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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Alegandron, post: 3335180, member: 51347&quot;]It is a gorgeous coin, but it is the Libyan / Mercenary War and the placemarker in History that it is that interests me.</p><p><br /></p><p>Strike, centering, mint, variations, unique devices, grade, luster, etc, etc is not as important to me. My intent is not to sell them, or collect by coins being of a special grade or highr, etc. I feel that the third party grading and slabbers have carved too large a niche and have commercialized and sterilized the Hobby. The numismatic grading systems have moved collecting from being a Hobby, to being an investment. I am amazed at how many times people ask “what its grade, and how much isit worth???” This shifr in coin collecting’s center-of-gravity is WHY I no longer collect Moderns (as of 30 years ago when that crap started,) to my collecting Historicall of Ancient coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>That this coin represents a brutal, and almost lost, chapter in human history is what interests me.</p><p><br /></p><p>Folks may know of the First Punic War, but they may not understand its aftermath of the huge indemnites that Rome imposed on Carthage.&nbsp; However, they may not be aware that becaues of those indemnities, that there was the direct effect of not having the monies to pay their massive Mercenary Army. This resulted in a continued, and very brutal Mercenary War immediately after the First Punic War. Carthage literally was at war with their own miltary, and lost many of their own people. It reflected some horrible atrocities in Human History, until it was put down by a Barcid. This was a further hatred of Rome by the Barcid family, that later manifested itself with the Second Punic War, or also called The War with Hannibal... who was from the family Barcid.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>It is the same reason I love coins of the Marsic Confedeation, another rather overlooked chapter in Human History. The Roman LOST the War by conceding EVERY demand of the Italians, but won the war militarily. This was a critical juncture in Roman and Human History, again overlooked.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]883479[/ATTACH]</p><p>The Social War, Marsic Confederation</p><p>AR Denarius. Corfinium, 89 BCE. 3.60g, 20mm, 8h.</p><p>Obv: Laureate head of Italia right, wearing pearl necklace; ITALIA behind, X (mark of value) below chin</p><p>Rev: Italia, seated left on shields, holding sceptre in right hand and sword in left, being crowned with wreath by Victory who stands behind; retrograde inverted B in exergue.</p><p>Ref: Campana 105 (same obverse die); Sear 228 w/ control mark inverted B; HN Italy 412a.</p><p>Near Very Fine. Cleaning marks to rev.</p><p>Ex: Roma[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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