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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 5616192, member: 57495&quot;]Thanks!&nbsp; I&#039;d be very happy with a &quot;matching&quot; Nero at some point.&nbsp; I do have to say though that my favorite proto-contorniate that I&#039;ve seen was auctioned off by Heritage <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7219777" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7219777" rel="nofollow">last year</a>...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1242128[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>... for a mere $42k. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie10" alt=":oops:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I like the idea that they were throwbacks to the old Imperial tradition of giving out medallions, but did just read <a href="https://www.academia.edu/41285617/Andreas_Alf%C3%B6ldi_and_the_Contorniates" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.academia.edu/41285617/Andreas_Alf%C3%B6ldi_and_the_Contorniates" rel="nofollow">this interesting paper</a> on the topic by Franz Mittag.&nbsp; In it, Mittag cites a number of scholars who have rejected Alföldi&#039;s theory that contorniates were essentially anti-Christian propaganda issued on the occasion of the New Year&#039;s celebrations by pagan senators at Rome.&nbsp; The arguments come out more strongly in favour of these being related to festival games (you mentioned this point to me as well).&nbsp; He concludes by saying that:</p><p>&quot;<i>Authors who deal with the contorniates in a more detailed way are more sceptical about Alföldi’s analysis. During the 1950s a large number of them did accept Alföldi’s thesis, but since then more and more numismatists and historians have returned to the older interpretation which associated the contorniates with the circus, or they have formulated alternative explanations of their own. As far as I can see Alföldi’s thesis is no longer accepted by a significant number of numismatists.</i>&quot; </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Very interesting piece, and, yes, that&#039;s a <b>great</b> photo for an iphone quickie![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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