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Tacitus, 25 September 275 - 12 April 276 A.D.
Obverse:
Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right
AK K Λ TAKITOC CEB
AK: AVTOKRATOR is the equivalent of the Latin Imperator, 'emperor'.
K Λ is an abbreviation for K AV IOC, 'Claudius' transliterated into Greek.
TOK: TAKITOC= Tacitus
CEB: SEBASTOS (greek indication for augustus).
With the pellet between TOC . CEB
Reverse:
ETOVC A (year 1)
Dikaiosyne standing left holding scales in right hand and cornucopia in left. Diakaiosyne is the Greek equivalent of Aequitas ('Equity, Fair Dealing' to quote Sear).
Domination: Billon TETRAdrachm (4 drachms): size 21 mm
Mint: Alexandria, provincial.
Comment:
These Egyptian issues are not in RIC, but the old standard catalogue for these is Milne, where yours is no. 4492, with the pellet between TOC . CEB. They are also listed in the new Sear vol.III (though in not as much detail), where the nearest is 11831, which doesn't have the pellets in the obverse legend (Milne 4489). Other references : Curtis 1832, BMC 2403v ; Geissen 3115.
Peter Wissing
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NERO - Billon Tetradrachm of Alexandria - Year 12=65/66 AD.
Obv.:NERΩ KΛAΥ KAIΣ ΣEB ΓER, radiate bust right, wearing aegis
Rev.: AΥTOKPA, draped bust of Alexandria right in elephant skin headdress, LIB to right.
Gs. 12,65 mm. 26,9
Milne 238, Emmett 109
Maxentius
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37-44 AD, Prutah, , Year 6=41/42 AD, 3.19g.
Hendin-553. Obv: Umbrella-like canopy with fringes
Rx: Three ears of barley, flanked by date. . Coin #160
cars100
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37-44 AD, Prutah, , Year 6=41/42 AD, 3.19g.
Hendin-553. Obv: Umbrella-like canopy with fringes
Rx: Three ears of barley, flanked by date. . Coin #159
cars100
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still could use improvement, but thought I'd share.
Heres a link to a better photo
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-65336Randygeki(h2)
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GEORGIAN KINGDOM, QUEEN TAMAR, (1184-1213 AD) K'ORONIKON, 420 = 1200 AD; Obv.: Bagratid royal emblem in the form of a standard, to left and right: Initials for T'amar and David; in the corners, Georgian date formula, K'K Ví K (420 of the Paschal cycle = AD 1200). Two Counterstamps. Rev.: Christian inscriptions in arabic script, which reads: 1st line: Malekat al-Malekaat(s) / 2nd line Jellal Al-Dunya Wal Din / 3rd line : Tamar Ibnat Kurki / 4th line : Zahir Al-Massih. Translation: Queen of Queens Glory of the World and Faith T'amar daughter of Giorgi Champion of the Messiah. Reference: LANG # 11.
Reverse inscriptions read :
ملكة الملكات
جلال الدنيا و الدين
تمار ابنة كوركى
ظهير Ø§Ù„Ù…Ø³ÙŠØ dpaul7
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NERO
Billon Tetradrachm
25mm, 8.1 grams
OBV: NER KLAY KAIS SEB GER AYTO, Head of Nero right
REV: PRON NEOY SEBASTOY, Nero wearing a radiate crown seated left holding a map and scepter
LG to left = year 3
Milne 145
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OBVERSE - IMP CONSTANTINVS AVG
high-crested helmet, cuirassed, spear across right shoulder
REVERSE - VICTORIAE LAETE PRINC PERP
TWO VICTORIES RESTING SHIELD, INSCRIBED VOT P R ON ALTAR - CONCAVE ROUND TOP ALTAR, WITH GARLAND AND TOP DOT OF GARLAND JUST UNDER ROUND TOP.
UNKNOWN IN EX. ?? UNKNOWN MINT ??
DIMENSION = 19mm
WEIGHT = 3 grams
MATERIAL = BRONZE ?
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AE 3; 20mm, struck c. 319 AD
Con/ VF; brown patina.
Obv/ LICINIVS IVN NOB CAES; laur., dr. and cuir. bust r.
Rev/ VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP; two Victories stg. facing each other, together holding a shield inscribed VOT PR on an altar inscribed with the letter S. Gamma SIS pellet in exergue.
Ref/ RIC VII 70 = Rare 3Mayadigger
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SIKH EMPIRE: AE ¼ anna (7.35g), Amritsar, VS(18)96, KM-5var, Herrli-01.31, small cross in obverse field, pa anna nanakshahi on reverse, lovely strike, gorgeous EF, R, ex Paul Stevens Collection. Herrli divided these into a paisa (=¼ anna) and half paisa (11-12g, and 5.5g, respectively), but all coins are inscribed "pa anna" for ¼ anna, and all weigh in the range of 7.0g to 8.5g; thus there is only one denomination for this type.
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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EGYPT. Alexandria. Domitian, 81-96. Diobol
(25 mm, 7.42 g, 11 h),
Obv: RY 10 = 90/1. [ΑΥΤ] ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΔΟΜΙΤ [ϹЄΒ ΓЄΡΜ] Laureate head of Domitian to right, with aegis on his left shoulder.
Rev: L I Agathodaemon serpent riding horse to right.
Dattari (Savio) 563. Emmett 276.10. K&G 24.110. RPC II 2584A.
Extremely rare. Somewhat porous and with light deposits, otherwise, good fine.
From a European collection, formed before 2005.
Leu Numismatic Web auction 17 Lot 2103 Sunday August 15, 2021
I was first made aware of this coin a few years ago. Ever since, I have trying to grab one when they come up at auctions. The problem is 2-fold. First, it is a rare type. If the attribution of RPC 2854A is correct, it is even rarer than RPC 2854 which is on its own a rare coin. RPC online has my coin as RPC 2854 but I am not sure they are correct. The presence or absence of Aegis on the bust seems to be the key factor in differentiating these types.
I have found that I am attracted to the Alexandrian bronzes struck for Domitian. So many of the Egyptian themed coins are interesting and are a real departure from the reverses of the imperial coinage from the same time period.
Rarity aside it is the reverse of this coin that really shines. A coin that depicts a snake riding a horse? Yes, I will take one of those please. The reverse is so interesting that there is more demand for this type than the current supply. I consider myself lucky to add this fascinating type to my collection.
From the auction description: “According to Emmett, the reverse of this interesting issue is connected to the grain harvest. The horse represents the continuous cycle of the seasons, while Agathodaemon ensures that the grain will sprout, thus ensuring Egypt's prosperity.”
orfew
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Hadrian AD 117-138 Drachm, Pontus: Amisus, 2.77 Grams, CY166 = AD 134/5; Obverse: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΤΡΑ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ Π Π ΥΠ Γ; laureate head of Hadrian, r.
Reverse: ΑΜΙϹΟΥ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΑϹ ΕΤΟΥϹ ΡΞϚ; Hermes standing l., holding purse in r. hand and caduceus in l. RPC (III) - 1269
paul1888
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Roman Empire: Galerius as Augustus, Follis, 8.03 grams, Eastern half of Roman Empire, Praetorian Prefect of Diocletian. Obverse: Galerius facing right, IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS PF AVG; Reverse: Genius standing left, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder & modius on head, right holding patera, left cornucopiae; GENIO IMPERATORIS "To the genius of the emperor." ALE = Alexandria mintpaul1888
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JUSTINIAN I, AR 250 Nummi, struck 540 - 542 at RavennaObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Diademed bust of Justinian I, wearing imperial mantle, facing right.
Reverse: Large CN (= 250 Nummi) within wreath.
Diameter: 14mm | Weight: 1.07gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 313 | DOC: 334a
RARE
The Ravenna mint was active from the conquest of the city by Belisarius in 540 until the fall of the Exarchate of Ravenna to the Lombards in 751.*Alex
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NERO & DIVUS AUGUSTUS. AR Billon tetradrachm struck AD 66 - 67 at Alexandria Obverse: NERΩ KΛAY KAIΣ ΣEB ΓER AY. Radiate bust of Nero facing left, wearing aegis; before LIΓ = regnal year 13 = A.D.66-67.
Reverse: ΘEOΣ ΣEBAΣTOΣ. Radiate head of Augustus facing right.
Diameter: 24mm | Weight: 12.5gms | Die Axis: 12
GICV : 636 | Emmett : 113*Alex
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TRAJAN. AR (Billon) Tetradrachm struck AD 115 - 116 at AlexandriaObverse: AVT TPIAN(sic) API CEB ΓEPM ΔAKIK. Laureate head of Trajan facing right, star in right field below chin.
Reverse: No legend. Diademed and draped bust of Zeus facing right, LI in left field, Θ in right (= regnal year 19 = A.D.115/116)
Legend error TRIAN instead of TRAIAN
Diameter: 24mm | Weight: 12.39gms | Die Axis: 12
BMC.G: 356 (var)
*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 120 Nummi, struck 552 - 565 at Rome or RavennaObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG Diademed bust of Justinian I facing right, wearing robe ornamented with a row of pellets.
Reverse: Large P•K enclosed within wreath.
Diameter: 11mm | Weight: 0.67gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 317 (Rome) | DOC: 336.3 (Ravenna) | MIB: 76 (Rome) | Ranieri: 355 (Ravenna)
Very Rare
In 552 the Byzantine general Narses crossed the Apennines with an army of around 25,000 men and marched on Rome only to find himself blocked by a Gothic force, under their king Totila, near Taginae in central Italy. However, Narses deployed his army in the form of a crescent in a narrow mountain valley with his dismounted cavalry mercenaries placed as a phalanx in the centre and his flanks protected by a mixed force of archers he had sent to seize the dominant heights. The Goths opened the battle with a determined cavalry charge but were halted by the enfilading fire from both sides and fell back in disarray on to the Byzantine infantry which had curved round behind them. The Byzantine cataphracts then swept into the confused Gothic mass and more than 6,000 Goths, including their leader Totila, were killed. The remnants of the Gothic army fled and Narses proceeded to Rome, capturing the city after a brief siege. The following year Narses ambushed a combined Gothic force under King Teia and his brother Aligern. The Gothic force was crushed in a hopeless last stand south of Naples, Teia was killed in the fighting and, though Aligern escaped the battle, he surrendered a few months later, so ending the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy after 60 years of rule.*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AR Siliqua or Half-Siliqua, struck 534 - 565 at CarthageObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: VOT / MVLT / HTI in three lines within wreath; below, CONOS.
Diameter: 16mm | Weight: 0.7gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 253 (Siliqua) | DOC: 280
On September the 15th 533 Justinian's army, led by Belisarius, entered the city of Carthage and brought it back into the Roman Empire after 98 years of Vandal rule.
*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AR Siliqua or Half-Siliqua, struck 537 - 552 at CarthageObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AV. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: Monogram, cross above, S below, within circle, all encircled by wreath. (SBCV Monogram 3)
Diameter: 13mm | Weight: 1.17gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 254 (Siliqua) | Sommer 4.119
Scratched obverse. Not in DOC.
RARE
The monogram on the reverse of this coin was originally interpreted as being that of the Ostrogothic queen Mathasunta (cf. BMC 80, 1). However, a later re-interpretation by Wolfgang Hahn (MIB) attributed this issue as being a regular African Imperial issue of Justinian, and this is the attribution that was adopted by SBCV.
On September the 15th 533 Justinian's army, led by Belisarius, entered the city of Carthage and brought it back into the Roman Empire after 98 years of Vandal rule. In March 534 the Vandal king Gelimer surrendered to Belisarius ending the Vandal kingdom and returning the African provinces to the empire. Large numbers of captured Vandals were transported to Constantinople and in April Belisarius returned there too and was permitted by Justinian I to celebrate a triumph, the first non-imperial triumph for over 500 years.*Alex
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ANTONINUS PIUS. AR (Billon) Tetradrachm struck AD 144 - 145 at AlexandriaObverse: ANTωNINOC CEB EVCCEB. Laureate head of Antoninus Pius facing right.
Reverse: No legend. Serapis seated on throne facing left, holding sceptre in left hand and stretching right hand out over Kerberos at his feet. In field, L - H (= regnal year 8 = A.D.144-145).
Diameter: 24mm | Weight: 12.54gms
Milne : 1792 | Dattari: 2366*Alex
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COMMODUS. AE (Billon) Tetradrachm struck AD 180 - 190 at AlexandriaObverse: M A KOM ANTW CEB EYCEB. Laureate head of Commodus facing right.
Reverse: No legend. Eagle, with wings open, standing facing right on thunderbolt. In right field, L Λ (= regnal year 30 of Marcus Aurelius = August A.D.189 to August 190).
Diameter: 24mm | Weight: 11.49gms | Die Axis: 12
Milne : 2696 | Curtis : 799 | Dattari : 3905 | Geissen : 2245 | SNG Cop : 589
EX FORVM*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AR Anonymous Half-Siliqua, struck c.530 at ConstantinopleObverse: No legend. Helmeted and draped bust of Constantinopolis facing right.
Reverse: Large K (Kappa) within pelleted circle.
Diameter: 15mm | Weight: 0.7gms | Die Axis: 12
Bendall, Anonymous, 8c. | Vagi 3051
Not in SBCV or DOC
The issue of this particular coin has been tentatively dated, based on style, to around 530 and struck in connection with the bicentennial of the founding of Constantinople.
According to the late Simon Bendall, type 8c is the commonest of all the anonymous types, the majority being quite crude, very light and obviously of sixth century date.
These issues are a copy of a type issued by Constantine I for the foundation of Constantinople in 330, but with the bust of Constantinopolis facing right rather than facing left as it did on Constantine's coin. There seems little doubt that the type was originally resuscitated by Justinian I on the anniversary of the 330 issue, presumably c.530. However, as the overall type is commoner than any sixth century silver coin bearing an imperial portrait, and is of varying degenerative styles and weights (the smallest specimens being the crudest) it would appear that some numbers of them must have continued to have been struck after 530, perhaps even as much as 50 or so years after. A number of theories have been put forward regarding the dating of these but, due to the scant archaeological, epigraphical and hoard evidence presently available, the exact date or dates of issue of individual coins of this type has so far proved to be inconclusive.
*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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SEVERUS ALEXANDER. Billon Tetradrachm struck AD 222 at AlexandriaObverse: A KAI MAP AYP CEYHP AΛEΞANΔPOC EYCEB. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Severus Alexander facing right.
Reverse: No legend. Tyche, holding rudder, reclining facing left on garlanded couch; above, L A (= regnal year 1 = A.D 222).
Diameter: 22mm | Weight: 11.91gms | Die Axis: 12
Geissen: 2405. | Dattari: 4381*Alex
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2nd - 1st Century BC, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribe: Cantii, AE Potin, Minted between 100 and 30 BCObverse: No legend. Crude outline of head facing right; pellet within circle in centre.
Reverse: No legend. Crude lines representing a bull facing left, crescents above.
Flat Linear type, Class 1
Found, Thames Valley region, England
Diameter: 17mm | Weight: 1.9gms | Axis: 3h
BMC: 667-714 | SPINK: 63
The Cantii produced the first coins to be actually made in Britain.
These coins were cast in strips which were then cut into separate coins and as a result often retain characteristic cut edges from the runlets which joined them together.
THE CANTII (or Cantiaci)
The Cantii (after whom Kent and Canterbury are named) were the major tribal group in the South East region of England, bordered by the Atrebates, Regni and Catuvellauni.
This region was heavily influenced by continental cultures on the periphery of the early Roman world and this resulted in the Cantii producing the first coins actually made in Britain. These are known as “potins” and they were produced between the mid 2nd to the mid 1st century BC. The earliest versions are known as Kentish Primary, or Thurrock, types. Comparatively the later types, like those from the recently discovered Hillingdon Hoard, are of the “flat linear” type, which uses simplified and abstracted images. Similar coins from the late Iron Age have been found, but in much smaller quantities.
The word “potin” is of French origin and is used to describe these early coins which were cast in clay moulds from a copper alloy with a high tin content. They would have been shiny and silver-coloured when new, and though occasionally examples have turned up which retain this colouration, most coins by the time they get dug up have a characteristic black patina from tin oxidation. These were cast in strips which were then cut into separate coins and as a result often retain characteristic cut edges from the runlets which joined them together. The moulds themselves were made using “master” matrices of copper alloy which were cast with the design for one side of a coin in high relief and pressed into the clay. A rare example of a mould of this type was found a few miles west of the Surrey border in Hampshire.
The designs of the majority of potins found in England derive ultimately from coins produced in the Greek colonial Mediterranean city of Massalia (modern Marseilles) in southern Gaul in the late 4th century BC. These coins featured a head of Apollo on the obverse and a charging bull on the reverse. They were originally imported from the continent and later locally copied in the mid 2nd century BC, in the form of what are known as “Thurrock” types, which adhere closely to the original design. Later forms, known as “flat linear” types, greatly simplified this design into deep abstraction, ultimately reducing the head of Apollo to an outline and the bull to a trapezoidal arrangement of lines
We don’t know what these coins were called by the people who made them, or what they were worth in fiscal terms, but they are generally only found in south east England, which probably reflects the limits of the political and economic influence of the Cantii themselves. It isn't even clear what the role of these Iron Age coins actually was, though it is likely that they assisted in the maintenance of some kind of social power structure. Coins were not generally used as day to day currency by the people of Britain in the 1st and 2nd centuries BC, so apart from any monetary transactions, their range of uses probably included the storage of wealth, use as political tribute, and / or votive objects used as offerings to the gods.
CLICK ON MAP BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
 *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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JUSTIN I and JUSTINIAN I as joint Emperors, AE Follis (40 Nummi), struck 4th April - 1st August 527 at ConstantinopleObverse: D N IVSTIN Є IVSTINIAN P AV. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justin I, star on shoulder, facing right.
Reverse: Large M, cross above and officina letter (B = 2nd Officina) below, star to left of M, cross to right; in exergue, CON
Diameter: 30mm | Weight: 14gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 125 (var) | DOC: 10.-
RARE
Justin I's health slowly declined in his old age and, on the first of April 527, he formally named his nephew Justinian as co-emperor and his successor. Justin only lived for a few more months and, when he died at the age of 77 on the first of August, Justinian smoothly succeeded him.
*Alex
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Perdikkas II, 451 - 413 BC. AR Heavy Tetrobol, struck 437 - 431 BC at Aigai in MacedoniaObverse: No legend. Rider, wearing chlamys and kausia (an ancient Macedonian flat hat, also called a petasos), holding two spears on horse prancing right.
Reverse: No legend. Forepart of lion with straight lined truncation facing right, both paws visible; kerykeion (caduceus), placed horizontally, in left field above, all within incuse square.
Diameter: 15mm | Weight: 2.1gms | Die Axis: 6h
Sear GCV: 1491
Grainy surfaces | Rare (R2)
Perdikkas II features prominently in Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, in which he is described as switching sides between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians several times.
The lion on the reverse of this coin alludes to the Nemean lion killed by Herakles who was claimed to be the ancestor of Perdikkas.
Perdikkas II was a member of the Argead dynasty which would rule Macedonia for almost 400 years.
The founder of the dynasty, Perdikkas I, had led the people who called themselves Macedonians eastward from their home on the Haliacmon River around 700 BC. Aegae (Edessa) became their capital, and by the reign of Amyntas I in the 6th century BC, Macedonian power dominated the neighbouring Thracian tribes and when Amyntas’ successor, Alexander I advanced the Macedonian frontiers eastward to the Strymon River their power was further increased.
After the death of Alexander I in 454, Macedonia began to fall apart, but around 450 BC Perdikkas II, who was Alexander I's son, came to the throne after having asserted his succession against his brothers. Perdikkas had four brothers, Alcetas II, Philip, Menelaus and Amyntas, he also had a sister, Stratonice. Alcetas II preceded him on the throne until he was murdered by Perdikkas' son Archelaus I resulting in Perdikkas' elevation to the throne. During his reign Perdikkas united the Greek cities of Chalcidice in a federation centred on the city of Olynthus.
Perdikkas II died in 413 BC leaving his son Archelaus as heir to the throne. Archelaus adopted a strongly philhellenic policy and introduced Greek artists to his new capital at Pella. He strengthened Macedonia by building roads and fortresses, improved army equipment, and encouraged city life. However, following his assassination in 399 BC, there was seven years of murder and anarchy until finally, around 393 BC, Amyntas III, a great-grandson of Alexander I, took the throne and, although his reign was filled with anarchy and intrigue, he successfully brought unity to Macedonia.
Aigai (also Aegae, Aegeae or Aigeai) was the original capital of the Macedonians and it was also the burial-place of the Macedonian kings. It was built on a site near the modern town of Vergina.*Alex
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PHILIP I. Billon Tetradrachm struck AD 246 - 247 at AlexandriaObverse: A K M IOV ΦIΛIΠΠOC EVCE. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Philip I facing right.
Reverse: No legend. Elpis standing facing left, holding flower and raising the hem of her dress; across field L - Δ (= regnal year 4 = A.D 246-247).
Diameter: 23mm | Weight: 11.41gms | Die Axis: 12
Geissen: 2727 var. | Dattari: 4873 (var)*Alex
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PHILIP II as Caesar. AE Tetradrachm struck AD 246 at AlexandriaObverse: M IOV ΦIΛIΠΠOC K CEB. Bare headed and draped bust of Philip II facing right.
Reverse: No legend. Asklepios standing facing left, sacrificing over flaming and garlanded altar out of patera held in his right hand and holding staff, around which a serpent coils, in his left; in left field, LΓ (= regnal year 3 0f Philip I = A.D.245 - 246).
Diameter: 23mm | Weight: 11.9gms | Die Axis: 12
Not in GICV
VERY RARE
*Alex
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SALONINA (Wife of Gallienus). Billon Tetradrachm struck AD 267 - 268 at AlexandriaObverse: KOPNHΛIA CAΛWNEINA CEB. Diademed and draped bust of Salonina facing right.
Reverse: No legend. Eagle standing facing right, holding wreath in beak, palm above left; in right field, LIE (= regnal year 15 of Gallienus = A.D.267-268).
Diameter: 21mm | Weight: 9.83gms | Die Axis: 12
Dattari : 5346 | Milne : 4189 | Curtis : 1642 | Geissen : 2983 | BMC : 2280
EX FORVM*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.
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*Alex
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1st Century BC - 1st Century CE, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribe: Dobunni, AR Unit, uninscribed seriesObverse: Degraded Celtic “Moon Head” facing right, pellets/symbols in front.
Reverse: Celticised triple tailed horse galloping left; cross above, pellets around.
Diameter: 13.0mm | Weight: 0.67gms | Axis: 3h
SPINK: 377 | ABC 2024
RARE
THE DOBUNNI
The Dobunni were one of the few Iron Age tribes which issued coins before the arrival of the Romans. Their territory covered an area that today broadly coincides with the English counties of Bristol, Gloucestershire and the north of Somerset, although at times their territory may have extended into parts of what are now Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire.
Remnants of several hillforts thought to have been occupied by the Dobunni can be seen in the Bristol area at Maes Knoll, Clifton Down, Burwalls and Stokeleigh, all overlooking the Avon Gorge, as well as at Kingsweston Down and Blaise Castle.
Unlike their neighbours, such as the Silures in what later became south-east Wales, the Dobunni were not a warlike people, being primarily a large group of farmers and craftspeople living in small villages. They submitted to the Romans even before they reached their territory, and after the Roman conquest they readily adopted a Romano-British lifestyle. The Romans gave the Dobunni capital the name of Corinium Dobunnorum, which is known as Cirencester today.
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 *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).
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*Alex
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1st Century CE, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribes: Catuvellauni and Trinovantes, AE Unit, Struck c.10 - 40 at Verlamion under CunobelinusObverse: CVNO - BELIN. Bare head facing left.
Reverse: TASCIO. Metal worker, wielding hammer, seated facing right.
Diameter: 15mm | Weight: 2.24gms | Axis: 3h
Spink: 342 | ABC: 2969 | Van Arsdell 2097
CUNOBELINUS
Cunobelinus was a king in Iron Age Britain from about 9 CE until about 40 CE. He is mentioned by the Roman historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and many coins bearing his inscription have been found. Cunobelinus controlled a substantial portion of south-eastern Britain, including the territories of the Catuvellauni and the Trinovantes, and is called “Britannorum rex" (King of the Britons) by Suetonius. He appears to have been recognized by the Roman emperor Augustus as a client king, shown by the use of the Latin title Rex on some of his coins.
Numismatic evidence appears to indicate that Cunobelinus took power around AD 9 after the death of his father Tasciovanus, minting coins from both Camulodunum, capital of the Trinovantes and Verlamion (Roman Verulamium), capital of the Catuvellauni. Some of the Verulamium coins name him as the son of Tasciovanus, a previous king of the Catuvellauni. Cunobelinus' earliest issues are, however, from Camulodunum, indicating that he took power there first, and some have a palm or laurel wreath design, a motif borrowed from the Romans indicating a military victory. It is possible that he was emboldened to act against the Trinovantes, whose independence was protected by a treaty they made with Julius Caesar in 54 BC, because problems in Germania severely affected Augustus' ability to defend allies in Britain.
Cunobelinus, however, appears to have maintained quite good relations with the Roman Empire, he used classical motifs on his coins and his reign also saw an increase in trade with the continent. Archaeological evidence shows an increase in imported luxury goods, including wine and drinking vessels from Italy, olive oil and “garum” (fish sauce) from Spain, as well as glassware, jewellery, and tableware from the wider continent, all of which, from their distribution, appear to have entered Britain via the port of Camulodunum. Rome's lucrative trade with Britain was also reported by Strabo, according to him the island's exports included grain, gold, silver, iron, hides, slaves and hunting dogs. It seems likely that Cunobelinus was one of the British kings, mentioned by Strabo, who sent embassies to Augustus.
Cunobelinus died about 40, probably within a year of that date, as he was certainly dead by 43.
Traditionally it has been suggested that the “Lexden Tumulus” on the outskirts of Colchester was Cunobelinus' tomb, but without evidence confirming that, it is also possible that the tomb was built for the earlier Trinovantian king, Addedomarus. Interestingly there is a second tumulus, though this one is not so well known, 665m to the northwest of the Lexden burial mound, on a grassy area in the middle of a modern housing estate. This tumulus, known as ‘The Mount’, probably dates from around the same time as the well-known one at Fitzwalter Road, Lexden.
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 *Alex
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CLAUDIUS II GOTHICUS. Billon Tetradrachm struck AD 268 - 269 at AlexandriaObverse: AVT K KLAVΔIOC CEB. Laureate and cuirassed bust of Claudius II facing right.
Reverse: No legend. Eagle standing facing left, head looking back to right, holding wreath in beak; in field L B (= regnal year 2 = A.D.268-269).
Diameter: 20mm | Weight: 10.20gms | Die Axis: 12
Curtis : 1683 | BMC : 2333
Ex Harlan J Berk (USA)*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 Follis (40 Nummi), struck 533 – 537 at Antioch (Theoupolis)Obverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: Large M, cross above and officina letter (B = 2nd Officina) below, star to right and left of M; in exergue, +THEUP+ (Theoupolis).
Diameter: 31mm | Weight: 15.37gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 216 | DOC: 210b.3
Much of Antioch was destroyed by a great earthquake on 29th November 528 and, following this disaster, the city was renamed Theoupolis.
*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AE Follis (40 Nummi), struck 545/546 at CyzicusObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Helmeted and cuirassed facing bust of Justinian I holding globus cruciger in his right hand and shield, adorned with rider galloping right spearing a fallen enemy, in his left; cross in right field.
Reverse: Large M, cross above and officina letter below (B = 2nd Officina), A/N/N/O in field to left of M and regnal year X/ЧI/II/I in field to right; in exergue, :K•YZ
Diameter: 34mm | Weight: 19.22gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 207 | DOC: 171b.3
Justinian I introduced the system of dating on the Byzantine bronze coinage in the 12th year of his reign (Regnal year 538/39).
546: On December 17th of this year the Ostrogoths under King Totila plundered Rome and destroyed its fortifications. The city fell after almost a year's siege due to the capture, near the mouth of the Tiber, of a grain fleet sent by Pope Vigilius and the failure of the troops sent by the Byzantine Empire under Belisarius to relieve the city. After sacking Rome the Ostrogoths withdrew to Apulia in southern Italy.*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AE Half-Follis (20 Nummi), struck 527 – 528 at AntiochObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: Large K, Large latin cross to left dividing letters A–N / T–X; officina letter to right of K (Γ = third officina).
Diameter: 28mm | Weight: 5.8gms | Die Axis: 12
SBCV: 224a | Not in DOC
Rare
This coin was struck prior to Antioch being renamed Theoupolis following the great earthquake that virtually destroyed the city on 29th November 528.
527: One of Justinian's first acts as sole emperor was to reorganise the command structure of the Byzantine army. He appointed Belisarius to command the Eastern army in Armenia and on the Byzantine-Persian frontier.
528: In February of this year Justinian appointed a commission to codify all the laws of the Roman Empire that were still in force from Hadrian to the current date. This Code of Civil Laws came to be called the Codex Justinianus.
On November 29th a great earthquake struck Antioch, killing thousands and destroying much of the city including the Domus Aurea (Great Church) built by Constantine the Great.*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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JUSTINIAN I, AE Half-Follis (20 Nummi), struck 548/549 at Antioch (Theoupolis)Obverse: 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 K, cross above and mint-mark O/Π below. A/N/N/O in field to left of K and regnal year XXII in field to right
Diameter: 25mm | Weight: 7.8gms | Die Axis: 11
SBCV: 230 | DOC: 238.3
Much of Antioch was destroyed by a great earthquake on 29th November 528 and, following this disaster, the city was renamed Theoupolis.
548: On June 28th of this year, at the age of 48, the Empress Theodora died. Her body is buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
Also in this year Justinian I relieved Belisarius from military command in favour of the elderly Byzantine general Narses.
549: This year, after Belisarius had returned to Constantinople, the Ostrogoths under Totila besieged Rome for a third time. The Ostrogoths then conquered the city of Perugia in central Italy and stationed a Gothic garrison there.
549 was also the year that the last ever chariot races were held in the Circus Maximus in Rome.
*Alex
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Philip II, 359 - 336 BC. AE18. Struck after 356 BC at an uncertain mint in MacedoniaObverse: No legend. Young male head, usually identified as Apollo, with hair bound in a taenia, facing left.
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Naked rider on horse prancing left, uncertain control mark, often described as the head of a lion, beneath the horse. The control mark looks a bit like the ram on the prow of a galley to me, but that is just my personal opinion.
Diameter: 17.4mm | Weight: 6.9gms | Die Axis: 12
SNG ANS 872 - 874
The bronze series of this type is extensive and differentiated principally by the different control marks. These control marks are symbols and letters which generally appear on the reverse, very occasionally the obverse, of the coin, and they were used to identify the officials responsible for a particular issue of coinage.
Philip II won the horseback race at the 106th Olympics in 356 BC, and it is thought that the horseman on the reverse of this coin commemorates that event.
Philip II of Macedon was King of Macedon from 359 until his death in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus. In 357 BC, Philip married Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. Alexander was born in 356 BC, the same year as Philip's horse won at the Olympic Games.
Only Greeks were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games, and Philip was determined to convince his Athenian opposition that he was indeed worthy to be considered Greek. And, after successfully uniting Macedonia and Thessaly, Philip could legitimately participate in the Olympics. In 365 BC Philip entered his horse into the keles, a horseback race in the 106th Olympics, and won. He proceeded to win two more times, winning the four horse chariot race in the 352 BC 107th Olympics and the two horse chariot race in the 348 BC 108th Olympics. These were great victories for Philip because not only had he been admitted officially into the Olympic Games but he had also won, solidifying his standing as a true Greek.
The conquest and political consolidation of most of Greece during Philip's reign was achieved in part by the creation of the Macedonian phalanx which gave him an enormous advantage on the battlefield. After defeating Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC Philip II established the League of Corinth, a federation of Greek states, with him at it's head, with the intention of invading the Persian empire. In 336 BC he sent an army of 10,000 men into Asia Minor to make preparations for the invasion by freeing the Greeks living on the western coast and islands from Persian rule. All went well until the news arrived that Philip had been assassinated. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated by Persian forces near Magnesia.
Philip II was murdered in October 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom, while he was entering into the town's theatre. He was assassinated by Pausanius, one of his own bodyguards, who was himself slain by three of Philip's other bodyguards. The reasons for Philip's assassination are not now fully known, with many modern historians saying that, on the face of it, none of the ancient accounts which have come down to us appear to be credible.*Alex
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Philip II, 359 - 336 BC. AE18. Struck after 356 BC at an uncertain mint in MacedoniaObverse: No legend. Young male head, usually identified as Apollo, with hair bound in a taenia, facing left.
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Naked rider on horse prancing right, forepart of bull butting right control mark (helmet?) beneath the horse.
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 6.95gms | Die Axis: 9
GCV: 6699 | Forrer/Weber: 2068
The bronze series of this type is extensive and differentiated principally by the different control marks. These control marks are symbols and letters which generally appear on the reverse, very occasionally the obverse, of the coin, and they were used to identify the officials responsible for a particular issue of coinage.
Philip II won the horseback race at the 106th Olympics in 356 BC, and it is thought that the horseman on the reverse of this coin commemorates this event.
Philip II of Macedon was King of Macedon from 359 until his death in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus. In 357 BC, Philip married Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. Alexander was born in 356 BC, the same year as Philip's horse won at the Olympic Games.
The conquest and political consolidation of most of Greece during Philip's reign was achieved in part by the creation of the Macedonian phalanx which gave him an enormous advantage on the battlefield. After defeating Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC Philip II established the League of Corinth, a federation of Greek states, with him at it's head, with the intention of invading the Persian empire. In 336 BC, Philip II sent an army of 10,000 men into Asia Minor to make preparations for the invasion by freeing the Greeks living on the western coast and islands from Persian rule. All went well until the news arrived that Philip had been assassinated. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated by Persian forces near Magnesia.
Philip II was murdered in October 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom, while he was entering into the town's theatre. He was assassinated by Pausanius, one of his own bodyguards, who was himself slain by three of Philip's other bodyguards. The reasons for Philip's assassination are not now fully known, with many modern historians saying that, on the face of it, none of the ancient accounts which have come down to us appear to be credible.*Alex
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Philip II, 359 - 336. AE18. Struck after 356 BC at an uncertain mint in Macedonia Obverse: No legend. Young male head, usually identified as Apollo, with hair bound in a taenia, facing right.
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Naked rider on horse prancing right, retrograde E control mark beneath the horse.
Diameter: 17.16mm | Weight: 6.09gms | Die Axis: 12
SNG ANS 919 - 920
The bronze series of this type is extensive and differentiated principally by the different control marks. These control marks are symbols and letters which generally appear on the reverse, very occasionally the obverse, of the coin, and they were used to identify the officials responsible for a particular issue of coinage.
Philip II won the horseback race at the 106th Olympics in 356 BC, and it is thought that the horseman on the reverse of this coin commemorates this event.
Philip II of Macedon was King of Macedon from 359 until his death in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus. In 357 BC, Philip married Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. Alexander was born in 356 BC, the same year as Philip's horse won at the Olympic Games.
The conquest and political consolidation of most of Greece during Philip's reign was achieved in part by the creation of the Macedonian phalanx which gave him an enormous advantage on the battlefield. After defeating Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC Philip II established the League of Corinth, a federation of Greek states, with him at it's head, with the intention of invading the Persian empire. In 336 BC, Philip II sent an army of 10,000 men into Asia Minor to make preparations for the invasion by freeing the Greeks living on the western coast and islands from Persian rule. All went well until the news arrived that Philip had been assassinated. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated by Persian forces near Magnesia.
Philip II was murdered in October 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom, while he was entering into the town's theatre. He was assassinated by Pausanius, one of his own bodyguards, who was himself slain by three of Philip's other bodyguards. The reasons for Philip's assassination are not now fully known, with many modern historians saying that, on the face of it, none of the ancient accounts which have come down to us appear to be credible.*Alex
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Philip II, 359 - 336. AE18. Struck after 356 BC at an uncertain mint in MacedoniaObverse: No legend. Young male head, usually identified as Apollo, with hair bound in a taenia, facing right.
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Naked rider on horse prancing left, spearhead control mark beneath the horse.
Diameter: 18.00mm | Weight: 6.00gms | Die Axis: 12
SNG ANS 850 | Mionnet I: 750
The bronze series of this type is extensive and differentiated principally by the different control marks. These control marks are symbols and letters which generally appear on the reverse, very occasionally the obverse, of the coin, and they were used to identify the officials responsible for a particular issue of coinage.
Philip II won the horseback race at the 106th Olympics in 356 BC, and it is thought that the horseman on the reverse of this coin commemorates this event.
Philip II of Macedon was King of Macedon from 359 until his death in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus. In 357 BC, Philip married Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. Alexander was born in 356 BC, the same year as Philip's horse won at the Olympic Games.
The conquest and political consolidation of most of Greece during Philip's reign was achieved in part by the creation of the Macedonian phalanx which gave him an enormous advantage on the battlefield. After defeating Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC Philip II established the League of Corinth, a federation of Greek states, with him at it's head, with the intention of invading the Persian empire. In 336 BC, Philip II sent an army of 10,000 men into Asia Minor to make preparations for the invasion by freeing the Greeks living on the western coast and islands from Persian rule. All went well until the news arrived that Philip had been assassinated. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated by Persian forces near Magnesia.
Philip II was murdered in October 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom, while he was entering into the town's theatre. He was assassinated by Pausanius, one of his own bodyguards, who was himself slain by three of Philip's other bodyguards. The reasons for Philip's assassination are not now fully known, with many modern historians saying that, on the face of it, none of the ancient accounts which have come down to us appear to be credible.*Alex
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1st Century CE, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribe: Atrebates, AR Unit, Struck c.25 -35 under EpaticcusObverse: EPATI. Head of Hercules, wearing lionskin headdress with paws tied before neck, facing right; pellet in ring behind.
Reverse: No legend. Eagle standing facing, head left, on serpent; dot in circle at upper right.
Diameter: 12mm | Weight: 1.1gms | Axis: 10 |
Spink: 356
Coin found in Hampshire, England. Old repair
EPATICCUS
Epaticcus was a son of Tasciovanus, and probably the younger brother of Cunobelin, he was also apparently a favoured uncle of Caratacus. It is from his coinage issues that we know his name and his family relationship.
The distribution of his coinage would indicate that Epaticcus expanded the territory of his tribe at the expense of the Atrebatean king Verica, and installed himself at the latter's capital, Calleva around 25 CE.
It is likely that Epaticcus was permitted to govern the area by his brother as part of the Catuvellaunian hegemony that was expanding across south eastern Britain at the time. Epaticcus continued to take Verica’s lands to west and south until his death, probably on campaign, around 35 CE. After this his expansionist policies were continued by his nephews, Caratacus and Togodumnus, into the late 30’s CE.
ATREBATES
The Atrebates were a Belgic Iron Age tribe originally dwelling in the Artois region of Northern France.
After the tribes of Gallia Belgic were defeated by Caesar in 57 BC, 4,000 Atrebates participated in the Battle of Alesia in 53, led by their chief Commius.
Before 54 BC, an offshoot of the Gallic tribe probably settled in Britain where it was successively ruled by kings Commius, Tincommius, Eppillus and Verica. Their territory comprised modern Hampshire, West Sussex and Berkshire, centred on the capital Calleva Atrebatum (modern Silchester). They were bordered to the north by the Dobunni and Catuvellauni; to the east by the Regni; and to the south by the Belgae.
The settlement of the Atrebates in Britain does not seem to have been a mass population movement and it is possible that the name "Atrebates", as with many "tribal" names in this period, referred only to the ruling house or dynasty and not to an ethnic group.
After the Roman conquest the Atrebates' lands were organized into the civitates of the Atrebates, Regni and possibly, the Belgae.
CLICK ON MAP BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
*Alex
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1st Century CE, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribe: Iceni, AR Unit, Struck c.60 - 61 under Boudica (Boadicea)Obverse: No legend. Abstract Celtic style head with slit for eye and no ear facing right. Three pellets below head, branch emblem behind neck.
Reverse: No legend. Celtic style horse facing right, lozenge-shaped box with pellets on outer corners below horse. Section of large elaborate wheel-like object above horse, pellet below horse's tail.
Class: Icenian O
Diameter: 14mm | Weight: 0.9gms | Axis: 10
Spink: 434
The first known recorded example of this coin was made by William Stukely, an English antiquarian whose ideas influenced various antiquaries throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Stukeley published over twenty books on archaeology and other subjects during his lifetime and he is regarded as an important forerunner of archaeology for his emphasis on methodically measuring and documenting ancient sites. He died of a stroke in early 1765.
The theory that this coinage was connected with Boudica was originally reported in 1987 and this was endorsed by R D Van Arsdell, an authority on the Celtic coinage of Britain, as Boudican in the 1990's. At the time though this was disputed by many in the numismatic community, some of whom continued to rely on older studies that lumped all "Face-Horse" coins together in a group dating before 20 CE.
However, John Talbot of the University of Oxford carried out research on these issues and, as his die-link and hoard work gradually progressed through the 1990's into the early twenty-first century, these coins were confirmed to be the final coinage of the Iceni. As Talbot's findings were only gradually revealed over a period of time, the accepted dating used in some dealer catalogues did not always keep up with the latest information. During his studies, Talbot discovered that coins from several die sets are only found in the Boudican Rebellion hoards. He also confirmed that these coins were struck in abnormally great numbers for any Icenian issue. But, because he was not certain that this was enough evidence to date the coins to 61 CE. he suggested only that they could have been struck any time after the Claudian Invasion of 43 CE.
Considering though that some die sets are known only from the Boudican Rebellion hoards, that it is still the case that these coins appear in uncirculated condition in the hoards, and that to date none of these coins have been found from secure contexts earlier than the time of the Boudican rebellion, it would appear that the 1987 report was essentially correct and these coins must have been struck nearer to the date of the Boudican Rebellion than earlier, possibly in connection with the financing of that rebellion. The conclusion now is that these coins can, with some confidence, be attributed to Boudica.
THE ICENI
The Iceni were a tribe located in eastern Britain during the Iron Age and the early Roman era. Their territory was bordered by the Corieltauvi to the west, and the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes to the south. In the Roman period, their capital was Venta Icenorum at modern-day Caistor St Edmund.
Julius Caesar did not mention the Iceni in his account of his invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, though they may have been related to the Cenimagni, whom Caesar notes as living north of the River Thames at that time. The Iceni were a significant power in eastern Britain during Claudius I's conquest of Britain in AD 43, in which they allied with Rome. Increasing Roman influence on their affairs led to a revolt in AD 47, though they remained nominally independent under king Prasutagus up until his death around AD 60. Roman encroachment after Prasutagus' death led his wife Boudica to launch a major revolt from 60–61. Boudica's uprising seriously endangered Roman rule in Britain and resulted in the burning of Londinium and other cities. The Romans finally crushed the rebellion, and the Iceni were eventually incorporated into the Roman province.
Archaeological evidence of the Iceni includes torcs, which are heavy rings of gold, silver or electrum worn around the neck and shoulders. The Iceni began producing coins around 10 BC. Their coins were a distinctive adaptation of the Gallo-Belgic "face/horse" design, and in some early issues, most numerous near Norwich, the horse was replaced with a boar. Some coins are inscribed ECENI, making them the only coin-producing group to use their tribal name on coins. The earliest personal name to appear on coins is Antedios (about 10 BC), and other abbreviated names like AESU and SAEMU followed. The name of Prasutagus also appears on some coins as PRASTO.
QUEEN BOUDICA
Queen Boudica was married to Prasutagus, ruler of the Iceni people of East Anglia. When the Romans conquered southern England in AD 43, they allowed Prasutagus to continue to rule. However, when Prasutagus died he left a will dividing his lands between the Roman emperor and his family. The Romans decided to rule the Iceni directly and confiscated all the king's property. When this was contested they are said to have stripped and flogged Boudica and raped her daughters. These actions exacerbated the widespread resentment at Roman rule.
In 60 or 61 AD, while the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paullinus was leading a campaign in North Wales, the Iceni rebelled, other tribes joined them, and Boudica led a major uprising against the occupying Roman forces.
Boudica's warriors defeated the Roman Ninth Legion and destroyed the then capital of Roman Britain, Camulodunum (Colchester). They then went on to destroy Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans) killing thousands in the process. Finally, Boudica was defeated by a Roman army led by Paulinus. A great number of her army were killed and, though Boudica's fate is unknown, she is alleged to have either died in battle or poisoned herself to avoid capture. The site of the battle which brought an end to her uprising is also unknown.
The photograph below is of the Victorian statue of Boudica (Boadicea) situated on the Thames embankment in London.
CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE THEM
  *Alex
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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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7 Galba Galba
Billon Tetradrachm of Alexandria.
Year 1 = 68 AD.
ΛΟΥΚ ΛΙΒ ΣΟΥΛΠΓΑΛΒΑ ΚΑΙΣ ΣΕΒ, laureate head right, LA before / ΕΛΕΥ-ΘΕΡΙΑ, Eleutheria standing half-left, holding wreath and sceptre, and leaning on column.
Köln 220, milne 311
Ex Nilus Coins
RE0001Sosius
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Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 BC. AE Hemiobol (4 Chalkoi). Struck 336 - 320 BC, possibly under Philip III at Miletus in Macedonia.Obverse: No legend. Head of Alexander the Great as Herakles, wearing lion-skin knotted at base of neck, facing right.
Reverse: AΛEΞANΔ•POY. Bow in Gorytos (a case for bow and quiver) above, club below. ΠΥΡ monogram control mark below club
Diameter: 18mm | Weight: 5.79gms | Die Axis: 3
Price: 0335
Alexander the Great reigned from 336 to 323 BC. Price supposes this coin to be a lifetime issue and Sear concurs stating that the issues that are more likely to be posthumous are the ones bearing the title BAΣIΛEOΣ. Thompson however, has proposed a posthumous date of 321 - 320 BC (Thompson series IV) based on the compound ΠΥΡ monogram used as a control mark.
It is difficult to interpret the die orientation in these issues because not only is it unclear what the Ancient Greeks would have considered "up" with respect to the reverse design but modern scholars are ambiguous on the subject as well. I have, however, assumed that the modern conventional orientation is with the name reading horizontally, and therefore have described my example as having a 3 o'clock orientation, the "top" of the reverse being aligned with the back of Herakles' head on the obverse.
*Alex
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Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 BC. AE Hemiobol (4 Chalkoi). Struck 325 - 310 BC at an uncertain mint in Macedonia.Obverse: No legend. Head of Herakles facing right, wearing lion-skin knotted at base of neck.
Reverse: A quiver (arrow case) placed on top of a bow and below it a club, large B A between; laurel branch control mark below the club.
Diameter: 17mm | Weight: 5.1gms | Die Axis: 7
Price: 385 | Sear: 6742
This coin is a subtype of the quiver type (Type 1B), with the inscription now reading B A (for BAΣIΛEOΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY = KING ALEXANDER). Price believed this coin type was minted both during and after Alexander's lifetime but Sear says that the issues bearing the title BAΣIΛEOΣ or the abbreviation "B" are more likely to be posthumous and struck under Antipater, Polyperchon, or Kassander after Alexander's death.
*Alex
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Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 BC. AE Tetartemorion (Dichalkon / Quarter Obol). Lifetime issue struck 336 - 323 BC at Amphipolis, Macedonia Obverse: No legend. Head of Herakles, wearing lion skin headdress, facing right.
Reverse: AΛEΞANΔPOY. Eagle facing right, it's head turned to left, standing on a thunderbolt; mint-mark, A in right field before the eagle's breast.
Diameter: 15mm | Weight: 3.9gms | Die Axis: 6
Sear: 6743 | Weber: 2142 | Liampi: 6-8 | Price: 0159
RARE
This coin is a Type 3 (eagle type) bronze Quarter-Obol (two chalkoi). Alexander's Eagle bronzes are part of his Eagle coinage that also includes various silver denominations, including a stater, drachm, hemidrachm, diobol, and obol. Alexander's Eagle coins are much rarer than his issues of Herakles and Zeus imperial silver coins and his Herakles and weapons bronze coins.
*Alex
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Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 BC. AE Tetartemorion (Dichalkon / Quarter Obol). Lifetime issue struck 336 - 323 BC at an uncertain mint in Macedonia Obverse: No legend. Young male head wearing a taenia (diadem), who is sometimes identified as Apollo, facing right.
Reverse: AΛEΞANΔPOY. Horse prancing right; mint-mark, below horse, torch.
Diameter: 16mm | Weight: 4.25gms | Die Axis: 7
Price:338 | Sear: 6744
SCARCE
This coin is a Type 4 (horse type) bronze Quarter-Obol (two chalkoi). This likely was one of Alexander's standard bronze denominations, half the value of his Herakles/weapons bronzes, though not seen as frequently. This specimen features a torch as a mint mark, this mint-mark was included with 34 other mint marks by Price in his work.
*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AE 16 Nummi, struck 527 – 562 at ThessalonicaObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: Large AISP; chi-rho monogram above “I”; TЄS in exergue below.
Diameter: 23mm | Weight: 5.92gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 178 | DOC: 98d.5
Regarding the letters AISP on the reverse of this coin, it is generally accepted that the "IS" of the inscription equates to "10+6" = "16", a denomination used only at Thessalonica. However the meaning of the letters A and P is still uncertain despite having been the subject of much scholarly debate.
*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AE 16 Nummi, struck 527 – 562 at ThessalonicaObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: Large AISP; cross between two stars above; TЄS in exergue below.
Diameter: 23mm | Weight: 5.93gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 177 | DOC: 98c.2
Regarding the letters AISP on the reverse of this coin, it is generally accepted that the "IS" of the inscription equates to "10+6" = "16", a denomination used only at Thessalonica. However the meaning of the letters A and P is still uncertain despite having been the subject of much scholarly debate.
*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AE Decanummium (10 Nummi), struck 539 – 565 at an uncertain mintObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: Large X within wreath.
Diameter: 15mm | Weight: 2.01gms | Die Axis: 9
SBCV: 308A (Rome) | MIB: 244 (Sicily) | Not in DOC
Rare
The place of mintage for this coin is still uncertain, Sear considered it to have been struck at Rome whilst Hahn (MIB) proposed that it had been struck at an uncertain mint in Sicily.
*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AE Decanummium (10 Nummi), struck 548/549 at CarthageObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIA AG. Victory advancing facing holding wreath in right hand and globus cruciger in left, in exergue X with star either side. (The X indicates the mark of value, i.e. 10 Nummi).
Diameter: 20.7mm | Weight: 4.24gms | Die Axis: 9
SBCV: 271 | DOC: 304
SCARCE
548: On June 28th of this year, at the age of 48, the Empress Theodora died. Her body is buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
Also in this year Justinian I relieved Belisarius from military command in favour of the elderly Byzantine general Narses.
549: This year, after Belisarius had returned to Constantinople, the Ostrogoths under Totila besieged Rome for a third time. The Ostrogoths then conquered the city of Perugia in central Italy and stationed a Gothic garrison there.
549 was the year that the last ever chariot races were held in the Circus Maximus in Rome.
*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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JUSTINIAN I, AE Decanummium (10 Nummi), struck 558/559 at NicomediaObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: Large I surmounted by cross, A/N/N/O in field to left and regnal year X/X/X/II in field to right; in exergue, NIK.
Diameter: 17mm | Weight: 3.8gms | Die Axis: 12
SBCV: 205 | DOC: 138a.3
Justinian I introduced the system of dating on the Byzantine bronze coinage in the 12th year of his reign (Regnal year 538/39).
558: In this year the dome of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople collapsed due to an earthquake and Justinian I ordered it to be rebuilt.
559: A combined force of Kutrigurs and Huns crossed the frozen Danube River and invaded the Balkans in this year. But, after they had raided Thracia and Macedonia, the Byzantine general Belisarius, with a force consisting of a few thousand hastily raised levies and his veteran cavalry, defeated them at the Battle of Melantias, near Constantinople.
*Alex
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JUSTINIAN I, AE Octonummium (8 Nummi), struck 527 – 562 at ThessalonicaObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: Large H between smaller A – (P) across field; cross between two stars (* + *) above.
Diameter: 17mm | Weight: 2.56gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 192 | DOC: 100d
RARE
Regarding the letters AHP on the reverse of this coin, it is generally accepted that the "H" of the inscription equates to "8", a denomination used only at Thessalonica by Justinian. However the meaning of the letters A and P is still uncertain despite having been the subject of much scholarly debate.*Alex
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Louis XIII and Anne d'Autriche. AE (Brass) Jeton struck c.1615 - 1616Obverse: LVDO•XIII D G FR•ET•NA•ANNA•AVSTR•HISPAN. Crowned jugate busts of Louis XIII and Anne facing right, both wearing ruffs.
Reverse: Crown and two branches above two hearts, between which are the scrolled words CARITAS / *SPES* / *FIDES* in three lines above * L * - * A * (for Louis and Anne) either side of facing eagle. Below, scroll bearing the words •HANS•LAVFER•; in exergue H – L (for Hans Laufer) either side of floral device.
Struck at Nuremburg, Germany
Die engraver: Hans Laufer
Dimensions: 27.1mm | Weight: 3.87gms | Die Axis: 12
Ref. M: 3714 | Feuardent: 12329
Hans Laufer became Guild master at Nuremburg in 1611, though he had been responsible for issuing jetons from 1607. He died in 1632.
Louis XIII became king of France and Navarre in 1610, shortly before his ninth birthday, after his father Henry IV was assassinated. He ruled France until he died of Tuberculosis in 1643. Anne was betrothed to him at the age of eleven and, on 24th November 1615, they were married by proxy in Burgos. The marriage following the tradition of cementing military and political alliances between France and Spain that had begun with the marriage of Philip II of Spain to Elisabeth of Valois in 1559 as part of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis. Anne and Louis, both fourteen years old, were pressured to consummate their marriage in order to forestall any possibility of future annulment, but this was ignored and Louis' mother, Marie de Medici, continued to conduct herself as Queen of France, without showing any deference to her daughter-in-law. However, in 1617, Louis conspired with Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes, to dispense with his mother's influence and she was ousted in a palace coup d'état which also saw her favourite, Concino Concini, assassinated. Louis turned now to Cardinal Richelieu as his advisor but Anne was opposed to Richelieu and became embroiled in several intrigues against him. This inevitably created tension between Louis and Anne. But despite this, and after having endured several stillbirths, in 1638 Anne finally gave birth to a son, the future Louis XIV, and the Bourbon line was further secured when in 1640 she gave birth to a second son, Philippe. *Alex
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Louis XIV (1643 - 1715), AE (Brass) Jeton struck c.1644 – 1645Obverse: LVD•XIIII•D:G•FR•ET•NA•REX. Laureate and cuirassed youthful bust of Louis XIV facing right; • B • (for Briot) below.
Reverse: CONSILIO•NIL•NISI•. The escutcheon of France, surrounded by the chain of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit (Order of the Holy Spirit): Necklace and Cross. The legend translates as “He undertakes nothing without Council”, a reference to the administrative council of the king.
Dimensions: 25.65mm | Weight: 5.4gms | Die Axis: 12
Ref. Feuardent: 239 var.
Struck at the Monnaie de Louvre mint, Paris, France
Die engraver: Nicholas Briot
Nicholas Briot (c.1579–1646) was an innovative French coin engraver, medallist and mechanical engineer, who is credited with the invention of the coining-press. He emigrated to England in 1625 and in 1626 he was commissioned to make 'puncheons and dies' for the Coronation of Charles I. His Coronation Medal established his reputation and he went on to produce a considerable number of dies for medals and coins in the following years. In 1633, he was appointed chief engraver to the Royal Mint and went to Scotland to prepare and coin the coronation pieces of Charles I. These demonstrated both his artistic skill and the technical superiority of his new coining machinery and in 1635, on the death of Sir John Foulis, Briot was appointed Master of the Mint in Scotland and superintended the Scottish coinage for several years. Briot was then recalled to England by the King, and on the outbreak of the English Civil War he took possession of the coining apparatus at the Tower and had it removed 'for the purpose of continuing the coining operations in the cause of the King'. Briot travelled to France in the early 1640's and sent coining presses to his brother Isaac, now in a senior position at the Paris Mint, he died on Christmas Eve 1646.*Alex
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Louis XIV (1643 – 1715), AE Jeton struck c.1650Obverse: LVD•XIIII•D•G•FR•ET•NAV•REX. Laureate and draped youthful bust of Louis XIV facing right.
Reverse: IVSTIS•SPES•PACIS•IN ARMIS. Pax, helmeted, seated on a pile of arms, holding an olive branch in her outstretched right hand and a narrow cornucopia in her left.
Dimensions: 27.94mm | Weight: 6.8gms | Die Axis: 12
Ref. Feuardent: 12482 var.
Struck at unverified mint, probably Monnaie de Louvre, Paris, France
Die engraver: Jean Varin
Jean Varin (6 February 1604 Liège – 26 August 1672 Paris) was a French sculptor and engraver who made important innovations in the process of minting coins. He moved to Paris in 1625 or 1626 where, after demonstrating his talent as an engraver, he obtained the support of Cardinal Richelieu and in 1629 he was assigned as a “Conducteur de la Monnaie du Moulin”. In 1647 he was appointed head of the French mint, and became “engraver of the king's seal” and a member of the Academy of painting and sculpture. Varin brought back the use of the screw press in the mint, initially using it to produce a gold coin, the Louis d'or, which featured his youthful portrait of the King which is similar to that on this jeton.
This jeton, likely struck between 1650 and 1653, commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Münster between France and the Holy Roman Empire on 15 May 1648 which ended the Thirty Years War. France, to the detriment of the Holy Roman Empire, retained control of the bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun near Lorraine as well as receiving the city of Pignerol near the Spanish Duchy of Milan and the cities of the Décapole in Alsace, excluding Strasbourg.
*Alex
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Philip I. RIC 28c RomeSilver Antoninian of Philippus I, 244-249 CE
Obverse: IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG - Radiate bust right, draped and cuirassed
Reverse: ANNONA AVGG, Annona standing left, holding corn-ears over
a modius left and cornucopiae.
Rome mint: 246 CE (5th Issue, 5th Officina) = RIC IViii, 28c, page 71 - Cohen 25
21.3 mm., 3.9 g.
sold 4-2018NORMAN K
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Philip III Arrhidaios, 323 - 317 BC. AR Drachm struck in the name and types of Alexander III at Lampsakos, Mysia.Obverse: No legend. Head of Herakles, wearing lion-skin knotted at base of neck, facing right.
Reverse: AΛEΞANΔPOY. Zeus Aëtophoros seated facing left, right leg drawn back, feet on stool, eagle in right hand, sceptre in left; buckle in left field; Λ above Ω below throne.
Diameter: 18mm | Weight: 4.16gms | Die Axis: 7 | Cut mark above eyebrow on obverse.
Price: 1376
Alexander the Great reigned from 336 to 323 BC but this coin was struck shortly after his death, in around 323 to 317 BC under Philip III Arrhidaios.
Philip III Arrhidaios was the king of Macedonia after the death of Alexander the Great, from 323 BC until his own death in 317 BC. He was a son of King Philip II of Macedonia and a half-brother of Alexander. Named Arrhidaios at birth, he assumed the name Philip when he ascended the throne.
As Arrhidaios grew older it became apparent that he had mild learning difficulties. Alexander was very fond of him, and took him on his campaigns, both to protect his life and to ensure he would not be used as a pawn in a challenge for the throne. After Alexander's death in Babylon, Arrhidaios was proclaimed king by the Macedonian army in Asia, but he was a mere figurehead, and a pawn of the powerful generals, one after the other.
*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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PROBUS. Billon Tetradrachm struck AD 278 - 279 at AlexandriaObverse: A K M AVP ΠPOBOC CEB. Laureate and cuirassed bust of Probus facing right.
Reverse: Eirene standing facing left, olive branch in her right hand and transverse sceptre in her left. In left field, &Delta over L (= regnal year 4 = A.D.278-279).
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 8.11gms | Die Axis: 12
Curtis : 1878 | Emmett : 3986 | Milne : 4574
Ex Harlan J Berk (USA)*Alex
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Trebonianus Gallus, Viminacium AE24Moesia Superior, Viminacium, Trebonianus Gallus. 251-253 CE.
Obverse: IMP C GALLVS P FELIX AVG, laureate and draped bust right.
Reverse: PMS COL VIM, city goddess standing left hands over bull and lion.
AN XIII in ex. Year 13=252 CE., 24 mm., 8.6 g.
AMNG 165NORMAN K
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1 Gordian IIIGordian III
AE22 of Caesarea, Cappadocia
Dated Year 7 = Jan - Feb 244 AD
O: AV KAI M ANT GORDIANOC, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right
R: MHTP KAI BNE, six ears of corn bound together, in lower field ET-Z
BMC 346-349, SGI 3778, Syd 616 Sosius
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121cfCarausius 287-93 AD
AE antoninianus
Obv "IMP CARAVSIVS PF AVG"
Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev "PAX AVG"
Pax standing left with transverse sceptre
Uncertain mint
V/star//-
RIC - (cf 121)
This coin clearly copies the coins of Victorinus from Mint I (Trier), third issue.mauseus
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138 - 161, ANTONINUS PIUS, AE As, Struck 154 - 155Obverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XVIII, laureate and draped bust of Antoninus Pius facing right.
Reverse: BRITANNIA COS IIII, Britannia seated facing left on rock, shield and vexillum in background; S C in exergue.
Diameter: 26mm | Weight: 9.4gms | Die Axis: 7h
RIC III: 934 | SRCV: 4296 | Cohen: 117
SCARCE
The bronze coins of Antoninus Pius bearing the "Britannia" reverse type have been found in considerable quantities in Britain, but are not generally recorded from Roman sites in France and Germany. The many "Britannia" issues of Antoninus Pius found in Coventina's Well, Carrawburgh, seem to have come from only a few dies, suggesting that the place of mintage for them was not far distant, though it is possible that the issue was both issued at Rome and produced locally in Britannia.
The reverse type of Britannia seated on a rock, eventually adorned Great Britain's coinage many centuries later when the design was reintroduced by Charles II in 1672.
COVENTINA'S WELL
Dedications to Coventina and votive deposits were found in a walled area, now called "Coventina's Well", which had been built to contain the outflow from a spring near the site of a Roman fort and settlement, on Hadrian's Wall. Now called Carrawburgh, the site is named as Procolita in the 5th century "Notitia Dignitatum". The remains of a Roman Mithraeum and Nymphaeum were also found near the site.
*Alex
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138 - 161, ANTONINUS PIUS, AE As, Struck 154 - 155 alluding to BritanniaObverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XVIII. Laureate and draped bust of Antoninus Pius facing right.
Reverse: BRITANNIA COS IIII. Britannia seated facing left on rock, shield and vexillum in background; S C in exergue.
Diameter: 26mm | Weight: 12.7gms | Die Axis: 6h
RIC III: 934 | SRCV: 4296 | Cohen: 117 | BMC: 1971 | SPINK: 666
SCARCE
The bronze coins of Antoninus Pius bearing the "Britannia" reverse type have been found in considerable quantities in Britain, but are not generally recorded from Roman sites in France and Germany. The many "Britannia" issues of Antoninus Pius found in Coventina's Well, Carrawburgh, seem to have come from only a few dies, suggesting that the place of mintage for them was not far distant, though it is possible that the issue was both issued at Rome and produced locally in Britannia.
The reverse type of Britannia seated on a rock, eventually adorned Great Britain's coinage many centuries later when the design was reintroduced by Charles II in 1672.
COVENTINA'S WELL
Dedications to Coventina and votive deposits were found in a walled area, now called "Coventina's Well", which had been built to contain the outflow from a spring near the site of a Roman fort and settlement, on Hadrian's Wall. Now called Carrawburgh, the site is named as Procolita in the 5th century "Notitia Dignitatum". The remains of a Roman Mithraeum and Nymphaeum were also found near the site.
CLICK ON ENGRAVING OF COVANTINA'S WELL BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
*Alex
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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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188Carausius 287-93
Antoninianus
Obv"IMP CARAVSIVS PF AVG"
Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev "[PM T]RP II COS PP"
Emperor togate seated left in curule chair
Camulodunum mint
-/-//C
RIC 188?
This is the only known coin with "TRP II COS", all other extant specimens except the coin below are "TRP IIII COS". A discussion of this coin in relation to the other dated coins of Carausius can be found here.mauseus
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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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198 - 217, CARACALLA, AE As, Struck 211 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT, laureate head of Caracalla facing right, drapery on left shoulder.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRITTANNICAE. Draped figure of Victory standing facing right, left foot on helmet, inscribing shield hung on a palm; S – C across field.
Diameter: 26mm | Weight: 10.9gms | Die Axis: 12h
RIC IV: 522b | Cohen: 636 | Cf.SRCV: 7015 | SPINK: 661
Rough surfaces
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the victories achieved by the Romans in Scotland during the campaigns led jointly by Septimius Severus and his eldest son Caracalla in 209, and by Caracalla alone the following year during his father's illness.
CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
 *Alex
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198 - 217, CARACALLA, AR Denarius, Struck 210 – 213 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT, Laureate head of Caracalla facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory advancing right, carrying trophy in both hands.
Diameter: 18.85mm | Weight: 2.76gms | Die Axis: 12h
RIC IV: 231A | RSC: 629 | SRCV: 6900 | SPINK: 658A
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the victories achieved by the Romans in Scotland during the campaigns led jointly by Septimius Severus and his eldest son Caracalla in 209, and by Caracalla alone the following year during his father's illness.
CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
*Alex
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2 Philip IPhilip I
Æ25 of Antiochia, Pisidia
244-249 AD
Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust r. / The river-god Anthios reclining l. on urn, holding reed and cornucopia.
SNG von Aulock 4971. VF
This coin may be a die match with this coin: http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=602309Sosius
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202cfCarausius 287-93AD
Antoninianus
Obv "CARAVSIVS ET FRATRES SVI"
Jugate busts of Diocletian, Maximianus and Carausius left, Carausius holding spear over shoulder
Rev "COMES AVGGG"
Victory walking left holding wreath and branch
Camulodunum mint
S/P//C
RIC - (cf 202-3)
An interesting variant of the bust type with the spear, compare with the jugate Carausius in the “Best of Type” gallery.
mauseus
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209 - 212, GETA, AR Denarius, Struck 210 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: P SEPT GETA PIVS AVG BRIT. Laureate head of Geta facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory, half naked, standing facing left, holding wreath in her right hand and palm in her left.
Diameter: 20mm | Weight: 2.79gms | Die Axis: 6h
RIC IV: 92 | RSC: 219 | SRCV: 7254 | BMC: 68 | Spink: 662
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the Roman victories achieved in Scotland in 209 and 210 by Septimius Severus and Caracalla, Geta's father and brother, while Geta and his mother, Julia Domna, remained behind in London.
CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
 *Alex
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25 CaracallaCARACALLA
AE 31, Mopsus, Cilicia
Year 265=198 AD
Youthful Caracalla as Augustus, bust r. / Mule standing l., wreath and quiver on his back
SNG Levante 1344 (according to Curtis Clay: could be same obv. die, but different rev. die)
Thanks to FORVM member Curtis Clay for his assistance attributing this coin.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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268 - 270, Roman Imitative Antoninianus (Barbarous Radiate), produced in Britain and the continent. Struck in the name of CLAUDIUS IIObverse: Unclear partial inscription. Radiate head of Claudius II facing right.
Reverse: Unclear partial inscription. Crude depiction of Pax standing facing left, right arm outstretched in front of her holding branch. Struck off-centre.
Hoard find from Northern England.
Diameter: 15mm | Weight: 1.6gms | Die Axis: 4
SPINK: 749
The term 'barbarous radiates', dating from its use by antiquarians in the 19th century, is still often used to refer to the locally produced unofficial coins which imitated the official Roman antoninianii of the period. These coins were not struck by barbarians outwith the Empire as the name would suggest, nor were they intrinsically forgeries or fakes. Instead they were the result of a period of great instability within the Roman empire during which the western provinces especially often experienced a severe lack of coinage. To fill this void small denomination coinage was unofficially issued in very large numbers. Though some of these coins are fairly close copies of the official coins which they imitate, many others have been produced by die engravers who were patently illiterate and often of limited ability artistically as well. Around 274 Aurelian banned the use of these imitative bronzes when he reformed the currency but it is possible that some "barbarous radiates" were still being produced after that date. Whether individual coins are of British or Continental mintage can really only be ascertained by provenance.
*Alex
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