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CLAUDIUS I - As - 42/54 AD - Mint of Rome
Obv.: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P
Bare head left
Rev.: CONSTANTIAE AVGVSTI S C
Constantia, helmeted and in military dress, standing left, holding long spear in left hand.
Cohen 14, Sear RCV 1858
g. 10 mm. 29,9Maxentius
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Denarius - 63 B.C. - L. Cassius Longinus. Gens Cassia
Obv.: Draped and veiled bust of Vesta left; kylix behind, S before
Rev.: Togate male standing facing, dropping tablet into a cista; LONGIN. III. V behind.
g. 3,85 mm. 18
Crawford 413/1; Sear RCV 364, Syd 935.
Maxentius
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Tetricus I, Mint II, reverse FIDES MILITVM
IMP C P ESV TETRIC[VS AVG], Radiate, cuirassed bust right
FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing left with two standardsAdrianus
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ANT AVG III VIR R P C
Galley right, mast with banners at prow
LEG XV
legionary eagle between two standards
Patrae mint
32-31BC
Patrae mint
3.16g
32-31BC
The XV is there, much easier to see in hand.
Founded by Julius Caesar in 54 BC
Known also as the XV Apollinaris meaning "belonging to the god Apollo"Jay GT4
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Georgia Georgia and Armenia as part of the Iranian state
Husayn, 1105-1135 H./1694-1722 AD Abbasi of oblong shape 1129 H., Tiflîs, mint and date in central cartouche. Album 2677 Quant.Geek
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Parthian Kingdom. Vologases IV . A.D. 147-191. Æ 18 Dichalkon (17.89 mm, 3.53 g, 12 h). struck A.D. 154. Bust of Volgases IV facing with long, tapered beard, end cut square; wearing tiara with hooks on crest, horn on side and long, curved earflaps; to right, Seleucid date (= SE 466 = A.D. 154) / Nike seated left on column; palm in left field. Sellwood ICP 84.142; Shore --. VF, tan patina with greenish encrustation in recesses, edge split. Quant.Geek
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EDWARD IV
Edward IV was King of England from March 1461 to October 1470, and again from April 1471 until his sudden death in 1483. He was the first Yorkist King of England. The first half of his rule was marred by the violence associated with the Wars of the Roses, but he overcame the Lancastrian challenge to the throne at Tewkesbury in 1471 and there were no further rebellions in England during the rest of his reign.
In 1475, Edward declared war on France, landing at Calais in June. However, his ally Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, failed to provide any significant military assistance leading Edward to undertake negotiations with the French, with whom he came to terms under the Treaty of Picquigny. France provided him with an immediate payment of 75,000 crowns and a yearly pension of 50,000 crowns, thus allowing him to "recoup his finances". Edward also backed an attempt by Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany and brother of King James III of Scotland, to take the Scottish throne in 1482. Edward's younger brother, the Duke of Gloucester (and future King Richard III) led an invasion of Scotland that resulted in the capture of Edinburgh and the Scottish king himself. Alexander Stewart, however, reneged on his agreement with Edward. The Duke of Gloucester then withdrew from his position in Edinburgh, though he did retain Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Edward became subject to an increasing number of ailments when his health began to fail and he fell fatally ill at Easter in 1483. He survived long enough though to add some codicils to his will, the most important being to name his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester as Protector after his death. He died on 9th April 1483 and was buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. He was succeeded first by his twelve-year-old son Edward V of England, who was never crowned, and then by his brother who reigned as Richard III.
It is not known what actually caused Edward's death. Pneumonia, typhoid and poison have all been conjectured, but some have attributed his death to an unhealthy lifestyle because he had become stout and inactive in the years before his death.*Alex
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JAMES IV OF SCOTLAND
James IV was the King of Scotland from June 1488 until his death in battle at the age of 40 on the 9th September, 1513.
James IV's mother, Margaret of Denmark, was more popular than his father, James III, and though somewhat estranged from her husband she raised their sons at Stirling Castle until she died in 1486. Two years later, a rebellion broke out, where the rebels set up the 15-year-old Prince James as their nominal leader. The rebels fought James III at the Battle of Sauchieburn where, on 11th June 1488, the king was killed. Prince James assumed the throne as James IV and was crowned at Scone on 24th of June. However he continued to bear an intense guilt for the indirect role which he had played in the death of his father.
James maintained Scotland's traditional good relations with France, and this occasionally created diplomatic problems with England, but James recognised nonetheless that peace between Scotland and England was in the interest of both countries, and established good diplomatic relations with England as well. First he ratified the Treaty of Ayton in 1497, then, in 1502 James signed the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Henry VII which was sealed by his marriage to Henry's daughter Margaret Tudor the next year. Anglo-Scottish relations generally remained stable until the death of Henry VII in 1509.
James saw the importance of building a fleet that could provide Scotland with a strong maritime presence, he founded two new dockyards and acquired a total of 38 ships for the Royal Scots Navy. These including the "Great Michael" which, built at great expense, was launched in 1511 and was at that time the largest ship in the world.
When war broke out between England and France, James found himself in a difficult position as an ally by treaty to both countries. But relations with England had worsened since the accession of Henry VIII, and when Henry invaded France, James reacted by declaring war on England.
James sent the Scottish navy, including the "Great Michael", to join the ships of Louis XII of France and, hoping to take advantage of Henry's absence at the siege of Thérouanne, he himself led an invading army southward into Northumberland. However, on 9th September 1513 at the disastrous Battle of Flodden James IV was killed, he was the last monarch in Great Britain to be killed in battle. His death, along with many of his nobles including his son the archbishop of St Andrews, was one of the worst military defeats in Scotland's history and the loss of such a large portion of the political community was a major blow to the realm. James IV's corpse was identified after the battle and taken to Berwick, where it was embalmed and placed in a lead coffin before being transported to London. Catherine of Aragon, wife of Henry VIII, sent the dead king's slashed, blood-stained surcoat to Henry, who was fighting in France, with the recommendation that he use it as a war banner.
James IV's son, James V, was crowned three weeks after the disaster at Flodden, but he was not yet two years old, and his minority was to be fraught with political upheaval.*Alex
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HENRY VII
Henry VII was the King of England from 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of the Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. Henry's father, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, a half-brother of Henry VI of England, died three months before his son Henry was born. During Henry's early years, his uncle Henry VI fought against Edward IV, a member of the Yorkist Plantagenet branch. After Edward re-took the throne in 1471, Henry Tudor spent 14 years in exile in Brittany. Henry attained the throne when his forces, supported by France and Scotland, defeated Edward IV's brother Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses. He cemented his claim to the throne by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV. Henry VII was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle.
Henry was successful in restoring power and stability to the English monarchy following the civil war and he is credited with a number of administrative, economic and diplomatic initiatives. His support of England's wool industry had long-lasting benefit to the whole English economy. He paid very close attention to detail, and instead of spending lavishly he concentrated on raising new revenues. Henry's new taxes stabilised the government's finances but, after his death, a commission found there had been widespread abuses in the tax collection process.
Henry VII reigned for nearly 24 years. He died of tuberculosis at Richmond Palace on 21 April 1509 and was buried in the chapel he commissioned in Westminster Abbey next to his wife, Elizabeth. His mother survived him, but she died two months later on 29 June 1509.
Henry VII was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII.*Alex
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HENRY VI
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of nine months when his father died.
This was during the period of the long-running Hundred Years' War (1337 - 1453) and Henry is the only English monarch to also have been crowned King of France (as Henri II), in 1431. During his early reign several people were ruling for him and by the time Henry was declared fit to rule in 1437 he found his realm in a difficult position, faced with setbacks in France and divisions among the nobility at home. Henry is described as timid, shy, passive, well intentioned, and averse to warfare and violence; he was also at times mentally unstable. Partially in the hope of achieving peace, Henry married the ambitious and strong-willed Margaret of Anjou in 1445. The peace policy failed and the war recommenced with France taking the upper hand such that by 1453 Calais was Henry's only remaining territory on the continent.
With Henry effectively unfit to rule, Queen Margaret took advantage of the situation to make herself an effective power behind the throne. Starting around 1453 Henry began suffering a series of mental breakdowns and tensions mounted between Margaret and Richard of York, not only over control of the incapacitated king's government, but over the question of succession to the throne. Civil war broke out in 1459, leading to a long period of dynastic conflict, now known as the Wars of the Roses. Henry was deposed on 29th March 1461 after a crushing defeat at the Battle of Towton by Richard of York's son, who took the throne as Edward IV. Margaret continuing to resist Edward, but Henry was captured by Edward's forces in 1465 and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Queen Margaret, who was first exiled in Scotland and then in France, was still determined to win back the throne on behalf of her husband and son. So, when Edward IV fell out with two of his main supporters, Richard Neville the Earl of Warwick and George the Duke of Clarence, Margaret formed a secret alliance with them backed by Louis XI of France. Warwick returned with an army to England, forced Edward IV into exile, and restored Henry VI to the throne on 30th October 1470, though Henry's position was nominal as Warwick and Clarence effectively ruled in his name.
But Henry's return to the throne lasted less than six months. Warwick overreached himself by declaring war on Burgundy, whose ruler responded by giving Edward IV the assistance he needed to win back his throne by force. Edward retook power in 1471, killing Warwick at the Battle of Barnet and Henry's only son at the Battle of Tewkesbury. Henry was again imprisoned in the Tower where, during the night of 21st May he died, possibly killed on Edward's orders.*Alex
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CARDINAL WOLSEY
When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509 he appointed Thomas Wolsey to the post of Almoner, a position that gave him a seat on the Privy Council and an opportunity for establishing a personal rapport with the King to such an extent that by 1514 Wolsey had become the controlling figure in virtually all matters of state. In 1515, he was awarded the title Archbishop of York and this, followed by his appointment that same year as Cardinal by Pope Leo X, gave him precedence over all other English clerics. His ecclesiastical power advanced even further in 1523 when the Bishop of Durham, a post with wide political powers, was added to his titles.
After Wolsey attained the position of Lord Chancellor, the King's chief adviser, he had achieved more power than any other Crown servant in English history and during his fourteen years of chancellorship Wolsey, who was often alluded to as an alter rex (other king), used his power to neutralise the influence of anyone who might threaten his position..
In spite of having made many enemies, Cardinal Wolsey retained Henry VIII's confidence until, in 1527, the King decided to seek an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. Henry asked Wolsey to negotiate the annulment with the Pope and in 1528 the Pope decided to allow two papal legates, Wolsey himself and Cardinal Campeggio, to decide the outcome in England. Wolsey was confident of the outcome, but Campeggio took a long time to arrive, and then he delayed proceedings so much, that the case had to be suspended and the Pope decided that the official decision should therefore be made in Rome and not in England.
After his failure to negotiate the annulment, Wolsey fell out of favour with Henry and in 1529 he was stripped of his government office and property, including the magnificent Palace of Hampton Court, which Henry took as his own main London residence.
Wolsey was however permitted to retain the title of Archbishop of York and so he travelled to Yorkshire, for the first time in his career, to carry out those duties.
Now that he was no longer protected by Henry, Wolsey's enemies, including it is rumoured, Ann Boleyn, conspired against him and Henry had him arrested and recalled to London to answer to charges of treason, one of those being that with 'pompous and preposterous mind, he had enterprised to join and imprint the Cardinal's hat under the King's arms on the King's coin of groats made in the city of York'. But Wolsey, now in great distress, fell ill on the journey back to the capital and at Leicester, on 29 November 1530, aged about 57, he died from natural causes before he could be beheaded.*Alex
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MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
Mary I is one of the most well known, romantic and tragic figures in Scottish history. She was the only surviving child of King James V of Scotland and became queen on the death of her father when she was only six or seven days old. Mary was brought up in the Catholic faith and educated in France along with the French royal children, while Scotland was ruled in her name by regents, principally the Earl of Arran. In 1558 Mary married the French Dauphin, Francis, and following his accession in 1559 she became Queen consort of France and he King consort of Scotland. However, when Francis died in 1560 Mary was devastated and in 1561 she returned to Scotland. Four years later, in 1565, she married her half-cousin, Lord Darnley and the following year she bore him a son, who would later become James I of England. When in 1567, Darnley's house in Edinburgh was destroyed by an explosion and he was found murdered in the grounds, suspicion implicated Mary and her favourite, the Earl of Bothwell. When later that same year Mary married Bothwell those suspicions were not allayed, and following an uprising against her, she was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle and forced to abdicate in favour of her one year old son. After an unsuccessful attempt to regain her throne and defeat at the battle of Langside in 1568, Mary fled south to England, only to be imprisoned by Elizabeth I who perceived her as a threat to the throne of England. For over eighteen years Elizabeth had Mary confined in various castles and manor houses throughout England until, in 1587, after being accused of numerous intrigues and plots against Elizabeth, Mary was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle.*Alex
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JAMES V OF SCOTLAND
James V was King of Scotland from 9th September 1513 until his death in 1542, following the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss.
James was the third son of King James IV of Scotland and his wife Margaret Tudor, a daughter of Henry VII of England and sister of Henry VIII. He became king at just seventeen months old when his father was killed at the Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513.
James was crowned at Stirling Castle on 21st September 1513, but during his childhood the country was ruled by regents. In 1517, James moved from Stirling to Holyrood in Edinburgh and in the autumn of 1524, at the age of 12, he dismissed his regents and was proclaimed an adult ruler by his mother. But in 1525 Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, the young king's stepfather, took custody of James, exercising power on his behalf and it wasn't until 1528 that James finally assumed the reins of government himself.
The death of James' mother in 1541 removed any incentive for peace with England, and war soon broke out between the two countries. Initially, in August 1542, the Scots won a victory at the Battle of Haddon Rig. A conciliatory meeting between James V and Henry VIII in England was proposed, but not until after James' wife, Mary of Guise, had given birth to her child which was due a few months away. Henry would not accept this condition and mobilised his army against Scotland.
On 31st October 1542 James was with his army at Lauder but, although his plans were to invade England, he returned to Edinburgh, on the way writing a letter to his wife mentioning that he had had three days of illness. The next month James' army suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss and James fell ill shortly afterwards. Some accounts state this was brought on by the Scottish defeat, but other historians consider that it was probably just an ordinary fever. Whatever the cause of his illness, James was on his deathbed when his child, a girl, was born.
James died on the 14th of December at Falkland Palace and was succeeded by his infant daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, who was just six days old. He was buried at Holyrood Abbey in January 1543 alongside his two sons and his first wife Madeleine. However his tomb was destroyed soon after, in 1544, by the English during the burning of Edinburgh.*Alex
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SATRAPS OF CARIA. Pixodaros, circa 341/0-336/5 BC. Didrachm (Silver, 19 mm, 6.93 g, 12 h), Halikarnassos. Laureate head of Apollo facing slightly to right with drapery below. Rev. ΠIΞΩΔAΡOΥ Zeus Labraundos standing right, holding long scepter in his left hand and double-axe in his right. SNG Copenhagen 596-7. SNG von Aulock 2375-6. Pixodarus Hoard, CH IX, pl. 35, 44a (this coin);
ex Bourgey, 14 May 1914, 87 (pictured); ex Kurpfälzische Münzhandlung, Auction 21, 1981, 80; ex NFA, Auction 9, 1980, 268; ex Leu, Web Auction 12, 2020, 443paul1888
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Sicily, Syracuse, Agathocles (317-289 BC), Silver Tetradrachm, struck c.310-305 BC.
Obv/ Head of nymph Arethusa facing left, her hair wreathed with grain, wearing a triple-pendant earring and a pearl necklace, three dolphins swimming around, NK below neck.
Rev/ ΣYPAKOΣIΩN (in exergue); charioteer, wearing a long chiton and holding a kentron (goad) in his right hand and the reins on his left, driving a fast quadriga left, triskeles above, AI monogram in exergue off flan.paul1888
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Roman Republic: L. Cassius Longinus; 3.86g. Veiled vesta bust left, in front L, behind it stands Kylix//Togatus left. and throws the voting stone with V into the urn.
Bab. 10; BMC 3931; Crawf. 413/1; Syd. 935
Ex: Auktion Áureo & Calicó 314, Barcelona 2018, Nr. 2034paul1888
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JUSTINIAN I, AU Solidus, struck 545 - 565 at ConstantinopleObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Cuirassed facing bust of Justinian I wearing plumed helmet and diadem from which two pearls depend on either side. Holding globus cruciger in his right hand and shield, adorned with rider galloping right, in his left.
Reverse: VICTORIA AVGGG A. Victory in the guise of an Angel standing facing holding long staff topped with staurogram in right hand and globus cruciger in left, eight pointed star in right field; in exergue CONOB. (The letter after AVGGG in the legend indicates the number of the officina, the A indicating the first officina on this coin).
Slightly clipped
Diameter: 20mm | Weight: 4.08gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 140 | DOC: 9a
*Alex
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HADRIAN. AR (Billon) Tetradrachm struck AD 136 - 137 at AlexandriaObverse: AVT KAIC TPA AΔPIANOC CEB. Laureate head of Hadrian facing left.
Reverse: No legend. Demeter, wearing long chiton, standing facing left, holding poppies and grain ears in her right hand and long torch in her left. In field, L K A (= regnal year 21 = A.D.136-137).
Diameter: 24mm | Weight: 12.1gms | Die Axis: 12
Milne : 1518 | Emmett : 832 (var) | Dattari : 1336 | Geissen : 1210
RARE*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AR Anonymous Third-Siliqua, struck after 530 at ConstantinopleObverse: No legend. Helmeted and draped bust of Roma, seen from front, facing right.
Reverse: Large P (Rho) within pelleted circle.
Diameter: 10mm | Weight: 0.63gms | Die Axis: 2
Cf. Bendall, Anonymous, 7,15.
Not in SBCV or DOC
Very Rare
Bendall observed that the issue which he designated as Type 7 could hardly be an issue of 330 as it is stylistically quite unlike his Type 2 issue, but it is far superior to Type 9 (and with a different reverse). Thus he thought it might possibly have been a rare commemorative issue which, along with Type 8a, was struck for the centennial of the foundation of Constantinople in c.430. However, the style and lower weight of this particular coin suggests it was probably struck at a later date than 430. This could be in accordance with the similar example of Bendall's type 8, which he breaks into two subtypes, 8a and 8b, struck circa 430 and 530, respectively. It is possible that this coin may represent a hitherto unrecorded reissue of Bendall's type 7, struck around the same time as the revival of his type 8, arguably to celebrate Justinian’s re-conquest of Rome from Ostrogothic occupation in December 536. The rarity of this enigmatic coin would seem to suggest that this issue was likely struck on only one occasion, possibly in late 536 to 537.
*Alex
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Time of Alexander I, AR Hemiobol, struck 470 - 460 BC at Argilos in MacedoniaObverse: No legend. Forepart of Pegasos facing left.
Reverse: No legend. Quadripartite granulated incuse square.
Diameter: 8.78mm | Weight: 0.20gms | Die Axis: Uncertain
Liampi 118 | SNG - | GCV -
Rare
Argilos was a city of ancient Macedonia founded by a colony of Greeks from Andros. Although little information is known about the city until about 480 BC, the literary tradition dates the foundation to around 655/654 BC which makes Argilos the earliest Greek colony on the Thracian coast. It appears from Herodotus to have been a little to the right of the route the army of Xerxes I took during its invasion of Greece in 480 BC in the Greco-Persian Wars. Its territory must have extended as far as the right bank of the Strymona, since the mountain of Kerdylion belonged to the city.
Argilos benefited from the trading activities along the Strymona and probably also from the gold mines of the Pangeion. Ancient authors rarely mention the site, but nevertheless shed some light on the important periods of its history. In the last quarter of the 6th century BC, Argilos founded two colonies, Tragilos, in the Thracian heartland, and Kerdilion, a few kilometers to the east of the city.
Alexander I was the ruler of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from c.498 BC until his death in 454 BC. Alexander came to the throne during the era of the kingdom's vassalage to Persia, dating back to the time of his father, Amyntas I. Although Macedonia retained a broad scope of autonomy, in 492 BC it was made a fully subordinate part of the Persian Empire. Alexander I acted as a representative of the Persian governor Mardonius during peace negotiations after the Persian defeat at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. From the time of Mardonius' conquest of Macedonia, Herodotus disparagingly refers to Alexander I as “hyparchos”, meaning viceroy. However, despite his cooperation with Persia, Alexander frequently gave supplies and advice to the Greek city states, and warned them of the Persian plans before the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. After their defeat at Plataea, when the Persian army under the command of Artabazus tried to retreat all the way back to Asia Minor, most of the 43,000 survivors of the battle were attacked and killed by the forces of Alexander at the estuary of the Strymona river.
Alexander regained Macedonian independence after the end of the Persian Wars and was given the title "philhellene" by the Athenians, a title used for Greek patriots.
After the Persian defeat, Argilos became a member of the first Athenian confederation but the foundation of Amphipolis in 437 BC, which took control of the trade along the Strymona, brought an end to this. Thucydides tells us that some Argilians took part in this foundation but that the relations between the two cities quickly deteriorated and, during the Peloponnesian war, the Argilians joined with the Spartan general Brasidas to attack Amphipolis. An inscription from the temple of Asklepios in Epidauros attests that Argilos was an independent city during the 4th century.
Like other colonies in the area, Argilos was conquered by the Macedonian king Philip II in 357 B.C. Historians believe that the city was then abandoned and, though excavations have brought to light an important agricultural settlement on the acropolis dated to the years 350-200 BC, no Roman or Byzantine ruins have been uncovered there.*Alex
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2nd - 1st Century BC, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribe: Durotriges, Base AR Stater, Struck c.40 BCObverse: No legend. Abstract head of Apollo made up of pellets and lines.
Reverse: No legend. Crude disjointed horse with three tails standing facing left, large group of pellets and “coffee bean” symbol above, single pellet below.
One of a small group of coins found west of Cheriton, south east of Winchester.
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 2.89gms | Axis: Unclear
Spink: 366
THE DUROTRIGES
The Durotriges were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain prior to the Roman invasion. They were one of the groups that issued coinage before the Roman conquest. Their coins were abstract and simple and had no inscriptions, so no names of any issuers or rulers are known. Nevertheless, the Durotriges presented a settled society, based in the farming of lands surrounded by hill forts, the majority of which seem to have gone out of use by 100 BC, long before the arrival of the Romans in 43 or 44 AD. Constructed initially around 600 BC, the Durotriges ultimately occupied the largest hill fort in Britain, Maiden Castle, which encloses some 19 hectares (47 acres). Around 100 BC though, for some reason habitation at the hill fort went into decline and became concentrated at the eastern end of the site. Maiden Castle appears to have been abandoned after the Roman conquest of Britain although the Romans later built a small temple on the site.
The tribe lived in an area centred on Dorset, south Wiltshire, south Somerset and Devon east of the River Axe. Their territory was bordered to the west by the Dumnonii; and to the north east by the Belgae. The area controlled by the Durotriges is identified in part by coin finds, few Durotrigan coins are found in the south eastern tribal areas, so it would appear unlikely that they were acceptable there. A recent coin hoard found on the Isle of Wight, however, would seem to indicate that the Durotriges might have had some influence at least over the western half of the island.
The Durotriges' main outlet for trade across the Channel, strong in the first half of the 1st century BC before drying up in the decades prior to the arrival of the Romans, was at Hengistbury Head. The numismatic evidence indicates a progressive debasing of the coinage suggesting economic difficulties in conjunction with their declining trade.
CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
 *Alex
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1st Century BC - 1st Century CE, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribe: Catuvellauni, AE Unit, Struck c.25BC – 10CE at Verlamion (St. Albans) under TasciovanusObverse: Bearded head facing right; VER anti-clockwise in front.
Reverse: Horse with sea horse tail facing left; pellet in ring, and trefoil motif above; VER below.
Diameter: 15.2mm | Weight: 1.97gms | Axis: 3h
SPINK: 243 | BMC 1714-21 | ABC 2658
RARE
CATUVELLAUNI
The Catuvellauni were an Iron Age Celtic tribe in Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. They are mentioned by Cassius Dio, who implies that they led the resistance against the conquest in 43CE. They appear as one of the “Civitates” of Roman Britain in Ptolemy's “Geography” in the 2nd century, occupying the town of Verlamion (Roman Verulamium, modern St.Albans) and the surrounding areas of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and southern Cambridgeshire. Their territory was bordered to the north by the Iceni and Corieltauvi, to the east by the Trinovantes, to the west by the Dobunni and to the south by the Atrebates, Regni and Cantii.
TASCIOVANUS
Tasciovanus appears to have become king of the Catuvellauni around 20 BC, before the Roman conquest of Britain. Ruling from Verlamion (St.Albans), for a brief period around 15–10 BC, he issued coins from Camulodunum (Colchester), apparently supplanting Addedomarus of the Trinovantes, but it appears that following the arrival of Augustus in Gaul he withdrew and again issued his coins from Verlamion.
Tasciovanus was the first Catuvellaunian king to issue inscribed coins, bearing “VER”, mint marks for Verlamion. He was also the first to renew hostilities towards the Trinovantes, flouting the long-standing agreement between Caesar and his own grandfather Cassivellaunus.
Tasciovanus died around AD 9 and was succeeded by his son Cunobelinus, who ruled primarily from Camulodunum.
CLICK ON MAP BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
*Alex
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1st Century BC - 1st Century CE, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribe: Trinovantes, AE Unit, Struck c.10 BC – 10 CE in Camulodunum(?) in Essex under DubnovellaunusObverse: Head facing right, hair(?) lines on head divided by clear centre parting.
Reverse: Horse prancing left; complex pellets and circles above and below.
Diameter: 13.5mm | Weight: 1.61gms | Axis: 3h
SPINK: -- | BMC -- | ABC 2413
VERY RARE
Very rare uninscribed bronze unit of Dubnovellaunus found in Essex. The type is designated as a “Dubnovellaunus Centre Parting” bronze unit in ABC (Ancient British Coins), and to date (January, 2023) it is unlisted in any other major reference works.
DUBNOVELLAUNUS
It is generally thought that Dubnovellaunus succeeded his father Addedomarus as king of the Trinovantes somewhere around 10-5 BC and ruled for several years before being supplanted by Cunobelinus of the Catuvellauni.
In the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, a British king called Dumnovellaunus appears, alongside Tincomarus of the Atrebates, as a supplicant to Augustus in around AD 7 and, given the chronology, it is indeed possible that Dubnovellaunus of the Trinovantes is the same person as the Dumnovellaunus who presented himself to Augustus. The spelling variation is due to a Celtic, rather than a Latin, interpretation of the ruler's name.
It is worth mentioning that the authors of ABC (Ancient British Coins) also think that Dubnovellaunus of the Trinovantes could possibly be the same individual as the Dumnovellaunus who ruled in Kent in the 30s - 20s BC, they suggest that he could have been a Cantian king who later gained control over the southern part of the Trinovantes and that therefore he might have ruled both territories north and south of the Thames estuary for a few years. It should be noted however, that Van Arsdell, an authority on the Celtic Coinage of Britain, emphatically disputes this.
TRINOVANTES
The Trinovantes were one of the Iron Age Celtic tribes of Pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in the present day counties of Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk, and also included lands now located in Greater London. They were bordered to the north by the Iceni, and to the west by the Catuvellauni. Their capital was Camulodunum (modern Colchester).
Shortly before Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, the Trinovantes were considered the most powerful tribe in Britain. At this time their capital was probably at Braughing (in modern-day Hertfordshire). In some copies of Caesar's Gallic War their king is referred to as Imanuentius, although no name is given in other copies which have come down to us. That said however, it seems that this king was overthrown by Cassivellaunus, king of the Catuvellauni, some time before Caesar's second expedition and that Imanuentius' son, Mandubracius, fled to the protection of Caesar in Gaul. During his second expedition Caesar defeated Cassivellaunus and restored Mandubracius to the kingship. Cassivellaunus agreed to pay tribute and also undertook not to attack him again.
The next identifiable king of the Trinovantes, known from numismatic evidence, was Addedomarus, who took power around 20 – 15 BCE, and moved the tribe's capital to Camulodunum. For a brief period, around 10 BCE, Tasciovanus of the Catuvellauni issued coins from Camulodunum, suggesting that he must have conquered the Trinovantes, but he was soon forced to withdraw, perhaps as a result of pressure from the Romans. Addedomarus was restored and Tasciovanus' later coins no longer bear the mark “REX”. Addedomarus was briefly succeeded by his son Dubnovellaunus, around 10 to 5 BCE, but a few years later the tribe was conquered by either Tasciovanus or his son Cunobelinus.
The Trinovantes do not appear in history again until their participation in Boudica's revolt against the Romans in 60 CE. After that though they seem to have embraced the Romanisation of Britain and their name was later given to one of the “civitates” of Roman Britain, whose chief town was Caesaromagus (modern Chelmsford in Essex).
CLICK ON MAP BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AE Follis (40 Nummi), struck 529 - 533 at Antioch (Theoupolis)Obverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Justinian enthroned facing, holding long sceptre in his right hand and globus cruciger in his left.
Reverse: Large M, cross above and officina letter (Δ = 4th Officina) below, asterisk in field to left of M and outward facing crescent in field to right; in exergue, +THEUP
Diameter: 34mm | Weight: 18.69gms | Die Axis: 5
SBCV: 214 | DOC: 206d.1
Much of Antioch was destroyed by a great earthquake on 29th November 528 and, following this disaster, the city was renamed Theoupolis.
530: In the spring of this year Belisarius and Hermogenes (magister officiorum) defeated a combined Persian-Arab army of 50,000 men at the Battle of Dara in modern Turkey, and in the summer a Byzantine cavalry force under the command of Sittas defeated a major Persian invasion into Roman Armenia at the Battle of Satala.
531: On April 19th, at the Battle of Callinicum, a Byzantine army commanded by Belisarius, was defeated by the Persians at Raqqa in northern Syria. Nevertheless, Justinian negotiated an end to the hostilities and Belisarius was hailed as a hero.
532: On January 11th this year anger among the supporters of the most important chariot teams in Constantinople, the Blues and the Greens, escalated into violence towards the emperor. For the next five days the city was in chaos and the fires that started during the rioting resulted in the destruction of much of the city. This insurrection, known as the Nika riots, was put down a week later by Belisarius and Mundus resulting in 30,000 people being killed in the Hippodrome.
On February 23rd Justinian ordered the building of a new Christian basilica in Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia. More than 10,000 people were employed in the construction using material brought from all over the empire.
*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AE Half-Follis (20 Nummi), struck 529 – 533 at Antioch (Theoupolis)Obverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Justinian I enthroned facing, holding long sceptre in his right hand and globus cruciger in his left.
Reverse: Large K, Large latin cross to left dividing letters T–H/Є–U/O/P; officina letter to right of K (Δ = fourth officina).
Diameter: 28mm | Weight: 8.4gms | Die Axis: 11
SBCV: 225 | DOC: 208.6
Rare
Much of Antioch was destroyed by a great earthquake on 29th November 528 and, following this disaster, the city was renamed Theoupolis.
530: In the spring of this year Belisarius and Hermogenes (magister officiorum) defeated a combined Persian-Arab army of 50,000 men at the Battle of Dara in modern Turkey, and in the summer a Byzantine cavalry force under the command of Sittas defeated a major Persian invasion into Roman Armenia at the Battle of Satala.
531: On April 19th, at the Battle of Callinicum, a Byzantine army commanded by Belisarius, was defeated by the Persians at Raqqa in northern Syria. Nevertheless, Justinian negotiated an end to the hostilities and Belisarius was hailed as a hero.
532: On January 11th this year anger among the supporters of the most important chariot teams in Constantinople, the Blues and the Greens, escalated into violence towards the emperor. For the next five days the city was in chaos and the fires that started during the rioting resulted in the destruction of much of the city. This insurrection, known as the Nika riots, was put down a week later by Belisarius and Mundus resulting in 30,000 people being killed in the Hippodrome.
On February 23rd Justinian ordered the building of a new Christian basilica in Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia. More than 10,000 people were employed in the construction using material brought from all over the empire.
*Alex
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3 Tiberius DenariusTIBERIUS
AR Denarius (3.5 g)
Lugdunum mint, struck 18-35 AD
TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS - Laureate head right / PONTIF MAXIM; Livia, as Pax, seated r., holding olive branch & long scepter; ornate chair legs
RIC 30; BMCRE 48; RSC 16a.
Cleaning scratches. Discussed and authenticated on FORVM ancient coins board
RI0051Sosius
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41 - 54, Claudius I, AE Dupondius, Irregular (barbarous) issue struck after 43AD in BritanniaObverse: Blundered legend. Bare head of Claudius I facing left.
Reverse: Blundered legend. Ceres, veiled, seated facing left, holding grain ears and long torch.
Diameter: 26mm | Weight: 9.5gms | Die Axis: 11h
SPINK: 745
Green Patina. Scarce. Found near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, UK
These irregular coins are associated with the Claudian invasion of Britain in 43AD. It appears likely that the authorities allowed them to be struck to augment the scanty supply of bronze from the central mint of Rome and the evidence available from museums and recorded in numismatic literature would seem to bear this out.
Although it is difficult to work out the proportion that these copies bear to the official issues on a national scale, it is quite evident that it is of a considerable size, about 20% on an average over the whole area in which Claudian coins are found, and in some localities well over 50%. When you consider that the actual area over which these coins are found exactly covers the areas of the first conquests, and there are no credible reasons for supposing them to be Gallic importations, the likelihood is that they were struck in Britain itself. Those barbarous examples found beyond the Fosse Way bear witness to the spread of the new coinage, and also to its continuance during the subsequent years of conquest..
The actual types found are equally strong evidence for the connection of these copies with the Claudian legions. Copies of Sestertii are rare, Dupondii less so, but the majority, about 70% of the Claudian copies found in England, are Asses.
Irregular issues of all the foregoing types are found in varying stages of degradation, ranging from coins which show all the detail, and much of the excellence of the official prototypes, down to rough unskilful productions of crude and barbarous style.
The majority of copies, particularly the good ones, have been found in or near the towns which were either administrative and/or military centres, such as Lincoln and Gloucester. This seems to indicate that the coining of irregular issues were, if not official, an acceptable method of supplementing the military funds to pay the troops during the conquest. The first generation copies, since they were intended for paying the soldiers, were fairly accurate in style and weight. In time though, once they had circulated through the tribal centres and the lands that lay between and behind the chief Roman military posts and been absorbed into currency, the copies would themselves be copied. These second-degree copies became proportionately less faithful to the originals and are extremely numerous at such tribal centres as Cirencester, Silchester, Winchester and Dorchester, which were civil, but not military, towns.*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AE Decanummium (10 Nummi), struck 550/551 at AntiochObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Helmeted and cuirassed facing bust of Justinian I, holding globus cruciger in his right hand and shield in his left; cross in right field.
Reverse: Large I surmounted by cross, A/N/N/O in field to left and regnal year X/X/IIII in field to right; in exergue, THU followed by • over Π with a slash through the last letter's right side.
Diameter: 24mm | Weight: 4.79gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 237 | DOC: 255 Class D | MIB: 158
Regarding the mintmark in the exergue, the letter Π with a slash through its right side and tiny o or • above is an abbreviation for "polis". The slash is like the English apostrophe denoting omission of letters, as in the word "can't". Therefore, together with the letters T (Tau) and H (Eta), the mint-mark reads as an abbreviation of "Theoupolis"
550
In January of this year the Ostrogoths under king Totila recaptured Rome after a long siege by bribing the Isaurian garrison. Then, in the summer, the Goths, under Totila, plundered Sicily after they had subdued Corsica and Sardinia, whilst the Gothic fleet also raided the coasts of Greece.
551
In this year Justinian I appointed Narses new supreme commander, who then returned to Italy. In Salona on the Adriatic coast, Narses assembled a Byzantine expeditionary force of around 20,000 to 30,000 men and a contingent of foreign allies which included Lombards, Herulii and Bulgars
When Narses arrived in Venetia he discovered that a powerful Gothic-Frank army of around 50,000 men, under the joint command of the kings Totila and Theudebald, had blocked the principal route to the Po Valley. Not wishing to engage such a formidable force and confident that the Franks would avoid a direct confrontation, Narses skirted the lagoons along the Adriatic shore, using vessels to convey his army from point to point along the coast and thereby arrived at the capital, Ravenna, without encountering any opposition. He then attacked and crushed a small Gothic force at Ariminum, modern Rimini.
In the Autumn of this year the Byzantine fleet of 50 warships destroyed the Gothic naval force under Indulf near Sena Gallica, some 17 miles (27 km) north of Ancona. The Battle of Sena Gallica marked the end of Gothic supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea.*Alex
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Philip III Arrhidaios, 323 - 317 BC. Bronze Tetartemorion (Dichalkon / Quarter Obol). Struck 323 - 315 BC under Nikokreon at Salamis, Cyprus.Obverse: No legend. Macedonian shield with Gorgoneion (Medusa) head as the boss in the centre. The shield boss is sometimes called the episema, the Greek name for a symbol of a particular city or clan which was placed in the centre of a soldier's shield.
Reverse: Macedonian helmet surmounted with a horse hair crest; B - A (for BAΣIΛEOΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY = King Alexander) above; mint marks below the helmet, to left, a kerykeion (caduceus) and to the right, the monogram NK (for Nikokreon).
Diameter: 14mm | Weight: 4.6gms | Die Axis: 1
Price: 3162 | Liampi, Chronologie 170-92
This coin is a Type 7 (Macedonian shield type) bronze Quarter-Obol (two chalkoi). Price dated the Macedonian Shield coins as beginning during the latter part of Alexander's life, c.325 BC, and ending c.310 BC. Liampi later argued, based on new hoard evidence, that they were minted as early as 334 BC. This particular coin is dated from c.323 to 315 BC during the reign of Philip III Arrhidaios.
Salamis was founded around 1100 BC by the inhabitants of Enkomi, a Late Bronze Age city on Cyprus, though in Homeric tradition, the city was established by Teucer, one of the Greek princes who fought in the Trojan War. After Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, of which Salamis was a part, Greek culture and art flourished in the city and, as well as being the seat of the governor of Cyprus, it was the island's most important port.
Nikokreon had succeeded Pnytagoras on the throne of Salamis and is reported to have paid homage to Alexander after the conqueror's return from Egypt to Tyre in 331 BC. After Alexander's death, his empire was split between his generals, Cyprus falling to Ptolomy I of Egypt. In 315 BC during the war between Antigonos and Ptolemy, Nikokreon supported the latter and was rewarded by being made governor of all Cyprus. However, in 311 BC Ptolemy forced Nikokreon to commit suicide because he no longer trusted him. Ptolemy's brother, King Menelaus, was made governor in Nikokreon's stead.
In 306 BC, Salamis was the scene of a naval battle between the fleets of Ptolemy and Demetrius I of Macedon. Demetrius won the battle and captured the island. *Alex
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(0010) ANTONIA(daughter of Mark Antony; mother of Claudius; grandmother of Caligula)
b. ca. 36 BC, d. 37 AD
AE ORICHALCUM DUPONDIUS 28.5 11.98 g
STRUCK BY CLAUDIUS, ca. 50 - 54 AD
O: ANTONIA AVGVSTA, bare-headed bust right, hair in long plait
R: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP (P P) S C, Claudius veiled and togate, standing left, holding simpulum
RIC 1 104 laney
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1 Gordian IIIGORDIAN III
AE 28/30, Hadrianopolis ,9.22g
O: ΑΥΤ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡ∆ΙΑΝΟC ΑΥ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, from behind
R: Α∆ΡΙΑΝΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ, Demeter standing left, grain-ears in extended right, long torch in left
Varbanov II 3771 ff., aVF, double struck on obverse and reverse
Sosius
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1 Gordian IIIGordian III
AE26mm of Markianopolis.
O: Laureate draped bust right
R: Demeter standing left with grain ears and long torch
Moushmov 761Sosius
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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 Hadrian DupondiusHADRIAN
AE Dupondius
HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS P P, radiate head right / HILARITAS PR S-C, COS III in ex, Hilaritas standing left holding long palm and cornucopia, small boy and girl to sides.
Cohen 820, RIC 974, Sear 3664
RI0091Sosius
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17 Antoninus PiusAntoninus Pius. A.D. 138-161. Æ sestertius (34.0 mm, 25.29 g, 11 h). Rome mint, Struck A.D. 145-161. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P COS IIII, laureate head right / FELICITAS AVG, SC, Felicitas standing left, holding capricorn and long caduceus. RIC 770; BMCRE 1677. aVF.
Ex 1030, sale 53, lot 106. Ex- Dave Surber Collection.
Ex Agora Auction 28, lot 87Sosius
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177 - 192, COMMODUS, AE Sestertius, Struck 185 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: M COMMODVS ANTON AVG PIVS BRIT, laureate head of Commodus facing right.
Reverse: P M TR P X IMP VII COS IIII P P. Draped figure of Victory, seated on pile of shields, facing right, holding a long stylus in her right hand and supporting a shield on her left knee with her left hand; S – C in field; VICT BRIT in exergue.
Diameter: 29.5mm | Weight: 20.12gms | Die Axis: 12h
RIC III: 452 | SRCV: 5826 | Cohen: 946 | BMCRE: 560 | SPINK: 648
SCARCE
This sestertius has a historically important reverse type which refers to Commodus' significant military campaign in Northern Britain.
COMMODUS
Between 180 AD and 184 AD, the Romans were once again at war with the northern tribes in Britain. According to Cassius Dio, “the tribes in that island, crossing the wall that separated them from the Roman legions, proceeded to do much mischief and cut down a general together with his troops”. Though Dio does not make it clear to us today which wall he was writing about, his Roman audience would have known. However, that said, since Southern Scotland was still occupied by the Romans at this time and the Maetae, one of the main tribes involved in the incursion, occupied a hill fort (called Myot Hill today) a few miles north of Antonine's Wall, the wall that seems to best fit his description of separating the tribes from the Roman legions would be the Antonine Wall rather than that of Hadrian. This was the most serious war of Commodus’ reign and when the war was won, Commodus minted coins to celebrate the victory. He also took on the title “Britannicus”, and all his coins after this date feature “Brit” in the legend.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE OF COMMODUS BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
 *Alex
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195 - 211, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AR Denarius, Struck 210 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT. Laureate head of Septimius Severus facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory standing right, holding palm branch in her right hand and placing uninscribed shield on palm tree with her left.
Diameter: 20mm | Weight: 2.83gms | Die Axis: 7h
RIC IV: 336 | RSC: 730 | SRCV: 6384 | SPINK: 651A
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the success of the Roman campaigns in Scotland during 209 and 210 culminating in the death of Severus at York, England, in February 211.
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa.
Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 (the Year of the Five Emperors).
After consolidating his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged a brief, successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacked their capital Ctesiphon, expanded the eastern frontier to the Tigris and enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, captured their capital Garama and expanded the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. In 198 he raised his elder son Caracalla to Augustus and in 209 did the same to his younger son, Geta.
In AD 209 Severus invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men, but he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210 and died at Eboracum (York, England) early in 211.
SEVERUS' CAMPAIGNS IN BRITAIN
In 208 Septimius Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia (Scotland). Modern archaeological discoveries have helped to throw some light on the scope and direction of this northern campaign.
Severus began by occupying the territory up to the Antonine Wall, this is evidenced by extensive Severan era fortifications and the likely reoccupation of some of the forts on that wall. Over the previous years Hadrian's Wall had fallen into disrepair and Severus strengthened and repaired much of it, he did this to such an extent that many early Antiquarians thought that he was the emperor who had actually built it. Severus constructed a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling the main body of his forces there. Severus then thrust north across the Antonine Wall into Caledonian territory, supported and supplied by a strong naval force. He retraced the steps of Agricola of over a century before, rebuilding many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, and he re-garrisoned the naval base at Carpow, likely built by Commodus in 185, and possibly the place named as "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis" in the Ravenna Cosmography.
By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.
According to Cassius Dio: “Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.”
The Caledonians had sued for peace, which Severus had granted on the condition that they relinquished control of the Central Lowlands of Scotland, but later that year (210), they, along with the Maeatae, revolted. Severus prepared for another campaign, now intent on exterminating the Caledonians. However the campaign was cut short when Severus fell ill and withdrew south to Eboracum (York) where he died on 4 February 211. Severus was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla continued campaigning in Caledonia during 212 but soon settled for peace, and shortly after that the frontier was withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.
On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and his remains were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome.
CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE THEM
 
*Alex
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195 - 211, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AR Denarius, Struck 210 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT. Laureate head of Septimius Severus facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory seated on shield facing left, holding another shield resting on her knee in her right hand and palm branch in her left.
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 2.35gms | Die Axis: 12h
RIC IV: 335 | RSC: 731 | SRCV: 6385 | SPINK: 651C
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the success of the Roman campaigns in Scotland during 209 and 210 culminating in the death of Severus at York, England, in February 211.
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa.
Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 (the Year of the Five Emperors).
After consolidating his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged a brief, successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacked their capital Ctesiphon, expanded the eastern frontier to the Tigris and enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, captured their capital Garama and expanded the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. In 198 he raised his elder son Caracalla to Augustus and in 209 did the same to his younger son, Geta.
In AD 209 Severus invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men, but he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210 and died at Eboracum (York, England) early in 211.
SEVERUS' CAMPAIGNS IN BRITAIN
In 208 Septimius Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia (Scotland). Modern archaeological discoveries have helped to throw some light on the scope and direction of this northern campaign.
Severus began by occupying the territory up to the Antonine Wall, this is evidenced by extensive Severan era fortifications and the likely reoccupation of some of the forts on that wall. Over the previous years Hadrian's Wall had fallen into disrepair and Severus strengthened and repaired much of it, he did this to such an extent that many early Antiquarians thought that he was the emperor who had actually built it. Severus constructed a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling the main body of his forces there. Severus then thrust north across the Antonine Wall into Caledonian territory, supported and supplied by a strong naval force. He retraced the steps of Agricola of over a century before, rebuilding many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, and he re-garrisoned the naval base at Carpow, likely built by Commodus in 185, and possibly the place named as "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis" in the Ravenna Cosmography.
By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.
According to Cassius Dio: “Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.”
The Caledonians had sued for peace, which Severus had granted on the condition that they relinquished control of the Central Lowlands of Scotland, but later that year (210), they, along with the Maeatae, revolted. Severus prepared for another campaign, now intent on exterminating the Caledonians. However the campaign was cut short when Severus fell ill and withdrew south to Eboracum (York) where he died on 4 February 211. Severus was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla continued campaigning in Caledonia during 212 but soon settled for peace, and shortly after that the frontier was withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.
On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and his remains were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome.
CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE THEM
*Alex
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195 - 211, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AR Denarius, Struck 210 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT. Laureate head of Septimius Severus facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory advancing right, holding wreath in her outstretched right hand and palm branch in her left.
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 3.5gms | Die Axis: 6h
RIC IV: 332 | RSC: 727 | SRCV: 6382 | SPINK: 650
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the success of the Roman campaigns in Scotland during 209 and 210 culminating in the death of Severus at York, England, in February 211.
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa.
Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 (the Year of the Five Emperors).
After consolidating his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged a brief, successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacked their capital Ctesiphon, expanded the eastern frontier to the Tigris and enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, captured their capital Garama and expanded the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. In 198 he raised his elder son Caracalla to Augustus and in 209 did the same to his younger son, Geta.
In AD 209 Severus invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men, but he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210 and died at Eboracum (York, England) early in 211.
SEVERUS' CAMPAIGNS IN BRITAIN
In 208 Septimius Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia (Scotland). Modern archaeological discoveries have helped to throw some light on the scope and direction of this northern campaign.
Severus began by occupying the territory up to the Antonine Wall, this is evidenced by extensive Severan era fortifications and the likely reoccupation of some of the forts on that wall. Over the previous years Hadrian's Wall had fallen into disrepair and Severus strengthened and repaired much of it, he did this to such an extent that many early Antiquarians thought that he was the emperor who had actually built it. Severus constructed a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling the main body of his forces there. Severus then thrust north across the Antonine Wall into Caledonian territory, supported and supplied by a strong naval force. He retraced the steps of Agricola of over a century before, rebuilding many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, and he re-garrisoned the naval base at Carpow, likely built by Commodus in 185, and possibly the place named as "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis" in the Ravenna Cosmography.
By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.
According to Cassius Dio: “Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.”
The Caledonians had sued for peace, which Severus had granted on the condition that they relinquished control of the Central Lowlands of Scotland, but later that year (210), they, along with the Maeatae, revolted. Severus prepared for another campaign, now intent on exterminating the Caledonians. However the campaign was cut short when Severus fell ill and withdrew south to Eboracum (York) where he died on 4 February 211. Severus was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla continued campaigning in Caledonia during 212 but soon settled for peace, and shortly after that the frontier was withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.
On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and his remains were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome.
CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE THEM
*Alex
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2.1 Otacilla SeveraOtacilia Severa
AE 25mm of Bizya, Thrace.
M WTAKEILIA CEBHPA CEB, diademed & draped bust right / BIZVENWN, Artemis standing left, holding arrow & long torch; stag at feet.
Moushmov 3514 Sosius
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26 Geta?Never nailed this one down. It was discussed here:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=70693.msg443086#msg443086
From FORVM member Pscipio:
"Probably Geta as Caesar rather than Caracalla, cf. SNG Aulock 7165 for what looks like an obverse die match (different reverse type). Note that a similar left facing portrait also exists for Caracalla, but laureate, thus as Augustus: SNG Aulock 7162, which is clearly from the same hand and therefore probably belongs to the same emission.
The countermark appears to be Howgego 68."Sosius
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27 Macrinus AE27 N&IMACRINUS
AE27 of Nikopolis ad Istrum, legate Statius Longinus.
AVT K M OPEL CEV - MAKPEINOC AV, laureate bust right / YP CTA LONGINOY NIKOPOLITWN PR-OC I, Hermes, naked except drapery over left shoulder, standing left, holding caduceus and purse.
Pick 1748, Moushmov 1292Sosius
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716 - 757, ANGLO-SAXON, AR Sceat, struck under Aethelbald, King of Mercia.Obverse: No legend. Two crude diademed heads in profile, face to face, long cross on pedestal between them; all within pelleted circle.
Reverse: A whorl of four stylised birds, facing clockwise, round a central cross pommée; all within pelleted circle.
Slightly chipped edge
Secondary Phase, Series J, Type 37
Diameter: 13mm | Weight: 0.8gms | Die Axis: Uncertain
SPINK: 802A | Metcalf: 296 - 300 | Abramson (Sceatta List): 19 - 30
RARE
These coins do not bear inscriptions and it is only recently (2022) that research has permitted their correct dating and attribution to a specific area.
Although originally thought to be Northumbrian and attributed to York, the coinage of series J is now confidently attributed to Mercia. This coin was struck during the period when Æthelbald (716 - 757) was king of Mercia and overlord of Southern England. Æthelbald came to the throne of Mercia in 716 after the death of his cousin, King Ceolred, who had previously driven him into exile. During Æthelbald's long reign, Mercia became the dominant kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, and the contemporary chronicler, the Venerable Bede, described Æthelbald as ruling all England south of the river Humber.
Æthelbald was killed in 757 by his bodyguards. He was succeeded briefly by Beornred, of whom little is known, but within a year, Offa, the grandson of Æthelbald's cousin Eanwulf, had seized the throne and, under him, Mercia entered its most prosperous and influential period.*Alex
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843 - 855, IRREGULAR ISSUE, AE Styca, struck at York, EnglandObverse: + FGMVND (Wigmund) retrograde around group of five pellets in the form found on a dice. Cross pattée in legend.
Reverse: + EARDVVL retrograde around small cross with pellet in each of it's four angles. Cross pommée in legend. Moneyer: Eardwulf.
Diameter: 13mm | Weight: 1.16gms | Die Axis: Uncertain
SPINK: 872
This coin is an irregular issue which imitates an issue of Wigmund, who was Archbishop of York from around 837 to c.850, and the moneyer Eardwulf. Eardwulf was not a moneyer of regular coins for Wigmund so this coin is a bit of a concoction, something that is not uncommon with these irregular issues. Irregular stycas appear in a wide variety of types and a wide variety of imitative legends which are often blundered and sometimes completely unintelligible. The first appearance of the styca, a new style of small coin which replaced the earlier sceat, was at the beginning of the ninth century. Minted in York, several moneyers are named on the surviving coins, suggesting that they were struck in significant quantities. The written sources for late Northumbria are few, however the archaeological evidence from coinage is independent of the surviving annals and the evidence of Northumbrian coinage is particularly valuable when, in the ninth century, contemporary written evidence all but disappears.
These irregular issue coins were struck at a period of great instability in Northumbria. The last king to mint official stycas in any great quantity was Æthelred II who came to the throne around 841. Æthelred was assassinated around 848 and was succeeded by Osberht who was apparently killed in a battle with the Vikings around 867. The "Great Heathen Army" of Danish Vikings had marched on Northumbria in 866, they captured and sacked York towards the end of that year. Osberht was reputedly replaced as king by Ælla who is described in most sources as a tyrant, and not a rightful king, though one source states that he was Osberht's brother and fought and died alongside him. Evidence about Northumbrian royal chronology is unreliable prior to 867 and, though the beginning of Ælla's reign is traditionally dated to 862 or 863, his reign may not have begun until as late as 866. Ælla was apparently captured and killed by the Vikings, and after that the Vikings appointed one Ecgberht to rule Northumbria.
Official styca production ceased at some time during Osberht's reign although stycas remained in circulation until the Viking conquest of Northumbria in 867.
The Kingdom of Northumbria was a medieval Anglian kingdom in what is now Northern England and South-east Scotland. The name derives from the Old English Norþan-hymbre meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", Northumbria started to consolidate into one kingdom in the early seventh century when the two earlier territories of Deira and Bernicia united. At its height, the kingdom extended from the Humber Estuary in the south to the Firth of Forth (now in Scotland) in the north.
Northumbria ceased to be an independent kingdom in the mid-tenth century.*Alex
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91 Leo RIC X 704LEO I
AE4, Constantinople Mint
457-474 AD
O: DN LEO, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
R: Leo standing facing, head right, holding long cross in right and placing left hand on head of kneeling captive.
Mintmark CN. RIC X 704. Sear (2014) 21452. VF
Sosius
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98 Zeno SolidusZeno, First Reign
AV Solidus. Constantinople Mint
D N ZENO-PERP AVG, facing helmeted and cuirassed bust, holding shield, spear behind / VICTORI-A AVGGG and officina letter, Victory standing left, holding long cross, star in right field, CONOB in exergue.
RIC 910. Sear (2014) 21514. Broad flan. Holed, but otherwise VF.
Thanks to FORVM member Rick2 for his help identifying this coin!Sosius
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Aelia Eudoxia, RIC X 104 AntiochAelia Eudoxia, AE3, 400-404 CE
Obverse: AEL EVDO_XIA AVG, Pearl-diademed, draped bust right, wearing pearl necklace and earrings, hair elaborately weaved with long plait up the back of head and tucked under diadem, hand of God holding wreath above head.
Reverse: SALVS REI_PVBLICAE, Victory seated right on cuirass, inscribing Christogram on shield set on a column
ANTG in exergue Antioch, Officina 3. 17.05mm., 1.4 g.
sold 2-2018NORMAN K
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Augustus & Agrippa AE Dupondius. Nemausus Mint, 10-14 BC. Agrippa & Augusutus Æ Dupondius of Gaul, Nemausus. ca 10-14 AD. IMP DIVI F P-P, back-to-back heads of Agrippa, in rostral crown, & Augustus, laureate/ COL NEM, palm tree curving to left, crocodile right chained below, wreath to left of palm tip with long ties trailing to right.
Ref Augustus & Agrippa AE Dupondius, RIC 159-160, Cohen 8, RPC 525Antonivs Protti
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Ayyubid AR ½ dirham, al-Zahir Ghazi, Halab, long legends (dies dirham). 600 AH.Halab mint. (1.5 g. 15 mm. ) Album 835.3 ?
"the first known 1/2 dirham with reduced full dirham dies."
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Diva Faustina Senior, wife of Antoninus Pius. Died 141 CE. AR Denarius (3.35 gm). 18.5 mm.
Obverse: DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right.
Reverse: C-E-RES, Ceres, veiled, standing left, holding long torch and grain ears. RIC III 378 (Antoninus); BMCRE 461 (Antoninus); RSC 136.
.
NORMAN K
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Drusus. Caesar, AD 19-23. Æ As (28mm, 10.63 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck under Tiberius, AD 22-23. Bare head left / Legend around large S · C. RIC I 45Joe Geranio Collection (anyone may use as long as credit is given) Drusus. Caesar, AD 19-23. Æ As (28mm, 10.63 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck under Tiberius, AD 22-23. Bare head left / Legend around large S · C. RIC I 45 (Tiberius).Joe Geranio
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Edward VI (1547 - 1553 A.D.)AR Shilling
O: (tun) ЄDWΛRD’· VI : D’· S’ ΛGl’: FRΛ’· Z : hIB’· RЄX :, crowned and mantled bust facing slightly left; rose to left, XII to right.
R: (tun) POSVI DЄVM ·’ : ΛDIVTOR Є’· MEV·’·, coat-of-arms over long cross fourchée.
5.7g
32mm
North 1937; SCBC 2482Mat
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Enniscorthy (Wexford) copper halfpenny token dated 1800.Woodcock's Bank Enniscorthy (Wexford) copper halfpenny token dated 1800. Obverse: View of a castle by the sea with a portcullis formed by six vertical and one horizontal bar in the gateway and legend: "PAYABLE AT THE BANK OF R. W. ENNISCORTHY". Reverse: Shield with monogram "RW" hanging from the bough of a tree with hills and a castle in the background: "A. D. 1800". Plain edge. The issuer, R. Woodcock was a banker at Enniscorthy. The reverse design depicting "Vinegar Hill" refers to a tragedy there two years before the issue of the coin when there was an uprising of the United Irishmen in Dublin. This was soon suppressed, however, the peasants in the south followed suite and also revolted. Armed with fowling pieces, French muskets and long pikes, they captured several towns including Enniscorthy and Wexford. The rebels then organised a training camp for their 6,000 strong force on Vinegar Hill. In June, General Lake attacked the Vinegar Hill camp and routed the half-trained force and, with Major-General John Moore’s recapture of Wexford, the rebellion disintegrated. The bodies of around 500 men who were killed in the battle lie buried in a mass grave at the foot of the hill. D&H Wexford No: 4. Diameter 28.8mm.Ancient Aussie
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Henry VII (1485- 1509 A.D.)AR Half Groat
O: ҺЄnRIC’ × VII’ × DI’ × GRΛ × RЄX × ΛGL’, crowned bust right.
R: POSVI × DЄV’ × Λ DIVTO Є’ × mЄV’ ×, coat-of-arms over long cross fourchée; two keys below.
York Mint; under Archbishop Christopher Bainbridge Struck 1504-1509. IM: Rose
19mm
1.46g
SCBI 23 (Ashmolean), 964; North 1751/1; SCBC 2262Mat
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House of Tudor: Elizabeth I, Silver Sixpence 1575 A.D. 3rd/4th Issue, Bust 5A, Eglantine Mintmark.Tower Mint London 2.45g - 24.1mm, Axis 11h.
Obv: (Eglantine) ELIZABETH D G ANF FR ET HI REGINA - Crowned bust left, Tudor rose behind.
Rev: (Eglantine) POSVI DEV ADIVTOREM MEV : - Long cross over arms with date above.
Ref: Spink 2563.
Provenance: Chris Scarlioli Collection.Christian Scarlioli
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Imperial China, Southern Song: Duan Ping (1234-1236) AE 5 Cash (Hartill-17.741)Obv: 端平通寶 Duan Ping tong bao (1234-1236); Long bao
Rev: Blank
Quant.Geek
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INDIA-Panchala-Kingdom-HALF-Karshapana-INDIRAMITRA-RARE-COIN-4-42gm Obverse Lord Indra standing on a pedestal
Reverse Three Panchala symbols in a row, with name below in Brahmi script: Indramitrasa
Date c. 1st century BCE - 1st century CE (highly uncertain)
Weight 4.78 gm.
Diameter 16 mm.
Die axis 5 o'clock
Reference MAC 4539, Shrimali Type A
Comments The Panchala series is one of the most interesting of the ancient India coin series, because it is quite long and the kings are named on them. Unfortunately, we know very little about the chronology. The order of kings is not known and even the dates of the series are still debated. It appears the series belongs in the post-Mauryan period, but further details are still unavailable.
You can see a catalog of Panchala coins on the CoinIndia website. Antonivs Protti
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INDIA-Panchala-Kingdom-HALF-Karshapana-INDIRAMITRA-RARE-COIN-4-6gm Obverse Lord Indra standing on a pedestal
Reverse Three Panchala symbols in a row, with name below in Brahmi script: Indramitrasa
Date c. 1st century BCE - 1st century CE (highly uncertain)
Weight 4.78 gm.
Diameter 16 mm.
Die axis 5 o'clock
Reference MAC 4539, Shrimali Type A
Comments The Panchala series is one of the most interesting of the ancient India coin series, because it is quite long and the kings are named on them. Unfortunately, we know very little about the chronology. The order of kings is not known and even the dates of the series are still debated. It appears the series belongs in the post-Mauryan period, but further details are still unavailable.
You can see a catalog of Panchala coins on the CoinIndia website. Antonivs Protti
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L. Mussidius LongusMoneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome L. Mussidius Longus, 42 BCE AR denarius, Rome mint.Ancient Aussie
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Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse, AE (Copper) Jeton struck c.1667Obverse: +LVD•XIIII•ET•MAR•THER•D•G•FRA•ET•NAV•REX•ET•REG. Busts of Louis XIV and Marie Therese facing one another. To the left, draped and laureate bust of Louis XVI facing right. To the right, draped bust of Marie Therese facing left, small crown on the back of her head.
Reverse: MAIESTATI•AC•AETERNIT•GALL•IMPERII•SACRVM+. Front view of the new Louvre Palace in Paris.
Diameter: 27.5mm | Weight: 5.7gms | Die Axis: 6
Ref. Feuardent: 13082
Struck at indeterminate mint, possibly Lisse, Netherlands
Engraved by Jean Varin or faithfully copied from his dies
The site of the Louvre was originally a fortress, built in the middle ages by King Philippe-Auguste (1165-1223). Between 1364 and 1380, Charles V (1338-1380) undertook work on this building to transform it into a castle, turning the old fort into a comfortable residence.
François I (1494-1547), known as the sovereign of the Renaissance, demolished the castle begun by Charles V and rebuilt it as the Louvre Palace and Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) had the Tuileries Palace built alongside.
Then King Henri IV (1553-1610), began further modernisations and had a large gallery built between the Louvre Palace and Tuileries Palace to facilitate movement between the seat of power and his apartments. The modernisation work begun by Henri IV was not completed until the reign of Louis XIV, and it is this that is commemorated on this jeton. It was Louis XIV who, before moving on to his work at Versailles, entrusted the development of the gardens to André Le Nôtre. But when the court of the Sun King moved to his new Palace of Versailles the Louvre Palace became somewhat run down and was occupied by a variety of intellectuals and artists who took up residence there.*Alex
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LYDIA, Philadelphia. Gaius (Caligula). AD 37-41. Æ (17mm, 3.83 g, 12h). Epikrates, magistrate. Bare head of Caligula right / Jugate laureate busts of the Dioscuri right.Joe Geranio Collection- LYDIA, Philadelphia. Gaius (Caligula). AD 37-41. Æ (17mm, 3.83 g, 12h). Epikrates, magistrate. Bare head of Caligula right / Jugate laureate busts of the Dioscuri right. RPC I 3022. Anyone May Use as Long as Credit is Given.Joe Geranio
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MACEDON, Philippi. Tiberius. AD 14-37. Æ 17mm Joe Geranio Collection- (anyone can use as long as credit is give) MACEDON, Philippi. Tiberius. AD 14-37. Æ 17mm (3.93 g). Laureate head right / Founder standing right, behind two yoked oxen. RPC I 1657.Joe Geranio
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Macrinus, AE 27of Nikopolis ad Istrum, magistrate Agrippa.Moesia inferior, Nikopolis ad Istrum, Macrinius 217-218 CE.
Obverse: AV K M OPEL CEVH MAKRINOC, laureate, cuirassed bust with scale armour right.
Reverse: VP AGRIPPA NIKOPOLITWN PROC / ICTRW, Tyche in long double chiton and palla, wearing kalathos standing left, holding rudder set on globe and cornucopiae.
Varbanov 3420, 27.75mm 12.8 g.
sold 4-2018NORMAN K
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Manuel I Komnenus clipped billion aspron trachy SB1966Obverse: IC-XC (bar above) in field, Christ bearded and nimbate, wearing tunic and colobion, seated upon throne without back; holds gospels in left hand.
Reverse: MAN(monogram)HA AECIIOT or var, MP OV bar above in upper right field, Full-length figure of emperor, bearded on left, crowned by Virgin nimbate. Emperor wears stemma, divitision, collar-peice, and jewelled loros of simplified type; holds in right hand labarum-headed scepter, and in left globus cruciger. Virgin wears tunic and maphorion.
four main varieties:
Mint: Constantinople
Date: 1167-1183?
Sear 1966 Var d, Fourth coinage; H 16.14,15; 17.1-4
rev: Jewel within circle on loros waist
16mm .89gm
As discussed in the Byzantine forumThese are the "neatly clipped" trachies.
During the reign of Manuel I the silver content of the trachy was dropped from c.6% to c.3%, but later types were sometimes issued with the higher silver content.
In Alexius III's time these high silver types were clipped down to half size, probably officially, presumably so as to match the lower silver content of the later issues.
Of course this would only have worked as long as the populace accepted the idea that the clipped coins were all high silver versions to start with. Once smarties started clipping ordinary coins these types would soon have have fallen out of favour and been withdrawn.
Ross G.
During the reign of Alexius III were reused coins of previous releases, clipping its border in a very regular mode and thus reducing to half their weight. Regularity of shearing and the fact that they were found to stock uniforms, suggesting that this clipping is a formal issuance of mint. Based on the stocks found in Constantinople , some of which consist only of clipped coins, it may safely be dated between 1195 and 1203.
Hendy and Grierson believe that this shearing was a consequence of the devaluation of trachy mixture during the reign of Isaac II and Alexius III. They reduced by half the already low silver content of this coin: shearing coins of previous emperors, still widely in circulation, made their trachy consistent with the intrinsic value of current emissions. Of course, this does not justify the clipping of coins already degraded of Isaac II and Alexius III. Therefore, reason for their declassification is not understood. I think that reason of Ross is right!
The structure of their dispersion in hoards indicates that, however, were made after the other emissions. Clipped trachys appear in small amounts along with regular trachy in hoards, represents a rarity. Were clipped trachys of Manuel I, Andronicus I, Isaac II and Alexius III, and perhaps of John II; those of Manuel are less scarce. In principle, we must believe that all trachys after Manuel I have been clipped, although many have not yet appeared.
Antvwala
wileyc
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Mary (1553 - 1554 A.D.)AR Groat
O: mΛRIΛ : (pomegranate) D’. G’. ΛnG'. FRΛ’. Z : hIB’. RЄGI’, crowned bust left; double and single annulet stops.
R: VЄRITΛ S (pomegranate) TЄm PORIS FILIΛ, royal coat-of-arms over long cross fourchée.
Tower (London) mint; im: pomegranate
23mm
1.86g
North 1960; SCBC 2492Mat
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Maximianus I, RIC 292 LugdunumMAXIMIANUS HERCULIUS, 286-305
Obverse: IMP MAXIMIANVS AVG Radiate, cuirassed bust right.
Reverse: COMES - AVGG / C Minerva, wearing long dress, mantle and helmet, standing facing, head turned left., holding shield with her left hand, lance with her right hand.
RIC 292, 23.9 mm., 3.2 g.
NORMAN K
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Nero & Drusus Caesar. Died AD 31 and 33, respectively. Æ Dupondius (28mm, 16.30 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck under Gaius (Caligula), AD 37-38. Nero and Drusus on horsebackJoe Geranio Collection- (Anyone may use as long as credit is given-(Joe Geranio JCIA) Nero & Drusus Caesar. Died AD 31 and 33, respectively. Æ Dupondius (28mm, 16.30 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck under Gaius (Caligula), AD 37-38. Nero and Drusus on horsebackJoe Geranio
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Phoenicia, Akko-Ptolemais Valerian I. 253-260 AD. AE 26Valerian I. 253-260 AD. AE 26 . Phoenicia, Akko-Ptolemais.
Obv: IMP C P L - [VALERIANVS] AVG Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right, seen from front.
Rx: COL - P - T - OL Sacred tree between serpents rising from two altars or baskets; to right, winged caduceus. Rare: this type missing in BM, Lindgren, Berk photofile, and Wildwinds. CoinArchives includes a specimen from the same reverse die, but with radiate portrait on obverse: Heritage 357, Long Beach, 9 September 2004, lot 12092. Cohen 374 (de Saulcy Collection). Adjustment marks on obverse.
Maritima
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Phraates IV (38 -2 BC) AR Tetradrachm 286 SE /26 BCObv: Phraates diademed and cuirassed bust left with long pointed beard - no royal wart on forehead.
Rev: The king enthroned r. being presented with a palm branch by Tyche, standing l. before him holding cornucopiae with pellet above arm. Seleucid date 286 (C Pi Sigma) above palm. Greek inscription in 7 lines BASILEOS/BASILEON; on r. ARSAKOY/EUERGETOY' below [DIKAOY]; on l. EPIPHANOUS/PHILELLANOS; month off flan below
Wt 14.1 gm, 26.3 mm, Sellwood type 55
The coin could be that of Tiridates I who also ruled for a few months in 26 BC. The features of the king on this coin are much closer to that of Phraates than of much rarer Tiridates I according to a reclassification of Sellwood types by deCallatay and this is the most believable. The lower lines of the inscription would also settle the issue but are lost on this coin.
Early coins of the Parthian empire showed strong Greek empahasis on classical Greek forms and humanism which is gradually lost as the empire matured and finally decayed. The coins become schematic and emphasize suface ornament rather than sculptural quality. One senses from the portrait of Phraates that brutality was a prerequisite for Parthian kings who routinely bumped off fathers and brothers in their rise to power. Like the Spartans, they had a powerful empire in their time but its contribution to civilization was limited in the long term.daverino
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Plautilla, overviewThere are five main types of portrait for Plautilla’s denarii at the Rome mint :
A - With a draped bust right, hair coiled in horizontal ridges and fastened in bun in high position. Her facial expression is juvenile
B - Hair being coiled in vertical ridges, with bun in low position. Plautilla looks here more like a young beautiful woman
C - The third bust shows a thinner face of Plautilla with hair in vertical ridges and no bun but braids covering her neck
D - The fourth type has a similar appearance with the former, but the vertical ridges disappear, hair being plastered down, still showing the right ear
E - Plautilla appears with mid long hair plastered down and covering her ears
In the mean time there are seven different reverses :
1 - CONCORDIAE AETERNAE
2 - PROPAGO IMPERI
3 - CONCORDIA AVGG
4 - CONCORDIA FELIX
5 - PIETAS AVGG
6 – DIANA LVCIFERA
Not every combination exists, but some of the above reverses can be shared by several obverse portraits. Noticeable also is an evolution of the obverse legend, being PLAVTILLAE AVGVSTAE (a) in 202, and becoming PLAVTILLA AVGVSTA (b) soon after
You can see the evolution of this interesting coinage in my Plautilla's gallery.
Potator II
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Uranopolis,Macedon. AE 16Sear 1475 / SNG ANS 7. 914 / 300BC
obv: urania seated on globe holding long scepter
rev: SUN
city founded by Alexar Chos brother of
Kassanderhill132
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GAUL, Lugdunum (?)
PB Tessera (14mm, 2.13 g)
CPF, palm frond below
Blank
Cf. Turcan 221, 225-6, and others.
Found in Southern Spain.
This struck piece shares its general engraving style and palm frond motif with a number of specimens in the museum of Lyons. Perhaps, considering its Spanish provenance, the type saw circulation along the coast of the western Mediterranean. Ardatirion
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ROME
ƠTessera (13mm, 0.98g 7h)
Crescent and stars series
Vesta standing left, holding palladium and long scepter
Three stars over crescent
Hristova & Jekov, Nikopolis 8.(?)0.48.6; vAuctions 270, lot 362Ardatirion
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ROME
PB Tessera (17mm, 4.04 g, 12 h)
Ceres standing facing, head left, holding long scepter and grain ears
CA/ PR
Rostowzew -Ardatirion
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ROME
PB Tessera (19mm, 3.37 g, 7 h)
Ceres standing facing, holding long scepter and grain ears
Two applauding spectators seated right on steps; inverted IV (Iuvenes?) below
Rostovtsev 542 = Kircheriano 1131Ardatirion
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ROME
PB Tessera (18mm, 4.11 g, 12 h)
Cybele riding right on lion, holding transverse scepter
Attis standing right, wearing Phrygian cap, holding long scepter and ears of grain
Rostowzew 3213, pl. X, 14 var. (no legend); München 631 var. (same); BM 1356-9 var. (same)Ardatirion
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ROME
PB Tessera. (18mm, 3.09 g)
Fortuna standing left, holding rudder and cornucopia
Juno standing left, holding patera and long scepter
Rostowzew -; Milan 324
Ex Phil DeVicchi CollectionArdatirion
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Tiberius. AD 14-37
Æ As (26mm, 9.14 g, 12 h)
Gaul? Imitating Rome mint issue struck AD 21-22
[TI CAESAR DIV]I AVG F AVGVST IMP [VII or VIII]
Bare head right
PONT[IF MAXIM TRIBVN] POTEST XXXIIII
Livia seated right, holding patera and long scepter; SC flanking
Cf. Cohen 19
The authors of RIC I do not recognize this type as being official. Cohen likely saw a similar imitation, assuming it to be an original mint issue.Ardatirion
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UNITED STATES, Hard Times. Political issues.
CU Token (28.5mm, 8.53 g, 12h). Belleville (New Jersey) mint. Dated 1838.
AM I NOT A WOMAN & A SISTER, hained female slave kneeling right, raising arms in supplication; * 1838 * below UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY/ 1838 within wreath
Rulau HT 81; Low 54
Ex Album 33 (17 January 2019), lot 2542
June 1900 saw a brief flurry of journalistic interest in the "Am I Not A Woman & A Sister" tokens. A specimen had been found in a garden in Indiana, apparently in one of the many towns that claim a connection to the Underground Railroad, and received a glowing and fanciful write up in the local newspaper. The paper claimed that it was a "Talisman of Slavery," and used as a token to ensure safe passage along the escaped slave's route, and that it was a very rare piece. The following week a newspaper in Maine recorded that a local collector had another example, again drawing a purported connection to the Underground Railroad. Astutely, the July 1900 edition of the American Journal of Numismatics pointed out that, while an isolated use like this was possible, it was not what the tokens were originally intended for.Ardatirion
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UNCERTAIN EAST
Circa 300 BC - 100 AD?
PB Tessera (20mm, 3.79 g)
Two punches: bee, Λ A flanking; Nike advancing facing, head right
Blank
Gülbay & Kireç -; Lang & Crosby -; Howgego -
The first punch depicts a bee with a long, cylindrical body, triangular pointed wings, and globular eyes with the letters Λ and A flanking. A second, added later over the edge of the first, shows Nike striding boldly forward with her head slightly to the right. The elegant engraving of the punches, both unlisted as countermarks in Howgego, contrasts starkly with the rough, unfinished flan. Although the basic types of Nike and a bee are common at Ephesos, the fabric and style differ from the issues of that city. Neither does the piece fit with the tokens found in the Athenian Agora. All considered, this piece appears consistent with what one would expect from a temporary token or entry pass, possibly of the pre-Roman period.Ardatirion
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EAST AFRICA, Kilwa Sultanate. 'Ali bin al-Hasan. Late 5th century AH / 11th century AD
Æ Fals (21mm, 2.68 g, 3 h). Kilwa Kisiwani mint.
Inscription in two lines; star at center
Inscription in three lines
Album 1180; Walker, Kilwa 12; SICA 10, 589-91; Zeno 87054 (this coin)
Acquired in the 1960's, likely through circulation in Dar-es-Salaam.
Chittick ("On the Chronology of the sultans of Kilwa" in NC 13, 1973), the excavator of Kilwa Kisiwani, notes that these issues were found in the earliest stratigraphic layers and accordingly reassigns them to the first sultan of Kilwa. Walker and Freeman-Grenville gave them to an otherwise unattested 13th century ruler of the same name. However, the picture is muddled by finds from the excavations at Songo Mnara, occupied only between the 14th and 16th centuries, where this type was among the most numerous to be found. The type is unlikely to have remained in circulation for such a long period and may been reissued by subsequent rulers.Ardatirion
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EGYPT, Antinoöpolis
PB Tessera (20mm, 4.04 g, 6 h)
Dated year 25 of an uncertain era
Draped bust of Antinous right, crescent before
Serapis standing left, holding long scepter; L Є flanking
Milne -; Dattari (Savio) -; Köln -; Roma E-40, lot 358 (same obv die?)Ardatirion
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EGYPT, Antinoöpolis
PB Tessera (25mm, 6.33 g, 12 h)
Dated year […] of an uncertain era
Draped bust of Antinous right, crescent before
Serapis standing left, holding long scepter; L [?] flanking
Milne -; Dattari (Savio) -; Köln -Ardatirion
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EGYPT, Athribis
PB Tessera (24mm, 5.17 g, 12h).
Tyche reclining left on couch (hiera klinê, or lectisternium), holding rudder in outstretched right hand and resting head on raised left set on pillow; A[Θ]PI[B]IC/ [Î OΛ]OI above
Nike standing right, holding palm frond and presenting wreath to Serapis standing left, holding long scepter in left hand and raising right
Milne -; Dattari (Savio) -; Köln -
Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 274, lot 288 (there as Memphis).Ardatirion
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EGYPT, Oxyrhynchus
PB Tessera (25mm, 9.10 g, 2h)
Athena standing left, holding Nike and long scepter, all within distyle temple with pellet in pediment
Nike advancing left, holding palm frond and wreath; OΞ to left
Milne 5312-4; Dattari (Savio) -; Köln 3534 (same dies)Ardatirion
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EGYPT, Uncertain
PB Tessera (21mm, 3.70 g, 11 h)
Dated year 5 of an uncertain era
Hermes standing left, holding bag and long caduceus; to left, ramleaping left, star above
Vexillum; L [Є] flanking
Milne 5409 corr. (ram not described); Dattari (Savio) 6453 corr. (vexillum on reverse); Köln -Ardatirion
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UNITED STATES, Native proto-currency. Seneca tribe.
Ganounata village (Honeoye Falls, NY). Circa AD 1625-1687
White wampum beads (apx. 5mm, 0.10g each)
Carved white shell beads with lateral hole for suspension in belt
Cf. William Martin Beauchamp, Wampum and Shell Articles Used by the New York Indians, p. 369
Found at the Dann Farm site in Honeoye Falls, NY.
In 1687 combined French and Huron forces, lead by the Marquis de Denonville, set out to undermine the strength of the Iriquois Confederacy. The main strike was made against Seneca villages in Western New York. Ganounata was burned during the campaign. This episode was only one in a long line of conflicts fought over control of the North American fur trade.
Wampum was used by Native Americans in woven belts of white and black beads. The white beads were crafted from the columella of the Channeled Whelk, the black from the quahog. Traditionally, wampum belts were used as a ceremonial object to initiate a trade contract. It was only with the coming of the Europeans that wampum began to function as coinage. In 1673, New York state officially set the value of wampum at six white beads to the Dutch stuiver, or three black until they fell out of use. Ardatirion
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BRITISH TOKENS, Tudor. temp. Mary–Edward VI.1553-1558.
PB Token (27mm, 5.29 g). St. Nicholas (‘Boy Bishop’) type. Cast in East Anglia (Bury St. Edmund’s?)
Mitre, croizer to right; all within border
Long cross pattée with trefoils in angles; scrollwork border
Rigold, Tokens class X.B, 1; Mitchiner & Skinner group Ra, 1
Ex Classical Numismatic Review XXXIX.1 (Spring 2014), no. 973330
Britain in the late middle ages played host to a popular regional variant of the ‘Feast of Fools’ festival. Every year on the feast of St. Nicholas, a boy was elected from among the local choristers to serve as ‘bishop.’ Dressed in mitre and bearing the croizer of his office, the young boy paraded through the city accompanied by his equally youthful ‘priest’ attendants. The ‘bishop’ performed all the ceremonies and offices of the real bishop, save for the actual conducting of mass. Though this practice was extinguished with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, it was briefly revived under Queen Mary, who took particular interest in the festival, when the lucky boy was referred to as ‘Queen Mary’s Child.’ The celebration of the boy bishop died out completely early in the reign of Elizabeth.
Evidence of this custom is particularly prevalent in East Anglia, specifically at Bury St. Edmunds. Beginning in the late 15th century, the region produced numerous lead tokens bearing the likeness of a bishop, often bearing legends relating to the festival of St. Nicholas. Issued in sizes roughly corresponding to groats, half groats, and pennies, these pieces were undoubtedly distributed by the boy bishop himself, and were likely redeemable at the local abbey or guild for treats and sweetmeats. Considering the endemic paucity of small change in Britain at the time, it is likely that, at least in parts of East Anglia, these tokens entered circulation along with the other private lead issues that were becoming common.Ardatirion
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D.611 Louis the Pious (denier, Melle, class 2)Louis the Pious, king of the Franks and Holy Roman emperor (813-840)
Denier (Melle, class 2, 819-822)
Silver, 1.77 g, 20 mm diameter, die axis 6 h
O/ +HLVDOVVICVS IMP; cross pattée
R/ +METALLVM; cross pattée
The obsverse is similar to the previous denier. The difference is that the mint name is around a cross pattée on the reverse. This type is scarer than the one with the mint name in the field. The presence of both types in a hoard shows that both date from the beginning of Louis' reign and belong to the same Class 2.
Grierson and Blackburn suggest that this difference is due to a misunderstanding of the mint instructions.
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