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AE Sextans - Anonymous Issue - after 89 B.C. - Mint of Rome
Obv.: Head of Mercury r., two pellets behind
Rev.: Prow right, ROMA above; two pellets below.
Gs 1,7 mm 15,5
Craw. 56/6
Maxentius
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Ae Sextans - 211/206 BC - Mint of Rome
Anonymous
Obv.: Head of Mercury right wearing winged petasos; •• above
Rev.: Prow of galley right; ROMA above, •• below.
Gs. 5,8 mm. 19,6
Crawf. 56/6, Sear RCV 1204, Grueber 256
Maxentius
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As - 43/36 BC. - Mint in Spain or Sicily
SEXTVS POMPEIVS - Gens Pompeia
Obv.: MGN above laureate janiform head with features of Pompey the Great
Rev.:Prow of galley right. PIVS above, IMP below.
Gs. 16,3 mm. 29,24
Crawf. 479/1, Sear RCV 1394, Grueber II (Spain) 95
Maxentius
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Sextus Pompey, BC 35, AR denarius 3.55 grams, Sicily BC 42-40, Pharos of Messana/ Marine monster Scylla CR-511/4a, CRI-335, SR(I)-1393paul1888
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1st Century BC - 1st Century CE, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribe: Trinovantes, AE Unit, Struck c.10 BC – 10 CE in Camulodunum(?) in Essex under DubnovellaunusObverse: Head facing right, hair(?) lines on head divided by clear centre parting.
Reverse: Horse prancing left; complex pellets and circles above and below.
Diameter: 13.5mm | Weight: 1.61gms | Axis: 3h
SPINK: -- | BMC -- | ABC 2413
VERY RARE
Very rare uninscribed bronze unit of Dubnovellaunus found in Essex. The type is designated as a “Dubnovellaunus Centre Parting” bronze unit in ABC (Ancient British Coins), and to date (January, 2023) it is unlisted in any other major reference works.
DUBNOVELLAUNUS
It is generally thought that Dubnovellaunus succeeded his father Addedomarus as king of the Trinovantes somewhere around 10-5 BC and ruled for several years before being supplanted by Cunobelinus of the Catuvellauni.
In the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, a British king called Dumnovellaunus appears, alongside Tincomarus of the Atrebates, as a supplicant to Augustus in around AD 7 and, given the chronology, it is indeed possible that Dubnovellaunus of the Trinovantes is the same person as the Dumnovellaunus who presented himself to Augustus. The spelling variation is due to a Celtic, rather than a Latin, interpretation of the ruler's name.
It is worth mentioning that the authors of ABC (Ancient British Coins) also think that Dubnovellaunus of the Trinovantes could possibly be the same individual as the Dumnovellaunus who ruled in Kent in the 30s - 20s BC, they suggest that he could have been a Cantian king who later gained control over the southern part of the Trinovantes and that therefore he might have ruled both territories north and south of the Thames estuary for a few years. It should be noted however, that Van Arsdell, an authority on the Celtic Coinage of Britain, emphatically disputes this.
TRINOVANTES
The Trinovantes were one of the Iron Age Celtic tribes of Pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in the present day counties of Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk, and also included lands now located in Greater London. They were bordered to the north by the Iceni, and to the west by the Catuvellauni. Their capital was Camulodunum (modern Colchester).
Shortly before Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, the Trinovantes were considered the most powerful tribe in Britain. At this time their capital was probably at Braughing (in modern-day Hertfordshire). In some copies of Caesar's Gallic War their king is referred to as Imanuentius, although no name is given in other copies which have come down to us. That said however, it seems that this king was overthrown by Cassivellaunus, king of the Catuvellauni, some time before Caesar's second expedition and that Imanuentius' son, Mandubracius, fled to the protection of Caesar in Gaul. During his second expedition Caesar defeated Cassivellaunus and restored Mandubracius to the kingship. Cassivellaunus agreed to pay tribute and also undertook not to attack him again.
The next identifiable king of the Trinovantes, known from numismatic evidence, was Addedomarus, who took power around 20 – 15 BCE, and moved the tribe's capital to Camulodunum. For a brief period, around 10 BCE, Tasciovanus of the Catuvellauni issued coins from Camulodunum, suggesting that he must have conquered the Trinovantes, but he was soon forced to withdraw, perhaps as a result of pressure from the Romans. Addedomarus was restored and Tasciovanus' later coins no longer bear the mark “REX”. Addedomarus was briefly succeeded by his son Dubnovellaunus, around 10 to 5 BCE, but a few years later the tribe was conquered by either Tasciovanus or his son Cunobelinus.
The Trinovantes do not appear in history again until their participation in Boudica's revolt against the Romans in 60 CE. After that though they seem to have embraced the Romanisation of Britain and their name was later given to one of the “civitates” of Roman Britain, whose chief town was Caesaromagus (modern Chelmsford in Essex).
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*Alex
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1st Century CE, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribe: Atrebates, AR Unit, Struck c.25 -35 under EpaticcusObverse: EPATI. Head of Hercules, wearing lionskin headdress with paws tied before neck, facing right; pellet in ring behind.
Reverse: No legend. Eagle standing facing, head left, on serpent; dot in circle at upper right.
Diameter: 12mm | Weight: 1.1gms | Axis: 10 |
Spink: 356
Coin found in Hampshire, England. Old repair
EPATICCUS
Epaticcus was a son of Tasciovanus, and probably the younger brother of Cunobelin, he was also apparently a favoured uncle of Caratacus. It is from his coinage issues that we know his name and his family relationship.
The distribution of his coinage would indicate that Epaticcus expanded the territory of his tribe at the expense of the Atrebatean king Verica, and installed himself at the latter's capital, Calleva around 25 CE.
It is likely that Epaticcus was permitted to govern the area by his brother as part of the Catuvellaunian hegemony that was expanding across south eastern Britain at the time. Epaticcus continued to take Verica’s lands to west and south until his death, probably on campaign, around 35 CE. After this his expansionist policies were continued by his nephews, Caratacus and Togodumnus, into the late 30’s CE.
ATREBATES
The Atrebates were a Belgic Iron Age tribe originally dwelling in the Artois region of Northern France.
After the tribes of Gallia Belgic were defeated by Caesar in 57 BC, 4,000 Atrebates participated in the Battle of Alesia in 53, led by their chief Commius.
Before 54 BC, an offshoot of the Gallic tribe probably settled in Britain where it was successively ruled by kings Commius, Tincommius, Eppillus and Verica. Their territory comprised modern Hampshire, West Sussex and Berkshire, centred on the capital Calleva Atrebatum (modern Silchester). They were bordered to the north by the Dobunni and Catuvellauni; to the east by the Regni; and to the south by the Belgae.
The settlement of the Atrebates in Britain does not seem to have been a mass population movement and it is possible that the name "Atrebates", as with many "tribal" names in this period, referred only to the ruling house or dynasty and not to an ethnic group.
After the Roman conquest the Atrebates' lands were organized into the civitates of the Atrebates, Regni and possibly, the Belgae.
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*Alex
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2 Augustus AE AsAugustus AE As
6 BC
Moneyer Sextus Nonius Quinctilianus
CAESAR AVGVST PONT MAX TRIBVNIC POT, bare head right / SEX NONIVS QVINCTILIAN IIIVIR AAAFF around large SC.
Cohen 474, RIC 439, Cohen 474, BMC 237
RI0008Sosius
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38Anonymous; c.217 BC
AE sextans
Obv - Head of Mercury right wearing petasus
Rev "ROMA"
Prow right,, two pelets below
Rome mint
Crawford 38/5mauseus
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680 - 710, ANGLO-SAXON, AR Sceat, struck c.685 - 700 at Essex or East Anglia, EnglandObverse: Pearl diademed head facing right within ouroboros (serpent eating its tail), unintelligible pseudo legend around.
Reverse: Bird standing facing right upon cross, annulets on either side, all within ouroboros (serpent eating its tail), unintelligible pseudo legend around.
Primary Phase, Series BI
Diameter: 12mm | Weight: 1.05gms | Die Axis: 12h
SPINK: 777 | Metcalf: 100 - 106 | Abramson (Sceatta List): 16 - 40
This coin was struck at the time in which the Beowulf legend was set, though the coin predates the earliest manuscript of that saga by about three centuries. These coins constitute the earliest indigenous currency found on the British Isles and they are a fascinating glimpse into the so called "Dark Ages" during the post-Roman period.
The departure of the Romans sometime around 414 AD induced the inhabitants to create their own coinage. These primary phase sceattas are among the earliest of all Anglo-Saxon coinage and are generally thought to be modelled after coinages found in the surrounding areas and, of course, based on the earlier coinage from the Roman Empire. Most scholars now believe that the word "sceat" has been a misinterpretation of the word for "weight" and that the coin would probably have been classed as a denier or a penny. However, while archaeological finds and further research has provided more information on where these types may have been created, there is still little known about under whom they were struck.
This was a time of transition from paganism to Christianity, and these coins often show elements of both, featuring mysterious birds and beasts as well as crosses. This particular coin has not only a cross and a bird, but some wonderful ouroboros "snake circles" used as borders on both sides as well. The fantastical imagery and designs often found on these coins can be very attractive to many collectors.*Alex
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796 – c.835, EANBALD II, Archbishop of York, Northumbria, AE Styca, struck c.830 - 835 at York, EnglandObverse: + EANBALD AR around small Greek cross. Greek cross in legend.
Reverse: + EDILVARD around cross pommée. Cross pommée in legend. Moneyer: Aethelweard
Phase 1b issue
Diameter: 13mm | Weight: 1.0gms | Die Axis: 6h
SPINK: 861 | British Numismatic Journal (1916) – (H A Parsons, The coins of Archbishop Eanbald II of York): 60
Initially a base silver coin, after the devastating Viking attack on Lindisfarne in 793, with its subsequent commercial impact on the kingdom of Northumberland, the second issue of stycas under King Eanred were debased by having their silver content replaced by zinc. There was a further debasement of the coinage in 829 after Eanred's submission to Ecgberht of Wessex, such that the styca became basically a copper alloy coin.
Eanbald II was, prior to his elevation to the archiepiscopate, a priest of the Church of York. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records his consecration as Archbishop on 14th August, 796, immediately after the death of the first prelate of the same name.
In the year 797, Eanbald II is recorded as having assisted in the recovery of the rights of the see of Canterbury, which had been much impaired during the reign of King Offa of Mercia in order that his new primacy at Lichfield might be promoted. In this work of restitution, Eanbald collaborated with Æthelhard, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had appealed to Rome over the matter. The case was also presented to Coenwulf, the successor of Offa, and he was persuaded by the two prelates to refer the question to the Pope which resulted in Offa's new archiepiscopal see of Lichfield being abolished.
In 798 Eanbald convened a great synod at Finchale, near Durham. There, he enacted a number of regulations relating to the ecclesiastical courts and the observance of Easter.
Early on Eanbald became estranged from Eardwulf, King of Northumbria, after denouncing Eardwulf's adulteries and sheltering Eardwulf's enemies by giving them church sanctuary. But Eardwulf seems to have been deposed in around 806 and was eventually succeeded by Eanred around 810.
No record of Eanbald II's death survives and the time of his death has been variously estimated to range from as early as 808 to as late as 835, the latter date based on numismatic evidence.
The Kingdom of Northumbria was a medieval Anglian kingdom in what is now Northern England and South-east Scotland. The name derives from the Old English Norþan-hymbre meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", Northumbria started to consolidate into one kingdom in the early seventh century when the two earlier territories of Deira and Bernicia united. At its height, the kingdom extended from the Humber Estuary in the south to the Firth of Forth (now in Scotland) in the north.
Northumbria ceased to be an independent kingdom in the mid-tenth century.
*Alex
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810 - 841, EANRED, Anglo-Saxon king of Northumbria, AE Styca, Struck c.830 - 835 at York, EnglandObverse: + EANRED REX around small cross pattée. Cross pattée in legend.
Reverse: + FORDRED around small cross patoncé. Cross pattée in legend. Moneyer: Fordred.
Phase 1b issue
Grey patina with slight silver sheen
Diameter: 12mm | Weight: 0.9gms | Die Axis: 12h
SPINK: 862
Initially a base silver coin, after the devastating Viking attack on Lindisfarne in 793, with its subsequent commercial impact on the kingdom of Northumberland, Eanred's second issue of stycas were debased by having their silver content replaced by zinc. There was a further debasement of the coinage in 829 after Eanred's submission to Ecgberht of Wessex, such that the styca became basically a copper alloy coin.
Eanred was king of Northumbria in the early ninth century.but very little is known for certain about him. Roger of Wendover, a 13th century English chronicler, states that Eanred reigned from 810 until 840, but the twelfth-century History of the Church of Durham records a reign of 33 years. Given the turbulence of Northumbrian history in this period, a reign of this length suggests a figure of some significance. Eanred was the son of King Eardwulf, who was deposed by an otherwise unknown Ælfwald in 806. According to the History of the Church of Durham, Ælfwald ruled for two years before Eanred succeeded. However Frankish sources claim that, after being expelled from England, Eardwulf was received by Charlemagne and then the pope, and that their envoys escorted him back to Northumbria and secured his restoration to power. The precise nature of the succession of Eanred is therefore unclear but all the sources agree that Eanred was eventually succeeded by his son, Æthelred.
The Kingdom of Northumbria was a medieval Anglian kingdom in what is now Northern England and South-east Scotland. The name derives from the Old English Norþan-hymbre meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", Northumbria started to consolidate into one kingdom in the early seventh century when the two earlier territories of Deira and Bernicia united. At its height, the kingdom extended from the Humber Estuary in the south to the Firth of Forth (now in Scotland) in the north.
Northumbria ceased to be an independent kingdom in the mid-tenth century.
*Alex
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ROME
PB Tessera (16mm, 2.92 g, 12 h)
Horse standing right; C above
Erect phallus; A V flanking
Rostovtsev -
Rostovtsev1 gathers into one group all tesserae depicting the phallus, various iterations of the word Amor, and the extremely rare pieces depicting sexual acts. He assumes that these pieces were entrance tickets to the Lupanaria, ancient brothels. This association has caused many scholars to refuse to accept tesserae as currency, as they feel that such crude themes would never have been depicted on currency. Thornton2, however, convincingly argues that, as Mercury is sometimes depicted as a herm, a statuary type consisting of a bust set on a square pedestal adorned with only genitalia, the phallus is in fact an emblem of the god in his guise as a fertility deity.
1. Rostovtzev, Mikhail. 1905. Römische Bleitesserae. Ed. C.F. Lehmann and E Kornemann. Beiträge z. Liepzig: Theodor Weicher.
2. Thornton, M. K. 1980. “The Roman Lead Tesserae : Observations on Two Historical Problems Author.” Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 29 3: 341-3
Ardatirion
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UNITED STATES, Trade Tokens. Belleville, New Jersey. Tobias D. Seaman, butcher
CU Token. Belleville (New Jersey) mint. Dies by Gibbs. Struck 1837.
T. D. SEAMAN BUTCHER./ * BELLEVILLE *. Bouquet.
* A FRIEND */ TO THE CONSTITUTION, Bull standing right; c/m: minute D above.
Rulau HT 204B; Low 155
Ex Don Miller Collection; William Dunham Collection (B. Max Mehl, 3 August 1941), lot 2713
Tobias Seaman was apparently not primarily engaged as a butcher, finding more success as a hotelier. He was the proprietor of Mansion House in Belleville and, later, of the Mechanic's Hotel in Newark circa 1845-1851, and the South Ward Hotel thereafter. For a brief time he was also the owner of a stage line to New York and, "a horseman of great noteriety."(W. Shaw, History of Essex and Hudson Counties, New Jersey. New York, 1884. p. 890-a)Ardatirion
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BRITISH TRADE TOKENS, Middlesex. London & Middlesex. Robert Reynolds & Co.
CU Halfpenny Token (31mm, 12.42 g, 6 h)
Dated 1799
LONDON & MIDDLESEX, draped bust of William Shakespeare left
HALFPENNY, Abundatia seated left on bale of cotton, extending hand and holding cornucopia; ship to left; 1799 in exergue
D&H 928
Ardatirion
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"As de Nîmes" or "crocodile" Ӕ dupondius of Nemausus (9 - 3 BC), honoring Augustus and AgrippaIMP DIVI F , Heads of Agrippa (left) and Augustus (right) back to back, Agrippa wearing rostral crown and Augustus the oak-wreath / COL NEM, crocodile right chained to palm-shoot with short dense fronds and tip right; two short palm offshoots left and right below, above on left a wreath with two long ties streaming right.
Ó”, 24.5 x 3+ mm, 13.23g, die axis 3h; on both sides there are remains of what appears to be gold plating, perhaps it was a votive offering? Rough edges and slight scrapes on flan typical for this kind of coin, due to primitive technology (filing) of flan preparation.
IMPerator DIVI Filius. Mint of COLonia NEMausus (currently Nîmes, France). Known as "As de Nîmes", it is actually a dupontius (lit. "two-pounder") = 2 ases (sometimes cut in halves to get change). Dupondii were often made out of a golden-colored copper alloy (type of brass) "orichalcum" and this appears to be such case.
Key ID points: oak-wreath (microphotography shows that at least one leaf has a complicated shape, although distinguishing oak from laurel is very difficult) – earlier versions have Augustus bareheaded, no PP on obverse as in later versions, no NE ligature, palm with short fronds with tip right (later versions have tip left and sometimes long fronds). Not typical: no clear laurel wreath together with the rostral crown, gold (?) plating (!), both features really baffling.
But still clearly a "middle" kind of the croc dupondius, known as "type III": RIC I 158, RPC I 524, Sear 1730. It is often conservatively dated to 10 BC - 10 AD, but these days it is usually narrowed to 9/8 - 3 BC.
It is a commemorative issue, honoring the victory over Mark Antony and conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. The heads of Augustus and Agrippa were probably positioned to remind familiar obverses of Roman republican coins with two-faced Janus. Palm branch was a common symbol of victory, in this case grown into a tree, like the victories of Augustus and Agrippa grown into the empire. The two offshoots at the bottom may mean two sons of Agrippa, Gaius and Lucius, who were supposed to be Augustus' heirs and were patrons of the colony. Palm may also be a symbol of the local Nemausian deity, which was probably worshiped in a sacred grove. When these coins were minted, the colony was mostly populated by the settled veterans of Augustus' campaigns, hence the reminiscence of the most famous victory, but some of the original Celtic culture probably survived and was assimilated by Romans. The crocodile is not only the symbol of Egypt, like in the famous Octavian's coins AEGYPTO CAPTA. It is also a representation of Mark Antony, powerful and scary both in water and on land, but a bit slow and stupid. The shape of the crocodile with tail up was specifically chosen to remind of the shape of ship on very common "legionary" denarius series, which Mark Antony minted to pay his armies just before Actium. It is probably also related to the popular contemporary caricature of Cleopatra, riding on and simultaneously copulating with a crocodile, holding a palm branch in her hand as if in triumph. There the crocodile also symbolized Mark Antony.
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was born c. 64-62 BC somewhere in rural Italy. His family was of humble and plebeian origins, but rich, of equestrian rank. Agrippa was about the same age as Octavian, and the two were educated together and became close friends. He probably first served in Caesar's Spanish campaign of 46–45 BC. Caesar regarded him highly enough to send him with Octavius in 45 BC to train in Illyria. When Octavian returned to Rome after Caesar's assassination, Agrippa became his close lieutenant, performing many tasks. He probably started his political career in 43 BC as a tribune of the people and then a member of the Senate. Then he was one of the leading Octavian's generals, finally becoming THE leading general and admiral in the civil wars of the subsequent years.
In 38 as a governor of Transalpine Gaul Agrippa undertook an expedition to Germania, thus becoming the first Roman general since Julius Caesar to cross the Rhine. During this foray he helped the Germanic tribe of Ubii (who previously allied themselves with Caesar in 55 BC) to resettle on the west bank of the Rhine. A shrine was dedicated there, possibly to Divus Caesar whom Ubii fondly remembered, and the village became known as Ara Ubiorum, "Altar of Ubians". This quickly would become an important Roman settlement. Agrippina the Younger, Agrippa's granddaughter, wife of Emperor Claudius and mother of Emperor Nero, would be born there in 15 AD. In 50 AD she would sponsor this village to be upgraded to a colonia, and it would be renamed Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (colony of Claudius [at] the Altar of Agrippinians – Ubii renamed themselves as Agrippinians to honor the augusta!), abbreviated as CCAA, later to become the capital of new Roman province, Germania Inferior.
In 37 BC Octavian recalled Agrippa back to Rome and arranged for him to win the consular elections, he desperately needed help in naval warfare with Sextus Pompey, the youngest son of Pompey the Great, who styled himself as the last supporter of the republican cause, but in reality became a pirate king, an irony since his father was the one who virtually exterminated piracy in all the Roman waters. He forced humiliating armistice on the triumvirs in 39 BC and when Octavian renewed the hostilities a year later, defeated him in a decisive naval battle of Messina. New fleet had to be built and trained, and Agrippa was the man for the job. Agrippa's solution was creating a huge secret naval base he called Portus Iulius by connecting together lakes Avernus, Avernus and the natural inner and outer harbors behind Cape Misenum at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples. He also created a larger type of ship and developed a new naval weapon: harpax – a ballista-launched grapnel shot with mechanisms that allowed pulling enemy ships close for easy boarding. It replaced the previous boarding device that Romans used since the First Punic War, corvus – effective, but extremely cumbersome. A later defence against it were scythe blades on long poles for cutting ropes, but since this invention was developed in secret, the enemy had no chance to prepare anything like it. It all has proved extremely effective: in a series of naval engagements Agrippa annihilated the fleet of Sextus, forced him to abandon his bases and run away. For this Agrippa was awarded an unprecedented honour that no Roman before or after him received: a rostral crown, "corona rostrata", a wreath decorated in front by a prow and beak of a ship.
That's why Virgil (Aeneid VIII, 683-684), describing Agrippa at Actium, says: "…belli insigne superbum, tempora navali fulgent rostrata corona." "…the proud military decoration, gleams on his brow the naval rostral crown". Actium, the decisive battle between forces of Octavian and Mark Antony, may appear boring compared to the war with Sextus, but it probably turned out this way due to Agrippa's victories in preliminary naval engagements and taking over all the strategy from Octavian.
In between the wars Agrippa has shown an unusual talent in city planning, not only constructing many new public buildings etc., but also greatly improving Rome's sanitation by doing a complete overhaul of all the aqueducts and sewers. Typically, it was Augustus who later would boast that "he had found the city of brick but left it of marble", forgetting that, just like in his naval successes, it was Agrippa who did most of the work. Agrippa had building programs in other Roman cities as well, a magnificent temple (currently known as Maison Carrée) survives in Nîmes itself, which was probably built by Agrippa.
Later relationship between Augustus and Agrippa seemed colder for a while, Agrippa seemed to even go into "exile", but modern historians agree that it was just a ploy: Augustus wanted others to think that Agrippa was his "rival" while in truth he was keeping a significant army far away from Rome, ready to come to the rescue in case Augustus' political machinations fail. It is confirmed by the fact that later Agrippa was recalled and given authority almost equal to Augustus himself, not to mention that he married Augustus' only biological child. The last years of Agrippa's life were spent governing the eastern provinces, were he won respect even of the Jews. He also restored Crimea to Roman Empire. His last service was starting the conquest of the upper Danube, were later the province of Pannonia would be. He suddenly died of illness in 12 BC, aged ~51.
Agrippa had several children through his three marriages. Through some of his children, Agrippa would become ancestor to many subsequent members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He has numerous other legacies.Yurii P
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*SOLD*Tiberius AE 29
Attribution: RPC 738, Zeugitana, Utica
Date: AD 28-29
Obverse: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVG IMP VIII, bare head l.
Reverse: C VIBIO MARSO PR COS II SEX TADIVS FAVSTVS IIV, veiled figure of Livia seated r. holding scepter & patera M-M and I-V across fields
Size: 29.3 mm
Weight: 12.38 grams
ex-ForvmNoah
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- 27 BC - 14 AD - Augustus - RIC I 439 - As with "S C" ReverseEmperor: Augustus (r. 27 BC - 14 AD)
Date: 6 BC
Condition: Fair
Denomination: As
Obverse: CAESAR AVGVST PONT MAX TRIBVNIC POT
Caesar Augustus Chief Priest Tribune
Bare head right
Reverse: SEX NONIVS QVINCTILIAN IIIVIR AAAFF around S C.
Sex. Nonius Quinctilianus of The Three Men for Striking and Casting Gold, Silver and Bronze by Senatorial Decree.
Rome mint
RIC I Augustus 439
10.07g; 26.5mm; 270°Pep
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0001 Sextus Pompey, Imperator and Prefect of the Fleet [Youngest Son of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great)]Q. Nasidius for Sextus Pompey
Obv: NEPTVNI (open P) downward on the l., bareheaded portrait of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus facing r., trident with prongs pointing upward on the r., dolphin facing r. below neck, banker's mark to r. of bottom of neck. Border of dots.
Rev: Q. NASIDIVS below galley moving r. with billowing sail and bank of rowers, steersman on l. facing r. on stern with star above, pilot on r. facing r. standing on prow. Border of dots.
Denomination: silver denarius; Mint: Sicily, uncertain location1; Date 42 BC2; Weight: 3.87g; Diameter: 19mm: Die axis: 150º; References, for example: Cohen 15; Babelon Nasidia 1 and Pompeia 28; BMCRR v. II Sicily 21; Crawford RRC 483/2; Sydenham 1350; CRI 235.
Notes:
Q. Nasidius, a naval commander under Pompey the Great, eventually wound up in the services of Sextus. See Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily p. 564 and Sear CRI pp. 139 - 140.
1Sydenham, Crawford RRC, and Estiot (2006) place the minting of this coin type in Sicily, but without referencing a location. Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily also places the minting of this coin in Sicily and hesitatingly suggests the city of Catana. By his own admission "...this attribution is quite conjectural" (p. 557). Sear CRI, however, argues for a completely different location. On the basis of the naval theme and the absence of the title PRAEF⦁ORAE⦁MARIT⦁ET⦁CLAS⦁S⦁C, which for him pushes the date of minting to a time prior to April of 43 BC, Sear posits the minting of this coin to Sextus' time at the port of Massilia in southern Gaul.
2This is the date argued for in Estiot (2006) (p. 145), "...possibly around the time just before the beginning of the issue of Sextus Pompieus" imp. iter. praef. clas. et orae marit ex S C. coinage" [translation my own]. Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily proposes 38 - 36 BC with Sydenham and DeRose Evans (1987) following suit. Crawford RRC suggests 44 - 43 BC.
Provenance: Ex CNG Auction 114 May 13, 2020 Lot 646; From the B. G. Collection, Ex CNG Auction 108 May 16, 2018 Lot 526.
Photo Credits: CNG
CLICK FOR SOURCESTracy Aiello
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0002 Sextus Pompey -- Neptune and Naval TrophySextus Pompey, Imperator and Prefect of the Fleet
[Youngest Son of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great)]
Obv: [MAG or MA (ligatured) G]⦁PIVS⦁IMP⦁ITER; Portrait of Neptune facing r., diademed and bearded, trident over l. shoulder. Border of dots.
Rev: [PRAE (AE ligatured) F⦁CLAS⦁ET⦁ORAE (AE ligatured)]⦁MAR (ligatured) IT⦁EX⦁S⦁C⦁; Naval trophy with trident on top and anchor on bottom, prow stem on l. and aplustre on r., at base two representations of Charybdis and two dog heads of Scylla. Border of dots.
Denomination: silver denarius; Mint: Sicily, uncertain location1; Date: summer 42 - summer 39 BC2; Weight: 3.89g; Diameter: 17mm; Die axis: 30º; References, for example: Sear CRI 333; BMCRR v. II Sicily 15, 16, and 17 variant3; Sydenham 1347 variant3; Crawford RRC 511/2a or 2b4.
Notes:
Obverse legend: MAG[NUS]⦁PIVS⦁IMP[ERATOR]⦁ITER[UM]
Reverse legend: PRAEF[ECTUS]⦁CLAS[SIS]⦁ET⦁ORAE⦁MARIT[IMAE]⦁EX⦁S[ENATUS]⦁C[ONSULTO]
1Sear CRI, Crawford RRC, Sydenham, and DeRose Evans (1987) all place the minting of this coin type in Sicily, but they do not reference a possible location. Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily suggests Messana.
2This is the date range argued for in Estiot 2006 (p. 145). Estiot recommends returning to Crawford's proposal of 42 - 40 BC. Crawford RRC, p. 521 suggests the period in 42 BC after Sextus Pompey defeated Q. Salvidienus Rufus. Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily, p.562 proposes 38 - 36 BC and Sydenham, p. 210 adopts the same datation. DeRose Evans (1987), p. 129 offers a time between late summer 36 and September 36 BC.
3Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily 15, 16, and 17 and Sydenham 1347 only list a reverse legend containing MAR (ligatured) I but the coin here is MAR (ligatured) IT.
4It is impossible to see the full obverse legend, so it cannot be determined if MA is ligatured or not. The reverse legend is clearly the first variety of 2a or 2b, a variety not found on 2c.
Provenance: Ex Shanna Schmidt Numismatics April 11, 2019; from the collection of W. F. Stoecklin, Amriswil, Switzerland; acquired from Hess AG in Luzern, from the Ernst Haeberlin collection, Cahn & Hess, Frankfurt, July 17, 1933 Lot 2889.
Photo credits: Shanna Schmidt Numismatics
CLICK FOR SOURCESTracy Aiello
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0003 Sextus Pompey -- Neptune and Naval Trophy Auction CatalogCahn & Hess auction, Frankfurt, July 17, 1933, Ernst Haeberlin collection, lot 2889
Photo credits: Shanna Schmidt NumismaticsTracy Aiello
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0004 Sextus Pompey -- Pharos and ScyllaSextus Pompey, Imperator and Prefect of the Fleet
[Youngest Son of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great)]
Obv: MAG⦁PIVS⦁IMP⦁ITER; Pharos of Messana, Neptune on top standing r. with r. hand on a trident and l. hand on a rudder, resting l. foot on prow. Galley sailing l., aquila atop a tripod placed in prow and a scepter tied with a fillet in stern. Border of dots.
Rev: PRAEF⦁ORAE⦁MARIT⦁ET⦁CLAS⦁S⦁C [AEs and MAR ligatured]; Scylla attacking l. wielding a rudder in both hands, the torso of a nude woman with two fishtails and the foreparts of three dogs as the lower body. Border of dots.
Denomination: silver denarius; Mint: Sicily, uncertain location1; Date: summer 42 - summer 39 BC2; Weight: 3.566g; Diameter: 19.8mm; Die axis: 225º; References, for example: BMCRR v. II Sicily 20 variant3, Sydenham 1349 variant3; Crawford RRC 511/4d; Sear CRI 335b.
Notes:
Obverse legend: MAG[NUS]⦁PIVS⦁IMP[ERATOR]⦁ITER[UM]
Reverse legend: PRAEF[ECTUS]⦁ORAE⦁MARIT[IMAE]⦁ET⦁CLAS[SIS]⦁S[ENATUS]⦁C[ONSULTO]
1Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily, p.557 and Sear CRI, p. 203 suggest Messana as a possible mint location. DeRose Evans (1987), p. 124 hesitatingly suggests Mitylene (on the island of Lesbos).
2This is the date range suggested by Estiot 2006, p. 145, as she recommends going back to Crawford's proposal of 42 - 40 BC. Crawford RRC, p. 521 suggests the period in 42 BC after Sextus Pompey defeated Q. Salvidienus Rufus. Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily, p.556 proposes 38 - 36 BC. Sydenham, p.211 follows Grueber. DeRose Evans (1987), p. 129 submits 35 BC.
3Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily 20 and Sydenham 1349 list MAR (ligatured) I but the coin here is clearly MAR (ligatured) IT. Neither Grueber nor Sydenham record MAR (ligatured) IT as part of this reverse legend for this coin type. Crawford and Sear do.
Provenance: Ex Forum Ancient Coins 15 January 2019; Nomos Obolos 10, 30 June 2018 Lot 349.
Photo credits: Forum Ancient Coins
CLICK FOR SOURCESTracy Aiello
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0005 Sextus Pompey -- Pharos and Scylla Larger PicturePhoto Credits: Forum Ancient CoinsTracy Aiello
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0006 Sextus Pompey -- Pompey the Great and Neptune with Catanaean BrothersSextus Pompey, Imperator and Prefect of the Fleet
[Youngest Son of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great)]
Obv: [MAG⦁PIVS⦁IMP⦁ITER]; portrait of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus r.; behind jug; before lituus. Border of dots.
Rev: above, [PRAE (AE ligatured) F]; in exergue, CLAS⦁ET⦁[ORAE (AE ligatured)⦁MAR (ligatured) IT⦁EX⦁S⦁C]; Neptune standing l., wearing diadem, aplustre in r. hand, cloak over l. arm, r. foot on prow,; on either side a Catanaean brother bearing one of his parents on his shoulders1. Border of dots.
Denomination: silver denarius; Mint: Sicily, uncertain location2; Date: summer 42 - summer 39 BC3; Weight: 3.68g; Diameter: 17mm; Die axis: 30º; References, for example: Sear CRI 334; BMCRR v. II Sicily 7, 8, 9, and 10; Sydenham 1344; Crawford RRC 511/3a.
Notes:
Obverse legend: MAG[NUS]⦁PIVS⦁IMP[ERATOR]⦁ITER[UM]
Reverse legend: PRAEF[ECTUS]⦁CLAS[SIS]⦁ET⦁ORAE⦁MARIT[IMAE]⦁EX⦁S[ENATUS]⦁C[ONSULTO]
1Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily appears a bit hesitant in his pronouncement that the representation of the Catanaean brothers in fact refers to Sextus' title Pius (p. 561), but Sear CRI appears to have no such hesitation when he states "...the type illustrates the theme of 'Pietas' in connection with the assumption of the name Pius." (p.203). DeRose Evans (1987) goes further (pp. 115 - 116), arguing that Sextus chose the Catanaean brothers ("...he consciously identifies himself with the south Italian heroes") as a way to deliberately contrast his Pietas with that of Octavian's.
2Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily tentatively suggests Catana as a possible location and Sear CRI follows suit.
3This is the date range argued for in Estiot 2006 (p. 145). Estiot recommends returning to Crawford's proposal of 42 - 40 BC. Crawford RRC, p. 521 suggests the period in 42 BC after Sextus Pompey defeated Q. Salvidienus Rufus. Grueber BMCRR v. II Sicily, p.560 proposes 42 - 38 BC and Sydenham, p. 210 follows suit. DeRose Evans (1987), p. 129 offers a time between late summer 36 and September 36 BC.
Provenance: Ex Shanna Schmidt Numismatics 11 June 2019; from the collection of W. F. Stoecklin, Amriswil, Switzerland, acquired from Hess AG in Luzern prior to 1975. Ex Dr. Jacob Hirsch 33, 17 November 1913 Lot 1058.
Photo credits: Shanna Schmidt Numismatics
CLICK FOR SOURCESTracy Aiello
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0007 Sextus Pompey -- Pompey the Great and Neptune with Catanaean Brothers Hirsch Auction CatalogDr. Jacob Hirsch 33, 17 November 1913, lot 1058
Photo credits: Shanna Schmidt NumismaticsTracy Aiello
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000b. Pompey the GreatThe Pompeians. Sextus Pompey. 37/6 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.49 g, 9h). Uncertain Sicilian mint, possibly Catana. Bare head of Pompey the Great right; capis to left, lituus to right / Neptune, holding aplustre and resting right foot on prow, standing left between the Catanaean brothers Anapias and Amphinomus running in opposite directions, bearing their parents on their shoulders. Crawford 511/3a; CRI 334; Sydenham 1344; RSC 17 (Pompey the Great). Fine, lightly toned, bankers’ marks on obverse.
AMPHINOMUS and ANAPIS (or Anapias), two brothers, of Silicy, respecting whom it is related that they saved their parents, at the peril of their own lives, from the flames of Etna, at the moment when an eruption of that volcano threatened their immediate destruction. This was a favourite subject with the ancients, in symbolising filial piety; and is often represented on Greek coins of Catana (Catania), where this noble action is alleged to have been performed. Of these two Sicilian brothers, types of that devoted love, which is ever cherished by good children towards the earthly anthors of their being, Cornelius Severus, alluding to Mount Edna, thus expresses himself: "Amphinomus and his brother, both equally courageous in the performance of a duty, whilst the flames murmured their threats against the neighbouring houses, rescue their decrepid father, and their aged mother."ecoli
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000c. Sextus PompeySextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey, was a Roman general from the late Republic (1st century BC). He was the last focus of opposition to the second triumvirate.
Sextus Pompeius was the youngest son of Pompey the Great (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) by his third wife, Mucia Tertia. His older brother was Gnaeus Pompeius, from the same mother. Both boys grew up in the shadow of their father, one of Rome's best generals and originally non-conservative politician who drifted to the more traditional faction when Julius Caesar became a threat.
When Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC, thus starting a civil war, Sextus' older brother Gnaeus followed their father in his escape to the East, as did most of the conservative senators. Sextus stayed in Rome in the care of his stepmother, Cornelia Metella. Pompey's army lost the battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC and Pompey himself had to run for his life. Cornelia and Sextus met him in the island of Mytilene and together they fled to Egypt. On the arrival, Sextus watched his father being killed by treachery on September 29 of the same year. After the murder, Cornelia returned to Rome, but in the following years Sextus joined the resistance against Caesar in the African provinces. Together with Metellus Scipio, Cato the younger, his brother Gnaeus and other senators, they prepared to oppose Caesar and his army to the end.
Caesar won the first battle at Thapsus in 46 BC against Metellus Scipio and Cato, who committed suicide. In 45 BC, Caesar managed to defeat the Pompeius brothers in the battle of Munda. Gnaeus Pompeius was executed, but young Sextus escaped once more, this time to Sicily.
Back in Rome, Julius Caesar was murdered on the Ides of March (March 15) 44 BC by a group of senators led by Cassius and Brutus. This incident did not lead to a return to normality, but provoked yet another civil war between Caesar's political heirs and his assassins. The second triumvirate was formed by Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus, with the intention of avenging Caesar and subduing all opposition. Sextus Pompeius in Sicily was certainly a rebellious man, but the Cassius and Brutus faction was the second triumvirate's first priority. Thus, with the whole island as his base, Sextus had the time and resources to develop an army and, even more importantly, a strong navy operated by Sicilian marines.
Brutus and Cassius lost the twin battles of Philippi and committed suicide in 42 BC. After this, the triumvirs turned their attentions to Sicily and Sextus.
But by this time, Sextus was prepared for strong resistance. In the following years, military confrontations failed to return a conclusive victory for either side and in 39 BC, Sextus and the triumvirs signed for peace in the Pact of Misenum. The reason for this peace treaty was the anticipated campaign against the Parthian Empire. Antony, the leader, needed all the legions he could get so it was useful to secure an armistice in the Sicilian front. The peace did not last for long. Octavian and Antony's frequent quarrels were a strong political motivation for resuming the war against Sextus. Octavian tried again to conquer Sicily, but he was defeated in the naval battle of Messina (37 BC) and again in August 36 BC. But by then, Octavian had Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, a very talented general, on his side. Only a month afterwards, Agrippa destroyed Sextus' navy off Naulochus cape. Sextus escaped to the East and, by abandoning Sicily, lost all his base of support.
Sextus Pompeius was caught in Miletus in 35 BC and executed without trial (an illegal act since Sextus was a Roman citizen) by order of Marcus Titius, Antony's minion. His violent death would be one of the weapons used by Octavian against Antony several years later, when the situation between the two became unbearable.
Sicilian Mint
Magn above laureate Janiform head
PIVS above, IMP below, prow of galley right
Sear RCV 348, RPC 671, Sydenham 1044a, Cohen 16
43-36 BC
Check ecoli
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001e. Sextus PompeyYounger son of Pompey. Survived war against Julius Caesar, then off and on again wars against Triumvirate. Provided shelter to those fleeing the proscriptions. His control of the sea routes for grain shipments to Rome created constant problems for the Triumvirate. His main base was in Sicily until he was beaten by a fleet led by Agrippa. He finally was executed by Antony in 35 BC.
Coin: Denarius (37/6 BC). Uncertain Sicilian mint. Obv: MAG PIVS IMP ITER. Bare head right of Pompey Senior; jug to left, lituus to right. Rev: PRAEF / CLAS ET ORAE / MARIT EX S C. Neptune standing left, foot set on prow, holding aplustre; Catanean brothers to left and right, each bearing one of their parents on their shoulders.
Crawford 511/3a; CRI 334.
3.63 g., 18 mm.lawrence c
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001e2. Sextus PompeySextus Pompey
Bronze as.
45-44 BC
31.66mm, 16.05 g.
Sicilian mint
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001e3. Sextus PompeyDenarius. 42-40 BCE. Uncertain Sicilian mint. 16.2 mm, 3.561 g.
Obverse MAG PIVS IMP ITER, diademed head of Neptune right, long hair and beard, trident over shoulder; reverse PRAEF CLAS ET ORAE MARIT EX S C (AE and MAR ligate), naval trophy of captured arms placed on anchor, trident head above, components of the trophy include helmet, cuirass, stem of prow and apluster for arms, the heads of Scylla and Charybdis at base. Crawford 511/2a, RSC I Sextus Pompey 1b, Sydenham 1347, BMCRR Sicily 15, Sear CRI 333. A FORUM coin.
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001s. AtratinusL. Sempronius Atratinus was a supporter of Marc Antony and was one of Mark Antony’s legates, serving as propraetor in Greece in 39 BC. In 36 BC he was given command of a portion of a fleet which Antony had sent to help Octavianus deal with Sextus Pompey. In 34 BC, he was elected as suffect consul. Prior to the Battle of Actium, Atratinus switched his support to Octavianus. He was made proconsular governor of Africa around 23 BC, and he was awarded a triumph for his actions there in 21 BC. He died in 7 AD.
Coin: Æ 27mm of Lilybaeum, Sicily. 36 BC. [ΛΙΛΥΒΑΙ]ΙΤΑΙϹ, veiled and turreted head to right, within triangular ornament / ΑΤΡΑΤΙΝΟ [ΠΥΘΙΩΝ], tripod with serpent coiled around. RPC I 655; SNG Copenhagen 376; BMC 4. 18.19g, 27mm, 12h. Roma Numismatics Auction 92, Lot 725.lawrence c
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001s. Q. Caecilius BassusSELEUCIS and PIERIA, Antioch. Q. Caecilius Bassus. Proconsul, 46-44 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 14.85 g, 12h). In the name and types of the Seleucid king Philip I Philadelphus. Dated year 4 of the Caesarean Era (46/5 BC). Diademed head of Philip I right within fillet border / Zeus Nicephorus seated left; monogram to inner left, ∆ (date) and thunderbolt in exergue; all within wreath. McAlee 5a; RPC I 4128; SC 2491.2; Prieur 5; HGC 9, 1360b. CNG Auc 534 (15 March 2023), Lot 393.
Quintus Caecilius Bassus was governor of Syria. Bassus, a supporter of Pompey, had led an insurrection against Sextus, cousin of Julius Caesar and governor of Syria from 47-46 BC. He gained the loyalty of two mutinous legions, and fought off Caesarian attacks for about two years, even calling on the Parthians for assistance (Dio 27.5). After Caesar’s death, his troops defected to Cassius, but Bassus’ fate is unknown.
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002a. Agrippa Agrippa
A close friend of Octavian (later Emperor Augustus), he won a name in the wars in Gaul before becoming consul in 37 He organized Octavian's fleet and is generally given much credit for the defeat (36 ) of Sextus Pompeius in the naval battles at Mylae and Naulochus (N Sicily). Agrippa took part in the war against Antony, and his naval operations were the basis of Octavian's decisive victory at Actium in 31 He was perhaps the most trusted of all Augustus' lieutenants and rendered many services, notably in putting down disorders in both the East and West. His third wife was Augustus' daughter Julia.
AS. M AGRIPPA L F COS III Head left, wearing rostral crown. / Neptune standing, head left, S C at sides.
It seems like the quality and price of Agrippa coins run the whole spectrum...I think a decent example can be had for as little as $20. This is a bit more than that but I am happy with the quality of the metal and portrait.ecoli
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005b. Valeria MessalinaValeria Messalina was the second cousin of Claudius and became his third wife around 39 AD. She had two children, Britannicus and Octavia. She became publicly notorious for her sexual profligacy and was executed in 48 AD. The execution likely had more to do with suspicions that she was plotting against Claudius, as evidenced by her public marriage to another noble while still married to Claudius, than her other behavior.
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005d. Agrippina IILYDIA, Hypaepa. Agrippina Jr., mother of Nero. Augusta, 50-59 AD. Æ 14mm (2.33 gm). Draped bust of Agrippina right / Cult statue of Artemis. RPC I 2541; SNG Copenhagen -.
Julia Vipsania Agrippina Minor or Agrippina Minor (Latin for "the younger") (November 7, AD 15 – March 59), often called "Agrippinilla" to distinguish her from her mother, was the daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina Major. She was sister of Caligula, granddaughter and great-niece to Tiberius, niece and wife of Claudius, and the mother of Nero. She was born at Oppidum Ubiorum on the Rhine, afterwards named in her honour Colonia Agrippinae (modern Cologne, Germany).
Agrippina was first married to (1st century AD) Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. From this marriage she gave birth to Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, who would become Roman Emperor Nero. Her husband died in January, 40. While still married, Agrippina participated openly in her brother Caligula's decadent court, where, according to some sources, at his instigation she prostituted herself in a palace. While it was generally agreed that Agrippinilla, as well as her sisters, had ongoing sexual relationships with their brother Caligula, incest was an oft-used criminal accusation against the aristocracy, because it was impossible to refute successfully. As Agrippina and her sister became more problematic for their brother, Caligula sent them into exile for a time, where it is said she was forced to dive for sponges to make a living. In January, 41, Agrippina had a second marriage to the affluent Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus. He died between 44 and 47, leaving his estate to Agrippina.
As a widow, Agrippina was courted by the freedman Pallas as a possible marriage match to her own uncle, Emperor Claudius, and became his favourite councillor, even granted the honor of being called Augusta (a title which no other queen had ever received). They were married on New Year's Day of 49, after the death of Claudius's first wife Messalina. Agrippina then proceeded to persuade Claudius to adopt her son, thereby placing Nero in the line of succession to the Imperial throne over Claudius's own son, Brittanicus. A true Imperial politician, Agrippina did not reject murder as a way to win her battles. Many ancient sources credited her with poisoning Claudius in 54 with a plate of poisened mushrooms, hence enabling Nero to quickly take the throne as emperor.
For some time, Agrippina influenced Nero as he was relatively ill-equipped to rule on his own. But Nero eventually felt that she was taking on too much power relative to her position as a woman of Rome. He deprived her of her honours and exiled her from the palace, but that was not enough. Three times Nero tried to poison Agrippina, but she had been raised in the Imperial family and was accustomed to taking antidotes. Nero had a machine built and attached to the roof of her bedroom. The machine was designed to make the ceiling collapse — the plot failed with the machine. According to the historians Tacitus and Suetonius, Nero then plotted her death by sending for her in a boat constructed to collapse, intending to drown Agrippina. However, only some of the crew were in on the plot; their efforts were hampered by the rest of the crew trying to save the ship. As the ship sank, one of her handmaidens thought to save herself by crying that she was Agrippina, thinking they would take special care of her. Instead the maid was instantly beaten to death with oars and chains. The real Agrippina realised what was happening and in the confusion managed to swim away where a passing fisherman picked her up. Terrified that his cover had been blown, Nero instantly sent men to charge her with treason and summarily execute her. Legend states that when the Emperor's soldiers came to kill her, Agrippina pulled back her clothes and ordered them to stab her in the belly that had housed such a monstrous son.
ecoli
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01 - 01 - Sexto Pompeyo (65 - 35 A.C.)AR Denario 16,00 mm de 3,44 gr.
Anv: MAG·PIVS·IMP·ITER, Busto a cabeza desnuda de Pompeyo Magno a der. Capis detrás y Lituus delante.
Rev: PRAEF / CLAS·ET·ORAE / MARIT·EX·SC, Neptuno estante a izq., portando Aplustre (Acrostolium), su pié der. sobre una Proa de Galera, a ambos lados los hermanos Catanos Anapias y Amphinomus, quienes llevan a sus padres en los hombros.
Acuñada durante los años 37 - 36 A.C.
Ceca: Catania - Sicilia.
Referencias: Craw. 511/3a - Syd. #1344 - BMCRR Sicily #93 - RSC I #17, p.105 - Sear RCTV Vol.I #1392, p.265 - BMCRE Sicily #7 - Cohen T.1 #17, p.5
mdelvalle
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01 - 01 - Sexto Pompeyo (65 - 35 A.C.)AR Denario 16,00 mm de 3,44 gr.
Anv: MAG·PIVS·IMP·ITER, Busto a cabeza desnuda de Pompeyo Magno a der. Capis detrás y Lituus delante.
Rev: PRAEF / CLAS·ET·ORAE / MARIT·EX·SC, Neptuno estante a izq., portando Aplustre (Acrostolium), su pié der. sobre una Proa de Galera, a ambos lados los hermanos Catanos Anapias y Amphinomus, quienes llevan a sus padres en los hombros.
Acuñada durante los años 37 - 36 A.C.
Ceca: Catania - Sicilia.
Referencias: Craw. 511/3a - Syd. #1344 - BMCRR Sicily #93 - RSC I #17, p.105 - Sear RCTV Vol.I #1392, p.265 - BMCRE Sicily #7 - Cohen T.1 #17, p.5mdelvalle
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01-05 - Sextante Emision Anonima (211 - 206 A.C.)AE Sextante 20 mm 6.9 gr
Anv: Cabeza de Mercurio vistiendo petasos alado viendo a derecha - "· ·" (Marca de valor = Sextante = 1/6 AS) sobre la cabeza.
Rev: Proa de galera a derecha - "ROMA" arriba y "· ·" debajo.
Ceca: Roma
Referencias: Sear RCTV Vol.1 #1024 Pag.246 - Craw RRC #56/6 - Syd CRR #143d - BMCRR #263mdelvalle
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01-05 - Sextante Emision Anonima (211 - 206 A.C.)AE Sextante 20 mm 6.9 gr
Anv: Cabeza de Mercurio vistiendo petasos alado viendo a derecha - "· ·" (Marca de valor = Sextante = 1/6 AS) sobre la cabeza.
Rev: Proa de galera a derecha - "ROMA" arriba y "· ·" debajo.
Ceca: Roma
Referencias: Sear RCTV Vol.1 #1024 Pag.246 - Craw RRC #56/6 - Syd CRR #143d - BMCRR #263mdelvalle
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01-28 - AUGUSTO (27 A.C. - 14 D.C.) AE AS (Serie de los Triunviros Monetales) 23 mm 7.9 gr.
Legado Monetario SEX NONIUS QUINCTILIAN
Anv: "CAESAR AVG[VST PONT MAX TRI]BVNIC POT" - Busto a cabeza desnuda viendo a derecha.
Rev: "[SEX N]ONIVS QVINC[TIL]IAN III VIR A A A F F" - Leyenda alrededor de gran "S C".
"SENATUS CONSULTO" - Era potestad del Senado la promulgación de la acuñación de las emisiones de bronce (cobre) - Ley Julia (19-15 A.C.)
Acuñada 6 A.C.
Ceca: Roma
Rareza: S
Referencias: RIC Vol.1 #439 Pag.76 - Sear RCTV Vol.1 #1687 Pag.331 - BMCRE #237 (=BMCRR #4667) - Cohen Vol.1 #474 Pag.76 - CBN #725
mdelvalle
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01-28 - AUGUSTO (27 A.C. - 14 D.C.) AE AS (Serie de los Triunviros Monetales) 23 mm 7.9 gr.
Legado Monetario SEX NONIUS QUINCTILIAN
Anv: "CAESAR AVG[VST PONT MAX TRI]BVNIC POT" - Busto a cabeza desnuda viendo a derecha.
Rev: "[SEX N]ONIVS QVINC[TIL]IAN III VIR A A A F F" - Leyenda alrededor de gran "S C".
"SENATUS CONSULTO" - Era potestad del Senado la promulgación de la acuñación de las emisiones de bronce (cobre) - Ley Julia (19-15 A.C.)
Acuñada 6 A.C.
Ceca: Roma
Rareza: S
Referencias: RIC Vol.1 #439 Pag.76 - Sear RCTV Vol.1 #1687 Pag.331 - BMCRE #237 (=BMCRR #4667) - Cohen Vol.1 #474 Pag.76 - CBN #725mdelvalle
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01-61 - Cartago Nova - AUGUSTO (27 A.C. - 14 D.C.)AE Semis 23 mm 6.5 gr.
C.Varius Rufus y Sex Iulius Pollio - duoviri.
Anv: "AVGVSTVS - DIVI F" (Leyenda anti-horaria)- Cabeza laureada viendo a derecha.
Rev: "C·VAR·RVF·SEX·IVL·POL·II·VIR·Q" (Leyenda anti-horaria),Implementos sacerdotales, Simpulum (Copa pequeña con mango), aspergillum/aspersorio (Instrumento para espolvorear o rociar), Securis/Segur (Hacha ritual) y Ápex (Gorro utilizado por los Sacerdotes o Flamines).
Acuñada 27 A.C. - 14 D.C.
Ceca: Cartago Nova, Hispania (Hoy Cartagena, España)
Referencias: RPC #168, SNG Cop #510, ACIP #3137, SNG München #130, Sim.NAH #992, Vives #131/132 Pl.CXXXI #12, Burgos (2008) #455, FAB #1451 P.180, Sim. Sear GICTV #12 Pag.2 (Semis en lugar de AS), Beltram #23mdelvalle
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0113 - Republic, SextansRome mint, circa 217-215 BC
She-wolf suckling twins, in exergue two pellets.
ROMA in right field. Eagle standing right, holding flower in beak. Behind, two pellets
29 mm, 24.22 gr
Ref : RCV # 609, Sydenham # 95, Crawford # 39/3Potator II
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0183 - Denarius Nonia 59 BCObv/ Head of Saturn r., before SVFENAS, behind SC, harpa and conical stone.
Rev/ PR L V P F, Roma seated l. over pile of arms, holding scepter and sword, crowned by Victory standing l. behind; SEX NONI in ex.
Ag, 19.9 mm, 3.65 g
Moneyer: M. Nonius Sufenas.
Mint: Rome.
RRC 2421/1 [dies o/r: 56/62] - Syd. 885 - RSC Nonia 1
ex-Jesús Vico, auction 137, lot 203dafnis
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0185 - As Augustus 2-1 BCObv/ AVGVSTVS DIVI F, bare head of A. r.
Rev/ C VAR RVF SEX IVL (P)OL II VIR Q, pontifical instruments (aspergillum, simpullum, ax and apex).
AE, 28.9 mm, 12.88 g
Mint: Carthago Nova.
APRH/167a [36 dies] – RPC I/167
ex-AENP Numismatic Convention, Madrid, march 2014 (Miró)dafnis
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0187 - Denarius Pompeia 137 BCObv/Helmeted head of Roma r.; behind, jug; before, X.
Rev/She-wolf suckling twins Romulus and Remus; behind, ficus Ruminalis with birds and to the l. Faustulus; around, SEX PO FOSTLVS; in ex., ROMA.
Ag, 20.6mm, 3.74g
Moneyer: Sextus Pompeius Fostlus.
Mint: Rome.
RRC 235/1c [dies o/r: 127/159 (all var.)] - BMCRR Rome 927 - Pompeia 1 - Syd. 461a
ex-Naville Numismatics, auction e6, lot 80dafnis
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0195 - Republic, SextansSextans struck in Rome, circa 211-206 BC
Head of Mercury right, wearing petasus, two pellets above helmet
ROMA, Prow of galley right, surmounted by a victory right
5.11 gr
Ref : RCV #1218Potator II
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0200 - Semis Augustus 2-1 BCObv/ AVGVSTVS DIVI F, laureate head of A. r.
Rev/ C VAR RVF SEX IVL POL II VIR Q, simpulum, aspergillum, axe and apex.
AE, 22.5 mm, 6.50 g
Mint: Carthago Nova.
APRH/168 [12-33 dies] – RPC I/168
ex-Herrero, auction december 2014, lot 41.dafnis
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03-10 - SEX POMPEIUS FOSTLUS (137 A.C.)AR Denario 18.5 mm 3.75 gr
Anv: Cabeza con yelmo de Roma viendo a derecha - "X = Marca de valor = 10 Ases" debajo del mentón y "Jarron" detrás del busto.
Rev: Loba estante a derecha amamantando a los mellizos Rómulo y Remo, árbol en segundo plano con 3 aves y el Pastor Faustulus estante a derecha detrás - "FOSTLVS" en la izquierda, "SEX POM" en la derecha y "ROMA" en exergo.
Ceca: Roma
Referencias: Sear RCTV Vol.1 #112 Pag.95 - Craw RRC #235/1a - Syd CRR #461 - BMCRR I #928 Pag.132 - RSC Vol.1 Pompeia #1 Pag.76mdelvalle
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030a. ElagabalusAugustus 16 May 218 - 11 March 222
Actual name Varius Avitus Bassianus, then Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. Nicknamed Elagabalus because he was the high priest of Elagabal, the sun god of Emesa, Syria. His grandmother claimed he was the illegitimate son of Caracalla, who remained popular with army. Elagabalus’s forces prevailed, and he was declared emperor in 218 at the age of 14 or 15. His reign became notorious due to his efforts to supplant the Roman gods and to his sexual antics. He and his mother were killed in 222, and their bodies dumped in the Tiber.lawrence c
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035/5 AES Grave Sextans Janus-ProwAnonymous. Aes Grave Sextans. Rome Mint. 225-217 BC. (42.49g; 33.94mm) Obv: Head of Mercury left, oo. Rev: Prow r, oo.
Crawford 35/5
Ex: Holding HistoryPaddy
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056/4 Subgroup 85 & 86A AE TriensAnonymous. Ae Triens. Apulia. 212-208 BC. (9.08 g, 23.72 g) Obv: Helmeted head of Minerva right, four pellets above. Rev: ROMA, prow right, four pellets below.
Originally defined as Crawford 56/4, this type of Triens have been assigned to subgroup 85 & 86A. This is a Q or H triens, that is missing the Q or H. Andrew McCabe gives the subgroup the number F1 which has the following characteristics:
"Mint: Apulia. Second Punic war. Related to RRC 85 H, and RRC 86 anchor and Q. Obverses are in high relief. The general style, for examples Janus, or Hercules’ truncation, or the regular reverse prow, is like RRC 86 anchor and Q. Reverses of Sextans and Quadrans have either regular, or Luceria style, prows with a club in an elevated fighting platform. On regular reverses, the top and central keel lines join half way across prow. Flans are thin and broad akin to late issues of Luceria. All denominations As through Sextans are known."
"The regular reverse prow is tall (height/width) with a fighting platform and deck structure elevated more than usual, and there is always a line extending either side of the deck structure. The keel-lines are also distinctive, with the middle of the three lines always converging with the top line half way across the prow... These specific design features – especially the middle keel line converging with the upper line half way across the prow – are identical with and typical of the RRC 86A Q series from Apulia58... The obverses of all denominations are in high relief, and show high quality engraving."
"So a close geographic and timing link between the Anchor Q, H, L, L-T, CA and P coins can be posited. These coins are certainly a second Punic war issue from Apulia. It remains open for discussion which city minted these group F1 coins, presumably alongside the RRC 85 and RRC 86 issues."
This is one out of six specimens: "F1 Triens: 6 coins, mean 9.4 grams, heaviest 10.5 grams".
All quotes are from the work of Andrew McCabe.
Link to thread at Forvm Ancient Coins: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=90604.0
On this topic at Andrew McCabe's homepage: http://andrewmccabe.ancients.info/RRC056.html
I would strongly recommend anyone who wants to learn more about Roman Republican coins to give Andrew McCabe's homepage a visit.
Paddy
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074 Philippus I. (244-249 A.D.), RIC IV-III 0062, Rome, AR-Antoninianus, FIDES EXERCITVS, Four standards, #1,074 Philippus I. (244-249 A.D.), RIC IV-III 0062, Rome, AR-Antoninianus, FIDES EXERCITVS, Four standards, #1,
avers:- IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
revers:- FIDES EXERCITVS, Four standards, the third from right has an eagle atop it.
exe: -/-//--, diameter: 20,5-22,5 mm, weight: 4,44g, axis: 2h,
mint: Rome, date: 248-249 A.D. ref: RIC-IV-III-062, p-75, RSC 050, Sear 2556,
Q-001
quadrans
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074 Philippus I. (244-249 A.D.), RIC IV-III 0062, Rome, AR-Antoninianus, FIDES EXERCITVS, Four standards, #2,074 Philippus I. (244-249 A.D.), RIC IV-III 0062, Rome, AR-Antoninianus, FIDES EXERCITVS, Four standards, #2,
avers:- IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
revers:- FIDES EXERCITVS, Four standards, the third from right has an eagle atop it.
exe: -/-//--, diameter: 21,0-23,5mm, weight: 4,18g, axis: 7h,
mint: Rome, date: 248-249 A.D., ref: RIC-IV-III-062, p-75, RSC 050, Sear 2556,
Q-002quadrans
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0899 - S. Pompeius Fostlus, DenariusRome mint, 137 BC
Helmeted head of Roma right, X below chin, jug behind head
SEX PO [FOSTLVS] She wolf suckling Remus and Romulus, fig tree in background, the shepherd Faustulus behind. ROMA at exergue
3,73 gr
Ref : RCV # 112 var, RSC Pompeia # 1a, Crawford # 235/1cPotator II
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1272 - 1307, EDWARD I, AR Penny, Struck 1296 - 1306 at Berwick-on-Tweed, EnglandObverse: + EDWAR ANGL DNS HYB. Crowned bust of Edward I facing within circle of pellets. Cross pattée in legend.
Reverse: VILLA BEREVVICI. Long cross dividing legend into quarters, trefoil in each quarter of inner circle.
Undated Penny, Class 10 Berwick Type II (Local dies). Issues from this mint are quite rare.
Diameter: 21.5mm | Weight: 1.0gms | Die Axis: 2h
SPINK: 1415
BERWICK
In September 1290, upon the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, there arose a number of claimants to the throne of Scotland. The Guardians of Scotland, who were the de facto heads of state until a king was chosen, asked Edward I of England to conduct the court proceedings in the dispute because the late King Alexander III had been married to Edward's sister, Margaret of England.
John Balliol, a descendant of King David I, was chosen and he was inaugurated at Scone, on St. Andrew's Day, 30 November 1292. But Edward I treated both Baliol and Scotland with contempt and demanded military support for his war against France. The Scottish response was to form an alliance with the French, invade England, and launch an attack on Carlisle.
After the failure of the Scottish attack on Carlisle, Edward I marched north and, on 28th March 1296, he crossed the river Tweed which borders the two countries, with his troops. On the following day he marched on the town of Berwick, which was Scotland's most important trading port and second only to London in economic importance in medieval Britain at that time.
Contemporary accounts of the number slain range anywhere from 4,000 to 20,000. "When the town had been taken in this way and its citizens had submitted, Edward spared no one, whatever the age or sex, and for two days streams of blood flowed from the bodies of the slain, for in his tyrannous rage he ordered 7,500 souls of both sexes to be massacred...So that mills could be turned by the flow of their blood." - Account of the Massacre of Berwick, from Bower's Scotichronicon.
Berwick's garrison was commanded by William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas, whose life and those of his garrison were spared after he surrendered and the English took the castle.
Berwick was recaptured by the Scots in 1318 but the town changed hands between the two countries several times during the following years until it was finally captured for the English by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the future Richard III of England, in 1482. The Scots however, did not accept this conquest for at least two centuries after this date as is evidenced by innumerable charters.
*Alex
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137 B.C., Sextus Pompeius, Republic AR-Denarius, Crawford 235/1, Rome, Wolf standing right, #1137 B.C., Sextus Pompeius, Republic AR-Denarius, Crawford 235/1, Rome, Wolf standing right, #1
avers: Head of Roma, X below the chin, jug behind.
reverse: SEX POMP FOSTLVS, Wolf standing right, head turned, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus, shepherd to left, birds on fig tree behind, ROMA in ex.
exergue: -/-//ROMA, diameter: 17-19,5mm, weight: 3,73g, axis: 6h,
mint: Rome, date: 137 B.C., ref: Crawford 235-1, Syd-461a, Pompeia 1.,
Q-001quadrans
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1405a, Constans, 9 September 337 - 19 January 350 A.D. (Alexandria)Bronze AE 4, RIC 37, gVF, Egypt, Alexandria, 1.54g, 15.0mm, 180o, 345-347 A.D. Obverse: D N CONSTANS P F AVG, pearl diademed head right; Reverse: VOT XX MVLT XXX in wreath, SMALA• in exergue.
Flavius Julius Constans, third and youngest son of Constantine I and Fausta, was born between 320 and 323 A.D. Primary sources for the life and reign of Constans I are scarce. To reconstruct his life and career, one must draw on a variety of references in both fourth century and later works. Raised as a Christian, he was made a Caesar on 25 December 333 A.D. Constans I and his two brothers, after the death of their father on 22 May 337 and the subsequent "massacre of the princes" in which many other relatives were purged, met in the first part of September 337 in Pannonia to re-divide the empire among themselves. There they were acclaimed Augusti by the army. Constans' new realm included Italy, Africa, Illyricum, Macedonia, and Achaea. Shortly before his father's death, Constans' engagement to Olympias, the daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Ablabius, was announced; although the match was never solemnized because of political reasons.
It would appear that Constans was successful in the military sphere. Following his accession to the purple in 337, he seems to have won a victory over the Sarmatians. In 340 Constans was able to beat back an attempt by his brother Constantine II to seize some of his realm. The latter died in a battle fought near Aquileia and Constans absorbed his late brother's territory. In 341 and 342 he conducted a successful campaign against the Franci. He also visited Britain in 343, probably on a military campaign.
As an emperor Constans gets mixed reviews. In what may be a topos, sources suggest that the first part of his reign was moderate but in later years, however, he became overbearing. The emperor apparently attempted to obtain as much money as he could from his subjects and sold government posts to the highest bidder. His favorites were allowed to oppress his subjects. Sources also condemn his homosexuality. He did have some military success and, in addition to other military threats, he had to deal with Donatist-related bandits in North Africa.
Like his father Constantine I and his brother Constantius II, Constans had a deep interest in Christianity. Together with Constantius II he issued (or perhaps re-issued) a ban against pagan sacrifice in 341. The next year, they cautioned against the destruction of pagan temples. Unlike his brother Constantius II, who supported the Arian faction, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Athanasius and other members of the Orthodox clique. In fact, it is due to his request that the Council of Serdica was called to deal with the ecclesiastical squabble between Athanasius of Alexandria and Paul of Constantinople on one side and the Arian faction on the other.
When Magnentius was declared emperor in Gaul during January 350, Constans realized his reign was at an end. When he learned of the revolt, he fled toward Helena, a town in the Pyrenees. Constans was put to death by Gaeso and a band of Magnentius' assassins, who dragged their victim from a temple in which he had sought refuge.
By Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University and Robert Frakes, Clarion UniversityPublished: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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1405n, Constans, 9 September 337 - 19 January 350 A.D. (Siscia)Constans, 9 September 337 - 19 January 350 A.D. Bronze AE 3, RIC 241, S 3978, VM 69, VF, Siscia, 2.32g, 18.3mm, 180o. Obverse: D N CONSTANS P F AVG, pearl diademed draped and cuirassed bust right; Reverse: FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Phoenix radiate, standing on rocky mound, GSIS and symbol in ex; nice green patina.
Flavius Julius Constans, third and youngest son of Constantine I and Fausta, was born between 320 and 323 A.D. Primary sources for the life and reign of Constans I are scarce. To reconstruct his life and career, one must draw on a variety of references in both fourth century and later works. Raised as a Christian, he was made a Caesar on 25 December 333 A.D. Constans I and his two brothers, after the death of their father on 22 May 337 and the subsequent "massacre of the princes" in which many other relatives were purged, met in the first part of September 337 in Pannonia to re-divide the empire among themselves. There they were acclaimed Augusti by the army. Constans' new realm included Italy, Africa, Illyricum, Macedonia, and Achaea. Shortly before his father's death, Constans' engagement to Olympias, the daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Ablabius, was announced; although the match was never solemnized because of political reasons.
It would appear that Constans was successful in the military sphere. Following his accession to the purple in 337, he seems to have won a victory over the Sarmatians. In 340 Constans was able to beat back an attempt by his brother Constantine II to seize some of his realm. The latter died in a battle fought near Aquileia and Constans absorbed his late brother's territory. In 341 and 342 he conducted a successful campaign against the Franci. He also visited Britain in 343, probably on a military campaign.
As an emperor Constans gets mixed reviews. In what may be a topos, sources suggest that the first part of his reign was moderate but in later years, however, he became overbearing. The emperor apparently attempted to obtain as much money as he could from his subjects and sold government posts to the highest bidder. His favorites were allowed to oppress his subjects. Sources also condemn his homosexuality. He did have some military success and, in addition to other military threats, he had to deal with Donatist-related bandits in North Africa.
Like his father Constantine I and his brother Constantius II, Constans had a deep interest in Christianity. Together with Constantius II he issued (or perhaps re-issued) a ban against pagan sacrifice in 341. The next year, they cautioned against the destruction of pagan temples. Unlike his brother Constantius II, who supported the Arian faction, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Athanasius and other members of the Orthodox clique. In fact, it is due to his request that the Council of Serdica was called to deal with the ecclesiastical squabble between Athanasius of Alexandria and Paul of Constantinople on one side and the Arian faction on the other.
When Magnentius was declared emperor in Gaul during January 350, Constans realized his reign was at an end. When he learned of the revolt, he fled toward Helena, a town in the Pyrenees. Constans was put to death by Gaeso and a band of Magnentius' assassins, who dragged their victim from a temple in which he had sought refuge.
By Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University and Robert Frakes, Clarion University
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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1405t, Constans, 9 September 337 - 19 January 350 A.D. (Thessalonica )Constans, 9 September 337 - 19 January 350 A.D., Bronze AE 3, unattributed; Thessalonica mint, 2.25g, 18.9mm, 0; aVF.
Flavius Julius Constans, third and youngest son of Constantine I and Fausta, was born between 320 and 323 A.D. Primary sources for the life and reign of Constans I are scarce. To reconstruct his life and career, one must draw on a variety of references in both fourth century and later works. Raised as a Christian, he was made a Caesar on 25 December 333 A.D. Constans I and his two brothers, after the death of their father on 22 May 337 and the subsequent "massacre of the princes" in which many other relatives were purged, met in the first part of September 337 in Pannonia to re-divide the empire among themselves. There they were acclaimed Augusti by the army. Constans' new realm included Italy, Africa, Illyricum, Macedonia, and Achaea. Shortly before his father's death, Constans' engagement to Olympias, the daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Ablabius, was announced; although the match was never solemnized because of political reasons.
It would appear that Constans was successful in the military sphere. Following his accession to the purple in 337, he seems to have won a victory over the Sarmatians. In 340 Constans was able to beat back an attempt by his brother Constantine II to seize some of his realm. The latter died in a battle fought near Aquileia and Constans absorbed his late brother's territory. In 341 and 342 he conducted a successful campaign against the Franci. He also visited Britain in 343, probably on a military campaign.
As an emperor Constans gets mixed reviews. In what may be a topos, sources suggest that the first part of his reign was moderate but in later years, however, he became overbearing. The emperor apparently attempted to obtain as much money as he could from his subjects and sold government posts to the highest bidder. His favorites were allowed to oppress his subjects. Sources also condemn his homosexuality. He did have some military success and, in addition to other military threats, he had to deal with Donatist-related bandits in North Africa.
Like his father Constantine I and his brother Constantius II, Constans had a deep interest in Christianity. Together with Constantius II he issued (or perhaps re-issued) a ban against pagan sacrifice in 341. The next year, they cautioned against the destruction of pagan temples. Unlike his brother Constantius II, who supported the Arian faction, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Athanasius and other members of the Orthodox clique. In fact, it is due to his request that the Council of Serdica was called to deal with the ecclesiastical squabble between Athanasius of Alexandria and Paul of Constantinople on one side and the Arian faction on the other.
When Magnentius was declared emperor in Gaul during January 350, Constans realized his reign was at an end. When he learned of the revolt, he fled toward Helena, a town in the Pyrenees. Constans was put to death by Gaeso and a band of Magnentius' assassins, who dragged their victim from a temple in which he had sought refuge.
By Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University and Robert Frakes, Clarion University.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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1477 - Sextus Pompey, AsAs struck in Sicily c.43-36 BC
Head of Janus with features of Pompey the Great, MAGN above
Prow of galley right, PIVS IMP in field
16.57 gr
Ref : HCRI # 336, RCV #1394, Cohen #16Potator II
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1479 - Sextus Pompeius and Q. Nasidius, DenariusMint moving with Sextus Pompeius, Sicily, 42-39 BC
NEPTVNI, head of Pompey the great right, trident before head, dolphin below
Q.NASIDIVS at exergue, galley sailing right, star in upper field
3.92 gr
Ref : HCRI # 235, RCV # 1390, Crawford # 483/2, Sydenham # 1350, Cohen # 20
Ex Freeman & Sear, Ex Barry Feirstein collection (NAC auction # 42/279)
Ex Roma NumismaticsPotator II
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1550B MYSIA. Lampsacus Hadrian, Priapus RPC III, 1550B 1550 Trajan; same SNG France 1272; BMC Mysia -, SNG BnF -, SNG Cop
Obv. AΔIANOC KAICAP
Laureate and cuirassed bust of Hadrian right
Rev. ΛΑΜΨΑΚΗΝωΝ
ithyphallic Priapus standing left, right hand raised, left hand on hip
1.55 gr
15 mm
6h
Note.
Priapus or Priapos was a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his absurdly oversized permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism. He became a popular figure in Roman erotic art and Latin literature, and is the subject of the often humorously obscene collection of verse called the Priapeia. Statues of Priapus were sometimes placed on boundaries and hung with signs which threatened sexual assault on trespassers.
FORVM coinokidoki
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1608 - Lepidus and Octavian, DenariusDenarius minted in Italy, 42 BC
LEPIDVS PONT MAX III V R P C, bare head of Lepidus right (NT and MA in monograms)
C CAESAR IMPIII VIR R P C, bare head of Octavian right (MP in monogram)
3.78 gr
Ref : HCRI # 140, RCV # 1523, Cohen # 2
The following from forum catalog :
"Lepidus was a faithful follower of Julius Caesar, and he served as Praetor and Consul. When Caesar was assassinated, Lepidus was in charge of the cavalry and commanded a legion. This position secured him a place in the Second Triumvirate along Marc Antony and Octavian. His cut was Africa. When Octavian attacked Sextus Pompey's Sicily, Lepidus' ships and troops supported him. In an uninspired move, Lepidus thought he could force Octavian to leave him the island. The two armies separated and isolated skirmishes occurred, but soon the soldiers sick of yet another civil war, acknowledging Octavian's superiority deserted Lepidus en-masse. Lepidus left the island as a simple civilian, retaining only his priesthood, but he was the only defeated Imperator not to suffer a violent death."Potator II
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177-192 AD - COMMODUS AE sestertius - struck 186 ADobv: M COMMODVS ANT P - FELIX AVG BRIT (laureate head right)
rev: P M TR P XI - IMP [VII] - COS V P P (Commodus standing left on platform, raising hand and holding scepter, facing four soldiers to left), S C across fields, FID EXERCIT in ex.
ref: RIC III 468b, Cohen 136 (20frcs)
23.63gms, 30mm
Very rare
ex Numismatic LANZ
Historical background: Under Commodus reign Sextus Tigidius Perennis was the Pretorian Prefect who exercised the chief responsibilities of government in the Roman Empire. In 185 Perennis was implicated in a plot to overthrow the emperor by his political rival Marcus Aurelius Cleander, and Commodus gave them permission to execute him as well as his wife and sons. After this Commodus received the title of FELIX. This coin shows when the emperor proclaimed the executions to soldiers, and the FIDES EXERCITUS means the aggreement between the emperor and the legions.berserker
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1781. Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette, Congratulations of the Merchants of Paris on the Birth of the Dauphin.Obv: Busts of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette vis a vis. LVD XVI FR ET NAV REX MAR ANT AVSTR REG
Rev: Six Corps of Merchants led by the Governor of Paris the Duke de Cosse ASSERENDI NOVA SPES COMERCII / REGI DE ORTU SS DELHINI SEX MERCATOR PARIS ORDINES GRATULANTOR AUSP DUCIS DE COSSE URBIS CUB DIE IV NOV MDCCLXXXI
AE60. Engraved by Duvivier.
This medal commemorates the birth of Louis-Joseph Xavier Francois, Dauphin of France from 1781 to his death in 1789. The reverse expresses the hopes of the merchants of Paris of continuing prosperity under a stable monarchy.LordBest
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1793 AE Farthing, London, Middlesex.Obverse: Ic • NEWTON. Bare headed bust of Isaac Newton facing left.
Reverse: FARTHING. Britannia, helmeted and draped, facing left seated on globe, shield at her side, holding olive-branch in her extended right hand and spear in her left; in exergue, 1793.
Edge: “Plain".
Diameter : 21mm
Dalton & Hamer : 1160 | Cobwright : I.0010/F.0050 (listed as an evasion piece)
The die engraver for this token was most likely Thomas Wyon but the manufacturer is uncertain.
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), was an English physicist and mathematician who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution. Newton shares credit with Gottfried Leibniz for the invention of calculus and also made seminal contributions to optics. He built the first practical reflecting telescope and developed a theory of colour based on the observation that a prism decomposes white light into the many colours of the visible spectrum.
Newton's “Principia” formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation, which came to dominate scientists' view of the physical universe for the next three centuries.
Newton was a fellow of Trinity College and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Unusually for a member of the Cambridge faculty of the day, he refused to take holy orders in the Church of England, perhaps because he privately rejected the doctrine of the Trinity.
In his later life, Newton became president of the Royal Society and became Warden of the Royal Mint in 1696. He became Master of the Royal Mint in 1699 and was very instrumental in developing techniques to try and prevent the counterfeiting of English coinage.*Alex
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1794 AE Halfpenny Token. Chichester and Portsmouth, Sussex.Obverse: IOHN HOWARD F•R•S PHILANTHROPIST•. Bust of John Howard facing left.
Reverse: CHICHESTER AND PORTSMOUTH • / HALFPENNY; Arms of the town of Portsmouth; the sun and moon over a triple-towered castle, with the arms of Chichester above the gateway below the central tower, 1794 in exergue.
Edge: PAYABLE AT SHARPS PORTSMOUTH AND CHALDECOTTS CHICHESTER.
Diameter 29mm | Die Axis 12
Dalton & Hamer: 19
This token was probably manufactured by Peter Kempson in Birmingham and the dies were engraved by Thomas Wyon. The issuers of this token were John Chaldecott, a silversmith and cutler in Chichester and Thomas Sharp, a mercer in Portsmouth. Chaldecott was also a partner in the Chichester Old Bank and the Portsmouth, Portsea and Hampshire Bank. The two men were probably relations or close friends and they issued joint tokens in both Portsmouth and Chichester in the 18th century.
This token was struck in the name of John Howard who was born in Lower Clapton, London the son of a wealthy upholsterer. After the death of his father in 1742, he received a sizeable inheritance. Since he was wealthy and had no true vocation, in 1748 Howard left England and began to travel. However, while in Hanover he was captured by French privateers and imprisoned. It was this experience that made him consider the conditions in which prisoners were held.
In 1758 Howard returned to England and settled in Cardington, Bedfordshire. As a landowner he was philanthropic and enlightened, ensuring that his estate housing was of good standard and that the poor houses under his management were well run.
In 1773 he became High Sheriff of Bedfordshire. On his appointment he began a tour of English prisons which led to two Acts of Parliament in 1774, making gaolers salaried officers and setting standards of cleanliness.
In April 1777, Howard's sister died leaving him £15,000 and her house. He used this inheritance and the revenue from the sale of her house to further his work on prisons. In 1778 he was examined by the House of Commons, who were this time inquiring into prison ships, or “hulks”. Two days after giving evidence, he was again travelling Europe, beginning in the Dutch Republic.
His final journey took him into Eastern Europe and Russia. Whilst at Kherson, in what is now Ukraine, Howard contracted typhus on a prison visit and died. He was buried on the shores of the Black Sea in a walled field at Dophinovka (Stepanovka), Ukraine. Despite requesting a quiet funeral without pomp and ceremony, the event was elaborate and attended by the Prince of Moldovia.
Howard became the first civilian to be honoured with a statue in St Paul's Cathedral, London. A statue was also erected in Bedford, and another one in Kherson. John Howard's bust can still be seen as a feature in the architecture of a number of Victorian prisons across the UK.*Alex
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1794 AE Halfpenny Token. Chichester, SussexObverse: QUEEN ELIZABETH •. Three-quarter facing crowned bust of Queen Elizabeth I right, sceptre resting on her right shoulder.
Reverse: CHICHESTER HALFPENNY •. View of Chichester Cross; in exergue, 1794.
Edge: PAYABLE AT DALLY'S CHICHESTER + + + +.
Diameter 29mm | Die Axis 6
Dalton & Hamer: 15
This token was manufactured by Peter Kempson in Birmingham and the dies were engraved by Thomas Wyon. Little is known about the issuer of the token, seemingly to have been Dally and Son who were drapers in Chichester in the 18th century.
Chichester Cross is an elaborate perpendicular market cross standing at the intersection of the four principal streets in the centre of the city of Chichester, West Sussex. According to the inscription upon it, this cross was built by Edward Story, Bishop of Chichester from 1477 to 1503, but little is known for certain and the style and ornaments of the building suggest that it may date from the reign of Edward IV. It was apparently built so that the poor people should have somewhere to sell their wares, and as a meeting point. An earlier wooden cross had been erected on the same site by Bishop Rede (1369-1385). The stone cross, which underwent repairs during the reign of Charles II and again in 1746, still stands to this day.*Alex
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1794 AE Halfpenny Token. J. Lackington, London, Middlesex.Obverse: J. LACKINGTON ✤. Three-quarter facing bust of J.Lackington left, 1794 below.
Reverse: HALFPENNY OF LACKINGTON • ALLEN & Co ★ / CHEAPEST BOOKSELLERS IN THE WORLD • in a double line of text around Fame, portrayed as a winged female figure facing right, head left, holding a laurel-wreath and blowing a trumpet.
Edge: PAYABLE AT THE TEMPLE OF THE MUSES ★ / ★ / ★.
Diameter 29mm | Die Axis 6
Dalton & Hamer: 353
This token was manufactured by William Lutwyche in Birmingham and the dies were engraved by Roger Dixon.
It was issued by James Lackington who was a bookseller with a large business at his premises known as “The Temple of the Muses”, No 32 Finsbury Place South, Finsbury Square, London. This token marked the sale of a 25% interest in his company to Robert Allen.*Alex
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1794 AE Halfpenny Token. London Middlesex.Obverse: HALFPENNY•. Bust of Neptune, with trident across his right shoulder, facing right.
Reverse: PAYABLE AT I:FOWLER’s LONDON•. Whale fishing scene consisting of four men in a small boat harpooning a whale; below, WHALE FISHERY / 1794 in two lines.
Edge: Plain.
Diameter 29mm | Die Axis 12
Dalton & Hamer: 306
The dies for this token were engraved by Thomas Wyon and it was manufactured by Thomas Mynd in Birmingham.
The token was issued by J. Fowler who was an oil merchant and tin-plate worker with a business at 78, Long Acre, at the West End of London.
*Alex
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1795 AE Halfpenny, Brunswick, Middlesex.Obverse: PAYABLE AT J.KILVINGTONS. Laureate head facing left.
Reverse: BRUNSWICK HALFPENNY • . Britannia facing left, seated on globe, her right hand holding spear, her left arm holding laurel-branch and resting on shield at her side; in exergue, 1795.
Edge: Centre-grained.
Diameter: 29mm
Dalton & Hamer: 346
The dies for this token were engraved by Thomas Wyon and it was manufactured by Peter Kempson at his mint in Birmingham.
The token was issued by John Kilvington, a grocer and tea dealer at No. 153 Drury Lane, London.
The identity of the bust on the obverse of this token is uncertain, but it may represent a member of the Royal family, even George III himself since the Duke of Brunswick was among his titles. *Alex
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1795 AE Halfpenny, Chelsea, Middlesex.Obverse: CHELSEA✶. Sailor with wooden leg standing facing left presenting petition to Britannia facing right, seated on bale and holding spear in her right hand, right arm resting on shield, her left hand extended toward supplicant; in exergue, HALFPENNY.
Reverse: THE SUPPORT OF OUR ENDEAVOUR. Hope facing right, leaning on anchor; in exergue, 1795.
Edge: Engrailed.
Diameter: 28mm
Dalton & Hamer: 277
The engraver and diesinker for this token was F. Arnold, and it was manufactured by William Lutwyche at his works in Birmingham.
Although the authority responsible for the issue of this token is unknown, it is possibly associated with the Chelsea Military Hospital, home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". This token may have been issued as a reminder to the Nation of the debt owed to the army and navy, the obverse has been designed to attract attention to their plight, especially since the defeated troops from the disastrous Flanders Campaign of 1794 would have just returned home. The reverse is a reminder that the navy should not be neglected.*Alex
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1797 AE Halfpenny, London, Middlesex.Obverse: FREEDOM WITH INNOCENCE. Proud stag with large antlers, walking to left.
Reverse: * * RULE BRITANIA (sic) * *. Britannia seated facing left on globe, shield at her side, holding spear in her left hand and branch in her right; 1797 in exergue.
Edge: Incuse legend “PAYABLE IN LONDON” the remainder engrailed.
Diameter: 29mm
Dalton & Hamer:1042 (Middlesex)
SCARCE
Dies engraved by Thomas Willets and manufactured by William Lutwyche or Peter Kempson in Birmingham.
This token, one of the 18th century Political and Social Series of tokens, was likely struck for the use of the “Buck Society” in London.
The Buck Society was made up of eleven united lodges in London and three affiliates in Moorgate, Hatton Garden and Doctor’s Commons. It was one of the many debating societies that emerged in London during the eighteenth century, and were a prominent fixture of society until the end of that century. The origins of the debating societies are not certain, but, while there were comparable societies in other British cities, London was home to the largest number of them throughout the eighteenth century. The debating societies welcomed participants from both genders and all social backgrounds, making them one of the best examples of the enlarged public sphere of the Age of Enlightenment. However, the increasingly radical political environment, created in large part by the French Revolution in 1789, lead to the tightening of government restrictions and most of the debating societies went inactive when, following the local sedition trials of 1792 and 1793, William Pitt the Younger initiated the 1794 Treason Trials, and the 1795 Seditious Meetings Act.*Alex
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1797 AE Halfpenny, Middlesex County.Obverse: FREDk. DUKE OF YORK. Bare headed bust of Frederick Augustus, Duke of York, facing right; HALFPENNY 1795 in two lines below.
Reverse: RULE BRITANNIA. Britannia seated on globe facing left, left arm resting on shield and holding laurel-branch, right hand holding spear, ship's masts in front of her in background; 1797 in exergue.
Edge: Plain.
Diameter: 27mm | Die Axis: 6h | Obverse die flaw.
Dalton & Hamer: 990. Cobwright No: F.0010/R.0010. Not in Atkins.
Manufactured by William Lutwyche, Birmingham.
In the 18th century, token manufacturers often used their dies to their own advantage by striking “mules”, solely with the object of creating rare varieties which were sold to the collectors of the day.
Prince Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, was born on16th August 1763. He was the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III. Thrust into the British army at a very young age he was appointed a colonel by his father on 4th November 1780 when he was only 17 years old. He was created Duke of York and Albany on 27th November 1784.
On 26th May 1789 he took part a duel with Colonel Charles Lennox, who had insulted him; Lennox missed and Prince Frederick honourably refused to return fire.
On 12th April 1793 he was promoted to a full general and sent to Flanders in command of the British contingent destined for the invasion of France. Frederick's command fought under extremely trying conditions and though he won several notable engagements, he was defeated at the Battle of Hondschoote in September 1793. Then, in the 1794 campaign, he was successful at the battle of Willems in May but was defeated at the Battle of Tourcoing later that month.
Promoted to the rank of field marshal, on 3rd April 1795 he became effective Commander-in-Chief in succession to Lord Amherst and went with the army sent for the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in August 1799. A number of disasters befell the allied forces however and, on 17th October, the Duke signed the Convention of Alkmaar, by which the allied expedition withdrew after giving up its prisoners.
These military setbacks led to Frederick being mocked in the rhyme "The Grand Old Duke of York":
The grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again.
And when they were up, they were up.
And when they were down, they were down.
And when they were only halfway up,
They were neither up nor down.
However, Frederick's experience in the Dutch campaign had demonstrated the numerous weaknesses of the British army after years of neglect so he carried through a massive programme of reform and he was the person most responsible for creating the force which served in the Peninsular War.
Frederick died of dropsy and apparent cardioid-vascular disease at the home of the Duke of Rutland on Arlington Street, London, on 5th January, 1827. After lying in state in London, his remains were interred in St. George's Chapel, at Windsor.*Alex
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1797 AE Halfpenny, Southampton, Portsmouth or London.Obverse: FOR GENERAL CONVENIENCE. Helmeted and armoured bust, possibly of Sir Bevois, facing right.
Reverse: * * RULE BRITANIA (sic) * *. Britannia seated facing left on globe, shield at her side, holding spear in her left hand and branch in her right; 1797 in exergue.
Edge: Incuse legend “PAYABLE IN LONDON” the remainder engrailed.
Diameter: 29mm
Dalton & Hamer:1019 (Middlesex)
SCARCE
Although the die-sinker is uncertain the dies were probably engraved by Rambert Dumarest due to the close similarity between this image and Dumarest's "Sir Bevois" image on Southampton issues. This token was manufactured by William Lutwyche in Birmingham.
*Alex
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1797 Undated AE Halfpenny Token. London, MiddlesexObverse: Mail Coach, with GR cypher on it's door, drawn by four horses galloping right; above, HALFPENNY PAYA-BLE IN LONDON; below, TO TRADE EXPEDIN & TO PROPERTY PROTECTION.
Reverse: THIS IS INSCRIBED ✤ TO J. PALMER ESQ. around AFH cypher within palm branches.
Edge: Plain.
Diameter 28mm | Die Axis 12
Dalton & Hamer: 366
There were several issues of Mail Coach halfpennies, the last dated issue being in 1797. This, the final token in the series is undated, its Mail Coach obverse is similar, but the inscription is different and the reverse has the cypher AFH which has been linked to Anthony Francis Holdinhand, a merchant of 51 St. Mary-Axe in London. St. Mary-Axe is now the site of the well-known "Gherkin" skyscraper which was opened there in 2004.
Though these “Mail Coach” tokens are associated with John Palmer, he did not issue them. Famous in his day the story goes that, on 2nd. August 1784 at 4.00 pm, Palmer began an experimental journey from the "Rummer" Tavern in Bristol. The coach reached the "Three Tuns" in Bath at 5.20 pm and, travelling overnight, arrived at "The Swan with Two Necks" Inn in London at 8.00 am. Palmer, who knew how to operate a fast system of chaises between Bath and Bristol in order to get a quick exchange of actors and properties, had predicted the sixteen hour journey which the Post Office surveyors had said was impossible. The Post Office's mounted 'Post Boys' were taking nearly two days to carry the mail from Bath to London at the time. Palmer's successful experiment led to his appointment as Comptroller-General of the Post Office and, helped by road improvements, a network of routes served by dedicated Mail Coaches spread rapidly.
*Alex
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1809 - 1810 "BRUTUS" Undated AE Halfpenny, Walthamstow, Essex.Obverse: BRUTUS. Bare head of Lucius Junius Brutus facing left.
Reverse: Britannia seated left holding olive branch and trident, a shield at her side, BCC (British Copper Company) on the ground below; all within an oak-wreath.
Edge: Grained.
Diameter: 28mm
Bowman: 24 | Withers: 621
The principal die engraver for this token was Thomas Wyon the elder (1767–1830).
This token was issued by the British Copper Company, a Welsh based company who, in 1808, bought the Walthamstow site beside the River Lea. Walthamstow is now a suburb of north east London. The copper was smelted in "Landore" near Swansea in South Wales and brought by barge around the south coast up the Thames and the Lea to the mill. The copper ingots were then rolled into thin sheets which were sent all over the country to be stamped into coins. The main purpose of the BCC would have been to sell its copper, whether in the form of tokens, or sheets of metal. These penny and half penny tokens were not issued exclusively for use in Walthamstow, the halfpennies in particular do not bear the name of a place where they could have been redeemed except the very tiny BCC found on the ground by Britannia's shield. The copper rolling mill buildings at Walthamstow were converted into a pumping station in the 1860s and were later incorporated, by Thames Water, into a large water treatment works.
Lucius Junius Brutus, one of the first two consuls of Rome, was said to have killed two of his sons who were plotting to restore the monarchy of the Tarquins, he thus became a hero for patriotism and freedom.*Alex
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1809 - 1810 "MERCURY" Undated AE Halfpenny, Walthamstow, Essex.Obverse: No legend. Head of Mercury wearing Petasus facing left, caduceus behind.
Reverse: Britannia seated left holding olive branch and trident, a shield at her side, BCC (British Copper Company) on the ground below; all within an oak-wreath.
Edge: Plain.
Diameter: 28mm
Davis 36 | Coxall type 3
The principal die engraver was Thomas Wyon the elder (1767–1830). About 1796, Thomas went into business in Birmingham with his brother Peter as a general die-engraver. From 1800, he carried on his business from London, where he engraved many dies for tokens, and in 1816 he was appointed chief engraver of the seals. He died on 18th October, 1830.
This token was issued by the British Copper Company, a Welsh based company who, in 1808, bought the Walthamstow site beside the River Lea. Walthamstow is now a suburb of north east London.*Alex
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1811 "VINCIT AMOR" AE Halfpenny, Walthamstow, Essex.Obverse: VINCIT AMOR PATRIÆ 1811. Large laureate bust of Lucius Junius Brutus facing right.
Reverse: Britannia seated facing left holding olive branch and trident, a shield at her side, BCC bottom right of shield, all within an oak-wreath.
Edge: Grained.
Die damage, a common feature of these tokens, is visible at 10 o'clock on the obverse.
Diameter: 28mm.
Davis 17
The principal die engraver for this token was Thomas Wyon the elder (1767–1830). It was issued by the British Copper Company, a Welsh based company who, in 1808, erected copper rolling mill buildings at Walthamstow beside the River Lea. Walthamstow is now a suburb of north east London.
'Vincit amor patriæ' is a quotation from Virgil, though what Virgil wrote was vincet, in the future tense (Aeneid 6.823). The context is the visit of Aeneas to the underworld, where he sees a vision of the future of Rome, and the lines describe one of the first pair of consuls, Lucius Junius Brutus, who was said to have killed two of his sons who were plotting to restore the monarchy of the Tarquins. So it appears that Lucius Junius Brutus was chosen for this token as a hero for patriotism and freedom.*Alex
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1811 "VINCIT AMOR" AE Halfpenny, Walthamstow, Essex.Obverse: VINCIT AMOR PATRIÆ 1811. Small laureate bust of Lucius Junius Brutus facing right.
Reverse: Britannia seated facing left holding olive branch and trident, a shield at her side, BCC bottom right of shield, all within an oak-wreath.
Edge: Grained.
Diameter: 28mm.
Davis 17, Coxall type 10
The principal die engraver for this token was Thomas Wyon the elder (1767–1830). It was issued by the British Copper Company, a Welsh based company who, in 1808, erected copper rolling mill buildings at Walthamstow beside the River Lea. Walthamstow is now a suburb of north east London.
'Vincit amor patriæ' is a quotation from Virgil, though what Virgil wrote was vincet, in the future tense (Aeneid 6.823). The context is the visit of Aeneas to the underworld, where he sees a vision of the future of Rome, and the lines describe one of the first pair of consuls, Lucius Junius Brutus, who was said to have killed two of his sons who were plotting to restore the monarchy of the Tarquins. So it appears that Lucius Junius Brutus was chosen for this token as a hero for patriotism and freedom.*Alex
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1813 "LION" AE Halfpenny, Walthamstow, Essex.Obverse: HALFPENNY. A lion walking left; 1813 below in exergue.
Reverse: Britannia seated facing left holding olive branch and trident, a shield at her side, small BCC below shield, all within an oak-wreath.
Edge: Plain.
Diameter: 28mm
Withers: 610
The principal die engraver for this token was Thomas Wyon the elder (1767–1830). About 1796, Thomas went into business in Birmingham with his brother Peter as a general die-engraver. From 1800, he carried on his business from London, where he engraved many dies for tokens, and in 1816 he was appointed chief engraver of the seals. He died on 18th October, 1830.
This token was issued by the British Copper Company, a Welsh based company who, in 1808, bought the Walthamstow site beside the River Lea. Walthamstow is now a suburb of north east London. *Alex
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1843 "BENJAMIN NIGHTINGALE" AE Halfpenny Token. London, MiddlesexObverse: VILIUS EST ARGENTUM AURO, VIRTUTIBUS AURUM. Female, leaning on books behind her, holding a cornucopia from which coins are spilling, seated facing right in front of an open coin cabinet; in exergue, tudor rose on shield between two branches.
Reverse: BENJAMIN NIGHTINGALE LONDON * PRIVATE TOKEN * 1843 surrounding “BN” monogram in script.
Edge: Plain.
Diameter: 30mm | Weight: 14.2gms | Die Axis: 12
Bell (Middlesex) A3
VERY RARE (Only 72 of these bronzed copper halfpenny tokens were struck)
Privately issued in London by Benjamin Nightingale, the die sinker for this token was William Joseph Taylor (whose initials WJT can be seen to the left below the books on the obverse), following a similar design for halfpennies that he had produced for Matthew Young, a British merchant. Taylor was born in Birmingham in 1802 and was apprenticed to Thomas Halliday in 1818 as the first die-sinker to be trained by him. He set up his own business as a die-sinker, medallist and engraver at 5 Porter Street, Soho, London in 1829, later moving to 3 Lichfield Street, Birmingham. In 1843 the business moved to 33 Little Queen Street and finally, in 1869, to 70 Red Lion Street where, in 1885, Taylor died.
The Soho Mint at Birmingham (founded by Matthew Boulton) closed in 1848, and it's plant and equipment was sold via auction in April 1850. Taylor purchased many of the Soho Mint's hubs and dies from this auction and used them to restrike many of the coins & patterns that the Soho Mint had struck between the 1790's and the 1840's, though he nearly always re-polished or re-engraved elements of the original dies before re-using them.
Benjamin Nightingale was a wine and spirit merchant who lived at 17 Upper Stamford Street, Blackfriars Road in London. He was born in 1806 and died on March 9th, 1862. He was a well known Antiquarian and was a member of the Numismatic Society of London.
In 1863, after his death, Benjamin Nightingale's collection, consisting of 359 lots, was sold over a two day period by Sotheby's. This is from the February 13, 1863 edition of the London Daily News (page 8, column 6).
THE VALUABLE CABINET of COINS and MEDALS of the late BENJAMIN NIGHTINGALE, Esq.
MESSRS S. LEIGH SOTHEBY and WILKINSON, auctioneers of literary property and works illustrative of the fine arts, will SELL BY AUCTION, at their house, No. 13 (late 3), Wellington-street, Strand, W.C., on WEDNESDAY, Feb. 25, and following day, at 1 precisely, the valuable CABINET OF COINS and MEDALS of the late Benjamin Nightingale, Esq.; comprising a few Roman coins in gold, silver, and copper, in the highest state of preservation; a most valuable collection of English medals in all metals; rare and curious jetons, including a very perfect set of those struck to illustrate the history of the low countries; a few remarkable foreign medals, a choice library of numismatic books, several well-made cabinets, & c. – May be viewed two days previous, and catalogues had on receipt of two stamps.
According to Manville and Robertson, prior to his death, Benjamin Nightingale had sold off part of his collection at an auction by Sotheby's on 29th Nov. 1855.
"Benjamin NIGHTINGALE" in ANS copy; Greek, Roman, Tavern Tokens, Town Pieces, 17-18c Tokens, English and Foreign Medals, Books; 165 lots. -Curtis Clay.
The inspiration for these tokens might have been Pye's 1797 halfpenny (Warwickshire 223) which is of a similar design.
 *Alex
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1887 Victoria Jubilee Head Shield Silver Proof SixpenceGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Silver Proof Sixpence, 1887, Bull 3269, ESC 1753A, Davies 1151 (Dies 2+A), SCWC KM 759, Friedberg 392, MCE 1409, SCBC 3928, Withdrawn Type, FDC, much as struck with a most attractive tone, edge milled, weight 2.8276g (ASW 0.0841oz), composition 0.925 Ag, 0.075 Cu, diameter 19.3mm, thickness 1.0mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1887; obverse VICTORIA DEI GRATIA-BRITT: REGINA F: D: (Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), Jubilee tall, crowned, veiled and draped bust left, wearing double pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast with badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, small J.E.B. raised below shoulder truncation for engraver Joseph Edgar Boehm, toothed border surrounding; reverse crowned quartered shield of Arms of the United Kingdom bearing three lions passant guardant for England, lion rampant for Scotland and eight-stringed harp for Ireland, within Order of the Garter inscribed with French motto HONI ✿ SOIT ✿ QUI-MAL ✿ Y ✿ PENSE ✿ ✿ ✿ (Shame on him who thinks evil of it), 18-87 in exergue either side of strap-end, engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Wessex Coins (17 Jan 2024); rare; £475.00.Serendipity
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1897 Victoria Diamond Jubilee Gold MedalGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Official Diamond Jubilee Gold Medal, 1897, 60th Anniversary of the Accession of Queen Victoria commemorative, BHM 3506, Eimer 1817b, Fearon 348.1, Wollaston 40, small size, EF, matt finish, red spots both sides, more on reverse, engraved by George William de Saulles after Thomas Brock (obverse) and William Wyon (reverse), plain edge, weight 13.0g (AGW 0.3833oz), composition 0.917 Au, 0.083 Cu, diameter 26.0mm, thickness 2.2mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1897; obverse VICTORIA ANNVM REGNI SEXAGESIMVM FELICITER CLAVDIT XX IVN·MDCCCXCVII· (Victoria Successfully Completed the 60th Year of Her Reign, 20 June, 1897), old coroneted, veiled and draped bust left, wearing pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast, T.B. raised on shoulder truncation for engraver Thomas Brock; reverse LONGI-/-TVDO/DIERVM/IN/DEXTERA/EIVS (Length of Days is in Her Right Hand;) in six lines to left, ET IN/SINISTRA/GLORIA (And in Her Left Hand Glory) in three lines to right, first young filleted head left, hair bound with double fillet, waved and braided, pulled back in ponytail ending in three tight corkscrew curls at back, olive branch tied with ribbon below, 1837 in exergue; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Sovereign Rarities (25 Jul 2023); £1,100.00.Serendipity
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1897 Victoria Diamond Jubilee Silver MedalGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Official Diamond Jubilee Silver Medal, 1897, 60th Anniversary of the Accession of Queen Victoria commemorative, BHM 3506, Eimer 1817b, Fearon 348.1, Wollaston 40, small size, aUNC, matt finish, toned, engraved by George William de Saulles after Thomas Brock (obverse) and William Wyon (reverse), plain edge, weight 9.76g (ASW 0.2903oz), composition 0.925 Ag, 0.075 Cu, diameter 25.75mm, thickness 2.25mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1897; obverse VICTORIA ANNVM REGNI SEXAGESIMVM FELICITER CLAVDIT XX IVN·MDCCCXCVII· (Victoria Successfully Completed the 60th Year of Her Reign, 20 June, 1897), old coroneted, veiled and draped bust left, wearing pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast, T.B. raised on shoulder truncation for engraver Thomas Brock; reverse LONGI-/-TVDO/DIERVM/IN/DEXTERA/EIVS (Length of Days is in Her Right Hand;) in six lines to left, ET IN/SINISTRA/GLORIA (And in Her Left Hand Glory) in three lines to right, first young filleted head left, hair bound with double fillet, waved and braided, pulled back in ponytail ending in three tight corkscrew curls at back, olive branch tied with ribbon below, 1837 in exergue; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex R. Ingram Coins (18 Jul 2021); £44.00.Serendipity
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1ac1 Pompey the GreatFormed First Triumvirate with Caesar and Crassus in 60 BC. Murdered in Egypt, 48 BC.
Denarius, minted by son Sextus Pompey
42-40 BC
Head of Pompey the Great right between jug and lituus
Neptune right foot on prow, flanked by the Catanaean brothers, Anapias and Amphinomus, with their parents on their shoulders
Struck by Sextus Pompey after his victory over Salvidienus and relates to his acclamation as the Son of Neptune. Although Sextus Pompey was the supreme naval commander, Octavian had the Senate declare him a public enemy. He turned to piracy and came close to defeating Octavian. He was, however, defeated by Marcus Agrippa at the naval battle of Naulochus (3 September 36 B.C.). He was executed by order of Mark Antony in 35 B.C.
SRCV I 1392, RSC I Pompey the Great 17, Sydenham 1344, Crawford 511/3a, BM Sicily 93
Plutarch said of Pompey: In Pompey, there were many [causes] that helped to make him the object of [the Roman people's] love; his temperance, his skill and exercise in war, his eloquence of speech, integrity of mind, and affability in conversation and address; insomuch that no man ever asked a favour with less offence, or conferred one with a better grace. When he gave, it was without assumption; when he received, it was with dignity and honour.Blindado
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1au Otho69
Denarius
Bewigged head, right, IMP OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P
Securitas stg., SECVRITAS P R
RIC 10
Suetonius wrote: Otho was born on the 28th of April 32 AD, in the consulship of Furius Camillus Arruntius and Domitius Ahenobarbus, Nero’s father. In early youth he was so profligate and insolent that he earned many a beating from his own father. . . . After his father died, he feigned love for an influential freedwoman at Court, though she was old and decrepit, in order to win her favour, and then used her to insinuate himself among the emperor’s friends, easily achieving the role of Nero’s chief favourite, not only because they were of a similar disposition, but also some say because of a sexual relationship. . . .
Otho had hoped to be adopted by Galba as his successor, and anticipated the announcement daily. But Piso was chosen, dashing Otho’s hopes, and causing him to resort to force, prompted not only by feelings of resentment but also by his mounting debts. He declared that frankly he would have to declare himself bankrupt, unless he became emperor. . . . When the moment was finally ripe, . . . his friends hoisted him on their shoulders and acclaimed him Emperor. Everyone they met joined the throng, as readily as if they were sworn accomplices and a part of the conspiracy, and that is how Otho arrived at his headquarters, amidst cheering and the brandishing of swords. He at once sent men to kill Galba and Piso. . . .
Meanwhile the army in Germany had sworn allegiance to Vitellius. When the news reached Otho he persuaded the Senate to send a deputation, advising the soldiers to maintain peace and order, since an emperor had already been chosen. However he also sent envoys with letters and personal messages, offering to share power with Vitellius, and marry his daughter. With civil war clearly inevitable, on the approach of Vitellius’s advance guard, who had marched on Rome led by their generals, . . . Otho began his campaign vigorously, and indeed too hastily. . . .
His army won three engagements, but of a minor nature, firstly in the Alps, then near Placentia, and finally at a place called Castor’s, and were ultimately defeated in a decisive and treacherous encounter at Betriacum (on the 14th April). . . . After this defeat, Otho resolved to commit suicide, more from feelings of shame, which many have thought justified, and a reluctance to continue the struggle with such high cost to life and property, than from any diffidence or fear of failure shown by his soldiers. . . . On waking at dawn (on the 16th of April, AD69), he promptly dealt himself a single knife-blow in the left side of his chest, and first concealing and then showing the wound to those who rushed in at the sound of his groaning, he breathed his last. . . . Otho was thirty-six years old when he died, on the ninety-second day of his reign. . . .
Neither his bodily form nor appearance suggested great courage. He is said to have been of medium height, bandy-legged and splay-footed, though as fastidious as a woman in personal matters. He had his body-hair plucked, and wore a toupee to cover his scanty locks, so well-made and so close-fitting that its presence was not apparent. Blindado
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1av Vitellius69
Denarius
Portrait, right, A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P
Vesta std., PONT MAX
RIC 107
According to Suetonius: Lucius’s son Aulus, the future emperor, was born on the 24th of September 15AD, or according to some authorities on the 7th, during the consulship of Drusus Caesar and Norbanus Flaccus. . . . His boyhood and early youth were spent on Capreae (Capri) among Tiberius’s creatures, he himself being marked by the nickname of ‘Spintria’ (sex-token) throughout his life, and suspected of having secured his father’s first promotion to office by surrendering his own chastity. As he grew older, though contaminated by every kind of vice, Vitellius gained and kept a prominent place at court, winning Caligula’s friendship by his devotion to chariot-racing and Claudius’s by his love of dice. With Nero he was even closer. . . .
Honoured, as these emperors’ favourite, with high office in the priesthood, as well as political power, he governed Africa (under Nero, in 60/61AD) as proconsul, and was then Curator of Public Works (in 63AD), employing a contrasting approach, and with a contrasting effect on his reputation. In his province he acted with outstanding integrity over two successive years, since he served as deputy also to his brother who succeeded him (61/62AD) yet during his administration of the City he was said to have stolen various temple offerings and ornaments, and substituted brass and tin for the gold and silver in others. . . .
Contrary to all expectations, Galba appointed Vitellius to Lower Germany (in 68AD). Some think it was brought about by Titus Vinius, whose influence was powerful at that time, and whose friendship Vitellius had previously won through their mutual support for the ‘Blues’ in the Circus. But it is clear to everyone that Galba chose him as an act of contempt rather than favour, commenting that gluttons were among those least to be feared, and Vitellius’s endless appetite would now be able to sate itself on a province. . . .
He entered Rome to the sound of trumpets, surrounded by standards and banners, wearing a general’s cape, sword at his side, his officers in their military cloaks also, and the men with naked blades. With increasing disregard for the law, human or divine, he then assumed the office of High Priest on the anniversary of the Allia (18th July), arranged the elections for the next ten years, and made himself consul for life. . . .
Vitellius’s worst vices were cruelty and gluttony. . . . By the eighth month of his reign (November 69AD) the legions in Moesia and Pannonia had repudiated Vitellius, and sworn allegiance to Vespasian despite his absence, following those of Syria and Judaea who had done so in Vespasian’s presence. . . .
The vanguard of Vespasian’s army had now forced its way into the Palace, unopposed, and the soldiers were ransacking the rooms, in their usual manner. They hauled Vitellius, unrecognised, from his hiding place, asked his name and where the Emperor might be. He gave some lying answer, but was soon identified, so he begged for safe custody, even if that meant imprisonment, claiming he had important information for Vespasian regarding his security. However his arms were bound behind him and a noose flung over his head, and he was dragged along the Sacred Way to the Forum, amid a hail of mockery and abuse, half-naked, with his clothes in tatters. His head was held back by the hair, like a common criminal and, with a sword-point under his chin so that he was forced to look up and reveal his face, he was pelted with filth and dung, denounced as arsonist and glutton, and taunted with his bodily defects by the crowd. For, Vitellius was exceptionally tall, and his face was usually flushed from some drinking bout. He had a huge belly, too, and one thigh crippled by a blow from a four-horse chariot which struck him when he was in attendance on Caligula who was driving. At last, after being tormented by a host of cuts from the soldiers’ swords, he was killed on the Gemonian Stairs, and his body dragged with a hook to the Tiber.Blindado
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1bd1 Sextus Pompey Battles OctavianPompey the Great
As, minted by son Sextus Pompey
43-36 BC
Janiform head with features of Pompey the Great, MAGN above.
Prow of galley, PIVS above, IMP below.
This engraver had at best a dim notion of what the great man looked like! Pompey was a member of the first triumvirate, 59-53 BC.
Struck by Sextus Pompey after his victory over Salvidienus and relates to his acclamation as the Son of Neptune. Although Sextus Pompey was the supreme naval commander, Octavian had the Senate declare him a public enemy. He turned to piracy and came close to defeating Octavian. He was, however, defeated by Marcus Agrippa at the naval battle of Naulochus (3 September 36 B.C.). He was executed by order of Mark Antony in 35 B.C.
Sydenham 1044aBlindado
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1en Julian II "Apostate"360-363
AE3
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust left, holding shield & spear, D N FL CL IVLIANVS P F AVG
VOT X MVLT XX in four lines within wreath, palm branch-BSIS-palm branch in ex [?].
RIC 415
According to Zosimus: Constantius, having so well succeeded in his design against Vetranio, marched against Magnentius, having first conferred the title of Caesar on Gallus, the son of his uncle, and brother to Julian who was afterwards emperor, and given him in marriage his sister Constantia. . . . CONSTANTIUS, after having acted towards Gallus Caesar in the manner I have related, left Pannonia to proceed into Italy. . . . He scarcely thought himself capable of managing affairs at this critical period. He was unwilling, however, to associate any one with himself in the government, because he so much desired to rule alone, and could esteem no man his friend. Under these circumstances he was at a loss how to act. It happened, however, that when the empire was in the greatest danger, Eusebia, the wife of Constantius, who was a woman of extraordinary learning, and of greater wisdom than her sex is usually endowed with, advised him to confer the government of the nations beyond the Alps on Julianus Caesar, who was brother to Gallus, and grandson to Constantius. As she knew that the emperor was suspicious of all his kindred, she thus circumvented him. She observed to him, that Julian was a young man unacquainted with the intrigues of state, having devoted himself totally to his studies; and that he was wholly inexperienced in worldly business. That on this account he would be more fit for his purpose than any other person. That either he would be fortunate, and his success would be attributed to the emperor's conduct, or that he would fail and perish; and that thus Constantius would have none of the imperial family to succeed to him.
Constantius, having approved her advice, sent for Julian from Athens, where he lived among the philosophers, and excelled all his masters in every kind of learning. Accordingly, Julian returning from Greece into Italy, Constantius declared him Caesar, gave him in marriage his sister Helena, and sent him beyond the Alps. . . .
Constantius, having thus disposed of Julian, marched himself into Pannonia and Moesia, and having there suppressed the Quadi and the Sarmatians, proceeded to the east, and was provoked to war by the inroads of the Persians. Julian by this time had arrived beyond the Alps into the Gallic nations which he was to rule. Perceiving that the Barbarians continued committing the same violence, Eusebia, for the same reasons as before, persuaded Constantius to place the entire management of those countries into the hands of Julian. . . . Julian finding the military affairs of Gallia Celtica in a very ruinous state, and that the Barbarians pased the Rhine without any resistance, even almost as far as the sea-port towns, he took a survey of the remaining parts of the enemy. And understanding that the people of those parts were terrified at the very name of the Barbarians, while those whom Constantius had sent along with him, who were not more than three hundred and sixty, knew nothing more, as he used to say, than how to say their prayers, he enlisted as many more as he could and took in a great number of volunteers. He also provided arms, and finding a quantity of old weapons in some town he fitted them up, and distributed them among the soldiers. The scouts bringing him intelligence, that an immense number of Barbarians had crossed the river near the city of Argentoratum (Strasburg) which stands on the Rhine, he no sooner heard of it, than he led forth his army with the greatest speed, and engaging with the enemy gained such a victory as exceeds all description.
After these events he raised a great army to make war on the whole German nation; He was opposed however by the Barbarians in vast numbers. Caesar therefore would not wait while they came up to him, but crossed the Rhine, preferring that their country should be the seat of war, and not that of the Romans, as by that means the cities would escape being again pillaged by the Barbarians. A most furious battle therefore took place; a great number of the Barbarians being slain on the field of battle, while the rest fled, and were pursued by Caesar into the Hercynian forest, and many of them killed. . . .
But while Julian was at Parisium, a small town in Germany, the soldiers, being ready to march, continued at supper till midnight in a place near the palace, which they so called there. They were as yet ignorant of any design against Caesar [by Constantius], when some tribunes, who began to suspect the contrivance against him, privately distributed a number of anonymous billets among the soldiers, in which they represented to them, that Caesar, by his judicious conduct had so managed affairs, that almost all of them had erected trophies over the Barbarians ; that he had always fought like a private soldier, and was now in extreme danger from the emperor, who would shortly deprive him of his whole army, unless they prevented it. Some of the soldiers having read these billets, and published the intrigue to the whole army, all were highly enraged. They suddenly rose from their seats in great commotion, and with the cups yet in their hands went to the palace. Breaking open the doors without ceremony, they brought out Caesar, and lifting him on a shield declared him emperor and Augustus. They then, without attending to his reluctance, placed a diadem upon his head. . . .
Arriving at Naisus, he consulted the soothsayers what measures to pursue. As the entrails signified that he must stay there for some time, he obeyed, observing likewise the time that was mentioned in his dream. When this, according to the motion of the planets, was arrived, a party of horsemen arrived from Constantinople at Naisus, with intelligence that Constantius was dead, and that the armies desired Julian to be emperor. Upon this he accepted what the gods had bestowed upon him, and proceeded on his journey. On his arrival at. Byzantium, he was received with joyful acclamations. . . .
[After slashing through Persia and crossing the Tigris,] they perceived the Persian army, with which they engaged, and having considerably the advantage, they killed a great number of Persians. Upon the following day, about noon, the Persians drew up in a large body, and once more attacked the rear of the Roman army. The Romans, being at that time out of their ranks, were surprised and alarmed at the suddenness of the attack, yet made a stout and spirited defence. The emperor, according to his custom, went round the army, encouraging them to fight with ardour. When by this means all were engaged, the emperor, who sometimes rode to the commanders and tribunes, and was at other times among the private soldiers, received a wound in the heat of the engagement, and was borne on a shield to his tent. He survived only till midnight. He then expired, after having nearly subverted the Persian empire.
Note: Julian favored the pagan faith over Christianity and was tarred by the church as "the apostate." Blindado
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