Coin Talk

My newest Sestertius is only of mediocre quality, but the type is quite rare and interesting.

IVNO CONSERVATRIX was the very first reverse type of Julia Mamaea, introducing the mother of the new Augustus Severus Alexander to the public as the new Empress in the spring of AD 222.

The type of Juno "the Preserver" was also used for her mother Julia Maesa and promotes the continuity of the Severan regime after the murder of both Elagabalus and his mother Julia Soaemias on March 11, AD 222. It presents the sister and companion of Jupiter as protector of Mamaea´s and Maesa´s lives during the pretorian guard´s revolt that had actually been their own plan.

Mamaea´s portrait at this point still very much resembles that of her elder sister Julia Soaemias with her long neck and slim face.



IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA - Draped bust right, diademed, hair weaved in rows and tucked at base of head
IVNO CONSERVATRIX S C - Juno, diademed and veiled, standing left, patera...

My last acquisition of 2019 has finally arrived, so here it is:



L SEPT SEV PE-RT AVG IMP VIII – Laureate and cuirassed bust of Septimius Severus right, seen 3/4 from behind
ADVENTVI AVG FELICISSIMO S C - Septimius Severus, in military attire, on horse prancing right, raising right hand in salute; in front helmeted Roma advancing right, looking left, leading the emperor´s horse by holding it´s bridle in right hand and vexillum in left hand
Sestertius, Rome 196 aD.
32,9 mm / 19,06 gr
RIC 719c (R2); BMCRE 596; Cohen 8 var. (draped and cuirassed, 25 F), CSS 227; Sear 6403, Banti 4 (26 specimens)
ex Auctions Jean Elsen Nr. 142, 14.09.2019, lot 513 and Nr.143, 07.12.2019, lot 454



And here is a little historic and numismatic background:

While campaigning against the Parthians in retaliation for their support for Pescennius Niger in early 196 aD, Septimius Severus received the news of Clodius Albinus´ usurpation in...

Egypt, 290-298 AD
The Corrector
Throughout the third century, the power of Egypt declined: supplanted by Africa as Rome's breadbasket, it suffered as much from piracy in the Red Sea as from the agitation of the Blemmyes, a nomadic tribe from northern Nubia, who ruined its trade with the India . The province also suffers from the loss of value of Roman coins, in particular the silver tetradrachm, while the increase in prices leaves the rural populations in great difficulty . Neither the monetary reforms of the Emperor Diocletian, nor the stabilization of the domestic political situation, the premise of a resumption of economic activity, succeeded in reversing the phenomenon and relieving local populations of the burden of taxation. Also, between 290 and 292 AD, a revolt broke out in Upper Egypt. The insurgency spreads quickly since it reaches in particular the region of Fayoum, that of Thebaïde as well as the cities of Busiris and Coptos. This uprising is, if not triggered,...

Most of us on this site are interested in ancient history as well as coins. As we read about the people who wind up on those coins it becomes painfully obvious that most of them are not the kind of people we would like to have move in next door. Of course by the behavioral standards of that day, much of what they did would not have been reprehensible or at least, not as morally repugnant as we would see it.

In your study of ancient history who would you consider to be the most nasty, brutish (but not short), vicious, dangerous, callous, malign, menacing monarch of ancient or medieval times and do you have a coin or two of such maleficent rulers?

My choice may not immediately come to mind as one of those kind of rulers. it is the Roman emperor, Caracalla (198-217). I guess his murdering his little brother (Geta) by dragging him out of the arms of their mother to do so, does get one's attention. To make sure he did not take too much heat from that, he exterminated thousands of...

Following up from posts on the 1000 Yen banknote and the 2000 Yen banknote, here is the 5000 Japanese Yen banknote. Worth $45.39 US as of this moment, this note circulates widely in Japan and its high usage and larger denomination means that it's scattered with even more anti-counterfeit devices than the 1000 Yen note.



日本銀行券 (Nipponginkōken) - Bank of Japan banknote
五千円 (sen'en) - 5000 Yen
日本銀行 (Nipponginkō) - Bank of Japan
樋口一葉 Higuchi Ichiyō- Meiji Period writer - she lived for only 24 years but her short stories remain among the most famous in Japan and many have been made into movies
国立印刷局製造 (Kokuritsu insatsu-kyoku seizō) -...

While I was at FUN, a dealer friend bought a large hoard of about 200 Da Quan Wu Shi coins. This hoard was intact, never picked through, and never cleaned. Since I love going through hoards, I looked through all of the coins, and presented here are my observations. I bought 24 of the coins.

The vast majority were nice official issues. Many were rather crusty or had problems such as cracks, holes, etc. Pictured here are the nicest. Notice how bold the inscriptions and rims are, and how symmetric the characters are. These all weighed over 5 grams, with the heaviest being about 9.7 grams.



Closeup of the two nicest from the hoard so that the style is clear:



Wang Mang’s rule was quite turbulent and marked by rampant counterfeiting. With several of his spade types, there are more extant contemporary counterfeits than official issues, which makes finding official...

Vesta is the Roman version of the Greek goddess Hestia, the goddess of family values and domestic life (i.e. the hearth). Vesta was considered by the Romans to be a role-model for women and as such, she appears frequently on coins of the Roman empresses. As a model for the Roman matron, she is always depicted wearing the stola and palla and holding some combination of a patera, simpulum, scepter (hasta pura), torch, or Palladium. The Palladium was a statue of Athena (Roman Minerva) believed to have been brought by Æneas from Troy.


Lucilla, AD 164-169.
Roman Æ As, 11.24 g, 25.2 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 164-166.
Obv: LVCILLAE AVG ANTONINI AVG F, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: VESTA S C, Vesta standing left,...

Isis appears on few Roman imperial issues. The most famous imperial coin to depict the Egyptian goddess is a silver denarius of Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus, dated by the British Museum to the period 196-202. It was issued by two mints, the main mint in Rome and by an unknown eastern mint, traditionally attributed to Laodicea but more recently to Antioch.


Julia Domna, AD 193-217.
Roman AR denarius, 3.61 g, 17.7 mm, 12 h.
Rome, AD 196-202.
Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: SAECVLI FELICITAS, Isis, wearing polos, standing right, foot on prow, nursing infant Horus; behind them, a ship’s rudder leans against an altar.
Refs: RIC 577; BMCRE 75-82; Hill 504; Cohen 174; RCV 6606.


Julia Domna, AD 193-217.
Roman AR denarius, 3.07 g, 18.2 mm, 12 h.
Uncertain Eastern mint (Antioch?), AD 196-202.
Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: SAECVLI FELICITAS, Isis, wearing polos,...

Hey all, I'm new to this forum! A bit about myself: I've been collecting ancient coins for nearly 20 years, caught the bug as a kid when my parents gave me a few Roman bronze coins they purchased while traveling in France. I've built up and sold off several small collections at this point, and for a long time I was only interested in Greek silver. Recently I've started a new collection focusing on sestertii from the 2nd/3rd century.

I believe this Septimius sestertius is a rare bust type, I've only found one near die match for it in online auction records. I've found a number of die matches for the reverse. There are several similar coins in the online British Museum catalog, though they are IMP V. I was hoping some of the experienced members might take a look and give me their opinions on the coin. This is the dealer photo, I do not have the coin in hand yet.



Septimius Severus, Æ Sestertius, Rome, 194-195 AD. L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP IIII,...

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

Many coins of Thrace depict snakes. Here I have a type from Augusta Trajana:

Thrace, Augusta Trajana, Geta, AD 209-212
AE 30, 16.5g, 225°
obv. AVT K Π CEΠT - IMOC ΓETAC
Bust, cuirassed, seen from behind, laureate, r.
rev. AVΓOVCTHC - TPAIANHC
Snake, radiate and with nimbus, in four elaborated coils erected r.
ref. Schönert-Geiss 496 (1 ex. only!); Varbanov 1356
very rare, about EF, brown patina


On ancient coins we find many depictions of snakes. I remind of the snake as attribute of Salus, or the famous Cistophori where a snake is climbing out of a Cista mystica, the snake basket, belonging to the cult of Dionysos and playing an important role in the Eleusinic Mysteries too. And don't forget the Alexandrian Agathodaimon. But this is not the matter with the snake on this coin. It is a Pontic type.

There is some evidence that the snake erecting here in four elaborated coils and has a radiate head with nimbus is...