I finally got a denarius! :)

I just don’t have it in me to crack it out xD

I’d probably scratch it up and damage it.

But it’s ok I’ll let whoever owns it when I’m gone decide if they want to crack it open.

 

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Oh really? The Marcus Aurelius denarii were selling for $700-$900 at the same auction whereas this Hadrian sold for $300.

Maybe it depends on which design the coin is since they changed frequently.

 

yeah another thing with Hadrian is it seems EF level coins are more rare than of Marcus. Hadrian has a boatload of coins but so many fall in VF category that the EF ones really go for a decent amount. A lot of the Marcus ones I see are EF; they seem better preserved! Not that I’m saying VF is bad, I own lots of VF. Just an observation!

 

Hmm so if EF are rarer and mine is AU then it should be pretty rare too right?

 

I would say so! It’s one of the nicer Hadrian’s I’ve seen

 

Thanks!

It should be noted that the NGC pictures don't look nearly as good as the Heritage Auction ones I posted.

These are the NGC pictures. I think it still looks good but not quite as good as the HA pictures look.

 

Hadrian's fascination / passion with Egypt and the Nile in particular may also be because his Bithynian favourite, Antinous, died by accidentially drowning in the Nile during the festival of Osiris in AD 130. Not sure if this coin is minted after this date but I believe most of the travel series denarii were minted in the later part of Hadrian's reign. If the coin was indeed minted following this tragic event, it may have been one way of Hadrian being able to publicly remember Antinous.

 

Amazing sharp example of Hardian!

Here is mine,



RIC II.3 2320 Rome Mint 3.308g, 18.1mm

 

Just found out the denarius is mentioned in the Bible.

Revelations 6:6

“And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”"

Apparently a denarius was about a day’s wages in biblical times and the Bible quote was saying that it was going to take all of a man’s daily wages just to feed himself.

 

The most famous passage to mention a denarius, though, is Mark 12:13-17 and its synoptic parallels, Matthew 22:15-22 and Luke 20:21-26. The gospels' original Greek actually uses the term, "denarius." The translators of the King James Version rendered "denarius" as "penny" because at that time the English penny was a silver coin about the size of a denarius. Some modern translations, however, use "denarius," such as the New American Standard Version.

Mark 12:13-17 (NASV)

And they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him, in order to trap Him in a statement. And they came and said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"

But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at." And they brought one. And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"

And they said to Him, "Caesar's."

And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him.

 

Very nice coin, especially for a first denarius. Hadrian denarii are very plentiful, but really nice ones are difficult and often expensive. Yours is notable for its centering and completeness, its unworn die state on both sides, its beautifully round flan, and excellent style portrait. The only distraction is the prison.

 

...please explain the “prison” sentence...TY...Spark

 

I think it refers to the slab it's in.

 

It looks like the NILVS denarius was minted in 130-133 AD, so consistent with the period following Antinous' death.

 

Roman collector got it right. It was probably a flippant way to express my personal abhorrence to slabbed ancients. Sorry if it offended anyone in any way.

 

From my own studies on the “Render unto Caesar” story the coin was a Tyrian shekel or possibly tetradrachm but I didn’t see anything about it being a denarius.

 

What’s wrong with slabs?

They make it easy to stack them and protect the coins from my clumsiness.

 

Mark 12:15 reads:

ὁ δὲ εἰδὼς αὐτῶν τὴν ὑπόκρισιν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Τί με πειράζετε; φέρετέ μοι δηνάριον ἵνα ἴδω.

I have placed the word denarius in bold type.

I translate this as "But seeing their hypocrisy, he asked them, 'Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius that I may see it.'"

 

Im just going by Wikipedia xD

 

What’s interesting is despite it’s completeness and lack of wear it still only weighs 2.89 grams.

But from what I’ve read online it should be closer to 3.4 grams.

That’s after some debasement from 4.5 grams.