Ancientdave Gallery Additions

[Curtis JJ]

There is also an As of Domitian with an interesting Ludi Saeculares reverse. [...]
Domitian As Ludi Saeculares Emperor Sacrificing With Musicians
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184381

I really like the Domitian Ludi Saeculares AE As. It is fun to see the Games coinage issued by different emperors across Roman Imperial history. (E.g., Ludi Saeculares: Augustus, Domitian, Septimius Severus/Caracalla, Philip I & II; probably others I'm not thinking of; though a 100-year celebration, or 110-year, the intervals could be creatively re-calculated by Emperors to host a festival in their reign.)

Domitian also had a similar Dupondius but with a goat being sacrificed to the left of the musicians [ an ex from ACSearch]. I wonder if yours is before or after the goat was killed?

Could this be described as showing the performers/competitors? If so, I wonder if Domitian is the only emperor who showed competitors on his Ludi Saeculares coins? (Are they doing musical/theatrical competition, or the pre-Games ritual blessings?)

If not, that's interesting too, and raises an important question: Why didn't the Ludi Saeculares coinage ever show the actual competition/competitors? That would seem to be a great subject for a reverse die. (Republican AR Denarii showed us gladiatorial competition and equestrian athleticism. Nero's Thessaly Provincials show his musical performance and a bull-fighting event.) So there must be a reason for their absence from Ludi Saeculares coinage.

Septimius showed a fascinating scene of ritual "preliminaries" (Denarius RIC 263): https://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.4.ss.263
(Here is the much better example from Roma: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=9259591)

Caracalla & Septimius Severus also showed Liber & Hercules, representing the activities, I suppose, but not performers themselves.

Philip & family mostly showed animals and monuments. But actual Games performers?
The closest other one I can think of might be Philip's elephant riders (but some might argue those aren't even Ludi coins at all), e.g. RIC 167 (AE Sestertius) & 58 (AR Antoninianus): https://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.4.ph_i.167 & https://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.4.ph_i.58

Interesting group of interesting imperial bronzes!

[ancientdave]

There is also an As of Domitian with an interesting Ludi Saeculares reverse. [...]
Domitian As Ludi Saeculares Emperor Sacrificing With Musicians
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184381

I really like the Domitian Ludi Saeculares AE As. It is fun to see the Games coinage issued by different emperors across Roman Imperial history. (E.g., Ludi Saeculares: Augustus, Domitian, Septimius Severus/Caracalla, Philip I & II; probably others I'm not thinking of; though a 100-year celebration, or 110-year, the intervals could be creatively re-calculated by Emperors to host a festival in their reign.)

Domitian also had a similar Dupondius but with a goat being sacrificed to the left of the musicians [ an ex from ACSearch]. I wonder if yours is before or after the goat was killed?

Could this be described as showing the performers/competitors? If so, I wonder if Domitian is the only emperor who showed competitors on his Ludi Saeculares coins? (Are they doing musical/theatrical competition, or the pre-Games ritual blessings?)

If not, that's interesting too, and raises an important question: Why didn't the Ludi Saeculares coinage ever show the actual competition/competitors? That would seem to be a great subject for a reverse die. (Republican AR Denarii showed us gladiatorial competition and equestrian athleticism. Nero's Thessaly Provincials show his musical performance and a bull-fighting event.) So there must be a reason for their absence from Ludi Saeculares coinage.

Septimius showed a fascinating scene of ritual "preliminaries" (Denarius RIC 263): https://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.4.ss.263
(Here is the much better example from Roma: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=9259591)

Caracalla & Septimius Severus also showed Liber & Hercules, representing the activities, I suppose, but not performers themselves.

Philip & family mostly showed animals and monuments. But actual Games performers?
The closest other one I can think of might be Philip's elephant riders (but some might argue those aren't even Ludi coins at all), e.g. RIC 167 (AE Sestertius) & 58 (AR Antoninianus): https://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.4.ph_i.167 & https://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.4.ph_i.58

Interesting group of interesting imperial bronzes!

Thank you for this thoughtful response! I would guess that possibly in the Imperial period there was general stigma against portraying low status performers of entertainments, a taboo slightly broken by this issue. I've not much thought of it before, but it does seem that you very rarely see low born performers depicted on the Imperial coinage. It's usually a God or Goddess depicted playing a musical instrument. Interesting!

[ancientdave]

Hello again, my friends. I am on a roll and will keep posting through my backlog. Today I have added 4 more bronze coins, a scarce quadrans of Augustus of seemingly Gaulish mintage, a scarce uncertain Eastern Mint Vespasian As that comes from the same mysterious issue as the Semis I posted up last go round, a nice As of Domitian as Caesar and a rare small module As of Hadrian with Tyche and Orontes reverse that also belongs to an odd, poorly understood issue. I hope you will enjoy seeing them, and as always, thank you in advance for looking and commenting.


Augustus Quadrans Eagle


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184471


Vespasian Eastern Mint As Ceres Standing


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184472


Domitian Caesar As Domitian on Horseback


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184473


Hadrian As Tyche with Orontes


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184474

[Jay GT4]

Great additions, especially the Flavians.  The Domitian being right out of the pages of Josephus!

[ancientdave]

Great additions, especially the Flavians.  The Domitian being right out of the pages of Josephus!

Thank you, Jay! That is indeed a neat type for Domitian, and one cannot help but think of Josephus' description of Domitian and his magnificent white horse in his father's triumph. Some would now consider this coin to fall under the Judea Capta series.

[Jay GT4]

I believe it belongs as a Capta type

[ancientdave]

Hello friends today I have added two 1st century bronzes to my gallery. A Tiberius As from early in his Reign, with a great seated Livia reverse. Also a big, hefty Sestertius of Vespasian with a very pleasing portrait. I hope you enjoy seeing them. Thanks in advance for looking and commenting.


Tiberius As Livia Seated Right


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184605



Vespasian Sestertius Roma Standing


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184607

[ancientdave]

Hello again, everyone. I have added 3 more coins to my gallery, all bronzes of Vespasian. First a decent Dupondius with Pax reverse, secondly a very nice Salus reverse Sestertius, and lastly a great Pax reverse Sestertius. I hope you will enjoy seeing them. As always thank you for looking and commenting.



Vespasian Dupondius Pax 2


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184708


Vespasian Sestertius Salus


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184714


Vespasian Sestertius Pax 2


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184716

[ancientdave]

Hello again, friends. I have added 3 more bronzes to my gallery. First a head left Nero dupondius with a nice portrait, secondly a great head left As of Vespasian, and lastly a head right dupondius of Titus as Caesar. I hope you will enjoy seeing them. Thank you.


Head Left Nero Dupondius Temple Of Janus


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184990


Head Left Vespasian As Spes


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184991


Titus Dupondius Felicitas Publica 3


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184992

[Jay GT4]

Great additions

[ancientdave]

Hello again, my friends. I am still plugging away at my backlog here, and believe it or not, no Flavians this time!  Today I have added two nice bronzes of Tiberius from the end of his reign. One is a very nice As with a truly excellent Globe and Rudder reverse, the other a worn but still collectible Temple Of Concordia Sestertius, which you rarely see in any condition. Last, but certainly not least is a Vitellius Denarius with a very pleasing portrait. I hope you enjoy seeing them, and as always, thank you in advance for looking and commenting. This is a pretty lonely hobby out in the real world, so it is very gratifying to hear that other collectors appreciate your coins!




Tiberius As Globe On Rudder


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185048


Tiberius Sestertius Temple Of Concordia


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185049


Vitellius Denarius Concordia


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185050

[ancientdave]

Hello again everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American brethren. Today I am most thankful to add two great dupondii to the collection, well actually 3, but the last one is a more special milestone addition to the gallery that I felt warranted being shared as a coin of the day. Do go look for it, it's a lovely one. Anyway here I first have a quite lovely dupondius of Vespasian that has a really great portrait, awesome reverse, an all around attractive coin. Next is an interesting architectural type for Antoninus Pius, showing the Venus side facade of the famed largest and only decastyle double temple in Rome, the temple of Venus and Roma. I hope you enjoy seeing them on this American day of giving thanks. Thank you as always for looking and commenting.


Vespasian Dupondius Seated Roma


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185260


Antoninus Pius Dupondius Decastyle Temple


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185261

[Jay GT4]

Great coins but I really like the Vespasian.  Congrats!

[ancientdave]

Thanks, Jay. That Vespasian dupondius certainly has eye appeal. One of the favorite Vespasian portraits that I own.

[ancientdave]

Hello everyone, I have added 3 new bronze coins to my gallery. 2 humble provincial fractionals of Vespasian and a decent Antoninus Pius Sestertius with a pleasing portrait. I hope you enjoy seeing them. Thank you.


Vespasian Antioch SC "Semis"


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185335



Vespasian Head Left Antioch Quadrans Winged Caduceus


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185336



Antoninus Pius Sestertius Libertas


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185337

[ancientdave]

Hello my friends, happy holidays to all. Today I have added 3 bronze coins to my gallery. A Lugdunum mint Nero Dupondius with great detail, an Antioch? mint Dupondius of Vespasian, and a rare "semis" of Vespasian from an uncertain Eastern mint, often cited as Ephesus .This coin comes from an obscure and poorly understood issue from late in Vespasian's Reign.



Nero As Lugdunum Head Left Victory with Shield


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185397


Vespasian Antioch Head Left Dupondius Caduceus & Cornucopii


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185398


Vespasian Eastern Semis Victory With Wreath And Palm


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185399

[ancientdave]

Hello all, I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. Today I have added 3 coins, 2 here and one that I felt warranted Coin Of The Day Status. First is a nice example of the only dupondius issued for Claudius, with Ceres reverse. These are harder to come by in nice condition than are the 3 As types. Secondly a worn but but still decent Rome mint Sestertius of Vespasian, notable for it's charming genial smiling portrait and Fortuna Reduci reverse. Thirdly is a nice contrast in portraiture for this Fortuna Reduci coin, which you will have to see over on the COTD thread. I recommend checking it out if you are a fan of the portraiture of Vespasian as I am. As always thank you in advance for looking and commenting.



Claudius Dupondius Ceres 2


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185457


Vespasian Sestertius Fortuna Reduci


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185458

[ancientdave]

Hello again my friends, I have added a few more coins to my gallery today. First up is a decent dupondius for Trajan with the interesting Alim Ital reverse. See my COTD post today for a related issue. Second is a very neat dupondius for Marcus Aurelius with the winged thunderbolt reverse. You don't see this reverse too often, and it's one that I really enjoy. I hope you will enjoy seeing these coins, and as always thank you for looking and commenting.


Trajan Dupondius Alim Ital


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185589


Marcus Aurelius Dupondius Winged Thunderbolt


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=185590

[quadrans]

Some nice additions lately 

 Congratulations   

 Joe /Q.