| Image search results - "choice" |
KYRENAICA. Kyrene. AR Didrachm (7.69 gms), ca. 305-300 B.C. CHOICE VERY FINE. SNG Cop-1238; BMC-238. Obverse: Head Zeus Karneios left; Reverse: Silphium plant; monogram to left, star to right. Though rather intensely cleaned, this piece nevertheless offers a solid strike and a pleasing representation of the silphium plant--harvested to extinction in antiquity.
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Vespasian, 1 July 69 - 24 June 79 A.D.
Copper as, RIC II-1 336, BMCRE II 616, BnF III 595, Cohen I 632, Hunter I 119, SRCV I -, Choice VF, superb portrait, well centered on a tight flan, green patina with bare metal high points, scattered porosity, Rome mint, weight 11.694g, maximum diameter 26.9mm, die axis 180o, 71 A.D.; obverse IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS III, laureate head right; reverse VICTORIA NAVALIS (the naval victory), Victory standing right on a galley prow, wreath in extended right hand, palm frond over left shoulder in left hand, S - C (senatus consulto) flanking low across field; from an Israeli collection, Ex Forum paul1888
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Otacilia Severa, Augusta, February or March 244 - September or October 249 A.D.
|Otacilia| |Severa|, |Otacilia| |Severa,| |Augusta,| |February| |or| |March| |244| |-| |September| |or| |October| |249| |A.D.|, From the issue celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Rome. Celebrations included display of many exotic animals including, it seems, a hippopotamus.
RS76152. Silver antoninianus, RIC IV P116b, RSC IV 63, Hunter III 10, SRCV III 9160, Choice EF, near perfect centering and strike, much luster, excellent portrait, 4th officina, Rome mint, weight 4.040g, maximum diameter 22.6mm, die axis 180o, 248 A.D.; obverse OTACIL SEVERA AVG, draped bust right, wearing stephane, hair in horizontal ridges, plait up the back of head, crescent behind shoulders; reverse SAECVLARES AVGG (Secular games [provided by] the Emperors), hippopotamus standing right, IIII (4th officina) in exergue; Ex Forum Ancient Coinspaul1888
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ARAB-BYZANTINE: Standing Emperor, ca. 680-690, AE fals (7.28g), Dimashq, ND, A-3517.3, without T, star left of emperor, ΛEO to right / anchor above & star below capital M, choice VF, R. Reverse Arabic legend "dimashq / wafiya / ja'iz hadha", somewhat coarsely engraved.
Estimate: USD 120 - 160Quant.Geek
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Vespasian, 1 July 69 - 24 June 79 A.D.
SH110254. Silver denarius, RIC II-1 1431; RSC II 276; RPC II 833; BnF III 351; BMCRE II 457, SRCV I 2270, Choice EF, well centered, excellent portrait, light toning, slight double strike, 3.326g, 18.3mm, 180o, Ephesus mint, IMP CAESAR VESPAS AVG COS III TR P P P, laureate head right; reverse PACI AVGVSTAE, Victory advancing right, wreath in extended right hand, palm frond over left shoulder in left hand, EPHE (PHE ligate) lower right; ex Inasta (San Marino) auction 100 (24 Jun 2022), lot 212 Ex: Forum Ancient Coins.
Ephesus peaked during the 1st and 2nd century A.D. when it was second in importance and size only to Rome, with a population estimated at 400,000 to 500,000 in 100 A.D. The city was famous for the Temple of Artemis, the Library of Celsus, and its theater, seating 25,000 spectators. Ephesus also had several large bath complexes and one of the most advanced aqueduct systems in the ancient world. Water powered numerous mills, one of which has been identified as a sawmill for marble. The city and temple were destroyed by the Goths in 263 A.D., marking the decline of the city's splendor.paul1888
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Persian Empire, Lydia, Anatolia, Xerxes I - Darius II, c. 485 - 420 B.C. Silver siglos, Carradice Type IIIa variety without pellets, Carradice NC 1998, pl. 8, 5 - 16; or underweight Carradice IIIb, Choice gVF, attractive surfaces, flow lines, bankers mark on edge, Sardes (Sart, Turkey) mint, weight 5.403g, maximum diameter 14.8mm, c. 485 - 420 B.C.; obverse kneeling-running figure of the Great King right, transverse spear downward in right hand, bow in extended left hand, bearded, crowned; reverse irregular rectangular punch; from the CEB Collection; ex Numismatic Fine Arts winter sale (Dec 1987), lot 371
Ex: Forum Ancient Coins.
Persian Lydia, Persian Empire, Lydia, Anatolia, Xerxes I - Darius II, c. 485 - 420 B.C., Carradice Type III was initially issued with the same weight standard as earlier sigloi, Type IIIa, c. 5.30 - 5.39 g. Carradice NC 1998 lists 12 examples of sigloi in the Type IIIa style but without pellets behind the beard. There may have been two mints, one issuing with the two pellets and one without. Or possibly all light weight examples without pellets are simply underweight examples of the Type IIIb, issued after c. 485 B.C. on a heavier standard, c. 5.55 - 5.60 g.paul1888
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Chersonesos, Thrace, c. 386 - 338 B.C. Silver hemidrachm, Weber 2422; BMC Thrace p. 185, 43; McClean II 4071; HGC 3.2, 1437; SNG Cop -, Choice gVF, attractive neat style, toned, Cherronesos (Gallipoli peninsula) mint, weight 2.323g, maximum diameter 14.1mm, c. 386 - 338 B.C.; obverse lion forepart right, head turned back left, tongue protruding; reverse quadripartite incuse with alternating shallow and deeper sunken quarters, pellet and VE ligature in one sunken quarter (pellet mostly off flan), pellet and five-point star (pentagram) in the opposite sunken quarter. Coin & photography ex Forum Ancient Coins.
This example is unusually well centered on the obverse, which motivated me to purchase it. Overall I believe it is an attractive coin. paul1888
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Caracalla, 28 January 198 - 8 April 217 A.D. Silver denarius, RIC IV 120 (S); RSC III 3; BMCRE V p. 205, 267; SRCV II 6790; Hunter III -, Choice gVF, well centered, flow lines, edge splits and cracks, Rome mint, weight 3.280g, maximum diameter 18.9mm, die axis 180o, 201 - 202 A.D.; obverse ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, boy's laureate and draped bust right; reverse ADVENT AVGG, war galley left on waves, ram, acrostolium and vexillum at the bow, four oarsmen and a steersman, Septimius Severus, Caracalla and Geta seated in the steersman's cabin, two standards and apluster at the stern
Ex: Forum Ancient Coinspaul1888
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11 TitusTITUS
AE As. 80 AD
O: IMP T CAES VESP AVG PM TRP COS VIII, laureate head r.
R: PAX AVGVST S-C, Pax standing facing, head l., holding branch & long winged caduceus.
RIC 229; Choice F
RI0055Sosius
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15 HadrianHADRIAN
BI tetradrachm, Alexandria mint, 11.1g, 25.1mm
29 Aug 125 - 28 Aug 126 A.D.
ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΤΡΑΙ Α∆ΡΙΑ CΕΒ, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, wearing aegis, from behind / L ∆Ε KATOV (year 10), Canopus jar of Osiris, ornamented with figures, wearing crown of horns, uraei disk, and plumes
Kampmann-Ganschow 32.351; Geissen 903; Dattari 1326; Milne 1154; BMC Alexandria p. 75, 630; Emmett 827
Choice gVF
Purchased from FORVM
Note that at some point in this coin's history, it seems to have been used a host for very poor quality fakes. After discussion on the FORVM board, I am comfortable that this coin is indeed the original. Shame on the former owner that used it for copies!
During the mummification process, large organs, such as the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines were extracted and placed in four jars. In the Ptolemaic period, the Greeks called these jars "canopic jars," relating them to the deity of the old city Canop (now a village in Abu Kyr). The heart was left in the body because it held the spirit, understanding and senses and would be needed on the Day of Judgment in the underworld. -- FORVM
RI0073Sosius
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15 Hadrian DenariusHADRIAN
AR Denarius, 3.4g
HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, bare head right / SALVS AVG, Salus standing right, feeding snake from patera, altar before.
RIC 267; RSC 1336; sear5 3540 (var – no drapery on far shoulder)
Ex-Ancient Coin Society “3 Caesars” folder coin
Choice Fine
RI0092Sosius
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2 Philip IPHILIP I
AR Antoninianus, 244-9 AD, 3.8 g
O: IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, Radiate and draped bust right.
R: ROMAE AETERNAE, Roma seated left on shield, holding Victory and spear.
RIC 44 (b), Sear 2567, Choice VF
Coin commemorates the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Rome
Sosius
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EAGLE, GORDIAN & TRANQUILLINA. ANCHIALUS. AE 26. Eagle. GORDIAN & TRANQUILLINA. ANCHIALUS. AE 26. Eagle. Choice
ROMAN PROVINCES - THRACE, ANCHIALUS
GORDIAN III, Emperor, AD 238-244
GORDIAN III & TRANQUILLINA
AE27 (Copper, 13.02 grams, 26.50 mm).
Obverse: Greek legend: AVT K M AN GORDIANOC CAV CAB / TPANKVLLI/NA Their two draped busts confronted.
Reverse: Greek legend: OVLPIANWN ANXIALEVN Eagle standing facing on thunderbolt with open wings, head right, holding wreath in its beak. Reference: Sear GIC -, BMC # 21 page 86.
6500 Antonivs Protti
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(500a) Roman Republic, 119 BC, M. Furius Philius - Furia 18Roman Republic, 119 BC, M. Furius Philius - Furia 18. Crawford 281/1, Sydenham 529; 19mm, 3.23 grams. aVF, Rome; Obverse: laureate head of Janus, M FORVRI L F around; Reverse: Roma standing left erecting trophy, Galic arms around, PHLI in exergue. Ex Ephesus Numismatics.
Gauis Marius
As a novus homo, or new man, Marius found the rise in the Roman cursus honorum ( "course of honours"-- the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic) a daunting challenge. It is certain that he used his old family client contacts and his military relations as a source of support. Among these contacts were the powerful Metelli family, and their early support was to prove to be a disaster for them. Just a few short years after his service as Quaestor, Marius was elected Tribune of the Plebes in 119 BC. In this position so soon after the political turmoil and murder of the Gracchi brothers (Gaius murdered 123 BC), Marius chose to follow the populares path, making a name for himself under similar auspices. As Tribune, he would ensure the animosity of the conservative faction of the Senate, and the Metelli, by passing popular laws forbidding the inspection of ballot boxes. In do doing, he directly opposed the powerful elite, who used ballot inspection as a way to intimidate voters in the citizen assembly elections.
Marius would go on to be elected Consul seven times and figure prominantly in the civil unrest of the early eighties as Lucius Cornelius Sulla's opponent. In 88 BC, Sulla had been elected Consul. There was now a choice before the Senate about which general to send to Asia (a potentially lucrative command): either Marius or Sulla. The Senate chose Sulla, but soon the Assembly appointed Marius. In this unsavory episode of low politics, Marius had been helped by the unscrupulous actions of Publius Sulpicius Rufus, whose debts Marius had promised to erase. Sulla refused to acknowledge the validity of the Assembly's action.
Sulla left Rome and traveled to "his"army waiting in Nola, the army the Senate had asked him to lead to Asia. Sulla urged his legions to defy the Assembly's orders and accept him as their rightful leader. Sulla was successful, and the legions murdered the representatives from the Assembly. Sulla then commanded six legions to march with him opon Rome and institute a civil war.
This was a momentous event, and was unforeseen by Marius, as no Roman army had ever marched upon Rome—it was forbidden by law and ancient tradition.
Sulla was to eventually rule Rome as Dictator. In his book Rubicon, historian Tom Holland argues that Sulla's actions had no lasting negative effect upon the health of the Republic, that Sulla was at heart a Republican. However, once a Roman general has defied Republican tradition, once a Roman general has used his command to combat fellow Romans, once a Roman general has set-up himself as Dictator--it follows that the decision to replicate these decsions (think: Caesar and Rubicon) is that much more easiely taken.
J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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(504c) Roman Republic, L. Cassius Longinus, 63 B.C.Silver denarius, Crawford 413/1, RSC I Cassia 10, SRCV I 364, aVF, struck with worn dies, Rome mint, weight 3.867g, maximum diameter 20.3mm, die axis 0o, c. 63 B.C. Obverse: veiled bust of Vesta left, kylix behind, L before; Reverse: LONGIN III V, voter standing left, dropping tablet inscribed V into a cista.
The reverse of this Longinus denarius captures a fascinating moment when a Roman citizen casts his ballot. "The abbreviation III V [ir] indentifies Longinus as one of the three annually appointed mintmasters (officially called tres viri aere argento auro flando feriundo). A citizen is seen casting his vote into the urn. On the ballot is the letter 'U', short for uti rogas, a conventional formula indicating assent to a motion. The picture alludes to the law, requested by an ancestor of the mintmaster, which introduced the secret ballot in most proceedings of the popular court" (Meier, Christian. Caesar, a Biography. Berlin: Severin and Siedler, 1982. Plate 6).
The date that this denarius was struck possesses unique significance for another reason. Marcus Tullius Cicero (politician, philosopher, orator, humanist) was elected consul for the year 63 BC -- the first man elected consul who had no consular ancestors in more than 30 years. A "new man," Cicero was not the descendant of a "patrician" family, nor was his family wealthy (although Cicero married "well"). Cicero literally made himself the man he was by the power of the words he spoke and the way in which he spoke them. A witness to and major player during the decline of the Roman Republic, Cicero was murdered in 43 BC by thugs working for Marc Antony. But Cicero proved impossible to efface.
Cicero's words became part of the bed rock of later Roman education. As Peter Heather notes, every educated young man in the late Roman Empire studied "a small number of literary texts under the guidance of an expert in language and literary interpretation, the grammarian. This occupied the individual for seven or more years from about the age of eight, and concentrated on just four authors: Vergil, Cicero, Sallust and Terence" (Heather, Peter. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 17).
Plutarch: Cicero's Death
But in the meantime the assassins were come with a band of soldiers, Herennius, a centurion, and Popillius, a tribune, whom Cicero had formerly defended when prosecuted for the murder of his father. Finding the doors shut, they broke them open, and Cicero not appearing, and those within saying they knew not where he was, it is stated that a youth, who had been educated by Cicero in the liberal arts and sciences, an emancipated slave of his brother Quintus, Philologus by name, informed the tribune that the litter was on its way to the sea through the close and shady walks. The tribune, taking a few with him, ran to the place where he was to come out. And Cicero, perceiving Herennius running in the walks, commanded his servants to set down the litter; and stroking his chin, as he used to do, with his left hand, he looked steadfastly upon his murderers, his person covered with dust, his beard and hair untrimmed, and his face worn with his troubles. So that the greatest part of those that stood by covered their faces whilst Herennius slew him. And thus was he murdered, stretching forth his neck out of the litter, being now in his sixty-fourth year. Herennius cut off his head, and, by Antony's command, his hands also, by which his Philippics were written; for so Cicero styled those orations he wrote against Antony, and so they are called to this day.
When these members of Cicero were brought to Rome, Antony was holding an assembly for the choice of public officers; and when he heard it, and saw them, he cried out, "Now let there be an end of our proscriptions." He commanded his head and hands to be fastened up over the rostra, where the orators spoke; a sight which the Roman people shuddered to behold, and they believed they saw there, not the face of Cicero, but the image of Antony's own soul. And yet amidst these actions he did justice in one thing, by delivering up Philologus to Pomponia, the wife of Quintus; who, having got his body into her power, besides other grievous punishments, made him cut off his own flesh by pieces, and roast and eat it; for so some writers have related. But Tiro, Cicero's emancipated slave, has not so much as mentioned the treachery of Philologus.
Translation by John Dryden: http://intranet.grundel.nl/thinkquest/moord_cicero_plu.html
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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005c. GermanicusGermanicus
After the death of Augustus in 14, the Senate appointed Germanicus commander of the forces in Germania. A short time after, the legions rioted on the news that the succession befell on the unpopular Tiberius. Refusing to accept this, the rebel soldiers cried for Germanicus as emperor. But he chose to honor Augustus' choice and put an end to the mutiny, preferring to continue only as a general. In the next two years, he subdued the Germanic tribes east of the Rhine, and assured their defeat in the Battle of the Weser River in 16.
Germanicus died in Alexandria, Egypt. His death was surrounded with speculations, and several sources refer to claims that he was poisoned by Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, governor of Syria, under orders of the emperor Tiberius.
AS, struck under Caligula. GERMANICVS CAESAR TI AVGVST F DIVI AVG N, bare head left / C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT around large SC. Cohen 1.
Checkecoli
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011. Domitian, 81-96AD. AE Dupondius.Domitian. AE Dupondius. 10.08g, 28.3mm, 180o, Rome mint, Apr - Nov 85 A.D.;
Obverse IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XI CENS POT P P, radiate head right with aegis.
Reverse FORTVNAE AVGVSTI S C, Fortuna standing left holding rudder and cornucopia. scarce. choice gVF. RIC 293, Cohen 121.
LordBest
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04 - Gordian III AR Tetradrachm, Antioch, SyriaRoman Empire
Emperor Gordian III (238 - 244 AD)
Antioch, Syria - Tetradrachm.
NGC certified - " Choice XF - 5/5, 4/5 "rexesq
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04 - Gordian III AR Tetradrachm, Antioch, Syria.Roman Empire
Emperor Gordian III (238 - 244 AD)
Antioch, Syria - Tetradrachm.
NGC certified - " Choice XF - 5/5, 4/5 "rexesq
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04 - Gordian III AR Tetradrachm, Antioch, Syria.Roman Empire
Emperor Gordian III (238 - 244 AD)
Antioch, Syria - Tetradrachm.
NGC certified - " Choice XF - 5/5, 4/5 "rexesq
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04 - Gordian III AR Tetradrachm, Antioch, Syria.Roman Empire
Emperor Gordian III (238 - 244 AD)
Antioch, Syria - Tetradrachm.
NGC certified - " Choice XF - 5/5, 4/5 "rexesq
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04 - Gordian III AR Tetradrachm, Antioch, Syria.Roman Empire
Emperor Gordian III (238 - 244 AD)
Antioch, Syria - Tetradrachm.
NGC certified - " Choice XF - 5/5, 4/5 "rexesq
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06 - Faustina I - 02 - AR Denarius - Peacock 'CONSECRATIO' - NGC Choice VFAncient Roman Empire
Empress Faustina Senior (138 - 141), Wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 138 - 161).
Silver Denarius, Struck at the Rome Mint by the Emperor Antoninus Pius to consecrate and commemorate his wife after her death.
(All Titles in Latin)
obv: DIVA FAUSTINA - Veiled and Draped bust facing right.
rev: CONSECRATIO - Peacock facing right, head left, standing on scepter with knobs on both ends.
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*Note how the two head feathers on the top of the Peacock's head seperate the 'R' and the 'A' in " CONSECR ATIO ' on the reverse.
***Less common type with Veiled bust obverse rather than her usual bust with hair wrapped on the top of her head, like on my other example of this type with the same reverse design and titles, and the same obverse titles.
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Certified "Choice Very Fine" by NGC Ancients.
Strike: 4/5
Surface: 4/5
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>^..^< CLICK PHOTO FOR FULLSIZE IMAGE >^..^rexesq
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06 - Faustina I - 02 - AR Denarius - Peacock 'CONSECRATIO' - NGC Choice VF.Ancient Roman Empire
Empress Faustina Senior (138 - 141), Wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 138 - 161).
Silver Denarius, Struck at the Rome Mint by the Emperor Antoninus Pius to consecrate and commemorate his wife after her death.
(All Titles in Latin)
obv: DIVA FAUSTINA - Veiled and Draped bust facing right.
rev: CONSECRATIO - Peacock facing right, head left, standing on scepter with knobs on both ends.
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*Note how the head feathers on the peacock's head seperate the 'R' and the 'A' in CONSECR ATIO
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Certified "Choice Very Fine" by NGC Ancients.
Strike: 4/5
Surface: 4/5
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** Any scratches, smudges or marks are on the slab, not the coin itself. **
rexesq
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0676A Focas, 602-610Æ pentanummium, 14.6mm, 1.29g, Choice VF
Struck at Theopolis (Antioch)
Monogram (#20) of a large cross with K - A left to right, and Θ - E top to bottom / Large E, cross in field to right. Scarce.
Sear 676A; Hahn 89Lawrence W
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069a. CarusAugustus 282-283
Probably born in Gaul. He was chosen as Augustus by his soldiers when Probus was killed. He informed the Senate, which had no choice in the matter. He launched an invasion of Persia that was initially successful, but he died during the campaign, either murdered or dying after being struck by lightning.lawrence c
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074. Theodosius II, 402-450AD. AV Solidus.AV Solidus. Constantinople mint. Obv: DN THEODO-SIVS PF AVG - Three-quarters bust right, draped, cuirassed, holding spear over right shoulder and shield in left hand Rev: VOT XXX MVLT XXXXS - Constantinopolis seated left, holding cross on globe and scepter, her left foot sits on the prow of a galley and at rear of her throne, a shield sits; in right field, a 'star'. Exe: CONOB : AD 430-440, RIC X, 257 (s) Scarce, page 259/ 4.48 g. Choice FDC.
LordBest
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083a28. Constantine I AE3. 19mm, 3.00 g. NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5, Silvering. Heraclea, 4th officina, AD 327-329. Obv: CONSTAN-TINVS AVG, plain diademed head of Constantine I right, eyes to God. Rev: D N CONSTANTINI MAX AVG, wreath enclosing VOT / • / XXX; •SMHΔ below. RIC VII 92. Ex Ancient Galleon, Forum. Heritage 65235.
lawrence c
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0962 Hadrian Denarius Roma 128-29 AD Liberalitas Reference.
RIC II, 364; RIC 962; Strack 201
Bust A1
Obv. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS P P
Laureate head
Rev. LIBERALITAS AVG in ex COS III
Liberalitas, standing left, emptying cornucopia held in both hands.
3.16 gr
18 mm
6h
Note from Curtis Clay.
This denarius is rare with Liberalitas standing left rather than right as usual.
Cohen 916 cites this variant from a private collection, Elberling, that was published in 1864. That identical Elberling coin, as one can tell from the accurate line drawing, then came to the BM, BMC 524, pl. 57.8, as part of the Blacas collection in 1867. Your specimen is from the same pair of dies as this BM specimen ex Blacas and Elberling. Strack 201 knew only two specimens of this coin, the BM one and another in Vienna. This variant was missing from the Reka Devnia hoard, compared to seven specimens with Liberalitas standing right. I have a specimen with Liberalitas left myself, from different dies than yours and the BM's.
The old RIC of 1926, pp. 316-7, champions a quite impossible date for Hadrian's HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS P P issue: Mattingly didn't think it fit in 128-9 AD, so proposed that it was a posthumous issue of 138-9, struck by Antoninus Pius as propaganda while he was quarreling with the Senate over Hadrian's deification! Strack objected strongly and correctly in his Hadrian monograph of 1933, and in BMC III of 1936 Mattingly had no choice but to relent and abandon his "posthumous" attribution. This issue is beyond question simply Hadrian's earliest issue with the title Pater Patriae, struck between Hadrian's acceptance of that title in 128 and c. 129 AD.
okidoki
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103b. AeliusAelius was adopted by an aging and ailing Hadrian in 136 and named successor to the throne, although he had no military experience; he had served as a senator. He had powerful political connections, but was in poor health. His tastes were luxurious and extravagant and his life said to have been frivolous. Hadrian's choice seems to have been an error in judgement. Some scholars have suggested that Aelius may have been Hadrian's bastard son, but there is no reason to believe this. Aelius himself was never to become emperor, dying shortly before Hadrian.
Copper as, S 3993, RIC 1067, gF, 10.88g, 27.9mm, 180o, Rome mint, 137 A.D.; obverse L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head right; reverse TR•POT COS II S C, Spes advancing right, holding flower and raising drapery; attractive translucent brown toning, ex Scott Collection, ex Forum
Checkecoli
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1272 - 1307, EDWARD I, AR Farthing, Struck 1279 - 1299 at London, EnglandObverse: + EDWARDVS REX. Crowned bust of Edward I facing within circle of pellets. Cross pattée in legend.
Reverse: LONDONIENSIS. Long cross dividing legend into quarters, trefoil in each quarter of inner circle.
Undated Farthing, Class 3c
Diameter: 13mm | Weight: 0.42gms | Die Axis: 2h
SPINK: 1445
This is an early issue farthing with the reverse legend “LONDONIENSIS” which was later replaced by the ubiquitous legend “CIVITAS LONDON” for the London mint. Edward I began a major recoinage in 1279 which consisted not only of pennies, but new round half-pennies and farthings as well, and also introduced a new denomination, the fourpenny piece called the "Groat".
Edward I was King of England from 1272 - 1307. He was the eldest surviving son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence. The contests between his father and the barons led by Simon de Montfort called Edward early into active life when he restored the royal authority within months by defeating and killing de Montfort at the battle of Evesham in 1265. He then proceeded to Palestine, where no conquest of any importance was achieved. After further campaigns in Italy and France he returned to England on his father's death and was crowned at Westminster Abbey in 1274.
Edward was popular because he identified himself with the growing tide of nationalism sweeping the country, displayed later in his persecution and banishment of the Jews which was the culmination of many years of anti-semitism in England.
Edward now turned his attention to the west and so, following a revolt in the Principality of Wales against English influence, Edward commenced a war which ended in the annexation of the Principality to the English Crown in 1283. He secured his conquest by building nine castles to watch over it and created his eldest son, Edward the Prince of Wales in 1301.
Edward's great ambition, however, was to gain possession of Scotland, but the death of Margaret, the Maid of Norway, who was to have been married to Edward's son, for a time frustrated the king's designs. However the sudden death of the King of Scotland, Alexander III, and the contested succession soon gave him the opportunity to intervene. He was invited by the Scots to arbitrate and choose between the thirteen competitors for the Scottish throne. Edward's choice, John Balliol, who he conceived as his puppet, was persuaded to do homage for his crown to Edward at Newcastle but was then forced to throw off Edward's overlordship by the indignation of the Scottish people. An alliance between the French and the Scots now followed, and Edward, then at war with the French king over possession of Gascony, was compelled to march his army north. Edward invaded Scotland in 1296 and devastated the country, which earned him the sobriquet 'Hammer of the Scots'. It was at this time that the symbolic Stone of Destiny was removed from Scone. Edward's influence had tainted Balliol's reign and the Scottish nobility deposed him and appointed a council of twelve to rule instead. Balliol abdicated and was eventually sent to France where he retired into obscurity, taking no more part in politics. Scotland was then left without a monarch until the accession of Robert the Bruce in 1306.
Meanwhile Edward assumed the administration of the country. However the following summer a new opposition to Edward took place under William Wallace whose successes, notably at Stirling Bridge, forced Edward to return to Scotland with an army of 100,000 men. Although he defeated Wallace's army at Falkirk, and Wallace himself was betrayed, Edward's unjust and barbaric execution of him as a traitor in London made Wallace a national hero in Scotland, and resistance to England became paramount among the people. All Edward's efforts to reduce the country to obedience were unravelling, and after the crowning of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, as Robert I of Scotland in 1306 an enraged Edward assembled another army and marched yet again against the Scots. However, Edward only reached Burgh-on-Sands, a village near Carlisle, when he died. His body was taken back to London and he was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Edward I was married twice: to Eleanor of Castile, by whom he had sixteen children, and Margaret of France by whom he had three. Twelve memorials to his first wife stood between Nottingham and London to mark the journey taken by her funeral cortege. Three of those memorials, known as "Eleanor Crosses", can still be seen today.*Alex
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1272 - 1307, EDWARD I, AR Penny, Struck 1305 - 1306 at London, EnglandObverse: + EDWAR ANGL DNS HYB. Crowned bust of Edward I facing within circle of pellets. Cross pattée in legend.
Reverse: CIVITAS LONDON. Long cross dividing legend into quarters, trefoil in each quarter of inner circle.
Undated Penny, type 10cf1
Diameter: 18.5mm | Weight: 1.2gms | Die Axis: 9h
SPINK: 1410
Edward I began a major recoinage in 1279 which consisted not only of pennies and new round half-pennies and farthings, but also introduced a new denomination, a fourpenny piece called the "Groat".
Edward I was King of England from 1272 - 1307. He was the eldest surviving son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence. The contests between his father and the barons led by Simon de Montfort called Edward early into active life when he restored the royal authority within months by defeating and killing de Montfort at the battle of Evesham in 1265. He then proceeded to Palestine, where no conquest of any importance was achieved. After further campaigns in Italy and France he returned to England on his father's death and was crowned at Westminster Abbey in 1274.
Edward was popular because he identified himself with the growing tide of nationalism sweeping the country, displayed later in his persecution and banishment of the Jews which was the culmination of many years of anti-semitism in England.
Edward now turned his attention to the west and so, following a revolt in the Principality of Wales against English influence, Edward commenced a war which ended in the annexation of the Principality to the English Crown in 1283. He secured his conquest by building nine castles to watch over it and created his eldest son, Edward the Prince of Wales in 1301.
Edward's great ambition, however, was to gain possession of Scotland, but the death of Margaret, the Maid of Norway, who was to have been married to Edward's son, for a time frustrated the king's designs. However the sudden death of the King of Scotland, Alexander III, and the contested succession soon gave him the opportunity to intervene. He was invited by the Scots to arbitrate and choose between the thirteen competitors for the Scottish throne. Edward's choice, John Balliol, who he conceived as his puppet, was persuaded to do homage for his crown to Edward at Newcastle but was then forced to throw off Edward's overlordship by the indignation of the Scottish people. An alliance between the French and the Scots now followed, and Edward, then at war with the French king over possession of Gascony, was compelled to march his army north. Edward invaded Scotland in 1296 and devastated the country, which earned him the sobriquet 'Hammer of the Scots'. It was at this time that the symbolic Stone of Destiny was removed from Scone. Edward's influence had tainted Balliol's reign and the Scottish nobility deposed him and appointed a council of twelve to rule instead. Balliol abdicated and was eventually sent to France where he retired into obscurity, taking no more part in politics. Scotland was then left without a monarch until the accession of Robert the Bruce in 1306.
Meanwhile Edward assumed the administration of the country. However the following summer a new opposition to Edward took place under William Wallace whose successes, notably at Stirling Bridge, forced Edward to return to Scotland with an army of 100,000 men. Although he defeated Wallace's army at Falkirk, and Wallace himself was betrayed, Edward's unjust and barbaric execution of him as a traitor in London made Wallace a national hero in Scotland, and resistance to England became paramount among the people. All Edward's efforts to reduce the country to obedience were unravelling, and after the crowning of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, as Robert I of Scotland in 1306 an enraged Edward assembled another army and marched yet again against the Scots. However, Edward only reached Burgh-on-Sands, a village near Carlisle, when he died. His body was taken back to London and he was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Edward I was married twice: to Eleanor of Castile, by whom he had sixteen children, and Margaret of France by whom he had three. Twelve memorials to his first wife stood between Nottingham and London to mark the journey taken by her funeral cortege. Three of those memorials, known as "Eleanor Crosses", can still be seen today.*Alex
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1355 Roman, Eastern Mediterranean, Glass Miniature Juglet, Mid 2nd - 4th Century A.D.Reference.
cf. Isings 88b,
Dimensions / quality
Choice, complete and intact, much weathering, some iridescence, glass miniature juglet,
8.5 cm (3 3/8") tall, 4.1 cm (1 5/8") diameter,
finely made, free blown thin near colorless glass, bell shaped body tapering to bottom, trail handle attached below the rim and on the shoulder, kicked bottom; from the collection of Alex G. Malloy,
Note.
Miniature pottery juglets, invariably decorated with scenes involving young children, have been found in graves of Hellenistic and Roman children. Perhaps they were also used as toys in life. The purpose of this beautiful tiny juglet is uncertain but it seems quite delicate for a child's toy.okidoki
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1403c, Constantine I (the Great), early 307 - 22 May 337 A.D.Bronze AE 3, RIC VII 35, choice aEF, Constantinople mint, 3.336g, 20.0mm, 180o, 328 A.D.; Obverse: CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG, laurel and rosette diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; Reverse: CONSTANTINI-ANA DAFNE, Victory seated left on cippus, head right, palm frond in each hand, trophy and captive before, CONS in exergue, B left; scarce. Ex FORVM.
"The information about Constantine's campaign across [the Danube] is obscure and untrustworthy. The question, therefore, of what he achieved by this enterprise was, and is, subject to contradictory interpretations. On the one hand, the Panegyrists claimed that he had repeated the triumphs of Trajan. On the other, his own nephew, Julian the Apostate, spoke for many when he expressed the view that this second 'conquest' of Dacia was incomplete and extremely brief . . . monetary commemoration was accorded to the building, at about the same time [AD 328], of the river frontier fortress of Constantiniana Dafne (Spantov, near Oltenita) . . ." (Grant, Michael. The Emperor Constantine. London: Phoenix, 1998. 58-9).
The Emperor Constantine I was effectively the sole ruler of the Roman world between 324 and 337 A.D.; his reign was perhaps one of the most crucial of all the emperors in determining the future course of western civilization. By beginning the process of making Christianity the religious foundation of his realm, he set the religious course for the future of Europe which remains in place to this very day. Because he replaced Rome with Constantinople as the center of imperial power, he made it clear that the city of Rome was no longer the center of power and he also set the stage for the Middle Ages. His philosophical view of monarchy, largely spelled out in some of the works of Eusebius of Caesarea, became the foundation for the concept of the divine right of kings which prevailed in Europe.
Constantine was not a "Christian convert" in any traditional sense. He was not baptized until close to death, and while that was not an uncommon practice, the mention of Christ in his speeches and decrees is conspicuous by its absence. Eusebius, Church historian and Constantine biographer, is responsible for much of the valorization of Constantine as the Christian Emperor. The somnambulant "sign" in which Constantine was to become victor at the Milvian Bridge is, not so surprisingly, revealed to posterity long after the "fact." Throughout his reign, Constantine continues to portray himself on coins as a sun god (Freeman, Charles. Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean; Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. 582). Above all, Constantine was a pragmatist. It would be cynical to egregiously disavow his commitment to Christianity, but it would be equally wrong to think that he would allow Christianity to meddle in the governance of his empire. As he reputedly told a group of bishops, "You are bishops of those within the church, but I am perhaps a bishop appointed by God of those outside." Whatever the motives for his decision to support Christianity, Christianity benefitted from the arrangement. So, too, did Constantine. It was a match made in heaven.
J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
For perhaps the best Constantine The Great site on the web, see Victor Clark's Constantine The Great Coins: http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/Cleisthenes
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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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1877 Japanese Silver 5 SenJapan, Meiji (1867-1912), Silver 5 Sen, Meiji 10 (1877), SCWC KM Y22, JNDA 01-35, Type 2, 'characters separated' variety, Choice UNC, bright crisp lustre, some small patches of toning, engraved by Kanō Natsuo, plain edge, weight 1.35g (ASW 0.0347oz), composition 0.8 Ag, 0.2 Cu, diameter 15.2mm, thickness 0.8mm, die axis 180°, Osaka mint, 1877; obverse 年十治明 • 本日大 (Great Japan, Year 10 of Meiji) outwardly clockwise above, 明 separated without 'connected' horizontal upstroke, • 5 SEN • counterclockwise below, three-clawed Imperial serpentine dragon coiled leftward, eight-spiked tail pointing to right, clutching Pearl of Celestial Wisdom (tamashi) inscribed with counterclockwise incuse spiral in right talon, within beaded circle, toothed border surrounding; reverse 五錢 (5 Sen) downward, within open paulownia and chrysanthemum wreath tied with bow at base, chrysanthemum above, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Timothy Medhurst Coins & Antiquities (20 May 2023); £50.00.Serendipity
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1886 Victoria Young Head Silver SixpenceGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Silver Sixpence, 1886, Bull 3260, ESC 1748, Davies 1105 (Dies 6+F), SCWC KM 757, MCE 1407, SCBC 3912, Type A5, Choice UNC, bright mint lustre, some light surface marks, edge milled, weight 2.8276g (ASW 0.0841oz), composition 0.925 Ag, 0.075 Cu, diameter 19.3mm, thickness 1.0mm, die axis 180°, London mint, 1886; obverse VICTORIA DEI GRATIA BRITANNIAR: REG: F: D: (Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), third young filleted head left, hair bound with double fillet, waved and pulled back in ponytail ending in single corkscrew curl at back, no lock on cheek, no initials on truncation, engraved by William Wyon, toothed border surrounding; reverse SIX/PENCE in two lines over small scroll -·-, surmounted by early St. Edward's Crown, within open olive and oak wreath tied with bow at base, 1886 in exergue with no die number above, engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Timothy Medhurst Coins & Antiquities (17 Apr 2023); £70.00.Serendipity
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1888 Victoria Jubilee Head Silver SixpenceGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Silver Sixpence, 1888, Bull 3277, ESC 1756, Davies 1162 (Dies 1+B), SCWC KM 760, MCE 1411, SCBC 3929, Wreath Type, Choice UNC, struck in the year of the infamous Whitechapel Murders, bright mint lustre, some light surface marks, 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, 1888; 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 SIX/PENCE in two lines over small scroll -·-, surmounted by late St. Edward's Crown, within open olive and oak wreath tied with bow at base, 1888 in exergue with no die number above, engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Charles Snowden Coins (31 May 2023); £89.00.Serendipity
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1894 Japanese Silver YenJapan, Meiji (1867-1912), Silver Yen, Meiji 27 (1894), SCWC KM YA25.3, JNDA 01-10A, JC 09-10-2, small type, Choice aUNC, superb strike, iridescent toning, engraved by Kanō Natsuo, edge milled, weight 26.96g (ASW 0.7801oz), composition 0.9 Ag, 0.1 Cu, diameter 38.1mm, thickness 2.76mm, die axis 180°, Osaka mint, 1894; obverse 年七十二治明 • 本日大 (Great Japan, Year 27 of Meiji) outwardly clockwise above, • 416 · ONE YEN · 900 • counterclockwise below, three-clawed Imperial serpentine dragon coiled leftward, ten-spiked tail pointing to right, clutching Pearl of Celestial Wisdom (tamashi) inscribed with clockwise incuse spiral in right talon, within beaded circle, toothed border surrounding; reverse 一圓 (1 Yen) downward, within open paulownia and chrysanthemum wreath tied with bow at base, chrysanthemum above, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex NumisCorner 499313 (6 Jul 2022); £154.53.Serendipity
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1902 Edward VII Coronation Gold MedalGreat Britain, Edward VII (1901-10), Official Coronation Gold Medal, 1902, Coronation of Edward VII commemorative, BHM 3737, Eimer 1871b, small size, EF, matt finish, small flecks of red toning, small flan flaw on reverse, otherwise fully lustrous and choice, engraved by George William de Saulles, plain edge, weight 17.02g (AGW 0.5018oz), composition 0.917 Au, 0.083 Cu, diameter 31.0mm, thickness 1.9mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1902; obverse EDWARD VII-CROWNED 9·AUGUST 1902, crowned and mantled bust right, wearing Chain of the Garter, olive branch tied with ribbon behind; reverse ALEXANDRA-QUEEN CONSORT ·, crowned, veiled and draped bust right, wearing pearl drop earring with triple-strand pearl choker and double-strand pearl necklace, rose spray behind, 9·AUG. 1902 on scroll in exergue; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Sovereign Rarities (20 Nov 2023); ex London Coins auction 178 (4 Sep 2022), lot 578 with COI; £2,500.00.Serendipity
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1927 George V Silver Proof ThreepenceGreat Britain, George V (1910-36), Silver Proof Threepence, 1927, Bull 3946, ESC 2141, Davies 1951 (1+A), SCWC KM 831, MCE 1675, SCBC 4042, Type 3, 50% Silver/Modified effigy+Acorns & Oak Leaves reverse, Fourth Coinage (1927-36), Choice UNC, some attractive light grey tone, plain edge, weight 1.4138g (ASW 0.0227oz), composition 0.5 Ag, 0.4 Cu, 0.05 Ni, 0.05 Zn, diameter 16.0mm, thickness 0.89mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1927; obverse GEORGIVS V D.G. BRITT: OMN: REX F.D. IND: IMP: (George V, by the Grace of God, King of all the Britains, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India), modified bare head left, B M (without stops) raised on right truncation for engraver Bertram Mackennal, toothed border surrounding; reverse THREE •-• PENCE •, three oak sprigs with three acorns, tiny G raised at centre for engraver Kruger Gray,⬩1927⬩below, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Timothy Medhurst Coins & Antiquities (20 May 2023); scarce; £150.00.Serendipity
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1954 JOHN II AE HALF TETARTERON S-1954 DOC 16 CLBC 3.4.5
OBV Full length figure of Christ standing on a dais, bearded and nimbate, wearing tunic and kolobion; holds Gospels in l. hand.
REV. Bust of emperor wearing stemma, divitision and chlamys; holds in r. labrum headed scepter and in l. Globus cruciger.
Size 15.59mm
Weight 2.2gm
This is a Thessalonica minted coin, it contains no silver. It is believed to be valued at 1/864 Hyperpyron and the Metropolitan (Constantinople) issues at 1/288 Hyperpyron.The half tetartera at 1/1728 Hyperpyron. These coins are much more common than Metropolitan coins and very abundant in today’s marketplace.
This is a choice example easily grading EF/VF
DOC lists 14 examples with weights from 1.16 gm. to 2.52 and sizes from 15mm to 19mmSimon
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1957 Ceylon 2500 Years of Buddhism Silver 5 RupeesCeylon (Sri Lanka), Elizabeth II (1952-72), Silver 5 Rupees, 1957, SCWC KM 126, 2500th Anniversary of Buddhism commemorative, Choice UNC, obverse motif adapted from the Anuradhapura Moonstone, bright crisp lustre, attractive example, engraved by Bernard Sindall, edge milled, weight 28.26g (ASW 0.8404oz), composition 0.925 Ag, 0.075 Cu, diameter 39.0mm, thickness 2.5mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1957; obverse 2500 across centre, with open petals of twelve-petalled lotus flower around inner annulus, procession of four animals (elephant, horse, lion and bull) in two repeating sequences clockwise from upper left around large linear circle, encircled clockwise by sixteen geese, with lotus buds hanging from their beaks, linear and foliate creeper (liyavel) border surrounding; reverse රුපියල්/පහයි/1957 (Five Rupees, 1957) in three lines on ornate jasmine flower, surmounted by lotus, within beaded circle broken by concave arc below, FIVE RUPEES ❈ ශ්රී ලංකා ❈ ஐந்து ரூபாய் (Five Rupees, Sri Lanka, Five Rupees) clockwise from lower left, ❈ බුදධ/ජයනති ❈ (Buddha Jayanthi) in two lines in exergue, beaded border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Timothy Medhurst Coins & Antiquities (13 Jun 2023); £150.Serendipity
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1978 MANUEL AE HALF TETARTERON S-1978 DOC 21 CLBC 4.4.8
OBV Bust of Christ beardless and nimbate, wearing tunic and kolobion; holds scrolls in l. hand. Pellet in each limb of nimbus cross
.
REV Full length figure of emperor, bearded, wearing uncertain dress (stemma, short military tunic, breastplate and sagion?) holds in r. hand scepter cruciger and in l. Globus cruciger.
Size 19mm
Weight 3.23gm
DOC lists 3 examples with weights ranging from 2.66 gm to 2.75 gm with sizes all 20mm
This coin differs from S-1981 not only by size but DOC notes a beard on Christ on S-1981 where as S-1978 is beardless , I however am finding that a difficult distinction to concur with, the beard on Christ can be a simple dot on his chin, however with this style of coins I am finding the lighter weight coins with perhaps a beard with one dot on chin in another example a series of dots making the beard, in these larger and heavier beards the dot on the chin is still there but not as distinct. Interesting to note that Hendy did not note a beard in his 1969 book but in his latter DOC works he does, the earlier catalogs such as Ratto do note a difference in the two styles because of the weight and beard.
This coin is a choice example Good Very Fine. Simon
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1ao Caligula37-41
As
Bare head, left, C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT
Vesta std, VESTA SC
RIC 38
The son of Germanicus, modern research suggests, was not as bad a ruler as history generally supposes, but the winners write the history, and Caligula had the dubious honor of being the first loser to die in the purple at the hand of assassins.
Suetonius recorded: Gaius Caesar (Caligula) was born on the 31st of August AD12, in the consulship of his father, Germanicus, and Gaius Fonteius Capito. The sources disagree as to his place of birth. Gnaeus Lentulus Gaetulicus claims it was Tibur (Tivoli), Pliny the Elder, says it was among the Treveri in the village of Ambitarvium, above Confluentes (the site of Koblenz) at the junction of the Moselle and Rhine. . . . His surname Caligula (‘Little Boot’) was bestowed on him affectionately by the troops because he was brought up amongst them, dressed in soldier’s gear.
Caligula accompanied his father, Germanicus, to Syria (in AD 19). On his return, he lived with his mother, Agrippina the Elder until she was exiled (in 29 AD), and then with his great-grandmother Livia. When Livia died (in 29 AD), he gave her eulogy from the rostra even though he was not of age. He was then cared for by his grandmother Antonia the Younger, until at the age of eighteen Tiberius summoned him to Capreae (Capri, in AD 31). On that day he assumed his gown of manhood and shaved off his first beard, but without the ceremony that had attended his brothers’ coming of age.
On Capraea, though every trick was tried to lure him, or force him, into making complaints against Tiberius, he ignored all provocation, . . . behaving so obsequiously to his adoptive grandfather, Tiberius, and the entire household, that the quip made regarding him was well borne out, that there was never a better slave or a worse master.
Even in those days, his cruel and vicious character was beyond his control, and he was an eager spectator of torture and executions meted out in punishment. At night, disguised in wig and long robe, he abandoned himself to gluttony and adulterous behaviour. He was passionately devoted it seems to the theatrical arts, to dancing and singing, a taste in him which Tiberius willingly fostered, in the hope of civilizing his savage propensities.
And came near to assuming a royal diadem at once, turning the semblance of a principate into an absolute monarchy. Indeed, advised by this that he outranked princes and kings, he began thereafter to claim divine power, sending to Greece for the most sacred or beautiful statues of the gods, including the Jupiter of Olympia, so that the heads could be exchanged for his own. He then extended the Palace as far as the Forum, making the Temple of Castor and Pollux its vestibule, and would often present himself to the populace there, standing between the statues of the divine brothers, to be worshipped by whoever appeared, some hailing him as ‘Jupiter Latiaris’. He also set up a special shrine to himself as god, with priests, the choicest sacrificial victims, and a life-sized golden statue of himself, which was dressed each day in clothes of identical design to those he chose to wear.
He habitually committed incest with each of his three sisters, seating them in turn below him at large banquets while his wife reclined above. . . . His preferred method of execution was by the infliction of many slight wounds, and his order, issued as a matter of routine, became notorious: ‘Cut him so he knows he is dying.’ Blindado
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1br Clodius Albinus195-197
Denarius
Bare head, right, D CL SEPT ALBIN CAES
Roma seated on shield holding Palladium and scepter, ROMAE AETERNAE
RIC 11
According to the Historia Augusta, which in the case of Albinus is thought to be of dubious veracity: After the death of Pertinax, who was slain at Albinus' advice, various men were hailed emperor at about one and the same time by the senate Julianus at Rome, and by the armies, Septimius Severus in Illyricum, Pescennius Niger in the East, and Clodius Albinus in Gaul. According to Herodian, Clodius had been named Caesar by Severus. But as time went on, each chafed at the other's rule, and the armies of Gaul and Germany demanded an emperor of their own naming, and so all parts of the empire were thrown into an uproar. . . .
It is an undeniable fact, moreover, and Marius Maximus also relates it, that Severus at first intended to name Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus as his successors, in case aught befell him. Later, as it happened, in the interest of his growing sons, and through envy of the affection in which Albinus was held, and most of all becau-e of his wires entreaties, he changed his purpose and crushed both of them in war. But he did name Albinus consul, and this he never would have done had not Aibinus been a worthy man, since he was ever most careful in his choice of magistrate. . . .
As soon as he came of age he entered military service, and by the aid of Lollius Serenus, Baebius Maecianus and Ceionius Postumianus, all his kinsmen, he gained the notice of the Antonines. In the capacity of a tribune he commanded a troop of Dalmatian horse: he also commanded soldiers of the I and the IV legions. At the time of Avidius' revolt he loyally held the Bithynian army to its allegiance. Next, Commodus transferred him to Gaul; and here he routed the tribes from over the Rhine and made his name illustrious among both Romans and barbarians. This aroused Commodus' interest, and he offered Albinus the name of Caesar and the privilege, too, of giving the soldiers a present and wearing the scarlet cloak. But all these offers Albinus wisely refused, for Commodus, he said, was only looking for a man who would perish with him, or whom he could reasonably put to death. . . .
[A]fter a decisive engagement, where countless of his soldiers fell, and very many fled, and many, too, surrendered, Albinus also fled away and, according to some, stabbed himself, according to others, was stabbed by a slave. At any rate, he was brought to Severus only half alive. . . . Albinus' head was cut off and paraded on a pike, and finally sent to Rome.Blindado
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1cn Philippus244-249
Antoninianus
Radiate draped bust, right, IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG
Liberalitas standing left with abacus & cornucopiae, LIBERALITAS AVGG II
RIC 38b
The Historia Augusta records: Philippus Arabs was made prefect of the guard [in 243]. This Philip was low-born but arrogant, and now could not contain himself in his sudden rise to office and immoderate good fortune, but immediately, through the soldiers, began to plot against Gordian, who had begun to treat him as a father. . . . Timesitheus [Gordian's father-in-law] had stored up such a quantity of supplies everywhere, that the Roman administration could not break down. But now Philip intrigued first to have the grain-ships turned away, and then to have the troops moved to stations where they could not get provisions. In this way he speedily got them exasperated against Gordian, for they did not know that the youth had been betrayed through Philip's intriguing. In addition to this, Philip spread talk among the soldiers to the effect that Gordian was young and could not manage the Empire, and that it were better for someone to rule who could command the army and understood public affairs. Besides this, he won over the leaders, and finally brought it about that they openly called him to the throne. Gordian's friends at first opposed him vigorously, but when the soldiers were at last overcome with hunger Philip was entrusted with the sovereignty, and the soldiers commanded that he and Gordian should rule together with equal rank while Philip acted as a sort of guardian.
Now that he had gained the imperial power Philip began to bear himself very arrogantly towards Gordian ; and he, knowing himself to be an emperor, an emperor's son, and a scion of a most noble family, could not endure this low-born fellow's insolence. And so, mounting the platform, with his kinsman Maecius Gordianus standing by him as his prefect, he complained bitterly to the officers and soldiers in the hope that Philip's office could be taken from him. But by this complaint in which he accused Philip of being unmindful of past favours and too little grateful he accomplished nothing. Next he asked the soldiers to make their choice, after openly canvassing the officers, but as a result of Philip's intriguing he came off second in the general vote. And finally, when he saw that everyone considered him worsted, he asked that their power might at least be equal, but he did not secure this either. After this he asked to be given the position of Caesar, but he did not gain this. He asked also to be Philip's prefect, and this, too, was denied him. His last prayer was that Philip should make him a general and let him live. And to this Philip almost consented not speaking himself, but acting through his friends, as he had done throughout, with nods and advice. But when he reflected that through the love that the Roman people and senate, the whole of Africa and Syria, and indeed the whole Roman world, felt for Gordian, because he was nobly born and the son and grandson of emperors and had delivered the whole state from grievous wars, it was possible, if the soldiers ever changed their minds, that the throne might be given back to Gordian if he asked for it again, and when he reflected also that the violence of the soldiers' anger against Gordian was due to hunger, he had him carried, shouting protests, out of their sight and then despoiled and slain.
Eutropius wrote, "When Gordian was killed, the two PHILIPS, father and son, seized on the government, and, having brought off the army safe, set out from Syria for Italy. In their reign the thousandth year of the city of Rome was celebrated with games and spectacles of vast magnificence. Soon after, both of them were put to death by the soldiery; the elder Philip at Verona, the younger at Rome. They reigned but five years. They were however ranked among the gods."Blindado
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2. TrajanSilver denarius, RIC 40, RSC 214, choice aUNC, Rome mint, 3.374g, 18.2mm, 180o, 100 A.D.; obverse IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM, laureate head right; reverse P M TR P COS III P P, Vesta seated left holding patera and torchb70
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20210809_172911KYRENAICA. Kyrene. AR Didrachm (7.69 gms), ca. 305-300 B.C. CHOICE VERY FINE. SNG Cop-1238; BMC-238. Obverse: Head Zeus Karneios left; Reverse: Silphium plant; monogram to left, star to right. Though rather intensely cleaned, this piece nevertheless offers a solid strike and a pleasing representation of the silphium plant--harvested to extinction in antiquity.
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205a. Julia MamaeaJulia Avita Mamaea (180–235) was the daughter of Julia Maesa, a powerful Roman woman of Syrian origin, and Julius Avitus. She was a niece of emperor Septimius Severus and sister of Julia Soaemias Bassiana.
She was married to Gessius Marcianus had a son, later emperor Alexander Severus. Unlike her sister, Julia Mamaea was reported to be a virtuous woman, never involved in scandals. As a member of the Imperial Roman family, she watched closely the death of her cousin Caracalla and the ascent to power of her nephew Heliogabalus, the oldest grandson of Julia Maesa and her choice to the throne. But eventually Heliogabalus and his mother Julia Soaemias proved incompetent rulers and favour fell on Alexander, Julia's son. He became emperor in 222, following Heliogabalus's murder by the Praetorian Guard. Julia and her mother became regents in the name of Alexander, then 14 years old. Upon adulthood, Alexander confirmed his esteem for his mother and named her consors imperii (imperial consort). It was in this condition that she accompanied her son in his campaigns: a custom started with Julia Domna (Septimius Severus's wife). Thus she travelled to the East, for the campaign against the Parthian empire, and to the Germania provinces. Julia Mamaea was with Alexander in Moguntiacum (modern Mainz), capital of Germania Superior, when he was assassinated by his troops. She suffered the same fate.
Julia Mamaea Denarius. IVLIA MAMAEA AVG, diademed & draped bust right / VESTA, Vesta standing half-left, holding palladium & scepter. RSC 81.ecoli
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216 Otacilia SeveraOtacilia Severa, Augusta February or March 244 - September or October 249 A.D.
Silver antoninianus, SRCV III 9158, RIC IV 130, RSC IV 43, Choice gVF, 4.523g, 23.0mm, 180o, Rome mint, 247 A.D.; obverse OTACIL SEVERA AVG, draped bust right set on crescent; reverse PIETAS AVGVSTAE, Pietas, veiled, standing left, extending right, box of incense in left; full circles strike, bold portrait.
"Pietas in traditional Latin usage expressed a complex, highly valued Roman virtue; a man or woman with pietas respected his or her responsibilities to other people, gods and entities (such as the state), and understood his or her place in society with respect to others."Randygeki(h2)
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235 AD - Maximinus I - 235-236 AD - Pax DenariusIMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG, laureate draped and cuirassed bust right;
PAX AVGVSTI, Pax standing left holding branch and scepter;
Silver denarius, RIC 12, choice EF, 2.62g, 20.6mm, 0o, Rome mint, 235-236 A.D. nicely centered, flat area on obverse drapery ex Scott Collection; from Forumjimwho523
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315. QuintillusQuintillus, August or September - October or November 270 A.D.
Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus (d. 270) was brother of the Roman Emperor Claudius II, and became the Emperor himself in 270.
Historia Augusta reports that he became Emperor in a coup d'état. Eutropius reports Quintillus to have been elected by soldiers of the Roman army immediately following the death of his brother. The choice was reportedly approved by the Roman Senate. Joannes Zonaras however reports him elected by the Senate itself.
Records however agree that the legions which had followed Claudius in campaigning along the Danube were either unaware or disapproving of Quintillus' elevation. They instead elevated their current leader Aurelian to the rank of Augustus. Historia Augusta reports Aurelian to have been chosen by Claudius himself as a successor, apparently in a deathbed decision.
The few records of Quintillus' reign are contradictory. They disagree on the length of his reign, variously reported to have lasted as few as 17 days and as many as 177 days (about six months). Records also disagree on the cause of his death. Historia Augusta reports him murdered by his own soldiers in reaction to his strict military discipline. Jerome reports him killed, persumably in conflict with Aurelian. John of Antioch and Joannes Zonaras reported Quintillus to have committed suicide by opening his veins and bleeding himself to death. John reports the suicide to have been assisted by a physician. Claudius Salmasius pointed that Dexippus recorded the death without stating causes. All records however agree in placing the death at Aquileia.
Quintillus was reportedly survived by his two sons.
Historia Augusta reports Claudius and Quintillus having another brother named Crispus and through him a niece, Claudia. who reportedly married Eutropius and was mother to Constantius Chlorus. Historians however suspect this account to be a genealogical fabrication to flatter Constantine the Great.
Surviving Roman records considered Quintillus a moderate and capable Emperor. He was seen as a champion of the Senate and thus compared to previous Emperors Servius Sulpicius Galba and Publius Helvius Pertinax. All three were highly regarded by Senatorial sources despite their failure to survive a full year of reign.
Bronze antoninianus, RIC 58, C-47, S 3246, EF, 3.37g, 19.9mm, 180o, Mediolanum mint, obverse IMP QVINTILLVS AVG, radiate and draped bust right; reverse MARTI PACI, Mars holding olive branch and spear, P in ex; found in England; Ex Forumecoli
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317. Tacitus Marcus Claudius Tacitus, (c.200 - 276) Roman Emperor from September 25, 275, to April 276, was a native of Interamna (Terni) in Umbria.
In the course of his long life he discharged the duties of various civil offices, including that of consul in 273, with universal respect.
Six months after the assassination of Aurelian, he was chosen by the senate to succeed him, and the choice was cordially ratified by the army. During his brief reign he set on foot some domestic reforms, and sought to revive the authority of the senate, but, after a victory over the Alans near the Palus Maeotis, he was assassinated at Tyana in Cappadocia.
Tacitus, besides being a man of immense wealth (which he bequeathed to the state) had considerable literary culture, and was proud to claim descent from the historian Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, whose works he caused to be transcribed at the public expense and placed in the public libraries.
However, modern research has cast considerable suspicion on this traditional image of Tacitus as a venerable old senator. Quite the contrary, evidence (from coins, for example) indicates that Tacitus was just another military emperor, whose only distiction from other short-lived emperors of the time was his attempt to cultivate the image of a learned man.
Tactitus Silvered AE Antoninianus. Gaul mint. IMP C M CL TACITVS P F AVG, radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right / FELICITAS SAECILI (sic), Felicity standing left, sacrificing over altar, holding a long cauduceus Ric 21
Checkecoli
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319. ProbusAt an early age he entered the army, where he distinguished himself under the emperors Valerian, Aurelian and Tacitus. He was appointed governor of the East by the emperor Tacitus, at whose death he was immediately proclaimed his successor by the soldiers. Florianus, who had claimed to succeed his half-brother Tacitus, was put to death by his own troops, and the Senate eagerly ratified the choice of the army. The reign of Probus was mainly spent in successful wars by which he re-established the security of all the frontiers, the most important of these operations being directed to clearing Gaul of German invaders.
Probus had also put down three usurpers, Saturninus, Proculus and Bonosus. One of his principles was never to allow the soldiers to be idle, and to employ them in time of peace on useful works, such as the planting of vineyards in Gaul, Pannonia and other districts. This increase of duties was naturally unpopular, and while the emperor was urging on the draining of the marshes of his native place he was attacked and slain by his own soldiers. Scarcely any emperor has left behind him so good a reputation; his death was mourned alike by senate and people, and even the soldiers repented and raised a monument in his honour.
Obv:– IMP C PROBVS P F AVG, Radiate, cuirassed bust right
Rev:– RESTITVT ORBIS, Female standing right, presenting wreath to emperor standing left, holding globe and sceptre
Minted in Siscia (* in centre field, XXIQ in exe) Emission 5 Officina 4. A.D. 278
Reference:– RIC 733 Bust type F
ecoli
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421/1. Nonia - denarius (59 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 59 BC)
O/ Head of Saturn right, head of a harpoon and conical stone behind; S C upwards behind; SVFENAS downwards before.
R/ Roma seated left on a pile of trophies, holding sceptre and sword, crowned by Victory standing behind; PR L V P F around; SEX NONI in exergue.
3.90g; 19mm
Crawford 421/1 (56 obverse dies/62 reverse dies)
- Collection of Walter Friedrich Stoecklin, Amriswil, Switzerland, before 1975. W. F. Stoecklin was the second member of a dynasty of coin collectors based in Switzerland.
- Obolos 9, lot 77.
* Marcus Nonius Sex.f. Sufenas:
Sufenas belonged to the plebeian gens Nonia, a relatively new gens at this time. He was the son of son of Sextus Nonius Sufenas, who had played a crucial part in 86 BC by leading the defection to Sulla among Fimbria's troops during the Civil War. Sulla then rewarded him with a praetorship in 81 BC. In turn, Sextus organised the first Victory games celebrating his patron (the Ludi Victoriae Sullanae), as explained on the reverse (Sextus Nonius praetor ludos Victoriae primus fecit).
Marcus Sufenas' career relied on the patronage of Pompey, whom he devotedly served. In 56 he was Tribune of the Plebs, and with the famous Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Porcius Cato, and Lucius Procilius, they sabotaged the consular elections in order to force the choice of Pompey and Crassus as Consuls for 55 (Cassius Dio, Roman History, xxxix. 27-33). Pompey then used his influence to acquit Sufenas (Cicero, Atticus, iv. 15).
Since he was governor of Macedonia or Cyrenaica in 51 (Cicero, Atticus, vi. 1 & viii. 15), Broughton conjectured that he had been Praetor in 52. He was still in his province by 49, so he probably helped Pompey after his flight from Italy. Plutarch mentions him just before the Battle of Pharsalus (Life of Cicero, 38). As he disappears from ancient sources after this, he might have died during the battle.Joss
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513. GratianFlavius Gratianus Augustus (April 18/May 23, 359 - August 25, 383), known as Gratian, was a Western Roman Emperor from 375 to 383. He was the son of Valentinian I by Marina Severa and was born at Sirmium in Pannonia.
On August 4, 367 he received from his father the title of Augustus. On the death of Valentinian (November 17, 375), the troops in Pannonia proclaimed his infant son (by a second wife Justina) emperor under the title of Valentinian II.
Gratian acquiesced in their choice; reserving for himself the administration of the Gallic provinces, he handed over Italy, Illyria and Africa to Valentinian and his mother, who fixed their residence at Milan. The division, however, was merely nominal, and the real authority remained in the hands of Gratian.
The Eastern Roman Empire was under the rule of his uncle Valens. In May, 378 Gratian completely defeated the Lentienses, the southernmost branch of the Alamanni, at the Battle of Argentovaria, near the site of the modern Colmar. Later that year, Valens met his death in the Battle of Adrianople on August 9.
In the same year, the government of the Eastern Empire devolved upon Gratian, but feeling himself unable to resist unaided the incursions of the barbarians, he promoted Theodosius I on January 19, 379 to govern that portion of the empire. Gratianus and Theodosius then cleared the Balkans of barbarians in the Gothic War (377–382).
For some years Gratian governed the empire with energy and success but gradually sank into indolence, occupying himself chiefly with the pleasures of the chase, and became a tool in the hands of the Frankish general Merobaudes and bishop Ambrose of Milan.
By taking into his personal service a body of Alani, and appearing in public in the dress of a Scythian warrior, he aroused the contempt and resentment of his Roman troops. A Roman general named Magnus Maximus took advantage of this feeling to raise the standard of revolt in Britain and invaded Gaul with a large army. Gratian, who was then in Paris, being deserted by his troops, fled to Lyon. There, through the treachery of the governor, Gratian was delivered over to one of the rebel generals and assassinated on August 25, 383.
RIC IX Antioch 46b S
DN GRATIA-NVS PF AVG
CONCOR-DIA AVGGGecoli
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517. ArcadiusFlavius Arcadius (377/378–May 1, 408) was Roman Emperor in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire from 395 until his death.
Arcadius was the elder son of Theodosius I and Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of Honorius, who would become a Western Roman Emperor. His father declared him an Augustus in January, 383. His younger brother was also declared an Augustus in 393.
As Emperors, Honorius was under the control of the Romanized Vandal magister militum Flavius Stilicho while Arcadius was dominated by one of his ministers, Rufinus. Stilicho is alleged by some to have wanted control of both emperors, and is supposed to have had Rufinus assassinated by Gothic mercenaries in 395, but definite proof of these allegations is lacking. In any case, Arcadius' new advisor Eutropius simply took Rufinus' place as the power behind the Eastern imperial throne. Arcadius was also dominated by his wife Aelia Eudoxia, who convinced her husband to dismiss Eutropius in 399. Eudoxia was strongly opposed by John Chrysostom, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who felt that she had used her family's wealth to gain control over the emperor. Eudoxia used her influence to have Chrysostom deposed in 404, but she died later that year.
Arcadius was dominated for the rest of his rule by Anthemius, the Praetorian Prefect, who made peace with Stilicho in the West. Arcadius himself was more concerned with appearing to be a pious Christian than he was with political or military matters, and he died, only nominally in control of his empire, in 408.
Bronze AE 4, RIC 67d and 70a, choice aEF, 1.14g, 13.8mm, 180o, Antioch mint, 383-395 A.D.; obverse D N ARCADIVS P F AVG, pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; reverse SALVS REIPVBLICE, Victory advancing left holding trophy over right shoulder, dragging captive with left, staurogram left, ANTG in ex; Ex Aiello; Ex Forumecoli
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6. Faustina Sr. silver Denarius, Rome MintChoice gVF, 3.48g., 12.1 mm, 0º, Rome Mint 147-161 AD
O: DIVA FAVSTINA, minted by husband Antoninus Pius after her death
R: CERES, Ceres holding heads of grain and a torchEcgþeow
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706a, Nero, 13 October 54 - 9 June 68 A.D.6, Nero, 13 October 54 - 9 June 68 A.D. AE setertius, Date: 66 AD; RIC I 516, 36.71 mm; 25.5 grams; aVF. Obverse: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG PONT MAX TR POT PP, Laureate bust right; Reverse: S C, ROMA, Roma seated left, exceptional portrait and full obverse legends. Ex Ancient Imports.
NERO (54-68 A.D.)
It is difficult for the modern student of history to realize just how popular Nero actually was, at least at the beginning of his reign. Rome looked upon her new Emperor with hope. He was the student of Seneca, and he had a sensitive nature. He loved art, music, literature, and theatre. He was also devoted to horses and horse racing—a devotion shared by many of his subjects. The plebs loved their new Emperor. As Professor of Classics Judith P. Hallett (University of Maryland, College Park) says, “It is not clear to me that Nero ever changed or that Nero ever grew-up, and that was both his strength and his weakness. Nero was an extraordinarily popular Emperor: he was like Elvis” (The Roman Empire in the First Century, III. Dir. Margaret Koval and Lyn Goldfarb. 2001. DVD. PBS/Warner Bros. 2003).
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Herbert W. Benario
Emory University
Introduction and Sources
The five Julio-Claudian emperors are very different one from the other. Augustus dominates in prestige and achievement from the enormous impact he had upon the Roman state and his long service to Rome, during which he attained unrivaled auctoritas. Tiberius was clearly the only possible successor when Augustus died in AD 14, but, upon his death twenty-three years later, the next three were a peculiar mix of viciousness, arrogance, and inexperience. Gaius, better known as Caligula, is generally styled a monster, whose brief tenure did Rome no service. His successor Claudius, his uncle, was a capable man who served Rome well, but was condemned for being subject to his wives and freedmen. The last of the dynasty, Nero, reigned more than three times as long as Gaius, and the damage for which he was responsible to the state was correspondingly greater. An emperor who is well described by statements such as these, "But above all he was carried away by a craze for popularity and he was jealous of all who in any way stirred the feeling of the mob." and "What an artist the world is losing!" and who is above all remembered for crimes against his mother and the Christians was indeed a sad falling-off from the levels of Augustus and Tiberius. Few will argue that Nero does not rank as one of the worst emperors of all.
The prime sources for Nero's life and reign are Tacitus' Annales 12-16, Suetonius' Life of Nero, and Dio Cassius' Roman History 61-63, written in the early third century. Additional valuable material comes from inscriptions, coinage, papyri, and archaeology.
Early Life
He was born on December 15, 37, at Antium, the son of Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbusand Agrippina. Domitius was a member of an ancient noble family, consul in 32; Agrippina was the daughter of the popular Germanicus, who had died in 19, and Agrippina, daughter of Agrippa, Augustus' closest associate, and Julia, the emperor's daughter, and thus in direct descent from the first princeps. When the child was born, his uncle Gaius had only recently become emperor. The relationship between mother and uncle was difficult, and Agrippina suffered occasional humiliation. But the family survived the short reign of the "crazy" emperor, and when he was assassinated, it chanced that Agrippina's uncle, Claudius, was the chosen of the praetorian guard, although there may have been a conspiracy to accomplish this.
Ahenobarbus had died in 40, so the son was now the responsibility of Agrippina alone. She lived as a private citizen for much of the decade, until the death of Messalina, the emperor's wife, in 48 made competition among several likely candidates to become the new empress inevitable. Although Roman law forbade marriage between uncle and niece, an eloquent speech in the senate by Lucius Vitellius, Claudius' closest advisor in the senatorial order, persuaded his audience that the public good required their union. The marriage took place in 49, and soon thereafter the philosopher Seneca [[PIR2 A617]] was recalled from exile to become the young Domitius' tutor, a relationship which endured for some dozen years.
His advance was thereafter rapid. He was adopted by Claudius the following year and took the name Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar or Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was preferred to Claudius' natural son, Britannicus, who was about three years younger, was betrothed to the emperor's daughter Octavia, and was, in the eyes of the people, the clear successor to the emperor. In 54, Claudius died, having eaten some poisoned mushrooms, responsibility for which was believed to be Agrippina's, and the young Nero, not yet seventeen years old, was hailed on October 13 as emperor by the praetorian guard.
The First Years of Rule
The first five years of Nero's rule are customarily called the quinquennium, a period of good government under the influence, not always coinciding, of three people, his mother, Seneca, and Sextus Afranius Burrus, the praetorian prefect. The latter two were allies in their "education" of the emperor. Seneca continued his philosophical and rhetorical training, Burrus was more involved in advising on the actualities of government. They often combined their influence against Agrippina, who, having made her son emperor, never let him forget the debt he owed his mother, until finally, and fatally, he moved against her.
Nero's betrothal to Octavia was a significant step in his ultimate accession to the throne, as it were, but she was too quiet, too shy, too modest for his taste. He was early attracted to Poppaea Sabina, the wife of Otho, and she continually goaded him to break from Octavia and to show himself an adult by opposing his mother. In his private life, Nero honed the musical and artistic tastes which were his chief interest, but, at this stage, they were kept private, at the instigation of Seneca and Burrus.
As the year 59 began, Nero had just celebrated his twenty-first birthday and now felt the need to employ the powers which he possessed as emperor as he wished, without the limits imposed by others. Poppaea's urgings had their effect, first of all, at the very onset of the year, with Nero's murder of his mother in the Bay of Naples.
Agrippina had tried desperately to retain her influence with her son, going so far as to have intercourse with him. But the break between them proved irrevocable, and Nero undertook various devices to eliminate his mother without the appearance of guilt on his part. The choice was a splendid vessel which would collapse while she was on board. As this happened, she swam ashore and, when her attendant, having cried out that she was Agrippina, was clubbed to death, Agrippina knew what was going on. She sent Nero a message that she was well; his response was to send a detachment of sailors to finish the job. When she was struck across the head, she bared her womb and said, "Strike here, Anicetus, strike here, for this bore Nero," and she was brutally murdered.
Nero was petrified with fear when he learned that the deed had been done, yet his popularity with the plebs of Rome was not impaired. This matricide, however, proved a turning point in his life and principate. It appeared that all shackles were now removed. The influence of Seneca and Burrus began to wane, and when Burrus died in 62, Seneca realized that his powers of persuasion were at an end and soon went into retirement. Britannicus had died as early as 55; now Octavia was to follow, and Nero became free to marry Poppaea. It may be that it had been Burrus rather than Agrippina who had continually urged that Nero's position depended in large part upon his marriage to Octavia. Burrus' successor as commander of the praetorian guard, although now with a colleague, was Ofonius Tigellinus, quite the opposite of Burrus in character and outlook. Tigellinus became Nero's "evil twin," urging and assisting in the performance of crimes and the satisfaction of lusts.
Administrative and Foreign Policy
With Seneca and Burrus in charge of administration at home, the first half-dozen years of Nero's principate ran smoothly. He himself devoted his attention to his artistic, literary, and physical bents, with music, poetry, and chariot racing to the fore. But his advisors were able to keep these performances and displays private, with small, select audiences on hand. Yet there was a gradual trend toward public performance, with the establishment of games. Further, he spent many nights roaming the city in disguise, with numerous companions, who terrorized the streets and attacked individuals. Those who dared to defend themselves often faced death afterward, because they had shown disrespect for the emperor. The die was being cast for the last phases of Nero's reign.
The Great Fire at Rome and The Punishment
of the Christians
The year 64 was the most significant of Nero's principate up to this point. His mother and wife were dead, as was Burrus, and Seneca, unable to maintain his influence over Nero without his colleague's support, had withdrawn into private life. The abysmal Tigellinus was now the foremost advisor of the still young emperor, a man whose origin was from the lowest levels of society and who can accurately be described as criminal in outlook and action. Yet Nero must have considered that he was happier than he had ever been in his life. Those who had constrained his enjoyment of his (seemingly) limitless power were gone, he was married to Poppaea, a woman with all advantages save for a bad character the empire was essentially at peace, and the people of Rome enjoyed a full measure of panem et circenses. But then occurred one of the greatest disasters that the city of Rome, in its long history, had ever endured.
The fire began in the southeastern angle of the Circus Maximus, spreading through the shops which clustered there, and raged for the better part of a week. There was brief success in controlling the blaze, but then it burst forth once more, so that many people claimed that the fires were deliberately set. After about a fortnight, the fire burned itself out, having consumed ten of the fourteen Augustan regions into which the city had been divided.
Nero was in Antium through much of the disaster, but his efforts at relief were substantial. Yet many believed that he had been responsible, so that he could perform his own work comparing the current fate of Rome to the downfall of Troy. All his efforts to assist the stricken city could not remove the suspicion that "the emperor had fiddled while Rome burned." He lost favor even among the plebs who had been enthusiastic supporters, particularly when his plans for the rebuilding of the city revealed that a very large part of the center was to become his new home.
As his popularity waned, Nero and Tigellinus realized that individuals were needed who could be charged with the disaster. It so happened that there was such a group ready at hand, Christians, who had made themselves unpopular because of their refusal to worship the emperor, their way of life, and their secret meetings. Further, at this time two of their most significant "teachers" were in Rome, Peter and Paul. They were ideal scapegoats, individuals whom most Romans loathed, and who had continually sung of the forthcoming end of the world.
Their destruction was planned with the utmost precision and cruelty, for the entertainment of the populace. The venue was Nero's circus near the Mons Vaticanus. Christians were exposed to wild animals and were set ablaze, smeared with pitch, to illuminate the night. The executions were so grisly that even the populace displayed sympathy for the victims. Separately, Peter was crucified upside down on the Vatican hill and Paul was beheaded along the Via Ostiensis. But Nero's attempt, and hope, to shift all suspicion of arson to others failed. His popularity even among the lower classes was irrevocably impaired.
[For a detailed and interesting discussion of Nero’s reign please see http://www.roman-emperors.org/nero.htm]
The End - Nero's Death and its Aftermath
Nero's and Tigellinus' response to the conspiracy was immediate and long-lasting. The senatorial order was decimated, as one leading member after another was put to death or compelled to commit suicide. The year 66 saw the suicides of perhaps the most distinguished victims of the "reign of terror," Caius Petronius and Thrasea Paetus. Petronius, long a favorite of Nero because of his aesthetic taste, had been an able public servant before he turned to a life of ease and indolence. He was recognized as the arbiter elegantiae of Nero's circle, and may be the author of the Satyricon. At his death, he left for Nero a document which itemized many of the latter's crimes. Thrasea, a staunch Stoic who had been for some years an outspoken opponent of Nero's policies, committed suicide in the Socratic manner. This scene is the last episode in the surviving books of Tacitus' Annals.
In the year 68, revolt began in the provinces. . . the end of Nero's reign became inevitable. Galba claimed the throne and began his march from Spain. Nero panicked and was rapidly abandoned by his supporters. He finally committed suicide with assistance, on June 9, 68, and his body was tended and buried by three women who had been close to him in his younger days, chief of whom was Acte. His death scene is marked above all by the statement, "Qualis artifex pereo," (What an artist dies in me.) Even at the end he was more concerned with his private life than with the affairs of state.
The aftermath of Nero's death was cataclysmic. Galba was the first of four emperors who revealed the new secret of empire, that an emperor could be made elsewhere than in Rome. Civil war ensued, which was only ended by the victory of the fourth claimant, Vespasian, who established the brief dynasty of the Flavians. The dynasty of the Julio-Claudians was at an end.
Nero's popularity among the lower classes remained even after his death.
. . . .
It is not excessive to say that he was one of the worst of Rome's emperors in the first two centuries and more of the empire. Whatever talents he had, whatever good he may have done, all is overwhelmed by three events, the murder of his mother, the fire at Rome, and his savage treatment of the Christians.
Precisely these qualities are the reasons that he has remained so well known and has been the subject of many writers and opera composers in modern times. These works of fiction particularly merit mention: Henryk Sienkiewicz's Quo Vadis, one of the finest works of the 1907 Nobel Laureate in Literature, and John Hersey's The Conspiracy. Nero unquestionably will always be with us.
Copyright (C) 2006, Herbert W. Benario.
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.
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707a, Galba, 3 April 68 - 15 January 69 A.D.Galba AE As, 68-69 AD; cf. SRC 727, 729ff; 27.85mm, 12g; Rome: Obverse: GALBA IMP CAESAR…, Laureate head right; Reverse: S P Q R OB CIV SER in oak wreath; gF+/F Ex. Ancient Imports.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Galba (68-69 A.D.)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary
Introduction
The evidence for the principate of Galba is unsatisfactory. The sources either concentrate on the personality of the man, thereby failing to offer a balanced account of his policies and a firm chronological base for his actions; or, they focus on the final two weeks of his life at the expense of the earlier part of his reign. As a result, a detailed account of his principate is difficult to write. Even so, Galba is noteworthy because he was neither related to nor adopted by his predecessor Nero. Thus, his accession marked the end of the nearly century-long control of the Principate by the Julio-Claudians. Additionally, Galba's declaration as emperor by his troops abroad set a precedent for the further political upheavals of 68-69. Although these events worked to Galba's favor initially, they soon came back to haunt him, ending his tumultuous rule after only seven months.
Early Life and Rise to Power
Born 24 December 3 BC in Tarracina, a town on the Appian Way, 65 miles south of Rome, Servius Galba was the son of C. Sulpicius Galba and Mummia Achaica. Galba's connection with the noble house of the Servii gave him great prestige and assured his acceptance among the highest levels of Julio-Claudian society. Adopted in his youth by Livia, the mother of the emperor Tiberius, he is said to have owed much of his early advancement to her. Upon her death, Livia made Galba her chief legatee, bequeathing him some 50 million sesterces. Tiberius, Livia's heir, reduced the amount, however, and then never paid it. Galba's marriage proved to be a further source of disappointment, as he outlived both his wife Lepida and their two sons. Nothing else is known of Galba's immediate family, other than that he remained a widower for the rest of his life.
Although the details of Galba's early political career are incomplete, the surviving record is one of an ambitious Roman making his way in the Emperor's service. Suetonius records that as praetor Galba put on a new kind of exhibition for the people - elephants walking on a rope. Later, he served as governor of the province of Aquitania, followed by a six-month term as consul at the beginning of 33. Ironically, as consul he was succeeded by Salvius Otho, whose own son would succeed Galba as emperor. Over the years three more governorships followed - Upper Germany (date unknown), North Africa (45) and Hispania Tarraconensis, the largest of Spain's three provinces (61). He was selected as a proconsul of Africa by the emperor Claudius himself instead of by the usual method of drawing lots. During his two-year tenure in the province he successfully restored internal order and quelled a revolt by the barbarians. As an imperial legate he was a governor in Spain for eight years under Nero, even though he was already in his early sixties when he assumed his duties. The appointment showed that Galba was still considered efficient and loyal. In all of these posts Galba generally displayed an enthusiasm for old-fashioned disciplina, a trait consistent with the traditional characterization of the man as a hard-bitten aristocrat of the old Republican type. Such service did not go unnoticed, as he was honored with triumphal insignia and three priesthoods during his career.
On the basis of his ancestry, family tradition and service to the state Galba was the most distinguished Roman alive (with the exception of the houses of the Julii and Claudii) at the time of Nero's demise in 68. The complex chain of events that would lead him to the Principate later that year began in March with the rebellion of Gaius Iulius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis. Vindex had begun to sound out provincial governors about support for a rebellion perhaps in late 67 or early 68. Galba did not respond but, because of his displeasure with Neronian misgovernment, neither did he inform the emperor of these treasonous solicitations. This, of course, left him dangerously exposed; moreover, he was already aware that Nero, anxious to remove anyone of distinguished birth and noble achievements, had ordered his death. Given these circumstances, Galba likely felt that he had no choice but to rebel.
In April, 68, while still in Spain, Galba "went public," positioning himself as a vir militaris, a military representative of the senate and people of Rome. For the moment, he refused the title of Emperor, but it is clear that the Principate was his goal. To this end, he organized a concilium of advisors in order to make it known that any decisions were not made by him alone but only after consultation with a group. The arrangement was meant to recall the Augustan Age relationship between the emperor and senate in Rome. Even more revealing of his imperial ambitions were legends like LIBERTAS RESTITUTA (Liberty Restored), ROM RENASC (Rome Reborn) and SALUS GENERIS HUMANI (Salvation of Mankind), preserved on his coinage from the period. Such evidence has brought into question the traditional assessment of Galba as nothing more than an ineffectual representative of a bygone antiquus rigor in favor of a more balanced portrait of a traditional constitutionalist eager to publicize the virtues of an Augustan-style Principate.
Events now began to move quickly. In May, 68 Lucius Clodius Macer, legate of the III legio Augusta in Africa, revolted from Nero and cut off the grain supply to Rome. Choosing not to recognize Galba, he called himself propraetor, issued his own coinage, and raised a new legion, the I Macriana liberatrix. Galba later had him executed. At the same time, 68, Lucius Verginius Rufus, legionary commander in Upper Germany, led a combined force of soldiers from Upper and Lower Germany in defeating Vindex at Vesontio in Gallia Lugdunensis. Verginius refused to accept a call to the emperorship by his own troops and by those from the Danube, however, thereby creating at Rome an opportunity for Galba's agents to win over Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus, the corrupt praetorian prefect since 65. Sabinus was able to turn the imperial guard against Nero on the promise that they would be rewarded financially by Galba upon his arrival. That was the end for Nero. Deposed by the senate and abandoned by his supporters, he committed suicide in June. At this point, encouraged to march on Rome by the praetorians and especially by Sabinus, who had his own designs on the throne, Galba hurriedly established broad-based political and financial support and assembled his own legion (subsequently known as the legio VII Gemina). As he departed from Spain, he abandoned the title of governor in favor of "Caesar," apparently in an attempt to lay claim to the entire inheritance of the Julio-Claudian house. Even so, he continued to proceed cautiously, and did not actually adopt the name of Caesar (and with it the emperorship) until sometime after he had left Spain.
The Principate of Galba
Meanwhile, Rome was anything but serene. An unusual force of soldiers, many of whom had been mustered by Nero to crush the attempt of Vindex, remained idle and restless. In addition, there was the matter concerning Nymphidius Sabinus. Intent on being the power behind the throne, Nymphidius had orchestrated a demand from the praetorians that Galba appoint him sole praetorian prefect for life. The senate capitulated to his pretensions and he began to have designs on the throne himself. In an attempt to rattle Galba, Nymphidius then sent messages of alarm to the emperor telling of unrest in both the city and abroad. When Galba ignored these reports, Nymphidius decided to launch a coup by presenting himself to the praetorians. The plan misfired, and the praetorians killed him when he appeared at their camp. Upon learning of the incident, Galba ordered the executions of Nymphidius' followers. To make matters worse, Galba's arrival was preceded by a confrontation with a boisterous band of soldiers who had been formed into a legion by Nero and were now demanding legionary standards and regular quarters. When they persisted, Galba's forces attacked, with the result that many of them were killed.
Thus it was amid carnage and fear that Galba arrived at the capital in October, 68, accompanied by Otho, the governor of Lusitania, who had joined the cause. Once Galba was within Rome, miscalculations and missteps seemed to multiply. First, he relied upon the advice of a corrupt circle of advisors, most notably: Titus Vinius, a general from Spain; Cornelius Laco, praetorian prefect; and his own freedman, Icelus. Second, he zealously attempted to recover some of Nero's more excessive expenditures by seizing the property of many citizens, a measure that seems to have gone too far and to have caused real hardship and resentment. Third, he created further ill-will by disbanding the imperial corps of German bodyguards, effectively abolishing a tradition that originated with Marius and had been endorsed by Augustus. Finally, he seriously alienated the military by refusing cash rewards for both the praetorians and for the soldiers in Upper Germany who had fought against Vindex.
This last act proved to be the beginning of the end for Galba. On 1 January 69 ("The Year of the Four Emperors"), the troops in Upper Germany refused to declare allegiance to him and instead followed the men stationed in Lower Germany in proclaiming their commander, Aulus Vitellius, as the new ruler. In response, Galba adopted Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus to show that he was still in charge and that his successor would not be chosen for him. Piso, although an aristocrat, was a man completely without administrative or military experience. The choice meant little to the remote armies, the praetorians or the senate, and it especially angered Otho, who had hoped to succeed Galba. Otho quickly organized a conspiracy among the praetorians with the now-familiar promise of a material reward, and on 15 January 69 they declared him emperor and publicly killed Galba; Piso, dragged from hiding in the temple of Vesta, was also butchered.
Assessment
In sum, Galba had displayed talent and ambition during his lengthy career. He enjoyed distinguished ancestry, moved easily among the Julio-Claudian emperors (with the exception of Nero towards the end of his principate), and had been awarded the highest military and religious honors of ancient Rome. His qualifications for the principate cannot be questioned. Even so, history has been unkind to him. Tacitus characterized Galba as "weak and old," a man "equal to the imperial office, if he had never held it." Modern historians of the Roman world have been no less critical. To be sure, Galba's greatest mistake lay in his general handling of the military. His treatment of the army in Upper Germany was heedless, his policy towards the praetorians short sighted. Given the climate in 68-69, Galba was unrealistic in expecting disciplina without paying the promised rewards. He was also guilty of relying on poor advisors, who shielded him from reality and ultimately allowed Otho's conspiracy to succeed. Additionally, the excessive power of his henchmen brought the regime into disfavor and made Galba himself the principal target of the hatred that his aides had incited. Finally, the appointment of Piso, a young man in no way equal to the challenges placed before him, further underscored the emperor's isolation and lack of judgment. In the end, the instability of the post-Julio-Claudian political landscape offered challenges more formidable than a tired, septuagenarian aristocrat could hope to overcome. Ironically, his regime proved no more successful than the Neronian government he was so eager to replace. Another year of bloodshed would be necessary before the Principate could once again stand firm.
Copyright (C) 1999, John Donahue.
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.
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708a, OthoOtho (69 A.D.)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary
Introduction
In January 69 Otho led a successful coup to overthrow the emperor Galba. Upon advancing to the throne, he hoped to conciliate his adversaries and restore political stability to the Empire. These ambitions were never to be realized. Instead, our sources portray a leader never fully able to win political confidence at Rome or to overcome military anarchy abroad. As a result, he was defeated in battle by the forces of Vitellius, his successor, and took his own life at the conclusion of the conflict. His principate lasted only eight weeks.
Early Life and Career
Marcus Salvius Otho was born at Ferentium on 28 April 32 A. D. His grandfather, also named Marcus Salvius Otho, was a senator who did not advance beyond the rank of praetor. Lucius Otho, his father, was consul in 33 and a trusted administrator under the emperors Tiberius, Gaius and Claudius. His mother, Albia Terentia, was likely to have been nobly born as well. The cognomen "Otho" was Etruscan in origin, and the fact that it can be traced to three successive generations of this family perhaps reflects a desire to maintain a part of the Etruscan tradition that formed the family's background.
Otho is recorded as being extravagant and wild as a youth - a favorite pastime involved roving about at night to snare drunkards in a blanket. Such behavior earned floggings from his father, whose frequent absences from home on imperial business suggest little in the way of a stabilizing parental influence in Otho's formative years. These traits apparently persisted: Suetonius records that Otho and Nero became close friends because of the similarity of their characters; and Plutarch relates that the young man was so extravagant that he sometimes chided Nero about his meanness, and even outdid the emperor in reckless spending.
Most intriguing in this context is Otho's involvement with Nero's mistress, Poppaea Sabina, the greatest beauty of her day. A relationship between the two is widely cited in the ancient sources, but the story differs in essential details from one account to the next. As a result, it is impossible to establish who seduced whom, whether Otho ever married Poppaea, and whether his posting to Lusitania by Nero should be understood as a "banishment" for his part in this affair. About the only reliable detail to emerge is that Otho did indeed become governor of Lusitania in 59, and that he assumed the post as a quaestor, a rank below that of praetor or consul, the minimum usually required for the office. From here he would launch his initial thrust towards the imperial throne.
Overthrow of Galba
Nero's suicide in June 68 marked the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and opened up the principate to the prerogatives of the military beyond Rome. First to emerge was Servius Sulpicius Galba, governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, who had been encouraged to revolt by the praetorians and especially by Nymphidius Sabinus, the corrupt and scheming praetorian prefect at Rome. By this time Otho had been in Spain for close to ten years. His record seems to have been a good one, marked by capable administration and an unwillingness to enrich himself at the expense of the province. At the same time, perhaps seeing this as his best chance to improve his own circumstances, he supported the insurrection as vigorously as possible, even sending Galba all of his gold and his best table servants. At the same time, he made it a point to win the favor of every soldier he came in contact with, most notably the members of the praetorian guard who had come to Spain to accompany Galba to Rome. Galba set out from Spain in July, formally assuming the emperorship shortly thereafter. Otho accompanied him on the journey.
Galba had been in Rome little more than two months when on 1 January 69 the troops in Upper Germany refused to declare allegiance to him and instead followed the men stationed in Lower Germany in proclaiming their commander, Aulus Vitellius, as the new ruler. To show that he was still in charge Galba adopted his own successor, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus, an aristocrat completely without administrative or military experience. The choice meant little to the remote armies, the praetorians or the senate and particularly angered Otho, who had hoped to succeed Galba. Otho quickly organized a conspiracy among the praetorians with promise of a material reward, and on 15 January 69 they declared him emperor and publicly killed Galba; Piso, dragged from hiding in the temple of Vesta, was also butchered. On that same evening a powerless senate awarded Otho the imperial titles.
Otho's Principate in Rome
It is not possible to reconstruct a detailed chronology of Otho's brief eight and a half weeks as princeps in Rome (15 January-15 March). Even so, Galba's quick demise had surely impressed upon Otho the need to conciliate various groups. As a result, he continued his indulgence of the praetorian guard but he also tried to win over the senate by following a strict constitutionalist line and by generally keeping the designations for the consulship made by Nero and Galba. In the provinces, despite limited evidence, there are some indications that he tried to compensate for Galba's stinginess by being more generous with grants of citizenship. In short, Otho was eager not to offend anyone.
Problems remained, however. The praetorians had to be continually placated and they were always suspicious of the senate. On the other hand, the senate itself, along with the people, remained deeply disturbed at the manner of Otho's coming to power and his willingness to be associated with Nero. These suspicions and fears were most evident in the praetorian outbreak at Rome. Briefly, Otho had decided to move from Ostia to Rome a cohort of Roman citizens in order to replace some of Rome's garrison, much of which was to be utilized for the showdown with Vitellius. He ordered that weapons be moved from the praetorian camp in Rome by ship to Ostia at night so that the garrison replacements would be properly armed and made to look as soldierly as possible when they marched into the city. Thinking that a senatorial counter-coup against Otho was underway, the praetorians stormed the imperial palace to confirm the emperor's safety, with the result that they terrified Otho and his senatorial dinner guests. Although the praetorians' fears were eventually calmed and they were given a substantial cash payment, the incident dramatically underscored the unease at Rome in the early months of 69.
Otho's Offensive against Vitellius
Meanwhile, in the Rhineland, preparations for a march on Rome by the military legions that had declared for Vitellius were far advanced. Hampered by poor intelligence gathering in Gaul and Germany and having failed to negotiate a settlement with Vitellius in early 69, Otho finally summoned to Italy his forces for a counterattack against the invading Vitellian army. His support consisted of the four legions of Pannonia and Dalmatia, the three legions of Moesia and his own imperial retinue of about 9,000. Vitellius' own troops numbered some 30,000, while those of his two marshals, Aulus Caecina Alienus and Fabius Valens, were between 15,000 and 20,000 each.
Otho's strategy was to make a quick diversionary strike in order to allow time for his own forces to assemble in Italy before engaging the enemy. The strategy worked, as the diversionary army, comprised of urban cohorts, praetorians and marines all from Rome or nearby, was successful in Narbonese Gaul in latter March. An advance guard sent to hold the line on the Po River until the Danubian legions arrived also enjoyed initial success. Otho himself arrived at Bedriacum in northern Italy about 10 April for a strategy session with his commanders. The main concern was that the Vitellians were building a bridge across the Po in order to drive southward towards the Apennines and eventually to Rome. Otho decided to counter by ordering a substantial part of his main force to advance from Bedriacum and establish a new base close enough to the new Vitellian bridge to interrupt its completion. While en route, the Othonian forces, strung out along the via Postumia amid baggage and supply trains, were attacked by Caecina and Valens near Cremona on 14 April. The clash, know as the Battle of Bedriacum, resulted in the defeat of the Othonian forces, their retreat cut off by the river behind them. Otho himself, meanwhile, was not present, but had gone to Brixellum with a considerable force of infantry and cavalry in order to impede any Vitellian units that had managed to cross the Po.
The plan had backfired. Otho's strategy of obtaining victory while avoiding any major battles had proven too risky. Realizing perhaps that a new round of fighting would have involved not only a significant re-grouping of his existing troops but also a potentially bloody civil war at Rome, if Vitellius' troops reached the capital, Otho decided that enough blood had been shed. Two weeks shy of his thirty-seventh birthday, on 16 April 69, he took his own life.
Assessment
To be sure, Otho remains an enigma - part profligate Neronian wastrel and part conscientious military commander willing to give his life for the good of the state. Our sources are at a loss to explain the paradox. Perhaps, like Petronius, he saw it was safer to appear a profligate in Nero's court? In the final analysis, Otho proved to be an organized and efficient military commander, who appealed more to the soldier than to the civilian. He also seems to have been a capable governor, with administrative talents that recalled those of his father. Nevertheless, his violent overthrow of Galba, the lingering doubts that it raised about his character, and his unsuccessful offensive against Vitellius are all vivid reminders of the turbulence that plagued the Roman world between the reigns of Nero and Vespasian. Regrettably, the scenario would play itself out one more time before peace and stability returned to the empire.
Copyright (C) 1999, John Donahue
Edited by J.P.Fitzgerald, Jr.
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709a, Vitellius, 2 January - 20 December 69 A.D.VITELLIUS AR silver denarius. RSC 72, RCV 2200. 19mm, 3.2 g. Obverse: A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P, laureate head right; Reverse - PONT MAXIM, Vesta seated right, holding scepter and patera. Quite decent. Ex. Incitatus Coins. Photo courtesy of Incitatus Coins.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Vitellius (69 A.D.)
John F. Donahue
College of William and Mary
It is often difficult to separate fact from fiction in assessing the life and reign of Vitellius. Maligned in the ancient sources as gluttonous and cruel, he was also a victim of a hostile biographical tradition established in the regime of the Flavians who had overthrown him. Nevertheless, his decision to march against Rome in 69 was pivotal, since his subsequent defeat signalled the end of military anarchy and the beginning of an extended period of political stability under Vespasian and his successors.
Early Life and Career
Aulus Vitellius was born in September, 15 AD, the son of Lucius Vitellius and his wife Sestilia. One of the most successful public figures of the Julio-Claudian period, Lucius Vitellius was a three-time consul and a fellow censor with the emperor Claudius. Aulus seems to have moved with equal ease in aristocratic circles, successively winning the attention of the emperors Gaius, Claudius, and Nero through flattery and political skill.
Among his attested public offices, Vitellius was a curator of public works, a senatorial post concerned with the maintenance and repair of public buildings in Rome, and he was also proconsul of North Africa, where he served as a deputy to his brother, perhaps about 55 A. D. In addition, he held at least two priesthoods, the first as a member of the Arval Brethren, in whose rituals he participated from 57 A.D., and the second, as one of the quindecemviri sacris faciundis, a sacred college famous for its feasts.
With respect to marriage and family, Vitellius first wed a certain Petroniana, the daughter of a consul, sometime in the early to mid thirties A.D. The union produced a son, Petronianus, allegedly blind in one eye and emancipated from his father's control as a result of being named his mother's heir. Tradition records that Vitellius killed the boy shortly after emancipation amid charges of parricide; the marriage soon ended in divorce. A second marriage, to Galeria Fundana, daughter of an ex-praetor, was more stable than the first. It produced another son, who was eventually killed by the Flavians after the overthrow of Vitellius, as well as a daughter. Galeria is praised by Tacitus for her good qualities, and in the end it was she who saw to Vitellius' burial.
Rise to Power and Emperorship
Without doubt, the most fortuitous moment in Vitellius' political career was his appointment as governor of Lower Germany by the emperor Galba late in 68. The decision seemed to have caught everybody by surprise, including Vitellius himself, who, according to Suetonius, was in straitened circumstances at the time. The choice may have been made to reduce the possibility of rebellion by the Rhine armies, disaffected by Galba's refusal to reward them for their part in suppressing the earlier uprising of Julius Vindex. Ironically, it was Vitellius' lack of military achievement and his reputation for gambling and gluttony that may have also figured in his selection. Galba perhaps calculated that a man with little military experience who could now plunder a province to satisfy his own stomach would never become disloyal. If so, it was a critical misjudgement by the emperor.
The rebellion began on January 1, 69 ("The Year of the Four Emperors"), when the legions of Upper Germany refused to renew their oath of allegiance to Galba. On January 2, Vitellius' own men, having heard of the previous day's events, saluted him as emperor at the instigation of the legionary legate Fabius Valens and his colleagues. Soon, in addition to the seven legions that Vitellius now had at his command in both Germanies, the forces in Gaul, Britain, and Raetia also came over to his side. Perhaps aware of his military inexperience, Vitellius did not immediately march on Rome himself. Instead, the advance was led by Valens and another legionary general, Aulus Caecina Alienus, with each man commanding a separate column. Vitellius would remain behind to mobilize a reserve force and follow later.
Caecina was already one hundred fifty miles on his way when news reached him that Galba had been overthrown and Otho had taken his place as emperor. Undeterred, he passed rapidly down the eastern borders of Gaul; Valens followed a more westerly route, quelling a mutiny along the way. By March both armies had successfully crossed the Alps and joined at Cremona, just north of the Po. Here they launced their Batavian auxiliaries against Otho's troops and routed them in the First Battle of Bedriacum. Otho killed himself on April 16, and three days later the soldiers in Rome swore their allegience to Vitellius. The senate too hailed him as emperor.
When Vitellius learned of these developments, he set out to Rome from Gaul. By all accounts the journey was a drunken feast marked by the lack of discipline of both the troops and the imperial entourage. Along the way he stopped at Lugdunum to present his six-year-old son Germanicus to the legions as his eventual successor. Later, at Cremona, Vitellius witnessed the corpse-filled battlefield of Otho's recent defeat with joy, unmoved by so many citizens denied a proper burial.
The emperor entered Rome in late June-early July. Conscious of making a break with the Julio-Claudian past, Vitellius was reluctant to assume the traditional titles of the princes, even though he enthusiastically made offerings to Nero and declared himself consul for life. To his credit, Vitellius did seem to show a measure of moderation in the transition to the principate. He assumed his powers gradually and was generally lenient to Otho's supporters, even pardoning Otho's brother Salvius Titianus, who had played a key role in the earlier regime. In addition, he participated in Senate meetings and continued the practice of providing entertainments for the Roman masses. An important practical change involved the awarding of posts customarily held by freedmen to equites, an indication of the growth of the imperial bureaucracy and its attractiveness to men of ambition.
In other matters, he replaced the existing praetorian guard and urban cohorts with sixteen praetorian cohorts and four urban units, all comprised of soldiers from the German armies. According to Tacitus, the decision prompted a mad scramble, with the men, and not their officers, choosing the branch of service that they preferred. The situation was clearly unsatisfactory but not surprising, given that Vitellius was a creation of his own troops. To secure his position further, he sent back to their old postings the legions that had fought for Otho, or he reassigned them to distant provinces. Yet discontent remained: the troops who had been defeated or betrayed at Bedriacum remained bitter, and detachments of three Moesian legions called upon by Otho were returned to their bases, having agitated against Vitellius at Aquileia.
Flavian Revolt
The Vitellian era at Rome was short-lived. By mid-July news had arrived that the legions of Egypt under Tiberius Julius Alexander had sworn allegiance to a rival emperor, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, the governor of Judaea and a successful and popular general. Vespasian was to hold Egypt while his colleague Mucianus, governor of Syria, was to invade Italy. Before the plan could be enacted, however, the Danube legions, former supporters of Otho, joined Vespasian's cause. Under the leadership of Antonius Primus, commander of the Sixth legion in Pannonia, and Cornelius Fuscus, imperial procurator in Illyricum, the legions made a rapid descent on Italy.
Although his forces were only half of what Vitellius commanded in Italy, Primus struck first before the emperor could muster additional reinforcements from Germany. To make matters worse for the Vitellians, Valens was ill, and Caecina, now consul, had begun collaborating with the Flavians. His troops refused to follow his lead, however, and arrested him at Hostilia near Cremona. They then joined the rest of the Vitellian forces trying to hold the Po River. With Vitellius still in Rome and his forces virtually leaderless, the two sides met in October in the Second Battle of Bedriacum. The emperor's troops were soundly defeated and Cremona was brutally sacked by the victors. In addition, Valens, whose health had recovered, was captured while raising an army for Vitellius in Gaul and Germany; he was eventually executed.
Meanwhile, Primus continued towards Rome. Vitellius made a weak attempt to thwart the advance at the Apennine passes, but his forces switched to the Flavian side without a fight at Narnia in mid-December. At Rome, matters were no better. Vespasian's elder brother, Titus Flavius Sabinus, the city prefect, was successful in an effort to convince Vitellius to abdicate but was frustrated by the mob in Rome and the emperor's soldiers. Forced to flee to the Capitol, Sabinus was set upon by Vitellius' German troops and soon killed, with the venerable Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus set ablaze in the process. Within two days, the Flavian army fought its way into Rome. In a pathetic final move, Vitellius disguised himself in dirty clothing and hid in the imperial doorkeeper's quarters, leaning a couch and a mattress against the door for protection. Dragged from his hiding place by the Flavian forces, he was hauled off half-naked to the Forum, where he was tortured, killed, and tossed into the Tiber. The principate could now pass to Vespasian.
Assessment
Vitellius has not escaped the hostility of his biographers. While he may well have been gluttonous, his depiction as indolent, cruel, and extravagant is based almost entirely on the propaganda of his enemies. On the other hand, whatever moderating tendencies he did show were overshadowed by his clear lack of military expertise, a deficiency that forced him to rely in critical situations on largely inneffective lieutenants. As a result he was no match for his Flavian successors, and his humiliating demise was perfectly in keeping with the overall failure of his reign.
Copyright (C) 1999, John Donahue.
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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7274 Nikomedes III, Euergetes, 128-94 BCSilver tetradrachm, 37.6mm, 16.83g, Choice EF
Diademed head right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ EΠIΦANOYΣ NIKOMHΔOY. Zeus standing left holding wreath and lotus-tipped sceptre, eagle on thunderbolt over monogram and date I(Z)OP (year 177 or 122 BC) in inner left field.
Ex: Ronald Cohen Collection
Sear 7274v; BMC Pontus, pg. 213, #4var, and Pl. XXXIX, #1; De Callatay page 54 (D30/R1); Waddington [RG] page 230v. Rare variety: De Callatay cites one specimen.
Note: This coin struck with a slightly glancing blow, creating a great portrait at expense of weak areas on the reverse.Lawrence W
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Aegina. Ca. 525-480 BC. AR stater (20mm)SARONIC ISLANDS. Aegina. Ca. 525-480 BC. AR stater (20mm). NGC Choice Fine. Sea turtle, viewed from above, head turned sideways, with thin collar and row of five dots down center of shell / Large "skew pattern" incuse with five sunken compartments. HGC 6, 433. Meadows Group IIc.Mark R1
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Alexander III The Great, Macedonian Kingdom, 336 - 323 B.C., Lifetime Issue. Ionia, Miletos mint.Silver Drachm, Müller Alexander 763; SNG Cop 895; SNG Alpha Bank 629; SNG Saroglos 771; SNG München - ; Price 2090, Choice good Very Fine , as found Superb Fine Style, toned, centered, bumps and marks, Ionia, Miletos mint, weight 4.004g, maximum diameter 18.0mm, die axis 0o, struck between 325 - 323 B.C.,.
Obverse ; head of Alexander the Great as Herakles right, clad in Nemean Lion scalp headdress tied at neck.
Reverse ; AΛEΞAN∆POY ( means " Of Alexander " in Ancient Greek ), Zeus seated left on throne without back, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, feet on footstool, right leg forward, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter topped with lotus vertical behind in left hand, ∆H monogram left.
*Lifetime issue. This coin was issued during the lifetime and rule of Alexander the Great. Most Alexander coins were issued after his death.
*Alexander the great believed if the world ruled by one king or leader , will be better for all.
Alexander the great was considered a god after his death.
FORVM Ancient Coins. / From The Sam Mansourati Collection. Sam
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Alexander III, 336-323 BC; Abydos 328-323 BCAR drachm, 17.8mm, 4.3g, Choice VF
Head Herakles right wearing lion's skin knotted at neck / AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus seated left, holding eagle and sceptre, both feet forward. Pegasus forepart in left field, monogram below throne. Lifetime issue.
Ex: Glenn W. Woods
Price 1505b, Müller 610; Thompson 44, series IILawrence W
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Alexander III, 336-323 BC; Amphipolis 315-294 BCAR tetradrachm, 17.19g, Choice VF
Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin knotted at neck / AΛEΞANΔPOY, Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and sceptre, Λ over torch in left field, ant below throne. Nicely toned.
Price 454
Consigned to ForvmLawrence W
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Alexander III, 336-323 BC; Corinth 310-290 BCAR tetradrachm, 16.83g, Choice VF
Head Herakles right wearing lion skin knotted at neck / BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY, Zeus seated left on throne ornamented with Nikai, holding eagle and sceptre; statue of Athena in left field, OΛ within wreath under throne. Rare.
Price 694; Noe, Sicyon 37
Consigned to ForvmLawrence W
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Alexander the Great ( or Alexander III ) Tetradrachm Lifetime Issue. Ancient Greek / Alexander the Great (336 - 323) BC Tetradrachm
Obverse : head of Alexander the Great as Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress knotted at base of neck.
Reverse :Zeus seated left, holding eagle in right hand and scepter in left, sickle and M before, AΛEΞAN∆POY ( means Alexander in Ancient Greek ) behind . ΦIΛH monogram under throne over BAΣIΛEΩΣ ( means King in Ancient Greek ) .
Babylon mint, struck 325 to 323 BC , lifetime issue, 17.01 gr . Very rare . Choice gVF.
**A Lifetime Issue , according to FORVM Classical Numismatics Discussion Board .
References : Müller 703, Price 3624*.
The Sam Mansourati Collection.
Sam
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Alexander the Great (336 - 323) BC ( or Alexander III ) Tetradrachm Lifetime Issue.Obverse : head of Alexander the Great as Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress knotted at base of neck.
Reverse :Zeus seated left, holding eagle in right hand and scepter in left, sickle and M before, AΛEΞAN∆POY ( means Alexander in Ancient Greek ) behind . ΦIΛH monogram under throne over BAΣIΛEΩΣ ( means King in Ancient Greek ) .
Babylon mint, struck 325 to 323 BC , lifetime issue, 17.01 gr . Very rare . Choice gVF.
**A Lifetime Issue , according to FORVM Classical Numismatics Discussion Board .
References : Müller 703, Price 3624*.
EX The Sam Mansourati Collection.
Jovan Lee Delavega Ancient Coins Collection.
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Alexander the Great, Amphipolis, Thrace, c. 315 - 394 B.C.Silver tetradrachm, Price 490, choice VF, 16.96g, 26.5mm, 90o, Amphipolis mint, c. 315 - 394 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right wearing lion head headdress; reverse ALEXANDROU, Zeus enthroned left holding eagle in right and scepter in left, L and torch left, OK monogram below; bold well centered strikeSalem Alshdaifat
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Ancient Greek , CARIA, Halikarnassos (uncertain mint ?)Circa 400 - 340 B.C. Silver Hemiobol (7 mm, 0.54 gr ).
Ram's head right / Man's head (possibly Apollo ) right , Carian letters behind neck , A to right.
Choice g VF ( An exceptional example ) . Rare ( Extremely rare with this grade )
Uncertain mint of Halikarnassos
No references have been found - Early coining ( Under Study )
The Sam Mansourati Collection.Sam
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Ancient Greek Bestiary: revamped!A choice example of ancient Grecian animals (some are imagined or mythical). Can you identify any of them?
(Please click picture for better resolution)Jason T
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ANCIENT INDIA - SATAVAHANA Empire - 177AD - Elephant - RARE COIN - 2.64gmDeccan Post-Mauryan; Satavahanas (Andhras), 'Sri Satakanisa' Circa 1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D. Karshapana Satavahana (Andhra) empire
Bi karshapana (22 mm, 2.77 g)
Obverse: Elephant with raised trunk standing right, with Brahmi legend (Siri) Sataka(nisa) above
Reverse: 4-orbed 'Ujjain' symbol
Ref: MACW 4941-4952
Nicely struck on a broad flan with lovely Glossy black patina with some earthen in devices. Boldly struck.
CHOICE.
Antonivs Protti
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Ancients: LUCANIA. Poseidonia. Ca. 470-420 BC. AR stater (19mm, 7.79 gm, 5h).LUCANIA. Poseidonia. Ca. 470-420 BC. AR stater (19mm, 7.79 gm, 5h). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 2/5, brushed, edge marks. ΠΟΣEΣ, Poseidon striding right, nude but for chlamys spread across shoulders, brandishing trident in right hand / ΠΟΣE (retrograde); bull standing right on ground line. SNG ANS 635.Mark R1
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Ancients: MACEDON. Acanthus. Ca. 5th-4th centuries BC. AR tetrobol (16mm)MACEDON. Acanthus. Ca. 5th-4th centuries BC. AR tetrobol (16mm). NGC Choice VF, brushed. Forepart of bull facing left, head reverted; dotted border / Shallow quadripartite incuse square with stippled interior. SNG Copenhagen -. SNG ANS 31-32.Mark R1
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Antoninianus; FORTVNA REDVX, RIC IV 63bPhilip I, the Arab, First Half of 244 - End of September 249 A.D. Silver antoninianus, SRCV III 8933, RIC IV 63b, RSC IV 65, Choice aVF, Rome mint, 4.015g, 23.5mm, 225o, 249 A.D.; obverse IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, from behind; reverse FORTVNA REDVX, Fortuna seated left on wheel, rudder in right, cornucopia in left; full circles centering. Ex FORVM, photo credit FORVMPodiceps
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Antoninus Pius Aureus, RIC 13Antoninus Pius. AV aureus
Rome, August-December AD 138.
18mm, 6.85 gm, 6h
Obv.: IMP T AEL CAES HA-DRI ANTONINVS, bare head of Antoninus Pius right.
Rev.: AVG PIVS P M-TR P COS DES II, Pietas standing right, veiled, acerra in outstretched left hand, sprinkling incense with right hand over lighted and garlanded altar to right.
Calicó 1469. RIC III 13
Condition: Choice XF
Ex Heritage Auctions, Dallasvindelicus
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Apulia, Canusium. AR Obol, c. 300-250 BCAR. 0.41 g. 11.00 mm.
Obv. Amphora between cornucopiae and oinochoe.
Rev. Lyre; K to left, A to right.
HN Italy 657; SNG ANS 691.
Very rare and choice example. VF/Good VF.
Ex London Ancient Coins 26, 2013, 10.Leo
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Aretas IV AE unit. Crossed Cornucopias. Petra. Monogram of Aretas IV in field.Monogram of Aretas IV in field. 9BC-40AD.
Choice. Soil still adheres to most surfaces but is easily cleaned. _2620Antonivs Protti
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Athens, Greece, Old Style Tetradrachm, c. 454 - 404 B.C.In honor of Christmas :
Silver tetradrachm, SNG Cop 31, SNG Munchen 49, Kroll 8, Dewing 1611, Gulbenkian 519, HGC 4 1597, SGCV I 2526, Choice EF, bold well centered strike, high relief as usual for the type, attractive surfaces, graffito on reverse, small edge cracks, 17.176g, 24.7mm, 30o, Athens mint, c. 454 - 404 B.C.; obverse head of Athena right, almond shaped eye, crested helmet with olive leaves and floral scroll, wire necklace, round earring, hair in parallel curves; reverse owl standing right, head facing, erect in posture, olive sprig and crescent left, AQE downward on right, all within incuse square.
The old-style tetradrachm of Athens is famous for its almond shaped eye, archaic smile, and charming owl reverse. Around 480 B.C. a wreath of olive leaves and a decorative scroll were added to Athena's helmet. On the reverse, a crescent moon was added.
During the period 449 - 413 B.C. huge quantities of tetradrachms were minted to finance grandiose building projects such as the Parthenon and to cover the costs of the Peloponnesian War.
FORVM Ancient Coins. / From The Sam Mansourati Collection. Sam
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ATTICA, Athens. 449-413 BC. AR Tetradrachm (17.24 gm; 22 mm)Helmeted head of Athena right / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent behind. SNG Cop. 31; Starr pl. XXII, 7. Nicely struck on a compact flan. Elegant style with a full crest. Shallow marks on Athena's cheek. Choice Extremely Fine. Not from the recent hoards. Nice old-cabinet toning. Mark R1
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ATTICA, Athens. AR TetradrachmCirca 454-404 B.C. 17.15 grams. Obverse: archaizing head of Athena right. Reverse: owl standing right, olive sprig left upper corner with crescent moon below, ethnic to right field, all within incuse square. Kroll 8. HGC 4, 1597. SNG Copenhagen 31. SNG Munchen 49. Dewing 1591-7. Gulbenkian 519-21. Kraay & Hirmer 362. Choice EF, well centered, high relief (as usual).
Ex CNG
The quintessential "Old Style" or "Classical Style" silver tetradrachm representative coin of Classical Athens called "glaukes" or owls. Silver probably came from the mines of Laurion or from member city states of the Delian League. Countless articles and exhaustive studies had been made regarding the enormous output of these coins during its remarkable existence. One of the early trade coins of the ancient world and undeniably well travelled from the Pillars of Hercules to ancient India, hence its ubiquitous nature. What more could be said of it?Jason T
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Aurelian and Vabalathus, 271 - 272 A.DBronze antoninianus, RIC 381, choice gVF, 3.00g, 21.7mm, 180o, Antioch mint, late 271 - spring 272 A.D.; obverse IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right, E below; reverse VABALATHVS V C R IM D R, laureate draped and cuirassed bust right; excellent portraits and centeringSalem Alshdaifat
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Aurelianus (270-275) antoninianus (AE)Obv.: IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG (Emperor in cuirass with radiate crown) Rev.: CONCORDIA MILITVM (Emperor and Concordia reaching hands) Exergue: P* Diameter: 22 mm Weight: 3,3 g RIC 5
Concordia is not a bad typological choice for the emperor who finally managed to unite the empire and all but ended the brunt of the so-called Crisis of the Third Century.Nick.vdw
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Baal or Zeus (Interpretatio Graecia) on Cilician Stater of Satrap MazaiosCirca 361-334 B.C. AR Stater (10.88g, 24mm, 5h). cf. SNG Levant-106; SNG Paris-. Obverse Baal of Tarsos enthroned left, head facing, holding club, bunch of grapes, wheat ear, and eagle in right hand, lotus-headed scepter in left hand, B’LTRZ (Baaltarz) in Aramaic behind, M below throne, all within a circle of dots. Reverse lion bringing down bull, attacking with teeth and claws, MZDI (Mazdai) in Aramaic above, unlisted ankh symbol, wheat ear below, all within a circle of dots. Sharply struck on an excellent metal with areas of flat strikes on high points. Choice superb EF/EF. Toned, lustrous.
Ex Ponterio and Associates Sale No. 84, November 1996, lot 141. Ex Stacks Bowers and Ponterio Sale No. 172, November 2012, lot 11680. Ex Pars Coins.
The depiction of Phoenician-Canaanite god Baal on Cilician coinage suggests the preeminence of his cult in Tarsos. He is shown enthroned, most probably on Mount Zaphon. The symbols corn-ear/barley and grapes suggest Baal’s capacity as a god involved in the seasonal cycles of life and death, or a more specific reference to Cilicia’s fertile plains. The iconography of this late coinage is also a syncretic mixture of other cultures, including Greek. The treatment of the god’s body gives us a hint of the extent of influence of Hellenic culture exerted in Eastern Asia Minor long before Alexander’s conquest, and it is said that Baal could be equated with Zeus in the Greek context. After the conquest of Alexander III of the East, Mazaios was appointed governor of Babylon. The new coinage of Alexander was strongly influenced by Mazaios’ pre-Alexandrine coinage (the Zeus Aetophoros commonly found on the reverses of his tetradrachmai is a direct descendant of this). The reverse depicts the City’s Emblem and clearly has an underlying meaning now lost to us. Some say it symbolizes the victory of Day over Night, while others suggest military conquest and subjugation of the enemies by the Persian Empire. Marvin Tameanko has persuasively argued (see Celator, Jan. 1995, pp. 6-11) that the kneeling bull (without the lion) is symbolic of Zeus, as attested on scores of later Greek and Roman coins; and the lion is symbolic of the supreme god Baal of the Cilicians. This concludes the lion-over-bull motif on this coin delivers a message that is blatantly direct and simple, if the argument put forward is to be believed.
Jason T
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Baktrian Kingdom, Diodotos II, ca. 240-230 BC, Æ Double Unit Laureate head of Zeus right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔIOΔITOY Artemis right holding transverse torch; star to right.
HGC 12, 27; SNG ANS 9, 96; Mitchiner 82; Holt Ι2; Kritt Ι2; Sear GCV 7504 var. (hound at Artemis feet). Ai Khanoum mint.
(22 mm, 9.6 g, 6h).
Sayles & Lavender.
Artemis depicted on the reverse of this coin was the twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the Moon. A huntress with legendary skills in archery, she brought fertility to the land and special protection to women in childbirth. The historian Frank Holt wrote ‘A better patron goddess for a city such as Ai Khanoum could not have been found. It may only be coincidence, but the choice of Artemis as one female type for this city has a faint echo down through the ages. The ancient Greek name of the polis has vanished from history, but its current appellation derives from Turko-Uzbek and means “Lady Moon”. Local legends offer several explanations and identify various important women as the eponymous hero of the site. For example, local village women still bring votive offerings to a “Lady Moon”, protector of mothers and infants. Another “Lady Moon” was associated with irrigation canals and yet another with control over the rivers that flowed by the walls of the city. Such “modern” folktales reverberate with ancient echoes of Artemis/Anahita, goddess of the moon, mistress of the fertilizing waters, and guardian of women in childbirth.’n.igma
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BOEOTIA. Thebes. AR Stater.Circa 425-400 B.C. AR Stater (12.08gm, 20mm, 5h). BCD Boiotia-388; Head Pg. 36-classy, pl. III#8; SNG Cop. 286. Obverse: Boeotian shield with club across lower half. Reverse: Volute amphora with fluted shoulders, Θ-E across fields, all within incuse square. Well struck on a very good metal. Struck in high relief. Scarce variety. Choice aEF.
Ex Pars Coins
The coins of Boeotia prominently feature the Boeotian shield on its obverse. This particular coin we have from the city-state of Thebes was minted between 425-400 B.C. during the Peloponnesian War. Thebes, at that time, alongside the rest of the 10 Boeotian poleis, sided with the Peloponnesian League under the hegemony of Sparta against the Athenian Empire. The Boeotian Confederation instituted a form of federal coinage based on the Aeginetic standard. A particular period of Theban coinage reached its numismatic artistic merit at around the same period that this coin was minted (425-400 B.C). Although the obverse always shows the shield, the reverse features the head of Dionysos, Herakles or a volute amphora. The amphora eventually became more popular after 400 B.C on the reverse of most Boeotian coin. Early staters showing the amphora on the reverse could be identified by a rounder vase and the city ethnic in the field and all are contained within a square incuse. Later coinage features the same amphora on the reverse and generally includes various magistrates name and less of the city’s ethnic and all are within a round incuse. The obverse also has a more distinct rounder shield on later coinage. At this later date in the mid- 4th century B.C. Thebes was the leading power in Greece and almost united all the Greek city states, freed Messene from Sparta and subdued the latter. Ironically, this paved the way for Macedonian conquest of Greece and in the process, destroyed Thebes and sold its population into slavery by Alexander the Great in 335 B.C.
Jason T
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