Coins from my collection

Cant fathom what that cost. Its a beauty & I can see why its your avatar selection. Lucky!

 

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Thanks again for posting the ultra high grade coin

Makes me wonder what one Aureii of Caligula would purchase back in the day.... :smile

 

Wow! Some nice gold! Not sure if I will ever get any gold ancients

 

This is the first of my coins that I classify in the subcategory "12 Caesars Emperors with scruffy beards." It also qualifies in the subcategory of "animals on the reverse" so it's a two-for-one coin:



DOMITIAN 81 - 96 A.D.
AR Denarius (3.59 g.) Rome 73 A.D.
CAES AVG F DOMIT COS II Laureate head right. Rev. Domitian riding on horse prancing left, holding scepter in left hand and raising right
RIC Vespasian 680

This one appealed to me for the sharpness of the obverse plus the somewhat unusual toning. I'll also note that my sestertius and as of Domitian do not portray him with the scruffy beard so maybe his wife prevailed on him to shave for those portraits.

 

Ah, dont see too many domitian's showing the sideburns. A real beauty.

 

Domitian was young then and his Caesar portraits look a lot more like the family than his older ones. I suppose the beard was a show that he was old enough to grow it? This is a great portrait.

 

It (the facial hair)reminds me a bit, of Nero.

 

Speaking of Nero, he is one of the scruffy-beard emperors in this subcategory. Starting with his denarius (although his aureus shows his beard too):



NERO 54 - 68 A.D.
AR Denarius (3.53 g.). Rome 64 - 65 A.D.
Obv. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS laureate head of Nero right.
Rev. IVPITER CVSTOS Jupiter enthroned left, holding thunderbolt
RIC 53

The thing that amazes me about this coin is the level of detail in Jupiter's face on the reverse. Nero is his usual scruffy self.

 

Continuing with the subcategory "Emperors with scruffy beards and animals on the reverse" is this denarius of Titus:



TITUS 69 - 79 A.D.
AR Denarius (3.31 g.), Rome 80 A.D.
IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG PM Laureate head of Titus right. Rev. TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P Elephant, wearing cuirass, advancing left.
RIC 115

Maybe facial hair was a family trait - the two sons were competing to see who could grow the scruffiest beard...

I like the elephant on the reverse; seems to be a Roman theme with elephants appearing on a lot of coins. Not much toning on this coins but the condition was quite appealing.

On a lot of Titus and Domitian coins, the two portraits are very similar making me wonder if they looked this alike in real life.

 

Wasn't this coin issued by Domitian right after the death of Titus, but still in the name of Titus, commemorating the completion and dedication of the Colosseum and the opening of the Colosseum games? As it was Titus who really built the Colosseum and which opened right after his death. And hence the elephant on it as elephants were a common but unforgettable "participant" in the Colosseum games. And they must have been there at the opening.

BTW, IdesOfMarch01 you have an impressive collection.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum

Started by Vespasian and finished by Titus, the Colosseum was modified by many following emperors and later people. Be sure to read the section on the name.

 

Umm, OK, finished by Titius.
I wasn't making a post about the complete history and subsequent modifications of the Colosseum. Just that the coin posted, which names Titus and commemorates the opening of the Colosseum was issued by Domitian after Titus died.

 

Titus died in 81. Vespasian died in 79. The listing confuses father and son who had the same name. No coins of Vespasian use the praenomen or its abbreviation while all coins of the son do. I have never heard a suggestion that Domitian issued coins in his deceased brother's name but he did continue types started under Titus using is own obverse updated to his new title Augustus.

 

Thats a gorgeous nero & amazing facial details on jupiter.

Stunning titus. Surprisingly I have seen several of those in high grades this year. Almost bought one in a a bit lower grade but was too cheap. Someone got a deal on that one

 

Both very awesome coins.

I always wondered about what type of elephant they modeled the reverse after. Perhaps the North African elephant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_African_elephant

 

Thanks for the compliment - indeed, thanks to everyone who has responded. It has taken years to get to this point and I still have a substantial number of bronzes to acquire before I complete the theme of this collection.

Continuing in the "Emperors with scruffy beards and animals on the reverse" is another Titus:



TITUS 69 - 79 A.D.
AV Aureus (7.39 g.) Rome mint 73 A.D.
T CAESAR - IMP VESPASIAN Laureate head r. Rev. COS V Cow standing right
RIC Vespasian 857

I especially like the cow (bull?) on the reverse -- this was a theme since the time of Augustus, apparently -- and I find it amusing and a bit quirky. Overall, the crispness of the strike on both the obverse and reverse made this coin very attractive.

 

Beautiful.

One day I will own some roman gold

 

My favorite gold of yours so far

 

The final coin in my "Emperors with scruffy beards" is an aureus of Nero. It doesn't have an animal on the reverse, so it doesn't qualify for the category of "Emperors with scruffy beards with animals on the reverse" like the Titus coins:



NERO 54 - 68 A.D.
AV Aureus (7.33 g.) Rome 64 - 65 A.D.
Obv. NERO CAESAR - AVGVSTVS Laureate head right. Rev. Roma seated left on cuirass, holding Victory in right hand and parazonium in left; in exergue, ROMA
RIC 54

Even though the reverse isn't an animal, I very much liked the portrait of Roma and continue to be amazed at the level of detail that ancient Roman engravers could create in such a small area. Just being able to see this level of detail in a die, let alone being able to engrave it, must have taken extraordinary skill.

This coin is one of the first aurei I acquired and is still a favorite of mine.

 

Very wonderful detail! I wonder if they used softer metal for the dies for gold coins, since gold is much softer.