To say I'm new to
ancient coins is an understatement, at least when it
comes to owning them. I've been a diehard fan of ancient
Roman history for a long time (mostly first century), and a couple years ago became interested in
ancient coins, but it's a hobby I can't afford, so
buying coins hasn't been a
part of it. However, two years ago I was able to buy my first coin from
Forum, a
Vespasian dupondius, because
Vespasian is one of my favorite emperors and it was affordable. Now I'm in the process of
buying another
Forum coin, an absolutely beautiful
Julia Domna denarius that I can't wait to get.
As I said, I really can't afford this hobby, so on the
rare occasion when I can even consider a coin I may as well be very particular. I decided to buy this
Julia Domna denarius for a few reasons. First and most important, I bought it because it
comes from
Forum Ancient Coins, which to me means I get to
shop without having to research a seller's reputation, question a coin's authenticity, wonder about accuracy, etc. Yes, absolutely, I'm waving a flag for
Forum Ancient Coins!
So why this
Julia Domna denarius? Well, because I have to be so particular, I wanted a
Julia Domna with at the very least a well-struck
portrait. If possible after that, also a well-struck readable
legend. If it
had those, then I also wanted what I think is a realistic
portrait, not a cartoony mess. This coin has all of the above, so it grabbed me at first sight. I love the crisp
portrait most of all, because I think it's much more realistic and believable than many other coin
portraits I've seen of
Julia Domna. By the time this coin was struck, she was 43 years old, and I think a majority of her coin
portraits reflect her as she looked in her late teens (when she married
Septimius Severus) or very early 20s. Also, in this
portrait she resembles her sister
Julia Maesa much more than the usual young version of her on most of her coins, so that makes me think it's more true to her actual look. I've seen a few different busts of
Julia Domna, with a young doll-like version being the usual pictorial reference for her, but there are also busts of her that look like I would expect she looked in real life, especially later.
I started with this
Julia Domna denarius with the wild dream of some day completing a
collection of silver
denarius coins in the same condition (or close to it) that also includes the rest of the family:
Septimius Severus,
Caracalla and
Geta,
Julia Maesa and her two daughters, and
Elagabalus and
Severus Alexander. I thought it would be neat to have this family in one
collection because of their story (or stories), from Severus's ascension,
Julia Domna's close involvement with
his rule, Caracalla's brutality,
Julia Maesa's ruthless ambition, and all the rest - maybe even a
Macrinus thrown into the mix for historical accuracy. I doubt I'll ever see this
collection, but it keeps me reading about the
history, looking at coins, and staying involved that way, and I love doing that. None of this dream of a
collection has anything to do with investment - it's solely for the
history, and the awe I've felt while owning the simple
Vespasian dupondius.
Thanks, Joe, for
Forum Ancient Coins and everything you do to make it the resource that it is for dreamers like me.