Fine Coins Showcase
Antiquities Showcase
Show Empty Categories
Shop Search
Shopping Cart
My FORVM
Contact Us
About Forum
Shopping at Forum
Our Guarantee
Payment Options
Shipping Options & Fees
Privacy & Security
Forum Staff
Selling Your Coins
Identifying Your Coin
FAQs
zoom.asp
Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Roman Coins| ▸ |The Adoptive Emperors||View Options:   | | | |
Anazarbus was founded by Assyrians. Under the early Roman Empire it was known as Kaicare?n (Caesarea), and was the Metropolis (capital) of the late Roman province Cilicia Secunda. It was the home of the poet Oppian. Rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Justin I after an earthquake in the 6th century, it became Justinopolis (525); but the old native name persisted, and when Thoros I, king of Lesser Armenia, made it his capital early in the 12th century, it was known as Anazarva.RP111017. Bronze diassarion, Ziegler 114 (Vs1/Rs5), RPC III 3370, SNGvA 5477, SNG Levante 1385, SNG Cop -, SNG BnF -, gVF, attractive portraits, tight flan, obv. legend weak, light marks, weight 14.483 g, maximum diameter 26.8 mm, die axis 45o, Anazarbus (Anavarza, Turkey) mint, 113 - 114 A.D.; obverse AYTO KAIC NEP TAPIANOC CE ΓEPM ∆A, laureate head of Trajan right; reverse KAICAPE ANAZAP MATI∆IAN CEB (PE ligate), draped bust of Matidia right, hair in a small bun behind neck, ET BΛP (year 132) low across field; scarce; $850.00 (€858.50)
Nerva, 18 September 96 - 25 January 98 A.D.
The fiscus Iudaicus was an annual tax imposed on Jews after the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple. The amount was two denarii, equivalent to the one-half of a shekel Jews had previously paid to the Temple of Jerusalem. The tax applied to Jews throughout the empire and, while the tax paid for the Temple of Jerusalem was payable only by adult men between the ages of 20 and 50, the fiscus Iudaicus was imposed on all Jews, including women, children, the elderly, and even Jewish slaves. To add to the humiliation, the tax went to the pagan Temple of Capitoline Jupiter in Rome. Domitian strictly enforced the tax on those who attempted to concealed their identity to avoid the tax. Suetonius relates that an old man of 90 was stripped to see whether he was circumcised and therefore Jewish. This coin commemorates the fisci Iudaici calumnia sublata (abolition of malicious prosecution in connection with the Jewish tax) reforms eliminating the harsh policies of Domitian, but not the tax. It is not known when the tax was formally abolished. Some historians credit the emperor Julian with its abolition in about 361 or 362.SL111602. Orichalcum sestertius, Hendin 6634b (R), RIC II 82 (S), BMCRE III 105, BnF III 97, Hunter I 45, Cohen II 57, NGC Ch F, 4/5, 1/5 (6155649-001), weight 23.27 g, maximum diameter 34 mm, die axis 180o, Rome mint, Jan - Sep 97 A.D.; obverse IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P COS III P P, laureate head right; reverse FISCI IVDAICI CALVMNIA SVBLATA, date palm tree (symbol of Judaea), S - C (senatus consulto) across field; ex CNG e-auction 487 (10 Mar 2021), 530; ex Gorny auction 267 (17 Oct 2019), 3624; ex Shlomo Moussaieff Collection (London, acquired between 1948 and 1980s); NGC| Lookup; rare; $650.00 (€656.50)
Hadrian, 11 August 117 - 10 July 138 A.D., Roman Provincial Egypt
Demeter in Greek mythology is the goddess of grain and fertility, the pure; nourisher of the youth and the green earth, the health-giving cycle of life and death; and preserver of marriage and the sacred law. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, dated to about the seventh century B.C. she is invoked as the "bringer of seasons," a subtle sign that she was worshiped long before she was made one of the Olympians. She and her daughter Persephone were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries that also predated the Olympian pantheon.RX94280. Billon tetradrachm, RPC III 6131; Dattari-Savio 7401; Milne 1519; SNG Cop 409; Geissen 1209; BMC Alexandria p. 71, 579; Kampmann 32.720; Emmett 830/21 (R1), Choice VF, well centered, light tone, flow lines, edge cracks, weight 13.792 g, maximum diameter 26.8 mm, die axis 0o, Alexandria mint, 29 Aug 136 - 28 Aug 137 A.D.; obverse AVT KAIC TPA - A∆PIANOC CEB (Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus), laureate head right, slight drapery on left shoulder; reverse Demeter standing slightly left, head left, wreathed with grain, wearing chiton with diplos, veil on shoulders blowing behind, stalks of grain and poppy in right hand, long torch vertical behind in left hand, L / K-A (year 21) across field; ex Numismatik Naumann auction 83 (3 Nov 2019), lot 544; $350.00 (€353.50)
Faustina Junior, Augusta 146 - Winter 175/176 A.D., Wife of Marcus Aurelius
Faustina Junior and Marcus Aurelius had 14 children. Commodus was the tenth of the fourteen children and the only son to survive. His twin brother Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antonius died at the age of four.RS110253. Silver denarius, RIC III AP502a, RSC II 54, BMCRE IV AP1086, Hunter II 13, SRCV II 4704, EF, choice obv., rose tone on luster, radiating flow lines, rev. a little off center, mild die wear, weight 2.829 g, maximum diameter 18.4 mm, die axis 180o, Rome mint, struck under Antoninus Pius, 154 - 156 A.D.; obverse FAUSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust right with head bare, hair waved and coiled on back of head; reverse CONCORDIA (harmony), Concordia seated left, flower in right hand, left forearm resting on cornucopia atop globe; ex Inasta (San Marino) auction 100 (24 June 2022), lot 238; $300.00 (€303.00)
Faustina Junior, Augusta 146 - Winter 175/176 A.D., Wife of Marcus Aurelius, Roman Provincial Egypt
This coin was struck during the reign of her father Antoninus Pius. Faustina II was the daughter, wife, and mother of emperors and empresses. When she gave birth to the first of many children she was given the title of Augusta, which for a time made her superior in rank to her husband. She was a devoted wife and mother and accompanied her husband on all his military campaigns.RX110732. Bronze drachm, Geissen 1954 (same obv. die); RPC Online IV.4 T13703; BMC Alexandria p. 163, 1334; Kampmann 38.60; Emmett 1976; Dattari 3279 var. (L - I∆), F, attractive green-brown patina, centered, most of legend weak/unstruck, small edge splits, obv. edge beveled, weight 25.632 g, maximum diameter 33.7 mm, die axis 0o, Alexandria mint, 29 Aug 150 - 28 Aug 151 A.D.; obverse ΦAVCTINA CEB EVCEB ΘVΓ (from upper right), draped bust right; reverse Athena standing facing, head left, wearing crested helmet, chiton with diplois and aegis, Nike in her extended right hand offering wreath and bearing palm frond, spear vertical in left hand, L I-∆ (year 14) divided across fields, no shield; $270.00 (€272.70)
Antoninus Pius, August 138 - 7 March 161 A.D., Ascalon, Philistia, Judaea
The Philistines conquered Canaanite Ashkelon about 1150 B.C. and it became one of the five Philistine cities that were constantly warring with the Israelites and the Kingdom of Judah. The last of the Philistine cities to hold out against Nebuchadnezzar, it finally fell in 604 B.C.; burned and destroyed, its people exiled, the Philistine era ended. Ashkelon was rebuilt, dominated by Persian culture. After the Alexander's conquest, Ashkelon was an important Hellenistic seaport. The Jews drove the Greeks out of the region during the Maccabean Revolt, which lasted from 167 to 160 B.C. In 63 B.C. the area was incorporated into the Roman Republic. Cleopatra VII used Ashkelon as her refuge when her brother and sister exiled her in 49 B.C. The city remained loyal to Rome during the First Jewish Revolt.RY110574. Bronze AE 22, cf. Yashin 200 - 202; RPC IV.3 T10145/2 (2 spec., one with this bust); Rosenberger I 169; BMC Palestine -, Sofaer -, aF, well centered, red-brown patina, weight 11.076 g, maximum diameter 21.8 mm, die axis 0o, Askalon (Ashqelon, Israel) mint, 141 - 142 A.D.; obverse CEBA(?), laureate draped, and cuirassed bust right, short beard; reverse ACKAΛW, Tyche-Astarte standing slightly left on galley, turreted head left, standard in right hand, apluster in left hand, incense altar over E left, dove standing left over EMC (year 245) on right; Coin Archives records only one specimen of the type at auction in the last two decades; extremely rare; $180.00 (€181.80)
Faustina Sr., Augusta 25 February 138 - Early 141, Wife of Antoninus Pius
The palladium, a small figure of Minerva (Pallas Athena) holding a spear and shield, had a mythological origin from Troy. Troy was believed to be safe from foreign enemies as long as the palladium remained within the city walls. But Odysseus and Diomedes stole the image and soon after the Greeks took the city. The palladium was later taken by Aeneas to Rome where for centuries it was kept in the temple of Vesta in the Forum. In Late Antiquity, it was rumored that Constantine had taken the palladium to Constantinople and buried it under the Column of Constantine.RB110718. Orichalcum sestertius, RIC III AP1125, BMCRE IV AP1521, Cohen II 113, SRCV II 4618, gF, well centered, rev. double struck, flan flaw rev. left, edge cracks, weight 26.663 g, maximum diameter 32.9 mm, die axis 0o, Rome mint, posthumous, 147 - 161 A.D.; obverse DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right, hair elaborately waived and banded, drawn up at the back and piled in a round coil at top; reverse AVGVSTA, Vesta standing half left, long torch in right hand, palladium with shield in left hand, S - C (senatus consulto) flanking across field below center; $180.00 (€181.80)
Antoninus Pius, August 138 - 7 March 161 A.D.
Annona was the goddess of harvest and her main attribute is grain. This reverse suggests the arrival of grain by sea from the provinces (especially from Africa) and its distribution to the people.RS110993. Silver denarius, RIC III 249, RSC II 983, BMCRE IV 847, Hunter II 99, SRCV II -, aEF, attractive portrait, flow lines, tight flan, mild die wear, weight 3.040 g, maximum diameter 16.9 mm, die axis 180o, Rome mint, 156 - 156/8 A.D.; obverse ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P IMP II, laureate head right; reverse TR POT XIX COS IIII, Annona standing left, stalks of grain in right hand, left hand rests on modius set on a prow; ex Solidus Numismatik auction 106 (11 Oct 2022), lot 1523; $180.00 (€181.80)
Hadrian, 11 August 117 - 10 July 138 A.D., Ascalon, Philistia, Judaea
Askalon lies on the shore of the Mediterranean, ten miles north of Gaza and about 40 miles south of Joppa. Herod the Great ruled all of Palestine, except Askalon, which remained a free city. Today, a national park at Ashqelon, Israel includes ruins of Canaanite, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Crusader walls and buildings.JD111088. Bronze AE 19, RPC Online III 4002 (9 spec.); Sofaer 123; SNG ANS 714; De Saulcy 3; Rosenberger 151; Yashin 176; BMC Palestine -, F, toned, porous, a little off center, weight 6.283 g, maximum diameter 18.7 mm, die axis 0o, Askalon (Ashqelon, Israel) mint, 118 - 119 A.D.; obverse CEBACTOC (clockwise on right), laureate head right; reverse ACKA-ΛΩ, war-god Phanebal standing left, wearing helmet, harpa in raised right hand, small round shield on left arm, long palm frond in left hand, BKC (year 222) lower right; zero sales of this type listed on Coin Archives in the last two decades; rare; $180.00 (€181.80)
Antoninus Pius, August 138 - 7 March 161 A.D., Roman Egypt
RX111023. Bronze drachm, RPC Online 13749/36 (this coin); Dattari-Savio 8855; Geissen 1672; SNG Milan 1299; BMC Alexandria p. 143, 1201; Emmett 1449, aVF, well centered, some corrosion/pitting, edge splits, obv. edge beveled, weight 27.079 g, maximum diameter 34.4 mm, die axis 0o, Alexandria mint, 151 - 152 A.D.; obverse AVT K T AIΛ A∆P ANTWNINOC CEB EVC, laureate bust right, with aegis on far shoulder; reverse Peristyle altar of Agathodaemon, with four columns and garlanded entablature, female figure sacrificing within, burning pyre and acroteria in form of aphlasta above; L in exergue, I-E (year 15) across fields; ex Naville Numismatics 40 (27 May 2018), lot 298; ex Roma Numismatics e-auction 41 (2 Dec 2017), lot 491; $175.00 (€176.75)
Page created in 1.906 seconds.
