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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ValiantKnight, post: 1686920, member: 44210&quot;]Didn&#039;t think it&#039;d be so soon, but I managed to get another Felix Ravenna type for my Ostrogoth collection, this one way better than my first one. Paid a great price for it too (anyone want to take a stab at price?), which makes it even better. It may seem like an upgrade, but I don&#039;t really see it that way. One because the previous coin usually gets sold/traded, and I&#039;m not going to give up my Ostrogothics anytime soon! Second, their monograms are slightly different: my first Felix Ravenna&#039;s monogram has a cross above while it is absent on this one. There are four variations so far according to this site (<a href="http://www.ancientcoinmuseum.com/HistoryPages/LATEROMANIMPERIALMONOGRAMS.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.ancientcoinmuseum.com/HistoryPages/LATEROMANIMPERIALMONOGRAMS.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ancientcoinmuseum.com/HistoryPages/LATEROMANIMPERIALMONOGRAMS.html</a>), and I&#039;ve already acquired half of them.</p><p><br /></p><p>I realize I didn&#039;t really include a history lesson last time around, so here&#039;s some info about the Ostrogoths and their kingdom in Italy.</p><p><br /></p><p>After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, Western Europe was now in the hands of the Germanic barbarian tribes. Italy, the heart of the former empire, was under the control of the barbarian king Odoacer, who had forced the abdication of the last Western Roman Emperor. The Eastern Roman Empire, based in Constantinople, accepted as long as he ruled in the Eastern Emperor&#039;s name, but in practice, Odoacer ruled independently. As time went on however, he had begun to be viewed as a threat by the Eastern leadership, and so, they wanted him removed. Emperor Zeno then went to Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, and promised him that if he could invade Italy and take Odoacer out of power, he would recognize Theodoric as king of Italy. Moving from their lands in Pannonia, in 489 AD the Ostrogoths attacked Italy, and had the whole peninsula and Dalmatia under their control by 493 AD. Theodoric&#039;s reign in Italy was a very prosperous and peaceful time for the country, more so than at any time in the previous 100 years. This would not last, unfortunately, when Theodoric died and later, when the Eastern Empire invaded in 535 AD in a war that nearly totally ruined Italy and would leave the peninsula divided. Never again would Italy be unified until the 19th century.</p><p>Ravenna served as the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom and Theodoric set out to make the city as important and influential as Rome and Constantinople, so he had coins minted that depicted Ravenna.</p><p><br /></p><p>AE Decanummium</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;<font face="Arial"><font size="2"><span style="color: black"><font face="Arial"><font size="2"><span style="color: black">Obv: FELIX R-AVENNA, turreted head of Ravenna right</span></font></font></span></font></font></p><p><font face="Arial"><font size="2"><span style="color: black"><font face="Arial"><font size="2"><span style="color: black">Rev: Monogram of Ravenna within wreath, X below</span></font></font></span></font></font></p><p><font face="Arial"><font size="2"><span style="color: black"><font face="Arial"><font size="2"><span style="color: black">R<font size="2">avenna</font> mint<font size="2">, </font>COI 78<font size="2">a</font></span></font></font></span></font></font></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]253944.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p>(seller&#039;s photos)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Map (Europe 526 AD):</p><p>[ATTACH]253939.vB[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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