Well said Well... I guess it's relative but it seemed a worrisome trend to me. How many new members have we seen come here, mistakenly thinking that this board is filled with experts (very few members are experts) at their beck and call, ready to tell them what they bought and what it is worth so they can try to get more for it on eBay? It's different when the person posting the coin truly has an interest in ancient numismatics, and thankfully @Gentlemaninpa seems to be one of those. He was seeking information on policies and courtesies, so I weighed in on this subtle point. That is generally felt to be the best way to present unidentified or suspect coins, taking care not to dominate the board with such requests. There have been periodic discussions about having subforums or "sticky" threads which stay at the top, and if I recall, there hasn't been much enthusiasm for the idea. I didn't mean for this little molehill of a point to become a mountain. I was just letting you know that if you flood the "front page" with a bunch of "what is this" posts, especially without any other information (interesting anecdote about the coin's acquisition, thoughts you've had about what it might be, where you've looked for similar coins, etc), you probably won't attract many helpers.
I have been on here for less than a day and already people are finding something wrong with me asking to ID or confirmation of coin authenticity or how many threads I should use or not Something tells me that this board might not be the right one for me after all. I come on here to educate and be educated ..not lectured to. So much for a good experience.
No harm was intended by any means. Just the offering of guidance or suggestions to help maintain a smooth running community to someone newly arriving.
I feel like the new kid in school where everyone jumps down your throat. I want to come on here to relax- this is the OPPOSITE of relaxed.
I think perhaps you have gotten the wrong connotation of what was being said. Regardless, this is a good and friendly forum. One of the best, if not the best out there. Please don't feel anyone here has "jumped down your throat". That was not anyone's intent. We welcome new members such as yourself, and we hope you stick around at least until you get the "feel" of this forum. We're not so bad in the long run.
Let's just take Chris' advice and let it be in the past, and move forward on a new foot. A relaxed foot. GinPA, who is your favorite roman emperor? I often find the portraits of Antoninus Pius gorgeously done. Also there are some Hadrian big bronze portraits that have me enamored. And some Septimius ones too!
Justin lee, I have so many.. For one- Nero has always been very interesting to me. I often wondered why Nero- a paranoid monster who murdered so many innocent christians and romans, would allow himself to be portrayed on a coin so unflatteringly overweight later on in life Still Nero is pretty cool to own- the mad emperor who started the first persecutions of Christians.. even mentioned in the bible( as the 2nd beast in Revelations) These are both my coins i picked up recently He went from this to this I often wonder if he had the man who designed the coin murdered out of spite... or maybe it really didnt bother him. IDK. There are others. Trajan is also another fav of mine -I admired his military successes( since Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over the greatest military expansion in Roman History) i have many of all different grades- one i just posted in another thread. heres another coin I have. I remember reading somewhere that he used to be so brave and confident that he used to walk into peoples houses with no guards with him( unheard of during Roman History) I know some are worn but i prefer worn and aged coins over pristine ones. I feel that its far less likely for them to be a modern fake.( although i know some are now but still its less likely). Not to mention they are cheaper and it doesnt change the fact they are still 2000 years old give or take
I would say Nero is a popular example because so many people have at least heard of Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Sometimes I get the feeling that Nero was misunderstood. He was a reluctant emperor who wanted to be an entertainer. Yes, people (Christians) were killed during his reign, but was it worse than others. I don't think so. History has painted a picture of Nero as a monster, but there were much worse to come and even at least one before his time. As far as being so overweight, I don't think "fat" was considered as a bad thing in those times. It was a sign of wealth and privilege. Our modern day norms cannot be applied to most of history. If you recall what I said about forum rules. Morality of the 1950's. That was a very short time ago, but look how we have changed in less than 70 years.
Antonius Pius was one of the 5 good emperors i believe- I dont have any- yet. I wouldnt be opossed to one. they look nice I have one Hadrian too. the man who built the WALL LOL
from that 2nd Nero coin i showed you If John Belushi were alive he would have been PERFECTLY casted as Nero in a film about him decades ago. his size, the nose the chin- everything
He really was a horrible person. Anyone who would be so vicious enough to have Christians be set on fire while alive just to light his palace at night is pure evil in my book. And about the fiddling - whats the ironic part is this never happened.I have been doing alot of research on the subject First off, the fiddle had not been invented for 1500 years later.( he did play the harp- not the big one- one of those little ones) Second, he wasnt even in Rome at the time of the fire. Third , although he wasnt playing while it was burning, It is believed- or at least speculated by some information found before and during the fire that Nero might have actually ordered some people to set the fire-or started the fire himself in order to clear land for his palace. Nero needed to find someone else to blame, fast! Nero thought of the Christians. That last part is speculation but i wouldnt put anything past that awful man
Thanks for sharing! I LOVE the Nero talk. Skip the "poor victimized Christians" though. There is just as much evidence that they may have actually been the ones who DID start the fire! There are plenty of historians, much more in the know then I, that are saying that "YES. It was probably the Christians that started the fire." though we'll never know for sure. If you want reasons why Nero is a despicable man maybe we could look to the fact that he kicked his pregnant wife to death... Or that time he had his own mother murdered! Those are facts, not speculation like the singing/harp playing or setting the fire. I could go on but here is my Belushi denarii with a cool black patina...
Yes, he played a lyre, but we don't have an expression of "lyreing around" so "fiddling around" is used. The phrase probably shouldn't be taken literally anyway, since it is often derogatory, meaning doing small unimportant things rather than what you should be doing. Below is a Nero coin with Apollo Citharoedus playing a lyre.
Perhaps . None of us were alive back then, and neither were any historians living today. but judging but all of Neros other actions I wouldnt put it past him logically speaking, the Christians were never persecuted before this. It would make no sense They knew who they were dealing with- First off ,setting a fire and killing people isnt the christian way- and there were many christians who have ben reported to have died in the fire. i know that Christians in this day and age might, but keep in mind that 2000 years ago, Saint Peter and Paul were both alive and guiding early Christians. Saint Peter walked with Jesus- the last thing he would do is something like that. And the last thing that they would want to do was get on Rome's bad side, especially when there was just recently a jewish revolt that Rome brutally oppressed. It makes no sense for christians to do this, and judging by the narcissistic and meglomaniacal actions of Nero, it makes all the sense in the world for him to do it. and historically speaking, its a well known fact that he burned Christians alive merely to light his palace.- it makes sense that he would want a large palace if he was willing to light human beings on fire while alive just to illuminate it at night. its also a well known fact that only nero accused the christians- no one else.He wasnt even there when the fire happened. How could he know they did it? It all seemed too suspicious to me. later on Rome hated his guts so much that he killed himself( by his servant helping him) and they tried to erase his existance from history( including getting rid of alot of his coinage) https://theconversation.com/mythbusting-ancient-rome-the-emperor-nero-65797
