For me part of the fascination of collecting LRBs is the history behind the faces on the coins. As I collect and accumulate these coins, I like to study a bit about the history of these Roman Rulers. My two latest pickups are a father and son, Carus and Carinus. They both reigned very briefly as Augustus in the early to mid 280's. I'm finding myself fascinated by the third century crisis that occurred within the Roman Empire. With all the chaos, split rulers, userpers, in-fighting and rivalries, it's a wonder to me that the Roman Empire didn't crumble and dissolve prior to the year 300. "The Crisis of the Third Century (also "Military Anarchy" or "Imperial Crisis") (AD 235–284) was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasion, civil war, plague, and economic depression. The Crisis began with the assassination of Emperor Alexander Severus at the hands of his own troops, initiating a fifty-year period in which 20–25 claimants to the title of Emperor, mostly prominent Roman army generals, assumed imperial power over all or part of the Empire." Cut from wikipedia. Not a great academic quality source, but for the purposes of this general desctiption it will do. Anyhow the rulers depicted on the next two coins were Father and Son, and were two of the last claimants to the throne before Diocletian defeated Carinus at the battle of Margus and managed to somewhat unite the Empire again between 285 and 305. It's interesting to note that Carinus is remembered by history as one of the as one of the worst Roman emperors abandoning himself to all kinds of debauchery and excess. But those historical accounts were written under Diocletian, his rival and enemy, so one has to wonder how accurate they are. The victors get to write history. Carus; AD 282-283 Bronze AE Antoninianus; 21mm/3.6g OBV; Bust Right radiate draped & cuirassed REV: Carus standing right receiving victory & globe from Jupiter Sear 3409 Carinus: 282-284 AD Bronze AE Antoninianus, 21mm/3.6g, Antioch mint OBV: IMP C M AVR CARINUS PF AVG; Radiate head right, draped and cuirassed REV: VIRTVS AVGG; Emperor standing right, holding sceptre, receiving Victory form Jupiter or Carus standing left, XXI in ex, A in betw. (RIC 325 v)
Sometimes I wonder that the Roman Empire existed at all. It seemed constantly in a state of internecine warfare, and the political/military intrigues of one emperor read much the same as most other emperors. Frankly, I get bored with Roman political history very quickly - it reminds me of soap operas: if you've seen one or two episodes, you've seen them all. The interest in Roman history for me, lies in the architecture, art, philosophy, etc.
Thanks JA. That one shipped from Israel. Took over a month to get here after I paid for it on eBay. I suppose that's another part of the collecting ancients experience.
That jibes with my experience. I asked one Israeli dealer why it took so long, and he told me it wasn't the post - if he just sends a letter to the US, it takes a week. But dealers have to get export approval for any antiquities that ship out of the country, which is what takes so long. The Middle East was looted of its antiquities for so many centuries, that most of the governments have very tight controls in place now.
Sometimes packages get stuck in customs. That's happened to me a few times when I ordered from the UAE.
Every package I have received from Israel has taken longer than any other location. Nice coins, but the color on the Carinus is very nice.
Really Arda ? Its not RIC 49? I see Minster 438 looks like a match Arda thanks, I do like "The Goth" though.
The legend on your fourth coin reads [DIVO CLA]VDIO, whereas the issue of the deified Carus reads DIVO CARO PARTHICO
