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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Finn235, post: 8118813, member: 98035&quot;]For my second list, I will be covering emperors and empresses that I owned in 2020 or earlier, but added either a new title, or else just a pleasing new example.</p><p><br /></p><p>Again, I have nearly exhausted my list of &quot;X as [title]&quot; without straying into 4 digit territory, so any progress is great progress! </p><p><br /></p><p>We&#039;ll start with coins that are neither new emperors nor new titles for them, but nonetheless deserve placement in the top 10</p><p><br /></p><p>10. Geta as Caesar, bearded portrait AR denarius</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1413381[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>This curious coin comes only a short time before Geta was promoted to co-Augustus with his father and brother. Why Caracalla was promoted at age 9 while Geta had to wait until he was 20 is probably lost forever with the damnatio against him.</p><p><br /></p><p>9. Gallienus AE Denarius</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1413380[/ATTACH] </p><p>A fitting companion to the sestertius I bought last year - I&#039;ve always been fascinated with the very sparse and sporadic issuance of denarii after Gordian III.</p><p><br /></p><p>8. Probus BI Antoninianus, Martial bust</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1413379[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m a sucker for Probus&#039; more artistic types, but this one really does it for me! This engraver was a master of his craft.</p><p><br /></p><p>7. A trio of rare denominations from Trajan Decius:</p><p>1) The last Imperial Semis ever struck</p><p>2) AE As, liberalitas issue</p><p>3) AE dupondius, liberalitas issue</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1413330[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I have come to appreciate how hard Decius tried to restore the glory of the empire, and his coinage reflects this. I am particularly fond of these liberalitas issues, as unlike most other ancients, at least one event from their life is certain - they were disbursed to the populace as part of the emperor&#039;s largesse.</p><p><br /></p><p>And finally the new titles! These are all fairly common emperors, but scarce to rare titles for them.</p><p><br /></p><p>6. Diadumenian as Augustus, AE of Antioch</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1413325[/ATTACH] </p><p>I could start a debate, but I am sticking to my guns that the CE beneath Diadumenian&#039;s bust was added as a modification to existing dies, and stands for CEBACTOY, the Greek equivalent of Augustus. As Diadumenian and Macrinus were near Antioch at the time, it would make sense for a large emergency issue to be produced, to rally the populace against that priest boy who claimed to be Caracalla&#039;a son.</p><p><br /></p><p>5. Divus Trajan, AE of Mysia, Pergamon, with Divus Augustus</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1413323[/ATTACH] </p><p>Divus Trajan is a tricky one - aside from the immensely rare imperial issues and the ones by Decius over a century later, contemporary coins of Divus Trajan are nearly non-existent. This one from Hadrian&#039;s era offers a neat alternative - the coin features the Temple of Divus Trajan, with the Temple of Divus Augustus, with both appearing as statues within.</p><p><br /></p><p>4. Julian II, as Usurper AR siliqua</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1413322[/ATTACH] </p><p>Long on my radar, these early, western-mint siliqua of Julian II show him as Augustus but without his beard, and are dated to his 360-61 usurpation against Constantius II, which ended with the latter&#039;s death before fighting actually took place. That they are so prolific is probably an indication that they were used to raise armies against the sitting Roman emperor.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. Divus Claudius with Nero, AR drachm of Caesarea</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1413318[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Divus Claudius is nearly impossible to find in imperial coinage, so these Latin-engraved provincial silvers make a good alternative. This one is also denarius-sized and was more palatable than what the tetradrachms have been selling for lately. Divus Claudius is a strange one - he was a laughingstock before becoming emperor, he was widely hailed as a capable statesman during his tenure in the purple, but once he was deified he became a laughingstock again, with Seneca writing a satirical play just years later in which Claudius is turned away by the gods and sent to Hades for a sisyphean punishment for his murderous streak and love of gambling. Claudius was also the only divine emperor passed over by Decius for his &quot;best emperors&quot; set.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. Diva Julia Maesa, grandmother of Severus Alexander, AR denarius</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1413316[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I am convinced that this is the ugliest example on the market, and the only one that will ever sell for less than $1000. I spotted this coin in CNG archives several years ago, and dreamed of owning one so cheaply - which I did earlier this year! Despite her relatively good reputation in Rome, Julia Maesa&#039;s consecration seems to have been a relatively low key event, with very little coinage struck to celebrate. Perhaps mommy Mamaea didn&#039;t want grandma stealing her thunder anymore?</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Divus Lucius Verus AE Sestertius</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1413317[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>OK, so this isn&#039;t a new add, but oh my gosh would you just <i><b>LOOK</b></i> at that bust! Even though the magic of taxes, conversion rates, and fees on both somehow nearly doubled my price between hammer time and invoice time, this is probably my favorite 2021 pickup overall regardless.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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