Featured History Checklist: The Ancient World in 200 coins

Thanks for the compliment. Quickly going over the list just now, it looks like I'm missing 72. @Alegandron says he has most of them!!

 

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Great work here. Would be a lot of fun to tackle a collection like this.

 

Let's see some of your favourite stuff from the Ancients Checklist!!
Here are a few of the more obscure things I have, or clarifying examples:

This Theban stater is one of a few types that can be dated to the time of the Theban hegemony (371-362 BCE):



This denarius was issued in 63 BCE, during Cicero's consulship. (Well, it might have been... sources are inconsistent on the date. The most popular alternative is 60 BCE.) I like that it depicts the electoral process, in this case a citizen voting on a new law proposal. The voting tablet is marked with a "V" for "uti rogas" or "as you ask", vs. A for "antiqua" or "bad idea, I like it better the old way." The obverse shows Vesta or perhaps the chief Vestal Virgin. Overall, the coin refers to an ancestor of the moneyer, L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla, who introduced the balloting method and also "protected" the Vestal traditions by condemning two vestals to death for unchastity. The traditional method of execution was to entomb the victim alive.



Here's an early Roman provincial issue from Macedon, issued immediately following Aemilius Paullus's final defeat of Perseus in 168 BC. (Legend: ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ ΤΑΜΙΟΥ ΓΑΙΟΥ ΠΟΠΛΙΛΙΟΥ, i.e. Gaius Publilius, who was serving as quaestor.)



And here's an example of the very last Provincial coinage from Alexandria, issued in 295-6 just before a sweeping reform of the coinage introduced by the emperor Diocletian. (This is a coin of Maximianus, Diocletian's partner in charge of the West. If you want a last year issue, look for year 12 for Diocletian, year 11 for Maximianus, or year 4 for either Constantius or Galerius.) The reverse shows Elpis, the personification of hope.



Here's a 2nd century imitation of a denarius of Antoninus Pius (138-161), likely produced in "barbarian" territory north the border, in central or eastern Europe.



It's hard to identify coins of the pre-Kushan Yuezhi with great confidence, but here's one they probably issued in Sogdiana around 100 BCE. It's based on a coin of the Bactrian ruler Euthydemos, showing a very stylized Herakles sitting on rocks. The legend, in Sogdian Aramaic, reads "m’lht y’vg" or "great yabghu." The terms "Yabghu" and "Khagan" (or Khan) were used by Turkic speakers on the steppes for over a millennium, illustrating the fairly unified culture on the steppes. I've represented the steppe peoples prominently in the list because of their huge but often neglected historical importance. More often than not, they provide the essential link between east and west, connecting China with India, with Persia, with the Roman empire, and even with the Franks. Think: the original Persians, the Parthians, the Scythians, the Xiongnu/Huns, the Turks, the Hepththalites, the Avars, etc. (And later, of course, the Mongols!) The dreaded steppe horse archer dominated southerners' nightmares for a thousand years or more!



Here's an early bronze cowrie from China (difficult to date, possibly c. 600 BCE), as well as an early round coin with a square hole from the state of Qi (c. 300-220 BCE). The holed coin may in fact descend from the cowrie; both were carried on strings. The last Chinese "cash" coins were produced early in the 20th century, and as you probably know they didn't look all that different from the bottom one here!




And finally, here's an early east Asian issue from around 450 in either the Pyu city states (Beikthano) or the state of Funan. (It was sold to me as the former, but I'm unclear on how that was determined.) This is the "rising sun" type from the list, and it's a hefty coin: 31mm and nearly 10g. The reverse shows a Shrivatsa temple/symbol, significant in both Hinduism and Buddhism.

 

Love this Time Period (as well as the First and Second Punic Wars):

SOCIAL WAR - MARSIC CONFEDERATION: (ANTI-Sulla )
(@Carthago and @Volodya blow me away with their examples...)

Marsic denarius 89 BCE Bovianum-Asernia-Samnia HN Italy 407 Sear 230 SCARCE


Marsic Confederation denarius 89 BCE Italia-Italia seated shields vict Corfinium Campana retro B 105 HN Italy 412a Sear 228 RARE


Marsic Confederation denarius 90-88 BCE Italia-Corfinium Oath Ceremony over pig Sear 227 SCARCE

MARIUS:

RR AR Quin 81 BC Anon Apol MARIUS GAUL Vict var 2 i S 305 Cr 373-1b O-R


RR Lucilius Rufus 101 BCE Ar Den Roma Biga Marius Victories S 202 Cr 324-1

SULLA:

RR Manlius Torquatus L. Corn Sulla 82 BCE AR den 17mm 3.7g Mil mint w Sulla. Roma - Sulla triumpl quadriga vict wreath Cr 367-3 Syd 759 S 286


Athens c 87-86 BCE Time of SULLA Athena Zeus Sear Grk 2567

 

Alexander lifetime tet



Sulla




Iulius Caesar



Cato the Younger


Brutus


Marcus Antonius


Augustus


Nero



Vespasian



Hadrian

 

Marcus Aurelius



Gallienus


Constantine


Alexandria early empire-Vespasian



Ephesus-Vespasian



Caesarea-Nero and Claudius


Early Judean- Herod

 

Here are 10....
1. c. 600 BCE

Ionia
625 to 600 BC
Uncertain Mint
EL 1/24 Stater
Obvs: Raised swastika
Revs: Incuse square punch
7mm, 0.66g
SNG von Aulock 1778

2. Persian Siglos


3,4,&5 3 Seleukid (1 early, 1 middle, 1 late)

Antiochus I
Mint: Antioch
AE 14
281 to 261 BC
Obvs: Macedonian shield with Seleukid anchor in central boss.
Revs: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY, Horned elephant walking right. ME monogram and club above, jawbone in exergue.
18x19mm, 6.37g
Ref: SC 339.4
Note: Counter mark above elephant

Antiochus IV
Mint: Seleucia on the Tigris
AE Dichalkon
173/172 BC
Obvs: Radiate head of Antiochus right, within fillet border. BX monogram behind head.
Revs: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY, goddess with polos seated left on high-backed throne holding Nike. Bird standing left at feet, dotted border.
20x21mm, 6.68g
Ref: SC Vol.2 1509

Antiochus X
Antioch
94 BC
AR Tetradrachm
Obvs: Diademed head of Antiochus right with long side burn.
Revs: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOV EVΣEBOYΣ ·I·IΛOΠATOPOΣ, Zeus Nikephoros seated left, holding lotus-tipped scepter; Σ monogram and A to outer left, Π below throne; all within wreath.
26x27mm, 14.91g
Ref: SC 2 2428a

6. early Bactrian (e.g. Eukratides)

Eukratides I
170 to 145 BC
Bactria Mint
AR Obol
Obvs: Diademed helmeted and draped right.
Revs: BAΣIΛEΩΣ EYKPATOΔOY, Dioscuri caps with palms above. Monogrambelow
10x11mm, 0.70g
SNG ANS 496, Sear 7578

7. Aes Formatum

140mm ~3110 grams

8. Constantine I

Constantine I
Rome mint
312 to 313 AD
AE Follis
Obvs: IMP CONSTANTINVS PF AVG, right laureate and draped seen from rear.
Revs: SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI, Legionary eagle facing left between two vexilla. RS
22mm, 4.48g
RIC VI 348a

9. Antioch: 1 early empire

Nero
Year 110, 60/61 AD
Antioch Mint
AR Tetradrachm
Obvs: NEPΩNOΣ KAIΣAP OΣ ΣEBAΣTOY, Nero laureate right wearing aegis
Revs: Eagle left on thunderbolt; palm branch before. H IP to right
23x27mm, 14.8g
Ref: BMC v.20.174.192

10. early Spanish/Iberian c. 2nd-1st c. BC (during gradual conquest of Spain)

Obulco
After 150 BC
AE As
Obvs: OBVLCO, Female head right.
Revs: Iberic inscription Tikueki & Botilkes between plow and wheat ear.
23x29mm, 10.34g
CNH 347.38

 

@David@PCC I love that 10-As Coin!!!

 

Thanks. Not one that fits in my pocket easily as it weighs as much as some smaller bowling balls and takes up my entire hand when holding it outstretched. I am curious how big they get?

 

Man O man, a bunch of the ones that I have are already posted. But I've got an ace up my sleeve...or at least 2 pair!
Khusru 1 and 2, just for you!

 

I BELIEVE there are 20-As... but do not quote me.

 

IMHO, if you're going to have just one Vespasian, it has to be the iconic Judaea Capta type.


Vespasian
AR Denarius, 3.35g
Rome Mint, 69-70 AD
RIC 2 (C2). BMC 35. RSC 226.
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: IVDAEA in exergue; Judaea std. r., head resting on hand, to r. of trophy
Acquired from Glenn W. Woods, October 2003.

 

I thought I had a lot more coins that would fit the list but am thrown by the dates. Corinth, for instance, is in the 500-400 BCE slot but most Corinth staters are from 400 on.

Does this coin tick the first two boxes?
pre-500 BCE:
—1 c. 600 BCE
—1 Lydia (Alyattes/Croesus)

KINGS OF LYDIA, temp. Ardys - Alyattes
c. 630s-564/53 BCE (dates from a CNG listing of a similar coin*; I do not have the reference books nor have I read the latest thoughts)
Electrum trite, 4.8 gm, 13.4 mm. Sardes mint.
Obv: head of roaring lion right, sun with four rays on forehead
Rev: two incuse square punches
Ref: Weidauer Group XV, 64; BMC 2

* "Recent research (mostly forthcoming in publication, but cf. White Gold p. 20) has shown that the earliest Lydian electrum had begun before circa 630 BC, predating our traditional attribution to Alyattes. This redating affects Weidauer Groups XV, XVII, and XVIII, as well as the lion paw fractions and boar head coins that Spier linked to the early Lydian coinage (see the following lot)."

c. 500 BCE:

—1 city state in Asia minor

IONIA, Samos
510-500 BCE
AR drachm, 13.7 mm, 3.2 gm
Obv: forepart of winged boar left
Rev: facing lion scalp with dotted square, within incuse square
Ref: SNG Cop 1673

500-400 BCE

—1 Aegina (naval power, rival to Athens)

ISLANDS OFF ATTICA, Aegina
456/45-431 BCE
AR stater; 20mm, 12.32 g
Obv: land tortoise, head in profile, with segmented shell
Rev: large square incuse with skew pattern
Ref: SNG Delepierre 1774ff; BMC Taf. 24.11

...

Past my bedtime. More tomorrow

 

Wow, you guys really stepped up to the plate!! Homeruns, all!!

I'll keep track of what we've checked off collectively...

Well, yours are none to shabby!! Of course it's possible to tick this box a little more modestly with an issue from the Roman side. Like this iconic coin:

Denarius c. 90 BCE, L. Piso Frugi, Apollo/horseman.

I also love your Athenian coin from the time of Sulla's Greek rampage & siege of Athens, @Alegandron... not sure I've seen that one before, that's a very historically significant coin. On my (personal) list now!

@David Atherton: you're probably right about the Judea Capta, but I'd take @Orfew's Ephesus instead. Gotta take the hammer to that Herod, though Andrew...

@David@PCC: those are all great coins, but that humongous aes formatum is da bomb. Literally.

@Ryro: thanks for knocking those two off the list! You win the First Sassanians Posted award!

 

All three of those are amazing coins, @TIF, not to mention amazing photos!!

That first one identifies a problem with my list, though. I need to change the first item to c. 600 BC electrum, and the second item to a pure metal issue, after Lydia's switch from electrum to gold & silver coinage. That could be Croesus or post-Croesus I suppose. I'll fix it!

 

The Herod was a Secret Saturnalia gift from @Deacon Ray . Out of respect for him it will stay in the slab. It is safely in a "no hammer" zone.

 

I'll tick that one for us. This stater dates from 515-450. That counts. This is horseshoes, not archery!

Ah, special exception... I totally agree!! Unless he takes the hammer to it himself, of course.

 

By all means @Orfew's Ephesian Vespasian is aesthetically a more pleasing coin. I just think in general if one were putting a type set together and it required a single Vespasian the Judaea Capta type should be the coin. My average example is just for illustration.

 

Don't worry, I realize that, and you're absolutely correct. It was just an excuse to slip a compliment to Orfew.

 

Olbia, Sarmatia
AE 30 MM dolphin.
Leaping dolphin with bulbous fin,
protruding eye.