
Carausius
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Crawford 25/1, ROMAN REPUBLIC - AR DidrachmRome. The Republic.
Anonymous, 241-235 BCE.
AR Didrachm (6.62g; 19mm).
Rome Mint.
Obverse: Beardless head of Mars wearing crested Corinthian helmet decorated with gryphon, facing right.
Reverse: Bridled horse head facing right; sickle to left; ROMA below.
References: Crawford 25/1; Sydenham 24; BMCRR (Romano-Campanian) 57.
Provenance: Ex Ed Waddell inventory #7484 (c. 1985).
This didrachm series is the first Roman silver coinage to bear the inscription ROMA, a change from the earlier ROMANO inscriptions. The early ROMANO inscriptions may have been either an abbreviation of the genitive plural ROMANORVM (“of the Romans”) or dative ROMANO (“by the Romans”) either of which would be similar grammar to Greek coin inscriptions. The move to the nominative case ROMA, may have been a simple shift to Roman/Latin usage consistent with the coinage taking on a more “Roman” character, as minting activity had moved from southern Italy to Rome many years before. The sickle symbol on the reverse, as well as common devices across denominations, links this didrachm issue to contemporaneous Roman bronze coinage also bearing the sickle. This marks the first time in the emerging Roman coinage that a clear-intentioned, bi-metallic series emission can be established.
Carausius
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Crawford 511/2, ROMAN IMPERATORIAL, Sextus Pompey, AR DenariusRome, The Imperators.
Sextus Pompey, 42 BCE.
AR Denarius (3.87g; 21mm).
Sicilian mint.
Obv: [M]AG PIVS IMP [ITER]. Bust of Neptune facing right; trident over shoulder.
Rev: [PR]AEF CLAS ET OR[AE MAR IT EX S C]. Naval trophy.
References: Crawford 511/2; HCRI 333; Sydenham 1347 (R5).
Provenance: Ex Stack's Bowers August 2016 ANA (10 Aug 2016), Lot 20139; ex Nomos Obolos 4 (21 Feb 2016), Lot 522; ex RBW Collection [NAC 63 (17 May 2012), Lot 538]; privately purchased from SKA Zurich, July 1985; De Falco FPL 77 (Dec 1967), Lot 134.
Sextus Pompey was a son of Pompey the Great. After Caesar's assassination, in 43 BCE, he was honored by the Senate with the title "Commander of the Fleet and Sea Coasts". Shortly following this honor, the Second Triumvirate was formed and placed Sextus' name on their proscription list. Sextus soon occupied Sicily where he provided haven to other Romans proscribed by the Triumvirs. He retained control of Sicily from 42 to 36 BCE. Carausius
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Denarius, Crawford 55/1Denomination: Denarius
Era: c. 211 BC
Metal: AR
Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma r. Behind, “X” . Border of dots
Reverse: Dioscuri r.; in linear frame. “ROMA”. Line border
Weight: 3.69 gm.
Reference: Crawford 55/1
Provenance: NAC 61, Lot 213 5-OCT-2011; Ex NFA-Leu sale 29-MAR-1985, Garrett III lot 860
Comments: Among the rarest of the fully anonymous denari in RRC, there are fewer than a dozen specimens known. This variety displays a rather slender head of Roma in relatively good style. There are four prominent hair locks on neck below helmet, the shortest of which curls up just under Roma’s jaw line. This is the only variety of denarius where some dies render a peaked visor, and some render a splayed visor.
The reverse cape style splits and ends in two points, the points extending roughly equal distances from their point of split. This style follows none of the patterns described elsewhere for other varieties.
For additional discussion see this article by Pierluigi Debernardi: http://stevebrinkman.ancients.info/anonymous/C55.htm
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Diocletian, Elpis, year 6Diocletian, 20 November 284 - 1 March 305 A.D., Roman Provincial Egypt. Billon tetradrachm, Milne 4937, Curtis 1985, BMC Alexandria 2500, Geissen 3249, SNG Cop 998, Alexandria mint, 29 Aug 289 - 28 Aug 290 A.D.; obverse Α Κ Γ ΟΥΑΛ ∆ΙΟΚΛΗΤΙΑΝΟC CΕΒ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right; reverse Elpis standing left, flower in right, raising fold of chiton with left, star right, L - S (year 6) across fields; Elpis was the Greek equivalent of the Roman Spes, the goddess of hope. She was traditionally defined as "the last goddess" (Spes, ultima dea), meaning that hope is the last resource available to men. Elpis personified hope for good harvests, and for children, and was invoked at births, marriages, and other important times. ex FORVMPodiceps
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Elizabeth I. Shilling, 2nd issue.England. Tudor, Elizabeth I. 1558-1603. AR Shilling (5.97 gm, 32.3mm, 5h). 2nd issue, 1560-1561. Crowned bust left (bust 3C, martlet i.m.). 🐔 ELIZABETH ∙ Dˀ. Gˀ. ANGˀ. FRˀ. ET∙ HIBˀ REGINA / Long cross fourchée over Tudor coat-of-arms. 🐔POSVI-DЄV.ˀAD-IVTORE-M⠁MEV.ˀ VF Davissons E-Auction 40 #95. "well detailed portrait; striking crack at 9'; flan waviness left of portrait; strong portrait." ex-Michael Trenerry Ltd (now DNW) List C 156. Spink SCBC 2555; North 1985; BCW MR-4Ci: b3.Anaximander
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Fausta, Augusta 324 - 325 A.D. Nicomedia mint. 19-20mmFausta, Augusta 324 - 326 A.D. Nicomedia mint.
Obv. FLAV MAX - FAVSTA AVG, draped bust right hair waived, bun at back, wearing pearl necklace.
Rev. SPES REIP-VBLICAE, Fausta standing facing, looking left, holding infants Constantine II and Constantius II, SMNA in ex.
Ref. RIC VII 97 var Lee S
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Gallienus. Roma Aeternae Antoninianus of Antioch.Roman Empire. Gallienus. 253-268 AD. AE Antoninianus (3.31 gm, 22.0mm, 6h) of Antioch, 264 AD. Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, GALLIENVS AVG. / Roma seated left, holding Victory and spear, shield at side, star in ex., ROMA AETERNAE. VF. Bt. Lenox Coins, Atlanta, c.1985. RIC V.1 #655 (sole reign); RSC IV #919; Hunter p. lxix; SRCV III #10343. Anaximander
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Greek, Catalogue of the Collection of Tarentine Coins formed by M. P. Vlasto #650GREEK, Italy, CALABRIA, Taras. AR Nomos. Circa 290-281 BC.
7.72 g, Helmeted horseman galloping l., holding spears and shield decorated with dolphin; below, KAΛ and around, A - Z - Λ.
Rev. ΤΑΡΑΣ Dolphin rider l., holding distaff; in l. field, COI and in r. field, trident pointing downwards.
Vlasto 650 (these dies). SNG Sweden II, 157. Fischer-Bossert 1136b (this coin illustrated). Historia Numorum Italy 940.
Rare. Of pleasant style and with a lovely iridescent tone, minor marks, otherwise about extremely fine Ex Vinchon sale 13th April 1985, 22.Leo
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GREEK, Italy, CALABRIA, Taras. AR Nomos. Circa 290-281 BC.7.72 g
Helmeted horseman galloping l., holding spears and shield decorated with dolphin; below, KAΛ and around, A – Z – Λ.
Rev. ΤΑΡΑΣ Dolphin rider l., holding distaff; in l. field, COI and in r. field, trident pointing downwards.
Vlasto 650 (these dies). SNG Sweden II, 157. Fischer-Bossert 1136b (this coin illustrated). Historia Numorum Italy 940.
Rare. Of pleasant style and with a lovely iridescent tone, minor marks, otherwise about extremely fine Ex Vinchon sale 13th April 1985, 22.Leo
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GuyanaKm31 - 1 Cent - 1985
Km33 - 10 Cents - 1986Daniel F
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India: Mauryan Dynasty Punchmark Silver, c.320-270 BCKings: Chandragupta Maurya (322-298 BC) and Bindusara (298-273 BC)
Obverse: Symbols of a sun, a six armed figure, a bull with a royal standard above its back, a three arched hill with a crescent on top and a square fish tank with four fish in it.
Reverse: Banker's marks
3.4 grams, 14.4 x 13.0 mm
G&H No.533 , Series VIa, type VI II D 22
Reference: Ancient Indian Silver Punchmarked Coins of the Maghada-Maurya Karshapana Series by Gupta and Hardaker (1985).
Special thanks to Forvm Members Manzikert and PeterD for their generous help with identifying this piece.
Matt Inglima
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Israel - Monetary Reform (February 24, 1980 - 1985)Km106 - 1 New Agorah - 1980
Km107 - 5 New Agorot - 1980
Km108 - 10 New Agorot - 1980
Km109 - 1/2 Sheqel - 1980
Km111 - 1 Sheqel - 1983
Km118 - 5 Sheqalim - 1982
Km119 - 10 Sheqalim - 1982
Km143 - 100 Sheqalim (Menorah) - 1984 Daniel F
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Israel - Monetary Reform (September 4, 1985)Km156 - 1 Agorah - 1986
Km157 - 5 Agorot - 2006
Km158 - 10 Agorot - 2006
Km174 - 1/2 New Sheqel (Hanukkah) - 1991
Km160a - 1 new Sheqel - 2003o
Km207 - 5 new Sheqalim - 1990
Km237 - 5 new Sheqalim (Chaim Weizmann) - 1993
Km270 - 10 New Sheqalim - 1995
Km273 - 10 New Sheqalim - 1995 (Golda Meir) Daniel F
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Jean IV de Monfort (1339-1399)Demi Gros
1,70g
21mm
hermine COMES RICHMOT
"Comte de Richemont"
Sept mouchetures d'hermine dans le champ posées 2, 3 et 2
hermine IO HES DVX BRI
Croix anglaise coupant la légende et cantonnée aux 1, 3 et 4 de trois besants et au 2 d'une moucheture d'hermine
Jézéquel 240d1
de Mey 312 ( tiers de Gros)
BN 1985/865PYL
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KenyaKm17 - 5 Cents - 1987
Km18 - 10 Cents - 1987 – President Arap Moi
Km19a - 50 Cents - 1994
Km14 - 1 Shilling - 1974
Km29 - 1 Shilling - 1995
Km23 - 5 Shillings - 1985Daniel F
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KINGS of THRACE. Rhoemetalces I & Pythodoris, with Augustus. 11 B.C. - 12 A.D. AE22mm KINGS of THRACE. Rhoemetalces I & Pythodoris, with Augustus. 11 B.C. - 12 A.D.
Obv. BAΣIΛEΩΣ POIMHTAΛKOY, jugate heads of Rhoemetalces I, diademed, and Queen Pythodoris right.
Rev. KAIΣAPOΣ ΣEBAΣTOY, bare head of Augustus right.
Ref. BMC Thrace 4.Lee S
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Larissa, Thessaly356-342 B.C.
Silver Drachm
5.66 gm, 19.9 mm
Obv.: Head of nymph Larissa three-quarter facing slightly left,
wearing ampyx, pendant earring, and simple necklace
Rev.: Horse crouching right, left foreleg bent and raised, preparing to roll onto the ground, plant below, ΛAPIΣ above, AIΩN below in exergue
BCD Thessaly I 1156, 1157 (same obverse die);
BCD Thessaly II 312-320, 322-323;
HGC 4 454; Sear 2120/1; BMC 7, 57-61
ex Forvm; ex BCD Collection with his tag noting, "T/ne Oct. 1985, 12000 drs.
Jaimelai
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Literature, JSD 23 Catalogs, 1970s-1980s (Ex BCD Library Duplicates, Malloy Library)Numismatic Literature (Sale Catalogs). J.S.D. COINS (Santa Ana, CA) Run [broken] of 21 FPLs (late 1970s to early 1980s) + 2 MBS (27 May 1978 & 10 August 1981).
Lists (years imputed) [postmarked]: No. 42 (1977) [22 Apr 1977, AGM]; 43; 44 (1977) [2 Jul 1977, AGM]; 45; 46; 47; 48 (1978) [10 Apr 1978, AGM]; 49 (1978) [13 Jul 1978, AGM]; 51; 66 (1981) [19 Mar 1981, AGM]; 67; 71 (1981) [5 Nov 1981, AGM]; 72 (1982); 73 (1982); 74 (1982) [16 June 198-, AGM]; 74 OR 75 ”probably” (Summer 1982); 90 (1985) [24 Apr 1985, AGM]; 91 (1985); 92 (1985) [20 Sep 1985, AGM]; 93 (1986) [12 Apr 1986, AGM]; VOL II 3 (1982?); MBS 6 (27 May 1978) [293 coin lots, 29 antiquities, NO PLATES]; MBS 10? (10 Aug 1981) [197 single coin lots, 5 groups, 4 antiquities] [23 Jul 1981, AGM].
References: Fitzwilliam, H-L ("* annual dates from postmarks, or provided by B.C. Demetriadi") [LINK]; only MBS 5 in Gengerke (p. 311, five MBS noted) [LINK].
Provenance: Ex BCD Library (Jacquier 48, Duplicates from The BCD Library [17 Sep 2020], Lot 1109 [LINK]); ex Malter Auction 89 (“The Alex G. Malloy Library,” NYC, 12 Jan 2008) Lot 1556 (part of, 42 JSD + hundreds of other catalogs); 11 issues (all those w/ labels) addressed to Alex G. Malloy's business (S. Salem, NY).
Notes: "A note from BCD: A substantial run of hard to find lists issued by a pair of unusual – to say the least – individuals. And yet the coins are carefully chosen and priced with the budget collector in mind. The occasional rarity is duly noted and neatly described. A few pleasant surprises may be in store for someone researching provenances of, mostly Roman, collector type coins" [LINK].
What made JSD "a pair of unusual – to say the least – individuals"?!Curtis JJ
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Lydia, Maionia, Septimius Severus, BMC 43Septimius Severus, AD 193-211
AE 35, 22.57g
struck under archon Julianus
obv. AV [KAI] L CE - P CEVHR[OC PE]R - TIN
Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r.
rev. EPI IO[VLI]AN - OV [GA. - A.B. ARXONTOC]
Dionysos, in long garment, holding thyrsos in l. arm, leaning r. on biga drawn by
two centaurs and resting with r. arm on back; below the small statue of a female figure (Menad?, Ariadne?); the centaur in front, looking back
to Dionysos, holding a club in r. arm and a torch in raised l. hand, the other
one a torch in r. hand
in ex. MAI[ONW]N
ref. The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. IV, 1835, XXXII (= BMC 43, pl. XIV, no.7); Yale University Art Gallery (= Lanz Auktion 32, April 1985, Lot 633)
F+, surfaces with porosity
(Thanks to Curtis Clay for attribution!)
Jochen
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Macedon, Alexander III of Macedon, Price 1985Lysimachos, Magnesia ad Maeandrum mint, Drachm in the name and types of Alexander III of Macedon, 305-281 B.C. (Struck circa 301/0-300/299 B.C.) AR, 3.82 17mm, Price 1985
O: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin
R: Zeus Aetophoros seated left; in left field, lion leaping left; below throne, A within wreath.
(ex jewelry piece, edges rounded)
casata137ec
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MARCUS AURELIUSAE As. 154-155 AD. 12,57 grs. Draped bust right. Head bare. AVRELIVS CAESAR AVG PII FIL / Minerva, helmeted, draped, standing left, holding owl on extended right hand and vertical spear in left, round shield at feet right. TR POT VIIII COS II . In fields SC . Strack 1108 . BMCRE 1985-86. Croydon Hoard, Num. Chron. 1907, p. 371, pl. 12, 3-4. Curtis Clay .The Supply of Bronze Coins to Britain in the Second Century AD, Num. Chron. 149, 1989. P212, note 7.
benito
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Maroneia, Thrace.Maroneia, Thrace, AE18 2nd century BC. Head of young Dionysos right, wreathed with ivy and band across forehead / MARWNITWN, Dionysos standing left, holding grapes.Randygeki(h2)
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MexicoKm415 - 1 centavo - 1906
Km417 - 1 centavo - 1956
Km423 - 5 centavos - 1937
Km426 - 5 centavos - 1967
km547 - 10 centavos - 1994
Km440 - 20 centavos - 1956
Km452 - 50 Centavos - 1978
Km496 - 1 Peso - 1985
Km603 - 1 Peso - 1996 Daniel F
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MEXICO - Bullion CoinageMEXICO - Bullion Coinage - AR One Onza, 1985. Reference #KM-494.1.dpaul7
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Mysia, AstyraAstyra, Mysia
Tissaphernes, satrap 400 - 395 BC
Head of Athena r.
TISSA
Tissaphernes riding r.
Cahn AA 1985, 589. Not in Aulock, BMC, Copenhagen, Lindgren. ecoli
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Nero, Quadrans, Owl on altar/ olive-branchNero, Quadrans, struck 64-66 AD in Rome, 17mm, 2.95g, copper
Obverse: NERO CLAVD CAES AVG GER; Owl, with wings spread, standing facing on garlanded rectangular altar. Reverse: P M TR P IMP P P / S - C; upright olive-branch, RIC² 319, Sear RCV I: 1985. ex areich, photo credit areichPodiceps
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OSTROGOTH Athalaric INVICTA ROMAAthalaric. A.D. 526- 534 Æ Decanummium (18mm 2.1gm) Rome mint. INVICTA ROMA, helmeted and cuirassed bust of Roma right. D N ATHALRICVS S-C, Athalaric in military attire, standing right and holding spear, X (mark of value) in field. COI 85; MIB 77; MEC 132.
From the WRG Collection. Ex Empire Coins FPL 26 (February 1985), no. F249; John W. Garrett Collection (Part II, Numismatic Fine Arts & Leu, 16 October 1984), lot 506; purchased from Wayte Raymond, 19 September 1920 for $4.50.Victor C
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PortugalKm595 - 20 Centavos - 1973
Km614 - 1 Escudo - 1985
Km631 - 1 Escudo - 1987
Km590 - 2.5 Escudos - 1983
Km591 - 5 Escudos - 1985
Km634 - 20 Escudos - 1987
Km610 - 25 Escudos - 1980
Daniel F
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Probus, Antoninianus, CLEMENTIA TEMP, Γ (Dot), XXIAE Antoninianus
Probus
Augustus: 276 - 282AD
Issued: 276AD
23.5 x 22.5mm 3.10gr
O: IMP CM AVR PROBVS AVG; Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
R: CLEMENTIA TEMP; Probus standing right on left, holding scepter, receiving globe from Jupiter to right, holding scepter.
Exergue: Γ (Dot), above line; XXI, below line.
Antioch Mint
RIC 921, Γ (Dot); Sear 11960.
Aorta: 1985: B87, O25, R13, T95, M1.
dadaskvo77 122496613338
5/19/17 6/3/17Nicholas Z
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Probus, Antoninianus, CLEMENTIA TEMP, Γ XXIAR Antoninianus
Probus
Augustus: 276 - 282AD
Issued: 276AD
22.0mm 4.30gr 6h
O: IMP CM AVR PROBVS AVG; Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
R: CLEMENTIA TEMP; Probus standing right on left, holding scepter, receiving globe from Jupiter to right, holding scepter.
Exergue: Γ, above line; XXI, below line.
Antioch Mint
RIC V-2, 921, Γ; Sear (2000) 11960, Γ.
Aorta: 1985: B87, O25, R13, T95, M1.
GAC-Coins 142667215337
2/3/18/ 2/20/18Nicholas Z
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Probus, RIC V, 509 (#1)Probus, AD 276-282
AE - Antoninianus, 3.36g, 23.09mm, 180°
Ticinum, 4th officina, 2nd series, AD 281
obv. VRTVS PROBI AVG
Bust, helmeted and radiate, cuirassed, l., with r. hand holding spear over r. shoulder, shield on l. shoulder
rev. MARTI PACIF
Mars, helmeted and wearing miltary cloak, advancing l., holding in extended r. hand branch and in l. hand spear and shield
in l. field I
in ex. QXXI
RIC V/2, 509; C.358
about EF, black brown patina, obv. slightly excentric
Pedigree:
ex Kricheldorf/Stuttgart, 1.8.1985
This is a coded coin from the Probus EQVITI series #2. For more informations please look at Forum Resources!
Jochen
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RIC 184 TitusÆ Sestertius, 24.48g
Rome mint, 80-81 AD
Obv: No legend; Flavian amphitheatre; to l., Meta Sudans; to r., porticoed building
Rev: IMP T CAES VESP AVG P M TR PPP COS VIII; Titus std. l. on curule chair with branch and roll; around, arms; S C in field
RIC 184 (R2). BMC 190. BNC 189. Hendin 1594.
Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 225, 30 November 2023, lot 456. Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 35, 12 February 1985, lot 361.
In June of 80 AD Titus spectacularly opened the Flavian amphitheatre with a series of inaugural games lasting 100 days. This rare sestertius commemorates the event in a no less impressive fashion. Vespasian had begun construction nearly a decade before, but it was Titus who virtually completed it. The obverse* features an inventive bird's eye view of the structure from the Temple of Claudius on the Caelian Hill, with the Meta Sudans to the left and the porticoes of the Baths of Titus to the right. The depiction of the three structures on the obverse is strong evidence the Romans viewed the amphitheatre as part of a larger entertainment complex. The reverse features Titus seated surrounded by a pile of captured arms, identical to sestertii struck for Claudius. Taken together both obverse and reverse pays homage to Claudius, an emperor highly regarded by the Flavians. At the same time, the captured arms on the reverse and the decorative motif of the amphitheatre featuring palm trees and triumphal imagery commemorate the Jewish War which was still a major theme of Titus' coinage. Also, a recently discovered inscription which originally adorned one of the entrances proclaims the Flavian amphitheatre was built from the spoils of the Jewish War. Nathan T. Elkins believes the rarity of these coins today may hint that they were issued primarily for distribution at the opening games as souvenirs of the occasion. Ben Lee Damsky has convincingly argued Titus' extensive pulvinar precious metal coinage commemorates the inaugural games as well. If that is the case, a large portion of Titus' coinage was devoted to these opening games and the fantastic venue in which they were held, emphasising the prominent place it held for Titus and the Flavian dynasty. The fact that it still serves as a symbol of the Roman Empire today shows that Titus was correct in his estimation of its importance. Like the Eid Mar denarii, the Colosseum sestertii are seen today as one of the most well known and iconic coin types struck by the Roman Empire.
*Older references place the Colosseum on the reverse, but this is incorrect. Reverse dies at the Rome mint typically have concave flans. The seated Titus side is concave on these sestertii, therefore it was almost certainly intended as the reverse. David Atherton
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RIC 264a Philippus_IIObv: IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev: SAECVLARES AVGG / S C (in exergue), Goat standing left
AE/Sestertius (29.04 mm 14.03 g 12h) Struck in Rome 248 A.D.
RIC 264a, Cohen 73
Purchased in 1985FlaviusDomitianus
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RIC 392A DomitianAR Denarius, 2.90g
Rome mint, 85 AD
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P V; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: IMP XI COS XI CENS P P P; Minerva stg. l., with thunderbolt and spear; shield at her side (M3)
RIC 392A (R2). BMC -. RSC -. BNC -.
Acquired from Incitatus Coins, May 2016.
A previously unknown Minerva type 3 from Domitian's rare sixth issue of denarii for 85. Until this coin recently surfaced only three of the four standard Minerva types were known for this issue, now all four are accounted for. Ted Buttrey was notified of this coin's existence and he has assigned it as RIC 392A in the Flavian RIC Addenda. In the Flavian RIC Addenda another specimen is now noted - Hurston list 43, 1985, lot 10.
Well toned with rainbow hints and a stylish portrait. David Atherton
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Roman Empire, Antoninus Pius Denarius - Column of Antoninus Pius (RIC 440, Aurelius)AR Denarius
Rome 161 AD
3.40g
Obv: Bareheaded bust of Antoninus Pius (R) with slight drapery.
DIVVS ANTONINVS
Rev: Column of Antoninus Pius, on low base surmounted by statue of Divus Antoninus, holding scepter
DIVO PIO
RIC 440 (Aurelius); RSC 353; BMC
From the "Benito Collection" of Ramón Sáenz de Heredia y Alonso (d.2016)
CNG Electronic Auction 468, 20/05/2020, Lot 458
ex. CNG Electronic Auction 107, 02/02/2005, Lot 177
ex. Coin Galleries, 07/08/1985, Lot 395.Optimo Principi
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RPC 1968 TitusΑΥΤΟΚΡ ΤΙΤΟΣ ΚΑΙΣ ΟΥΕΣΠ
Laureate head right with aegis
ΕΤΟΥΣ Γ ΙΕΡΟΥ
Eagle standing left with wreath in beak on palm branch; club in left field
Caesarea Maritima
70 CE (Group 6, year3)
14.25g
RPC 1968/2 (this coin); McAlee 380 (this coin) noted as "MC" (My coin) from his own collection; Prieur 141,
A rare coin!
Ex-CGB: Ex-McAlee plate coin from his own collection; Ex-Empire 3, May 5th 1985; ex-Schulten, Nov 8, 1982, lot 301)
Part of a small series of tetradrachms struck in Caesarea Maritima shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
After its fall, Titus spent three days outside the city handing out rewards and spoils to his troops.
"Then descending with his army to Caesarea Maritima, he there deposited the bulk of his spoils and directed that his prisoners should be kept in custody; for the winter season prevented his sailing for Italy" (Josephus)
It has been suggested this series of tetradrachms was struck during Titus' time in Caesaera. The style is fairly crude and is similar to other bronze coins attributed to Caesarea Maritima. Silver quality is not standardized, which gives evidence of a military issue. Being stuck just days or weeks after the fall of Jerusalem, surely these were part of the rewards Titus distributed to the troops.
Thanks to David Atherton for additional info.
Jay GT4
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Russia - USSRY126a - 1 kopek - 1986
Y127a - 2 kopeks - 1987
Y121 - 3 kopeks - 1957
Y130 - 10 kopeks - 1985
Y131 - 15 kopeks - 1990
Y312 - 5 Roubles - 1992 π
Y313 - 10 Roubles - 1993 m
Y314 - 20 Roubles - 1992 mDaniel F
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S.1728 Henry IVGroat of Henry IV, king of England, 1399-1413
Mint: London
Mintmark: cross pattee
S.1728
N. 1359b
Potter III-4/III-2
Coins of Henry IV are very rare. There was a heavy coinage early in his reign but almost all of it was melted once the weight standard changed in 1412. The light coinage was produced during the last year of his life, and due to its brevity it is unclear when the transition to Henry V coinage occurred. Coins of Henry IV generally have a slipped trefoil on the breast and a slipped trefoil in the outer reverse legend. Also, a pellet to the left of the crown and an annulet to the right. There are mules between Henry IV and Henry V obverses and reverses, and it is not clear when these were made.
Ex- Spink Auction 20004 (lot 73), J Atkinson, DNW Auction 148 (lot 286), Glendining 17 Apr 1985 (lot 80), M Delme-RadcliffeSt. George's Collection
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S.1728 Henry IVGroat of Henry IV, king of England, 1399-1413
Mint: London
Mintmark: cross pattee
S.1728
N. 1359b
Potter III-4/III-2
Coins of Henry IV are very rare. There was a heavy coinage early in his reign but almost all of it was melted once the weight standard changed in 1412. The light coinage was produced during the last year of his life, and due to its brevity it is unclear when the transition to Henry V coinage occurred. Coins of Henry IV generally have a slipped trefoil on the breast and a slipped trefoil in the outer reverse legend. Also, a pellet to the left of the crown and an annulet to the right. There are mules between Henry IV and Henry V obverses and reverses, and it is not clear when these were made.
Ex- Spink Auction 20004 (lot 73), J Atkinson, DNW Auction 148 (lot 286), Glendining 17 Apr 1985 (lot 80), M Delme-RadcliffeSt. George's Collection
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Sear 1985Andronicus I Comnenus (1183 – 1185 CE). Billon aspron trachy, weight 4.1g, diameter 29mm. Abu Galyon
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SwitzerlandKm46 - 1 Rappen - 1948-B
Km47 - 2 Rappen - 1948-B
Km26c - 5 Rappen - 1985
Km26 - 5 Rappen - 1957
Km27 - 10 Rappen - 1939
Km29a - 20 Rappen - 1969
Km23 - 1/2 Franc - 1952
Km24a.1 - 1 Franc - 1968
Km40a.1 - 5 Francs - 1973
Daniel F
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Syracuse, Reign of Agathokles317-289 BC
AR Tetradrachm (24mm, 17.14g)
O: Wreathed head of Kore (Persephone) right, wearing pendant earring and necklace; KOPAΣ behind.
R: Nike standing right, hammer in right hand, erecting trophy; triskeles to lower left, [ΑΓΑΘΟΚΛΕΙΟΣ] behind, all within dotted border.
Struck between 313–295 BC.
HGC 2, 1536; SNG ANS 670-76; SNG Cop 766ff; Sear 972v; BMC 388v
ex Museum Surplus
“Kore, the Girl, is so intimately associated with her mother Demeter that they are often referred to simply as the Two Goddesses or even as Demeteres. Kore’s own enigmatic name is Persephone, or Phersephone, and in Attic Pherrephatta. In Homer she is mentioned alone and also in conjunction with her husband, Hades-Aidoneus, the personification of the underworld; her Homeric epithets are venerable, agaue, and awesome, epaine. Her two aspects, girl-like daughter of the Corn Goddess and Mistress of the Dead, are linked in the myth which, though ignored in heroic epic, is responsible almost exclusively for defining the picture of Demeter. The earliest extended version is the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, but Hesiod already alludes to it in the Theogony as an ancient and well known story, and aspects of the later tradition seem to preserve very ancient material.”
~ Walter Burkert (Greek Religion, 1985)
Enodia
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Valerian Antoninianus, Restitution of the OrientValerian I, 253 - 260 AD
AR Antoninianus, 21mm, 3.9 grams
Obverse: IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS P F AVG, Radiate bust right.
Reverse: RESTITVT ORIENTIS, The Orient standing on left, presenting wreath to Valerian who stands on right.
Reference:
RIC287
Notes:
The first ancient coin I purchased, about 1985 or 1986, for $29.Ken Dorney
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varb1794_2Elagabalus
Philippopolis, Thrace
Obv: AVT K M AVP ANT(ΩNE)INOC, laureate head right
Rev: ΦIΛIΠΠOΠOΛEIT(ΩN) (NE)ΩKOPΩN, Serapis standing facing, right hand raised and scepter in left.
20 mm, 3.55 gms
Varbanov GIC 1794; Varbanov Philoppopolis XVII.37.1Charles M
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Yugoslavia100000 Dinara - 1989 (1985-1989) Wor: P-97aDaniel F
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[18H759a] Vespasian, 1 July 69 - 24 June 79 A.D., Judaea CaptaVespasian. 69-71 AD. AR Denarius;17mm, 3.28g; Hendin 759, RIC 15. Obverse: Laureate head right; Reverse: Jewess seated right, on ground, mourning below right of trophy, IVDAEA below. Ex Imperial Coins.
De Imperatoribus Romanis:
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (A.D. 69-79)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary
Introduction
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (b. A.D. 9, d. A.D. 79, emperor A.D. 69-79) restored peace and stability to an empire in disarray following the death of Nero in A.D. 68. In the process he established the Flavian dynasty as the legitimate successor to the Imperial throne. Although we lack many details about the events and chronology of his reign, Vespasian provided practical leadership and a return to stable government - accomplishments which, when combined with his other achievements, make his emperorship particularly notable within the history of the Principate.
Early Life and Career
Vespasian was born at Falacrina near Sabine Reate on 17 November, A.D. 9, the son of T. Flavius Sabinus, a successful tax collector and banker, and Vespasia Polla. Both parents were of equestrian status. Few details of his first fifteen years survive, yet it appears that his father and mother were often away from home on business for long periods. As a result, Vespasian's early education became the responsibility of his paternal grandmother, Tertulla. [[1]] In about A.D. 25 Vespasian assumed the toga virilis and later accepted the wearing of the latus clavus, and with it the senatorial path that his older brother, T. Flavius Sabinus, had already chosen. [[2]] Although many of the particulars are lacking, the posts typically occupied by one intent upon a senatorial career soon followed: a military tribunate in Thrace, perhaps for three or four years; a quaestorship in Crete-Cyrene; and the offices of aedile and praetor, successively, under the emperor Gaius. [[3]]
It was during this period that Vespasian married Flavia Domitilla. Daughter of a treasury clerk and former mistress of an African knight, Flavia lacked the social standing and family connections that the politically ambitious usually sought through marriage. In any case, the couple produced three children, a daughter, also named Flavia Domitilla, and two sons, the future emperors Titus and Domitian . Flavia did not live to witness her husband's emperorship and after her death Vespasian returned to his former mistress Caenis, who had been secretary to Antonia (daughter of Marc Antony and mother of Claudius). Caenis apparently exerted considerable influence over Vespasian, prompting Suetonius to assert that she remained his wife in all but name, even after he became emperor. [[4]]
Following the assassination of Gaius on 24 January, A.D. 41, Vespasian advanced rapidly, thanks in large part to the new princeps Claudius, whose favor the Flavians had wisely secured with that of Antonia, the mother of Germanicus, and of Claudius' freedmen, especially Narcissus. [[5]] The emperor soon dispatched Vespasian to Argentoratum (Strasbourg) as legatus legionis II Augustae, apparently to prepare the legion for the invasion of Britain. Vespasian first appeared at the battle of Medway in A.D. 43, and soon thereafter led his legion across the south of England, where he engaged the enemy thirty times in battle, subdued two tribes, and conquered the Isle of Wight. According to Suetonius, these operations were conducted partly under Claudius and partly under Vespasian's commander, Aulus Plautius. Vespasian's contributions, however, did not go unnoticed; he received the ornamenta triumphalia and two priesthoods from Claudius for his exploits in Britain. [[6]]
By the end of A.D. 51 Vespasian had reached the consulship, the pinnacle of a political career at Rome. For reasons that remain obscure he withdrew from political life at this point, only to return when chosen proconsul of Africa about A.D. 63-64. His subsequent administration of the province was marked by severity and parsimony, earning him a reputation for being scrupulous but unpopular. [[7]] Upon completion of his term, Vespasian returned to Rome where, as a senior senator, he became a man of influence in the emperor Nero's court. [[8]] Important enough to be included on Nero's tour of Greece in A.D. 66-67, Vespasian soon found himself in the vicinity of increasing political turbulence in the East. The situation would prove pivotal in advancing his career.
Judaea and the Accession to Power
In response to rioting in Caesarea and Jerusalem that had led to the slaughter in the latter city of Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers, Nero granted to Vespasian in A.D. 66 a special command in the East with the objective of settling the revolt in Judaea. By spring A.D. 67, with 60,000 legionaries, auxiliaries, and allies under his control, Vespasian set out to subdue Galilee and then to cut off Jerusalem. Success was quick and decisive. By October all of Galilee had been pacified and plans for the strategic encirclement of Jerusalem were soon formed. [[9]] Meanwhile, at the other end of the empire, the revolts of Gaius Iulius Vindex, governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, and Servius Sulpicius Galba , governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, had brought Nero's reign to the brink of collapse. The emperor committed suicide in June, A.D. 68, thereby ensuring chaos for the next eighteen months, as first Galba and then Marcus Salvius Otho and Aulus Vitellius acceded to power. Each lacked broad-based military and senatorial support; each would be violently deposed in turn. [[10]]
Still occupied with plans against Jerusalem, Vespasian swore allegiance to each emperor. Shortly after Vitellius assumed power in spring, A.D. 69, however, Vespasian met on the border of Judaea and Syria with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria, and after a series of private and public consultations, the two decided to revolt. [[11]] On July 1, at the urging of Tiberius Alexander, prefect of Egypt, the legions of Alexandria declared for Vespasian, as did the legions of Judaea two days later. By August all of Syria and the Danube legions had done likewise. Vespasian next dispatched Mucianus to Italy with 20,000 troops, while he set out from Syria to Alexandria in order to control grain shipments for the purpose of starving Italy into submission. [[12]] The siege of Jerusalem he placed in the hands of his son Titus.
Meanwhile, the Danubian legions, unwilling to wait for Mucianus' arrival, began their march against Vitellius ' forces. The latter army, suffering from a lack of discipline and training, and unaccustomed to the heat of Rome, was defeated at Cremona in late October. [[13]] By mid-December the Flavian forces had reached Carsulae, 95 kilometers north of Rome on the Flaminian Road, where the Vitellians, with no further hope of reinforcements, soon surrendered. At Rome, unable to persuade his followers to accept terms for his abdication, Vitellius was in peril. On the morning of December 20 the Flavian army entered Rome. By that afternoon, the emperor was dead. [[14]]
Tacitus records that by December 22, A.D. 69, Vespasian had been given all the honors and privileges usually granted to emperors. Even so, the issue remains unclear, owing largely to a surviving fragment of an enabling law, the lex de imperio Vespasiani, which conferred powers, privileges, and exemptions, most with Julio-Claudian precedents, on the new emperor. Whether the fragment represents a typical granting of imperial powers that has uniquely survived in Vespasian's case, or is an attempt to limit or expand such powers, remains difficult to know. In any case, the lex sanctioned all that Vespasian had done up to its passing and gave him authority to act as he saw fit on behalf of the Roman people. [[15]]
What does seem clear is that Vespasian felt the need to legitimize his new reign with vigor. He zealously publicized the number of divine omens that predicted his accession and at every opportunity he accumulated multiple consulships and imperial salutations. He also actively promoted the principle of dynastic succession, insisting that the emperorship would fall to his son. The initiative was fulfilled when Titus succeeded his father in A.D. 79.[[16]]
Emperorship
Upon his arrival in Rome in late summer, A.D. 70, Vespasian faced the daunting task of restoring a city and a government ravaged by the recent civil wars. Although many particulars are missing, a portrait nevertheles emerges of a ruler conscientiously committed to the methodical renewal of both city and empire. Concerning Rome itself, the emperor encouraged rebuilding on vacated lots, restored the Capitol (burned in A.D. 69), and also began work on several new buildings: a temple to the deified Claudius on the Caelian Hill, a project designed to identify Vespasian as a legitimate heir to the Julio-Claudians, while distancing himself from Nero ; a temple of Peace near the Forum; and the magnificent Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre), located on the site of the lake of Nero 's Golden House. [[17]]
Claiming that he needed forty thousand million sesterces for these projects and for others aimed at putting the state on more secure footing, Vespasian is said to have revoked various imperial immunities, manipulated the supply of certain commodities to inflate their price, and increased provincial taxation. [[18]] The measures are consistent with his characterization in the sources as both obdurate and avaricious. There were occasional political problems as well: Helvidius Priscus, an advocate of senatorial independence and a critic of the Flavian regime from the start, was exiled after A.D. 75 and later executed; Marcellus Eprius and A. Alienus Caecina were condemned by Titus for conspiracy, the former committing suicide, the latter executed in A.D. 79.
As Suetonius claims, however, in financial matters Vespasian always put revenues to the best possible advantage, regardless of their source. Tacitus, too, offers a generally favorable assessment, citing Vespasian as the first man to improve after becoming emperor. [[19]] Thus do we find the princeps offering subventions to senators not possessing the property qualifications of their rank, restoring many cities throughout the empire, and granting state salaries for the first time to teachers of Latin and Greek rhetoric. To enhance Roman economic and social life even further, he encouraged theatrical productions by building a new stage for the Theatre of Marcellus, and he also put on lavish state dinners to assist the food trades. [[20]]
In other matters the emperor displayed similar concern. He restored the depleted ranks of the senatorial and equestrian orders with eligible Italian and provincial candidates and reduced the backlog of pending court cases at Rome. Vespasian also re-established discipline in the army, while punishing or dismissing large numbers of Vitellius ' men. [[21]]
Beyond Rome, the emperor increased the number of legions in the East and continued the process of imperial expansion by the annexation of northern England, the pacification of Wales, and by advances into Scotland and southwest Germany between the Rhine and the Danube. Vespasian also conferred rights on communities abroad, especially in Spain, where the granting of Latin rights to all native communities contributed to the rapid Romanization of that province during the Imperial period. [[22]]
Death and Assessment
In contrast to his immediate imperial predecessors, Vespasian died peacefully - at Aquae Cutiliae near his birthplace in Sabine country on 23 June, A.D. 79, after contracting a brief illness. The occasion is said to have inspired his deathbed quip: "Oh my, I must be turning into a god!" [[23]] In fact, public deification did follow his death, as did his internment in the Mausoleum of Augustus alongside the Julio-Claudians.
A man of strict military discipline and simple tastes, Vespasian proved to be a conscientious and generally tolerant administrator. More importantly, following the upheavals of A.D. 68-69, his reign was welcome for its general tranquility and restoration of peace. In Vespasian Rome found a leader who made no great breaks with tradition, yet his ability ro rebuild the empire and especially his willingness to expand the composition of the governing class helped to establish a positive working model for the "good emperors" of the second century.
Bibliography
Since the scholarship on Vespasian is more comprehensive than can be treated here, the works listed below are main accounts or bear directly upon issues discussed in the entry above. A comprehensive modern anglophone study of this emperor is yet to be produced.
Atti congresso internazionale di studi Flaviani, 2 vols. Rieti, 1983.
Atti congresso internazionale di studi Vespasianei, 2 vols. Rieti, 1981.
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Notes
[[1]] Suet. Vesp. 2.1. Suetonius remains the major source but see also Tac. Hist. 2-5; Cass. Dio 65; Joseph. BJ 3-4.
[[2]] Suetonius (Vesp. 2.1) claims that Vespasian did not accept the latus clavus, the broad striped toga worn by one aspiring to a senatorial career, immediately. The delay, however, was perhaps no more than three years. See J. Nicols, Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae (Wiesbaden, 1978), 2.
[[3]] Military tribunate and quaestorship: Suet. Vesp. 2.3; aedileship: ibid., 5.3, in which Gaius, furious that Vespasian had not kept the streets clean, as was his duty, ordered some soldiers to load him with filth;,they complied by stuffing his toga with as much as it could hold. See also Dio 59.12.2-3; praetorship: Suet. Vesp. 2.3, in which Vespasian is depicted as one of Gaius' leading adulators, an account consistent with Tacitus' portrayal (Hist 1.50.4; 2.5.1) of his early career. For a more complete discussion of these posts and attendant problems of dating, see Nicols, Vespasian, 2-7.
[[4]] Marriage and Caenis: Suet. Vesp. 3; Cass. Dio 65.14.
[[5]] Nicols, Vespasian, 12-39.
[[6]] Suet. Vesp. 4.1 For additional details on Vespasian's exploits in Britain, see D. Dudley and G. Webster, The Roman Conquest of Britain (London, 1965), 55 ff., 98.
[[7]] Concerning Vespasian's years between his consulship and proconsulship, see Suet. Vesp. 4.2 and Nicols, Vespasian, 9. On his unpopularity in Africa, see Suet. Vesp. 4.3, an account of a riot at Hadrumentum, where he was once pelted with turnips. In recording that Africa supported Vitellius in A.D. 69, Tacitus too suggests popular dissatisfaction with Vespasian's proconsulship. See Hist. 2.97.2.
[[8]] This despite the fact that the sources record two rebukes of Vespasian, one for extorting money from a young man seeking career advancement (Suet. Vesp. 4.3), the other for either leaving the room or dozing off during one of the emperor's recitals (Suet. Vesp. 4.4 and 14, which places the transgression in Greece; Tac. (Ann. 16.5.3), who makes Rome and the Quinquennial Games of A.D. 65 the setting; A. Braithwaite, C. Suetoni Tranquilli Divus Vespasianus, Oxford, 1927, 30, who argues for both Greece and Rome).
[[9]] Subjugation of Galilee: Joseph. BJ 3.65-4.106; siege of Jerusalem: ibid., 4.366-376, 414.
[[10]] Revolt of Vindex: Suet. Nero 40; Tac. Ann. 14.4; revolt of Galba: Suet. Galba 10; Plut. Galba, 4-5; suicide of Nero: Suet. Nero 49; Cass. Dio 63.29.2. For the most complete account of the period between Nero's death and the accession of Vespasian, see K. Wellesley, The Long Year: A.D. 69, 2nd. ed. (Bristol, 1989).
[[11]] Tac. Hist. 2.76.
[[12]] Troops in support of Vespasian: Suet. Vit. 15; Mucianus and his forces: Tac. Hist. 2.83; Vespasian and grain shipments: Joseph. BJ 4.605 ff.; see also Tac. Hist. 3.48, on Vespasian's possible plan to shut off grain shipments to Italy from Carthage as well.
[[13]] On Vitellius' army and its lack of discipline, see Tac. Hist. 2.93-94; illness of army: ibid., 2.99.1; Cremona: ibid., 3.32-33.
[[14]] On Vitellius' last days, see Tac. Hist. 3.68-81. On the complicated issue of Vitellius' death date, see L. Holzapfel, "Römische Kaiserdaten," Klio 13 (1913): 301.
[[15]] Honors, etc. Tac. Hist. 4.3. For more on the lex de imperio Vespasiani, see P. A. Brunt, "Lex de imperio Vespasiani," JRS (67) 1977: 95-116.
[[16]] Omens: Suet. Vesp. 5; consulships and honors: ibid., 8; succession of sons: ibid., 25.
[[17]] On Vespasian's restoration of Rome, see Suet. Vesp. 9; Cass. Dio 65.10; D. Wardel, "Vespasian, Helvidius Priscus and the Restoration of the Capitol," Historia 45 (1996): 208-222.
[[18]] Suet. Vesp. 16.
[[19]] Ibid.; Tac. Hist. 1.50.
[[20]] Suet. Vesp. 17-19.
[[21]] Ibid., 8-10.
[[22]] On Vespasian's exploits in Britain, see esp. Tac., Agricola, eds. R. M. Ogilvie and I. A. Richmond (1967), and W. S. Hanson, Agricola and the Conquest of the North (1987); on the granting of Latin rights in Spain, see, e.g., J. Gonzalez, "The Lex Irnitana: a New Copy of the Flavian Municipal Law." JRS 76 (1986): 147-243.
[[23]] For this witticism and other anecdotes concerning Vespasian's sense of humor, see Suet. Vesp. 23.
Copyright (C) 1998, John Donahue. Published on De Imperatoribus Romanis, an Online Encyplopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families.
http://www.roman-emperors.org/vespasia.htm
Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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