Coin Talk

Show your empress CONSECRATIO issues or anything you feel is relevant!

One important aspect of Roman religion, particularly for the imperial family, was the concept of consecration, the process by which a deceased person became a divine being and was transported to the divine realm to join the pantheon of gods. The eagle of Zeus or the peacock of Juno carried the departed to the heavens.

The inscription CONSECRATIO makes its first appearance in Roman numismatics on the coinage of Marciana, and thereafter became the standard employed for issues of the divae and divi for centuries. Interestingly, the earliest Roman consecration issues depict eagles, even for the women of the imperial family.

My latest arrival is a pretty little semis which has a neat numismatic story behind it, not to mention a bit of a mystery.



Titus as Caesar
Æ Semis, 3.31g
Rome mint, 74 AD (Vespasian)
Obv: T•CAES•IMP•TR•POT; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: ANTIOCHIA; Bust of city-goddess, r.
RIC 1574 (C). BMC -. BNC -. RPC 1997 (10 spec.).
Acquired from Forvm Ancient Coins, January 2020.

Traditionally, the issue this rather interesting semis is from has been attributed to various different mints over the years. Ted Buttrey writing in the RIC II.1 Addenda commented extensively on it. Because both the Addenda has yet to see the light of day and T. Buttrey's thoughts on the subject are important (and indeed likely correct), I have largely quoted it in full here with some minor editing.

'RIC 756-767 are irregular Dupondii, which should be taken together with Asses, semisses and quadrantes (RIC 1564-1581), forming together a single extraordinary issue in...

A short historical and numismatic overview


By 1285/6, Charles I d'Anjou was dead and his heir Charles II was held captive in Messina to the Aragonese, who had occupied the island as a result of the Vespri Siciliani. So the regency of Robert II d'Artois for the Angevin domains put Guillaume de la Roche -- the "Megaskyr" and Duke of Athens -- in charge of the Principality of Achaea as baillie. Guillaume was the most powerful vassal of the Angevins in Greece, as the Duke of Athens owed traditional allegiance to the Prince of Achaea and because after the Viterbo treaty of 1267, Charles I had become overlord of all Latin Greece.

The Frankish tower of Markopoulo in Attica, built under the de la Roche dynasty around the early 13th century. These defensive fortifications follow the typical keep shape that is well-known in Western Europe and were used primarily as local fortifications, points of surveillance and as a network of...

It all started last December. First it was @Roerbakmix, then @JulesUK , @Marsman and finally @Alegandron. All of them talking about the same type of coin. Is it a conspiracy or what ? I couldn’t stop hearing this little voice in my head whispering “BUY ONE,BUY ONE”. Nights and days without a break. Wasn’t able to sleep, wasn’t able to eat or think clearly. I tried to resist but it was to much to endure. I did it. I sinned. The best way to get rid of temptation is to yield it, don’t you think so ? So I present you my latest baby : my Nemausus Dupondius. I was a bit out of cash ‘cause of my recent surgery ( I had a brain transplant) so I could only afford this one; and it was 2 for the price of one.
Nemausus Dupondius
23 mm 6.20 g 2 h
COL NEM / IMP DIVI F
RPC 523


The city
Nîmes, a city in southern France, was a critical outpost of the Roman Empire. It’s known...

Hi CT friends

On that very day (21st of january) in 1793 CE was the King of France Louis XVI beheaded :



The execution of Louis XVI by means of the guillotine, a major event of the French Revolution, took place on 21 January 1793 at the Place de la Révolution ("Revolution Square", formerly Place Louis XV, and renamed Place de la Concorde in 1795) in Paris. The National Convention had convicted the king (17 January 1793) in a near-unanimous vote (while no one voted "not guilty", several deputies abstained) and condemned him to death by a simple majority.

Louis XVI awoke at 5 o'clock. After dressing with the aid of his valet Jean-Baptiste Cléry, he went to meet with the non-juring Irish priest Henry Essex Edgeworth to make his confession. He heard his last Mass, served by Cléry, and received Communion. The Mass requisites were provided by special direction of the authorities. On Father...

Headed home now after a nice show.

I have been coming to NYINC for about 7 years now. This was my longest trip. Usually go for 2 days. This year I stayed in Manhattan Wednesday to Sunday. Longest time I’ve ever been at a show. Have some coin fatigue at the end of the show but was a great experience and the longer stay was definitely good for my growth as a numismatist.

Wednesday was the Triton auction. Went to the auction but failed to get my lot of greatest interest. Prices were strong in the British material, which is my area of collecting. I was interested in a portrait penny of Edward the Elder but my bid was defeated. Oh well. Show hasn’t even began yet, so will have other opportunities to blow my budget. Went to dinner with a fellow English collector at a British pub, fitting for British coin enthusiasts.

Thursday was professional preview and early bird day. In the past I have resisted the $125 entry fee for the early bird day. This year, I buckled in and paid it. In the...

At 16 years I started collecting Sassanian coins, and naturally, Xusro II was the first I bought, and then Shapur I, Shapur II, Kavad I, Peroz, and the other common Great Kings that I could afford. They then cost about 35-75 Dutch guilders for a nice drachm. I even had a hemidrachm (100 guilders, about the max that I could pay - forty years ago). But always that fascinating type eluded me, that was only minted under Varhran II (or Bahram, or Wahram), the one with the triple portrait - you all know it well! It dates from 274-293 AD, and the design is unique in world coinage. I think the price was then about 200-250 Dutch guilders of 1976 (a dollar in the 1970s was 3,65 guilders).

Later, the Great Coin Sleep came over me, the numismatic hibernation that happens when you are pursuing a career. I sold most of my coins and didn't think much about Sasanians for decades. Until the 2010s. My father-in-law possessed two Sasanians (beside various Roman and Greek coins), and we had...

The identity of the figure on the reverse of this little provincial is somewhat unclear. Varbanov describes the figure as a "winged Genius," Moushmov as "Thanatos or Eros," and the Corpus Nummorum as "Nude Eros in attitude of Thanatos." So, which figure is depicted here -- Genius, Eros, or Thanatos?

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

We have seen interesting mythological depictions on Imperial coins too (but not in such wide range of variation as in Provincial coins!). Here I want to present an Imperial coin which holds mysteries until now. It is a denar of Septimius Severus though there is the same motive for Caracalla too.

The coin:
Septimius Severus, AD 193-211
AR - Denar, 2.97g, 18.13mm
Rome, AD 204
obv. SEPTIMIVS - PIVS AVG
Laureate bust r., beard plaited, braid across cheek (so-called Serapis type)
rev. INDVLGENTIA AVGG
Dea Celestis, turreted, head r., riding on lion r., holding sceptre and thunderbolt. Below water flowing r., arising from rock on l. side.
in ex. IN CARTH
Ref.: RIC IV/1, 266; C.222; BMC 335
about EF

Note:
This coin is known in three different variants:
a) Goddess holding sceptre and thunderbolt, head facing
b) Goddess holding sceptre and thunderbolt, head r.
c) Goddess holding sceptre and drum
Type a) and b)...

The first thing I'll admit is that this is not a topic for someone that is adversed to technology. I fully understand that I am solving problems that I face as a collector using tools in my toolshed and am aware this isn't for everyone. With that said, the technologies I'm experimenting with *can* solve some real problems and for anyone that isn't afraid of a little tech - I welcome your insight, ideas, and feedback!

This is a continuation of a previous post that I made about using the Reddit and PixelStix as a smarter way to attribute coins. You can read that here I wanted to make another post with updates and pictures.

I'm happy to report that I've been successfully using Reddit and PixelStix to acheive a much smarter attribution process for my personal collection and I'm very happy with the results so far.

A couple of highlights since...