Hi everyone,
I am finally creating a
thread for my
gallery after having technically
had one for a couple years! I often find it hard to make time for uploading images, but now that all of my
Forum purchases are uploaded and about three-quarters of my other major coins are there, too, it's time to at least have the
thread going!
I have a few areas of focus for my collecting:
The First, and definitely the one I blabber about the most, are
Legionary denarii. I collect Antony and
Septimius Severus especially, but I intend to expand into
Gallienus'
legionary antoninianii,
Carausius'
legionary coinage,
provincial legionary coinage, and the non-silver Antony and
Severus examples where practical. Essentially, if the coin says "
LEG ___ " or refers to a Cohort or Vexillation by name or number, I am interested.
Secondly, I enjoy
Roman Republican coinage. The symbolism and iconography available is really just amazing.
Roman history is what got me interested in ancient coinage. I read
Roman histories (including many translated primary texts), and the
Roman Republic is a fascinating time. The coinage they produced is so informative of what they experienced and is often beautifully demonstrative of the period.
Thirdly, I
still like to
pick up uncleaned lots from time to time to dig around in for fun. I've actually found some half-way decent coins this way, but it's really more for entertainment than collecting,
per se.
I believe I'll start by highlighting a coin from each of these three areas of my
gallery (Full-Gallery Here) First we have a
Marc Antony legionary denarius featuring
Legio XI:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-159830While not an especially
rare example (my
Legio IIII and XVIII Lybicae are more along those lines), I think it is a
good example of what one can expect to stumble across in stores and online in this
type.
Next, we have a
Roman Republic denarius of M. Sergius Silus:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-129973Marcus Sergius Silus is a fascinating historical character and
his descendent of the same name minted coins in
his honor. A soldier in the Second Punic War, he escaped captivity and is one of the first known people to use a hand prosthesis. Here is he depicted riding on horseback carrying the
head of a Gallic soldier. Like I said, quite the historical character. Note that this coin is also a
Forvm purchase!
Finally, I wanted to share the first surprise silver coin I found in an uncleaned lot, a
denarius of
Septimius Severus:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-130458Silver from uncleaned lots is really
rare, but it isn't as if this coin has any exceptional value or
quality. However, it was a fun to brush away some mud after a long soak and see silver below. My
gallery has many other examples of the more typical late
Roman bronze finds from uncleaned lots.
I
hope you will enjoy my
gallery or find it useful in some way. I'll update it periodically and happily answer any questions if they come up!
Thanks!