Here are my ancient Roman coins. These coins span a history of over 700 years, from 211 BC to 498 AD. There are ancient Roman coins, that are way earlier than 211 BC, but I don't have any of those, yet. It's interesting to think about, how people's lives changed, during that 700 years, including the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class. I've been collecting ancient coins for 3 years, and US coins since childhood. It's been a wild and crazy 3 years. Thank you CoinTalk, for teaching me so much, about ancient coins. And for the fun times, I've had, talking with fellow ancient coin collectors, about coins, and everything else under the sun. If you feel like it, you could post your favorite ancient Roman coin, that you own, and tell why it is your favorite. Or whatever else is relevant. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coin 1 : Anonymous AE As. 211 BC To 206 BC. Rome Mint. Sear 627. 32.0 mm. 36.69 grams. Obverse Janus With "I" Above. Reverse Ship's Prow With "I" Above. Coin 2 : Anonymous AE Semis. 211 BC To 206 BC. Rome Mint. Sear 766. 27 mm. 16.88 grams. Obverse Saturn With S Left. Reverse Ship's Prow With S Above. Coin 3 : L. Caecilius Metellus Diadematus AR Denarius. 128 BC. Rome Mint. Sear 138. Crawford 262/1. 18 mm. 3.80 grams. Obverse Roma Wearing Helmet. Reverse Pax Driving Biga With Elephant's Head With Bell Attached Below. Coin 4 : L. Flaminius Cilo AR Denarius. 109 BC To 108 BC. Rome Mint. Sear 179. Crawford 302/1. 20 mm. 3.51 grams. Obverse Roma Wearing Helmet. Reverse Victory Driving Biga With Legend "L FLAMINI" Below. Coin 5 : Augustus AE. Circa 25 BC. Uncertain Mint Possibly Ephesus. RIC 486. 23 mm. 11.24 grams. Obverse Augustus With Legend CAESAR On Left. Reverse Legend AVGVSTVS Within Wreath. Coin 6 : Caligula AE As. 37 AD To 38 AD. Rome Mint. RIC 38. 26 mm. 6.06 grams. Obverse Caligula. Reverse Vesta Seated. Coin 7 : Claudius AE As. 42 AD. Rome Mint. Sear 1860. RIC 113. 28 mm. 10.4 grams. Obverse Claudius. Reverse Libertas Standing Holding Pileus. Coin 8 : Claudius AE As. 41 AD To 42 AD. Rome Mint. Sear 1861. RIC 100. 28 mm. 11.15 grams. Obverse Claudius. Reverse Minerva Holding Spear And Shield. Coin 9 : Trajan AR Denarius. 108 AD To 109 AD. Rome Mint. RIC 119. 19 mm. 2.86 grams. Obverse Trajan. Reverse Aequitas Seated Holding Scales And Cornucopia. Coin 10 : Marcus Aurelius AE Sestertius. 171 AD. Rome Mint. RIC 1003. 31 mm. 19.39 grams. Obverse Marcus Aurelius. Reverse Legend PRIMI DECEN NALES COSIII SC Within Wreath. Coin 11 : Lucius Verus AE Sestertius. 168 AD. Rome Mint. RIC 1479. 30 mm. 19.5 grams. Obverse Lucius Verus. Reverse Aequitas Seated Holding Scales And Cornucopia. Coin 12 : Julia Domna AR Denarius. 200 AD To 207 AD. Rome Mint. RIC 560. 16 mm. 2.87 grams. Obverse Julia Domna. Reverse Juno Standing Holding Patera And Scepter With Peacock On Left. Coin 13 : Aurelian Silvered AE Antoninianus. 274 AD. Ticinium Mint. RIC 152. 21 mm. 4.09 grams. Obverse Aurelian. Reverse Fides Holding 2 Signa On Left With Sol Holding Globe On Right With PXXT In Exergue. Coin 14 : Diocletian Silvered AE Nummus. 297 AD To 298 AD. Heraclia Mint. RIC 19a. 28 mm. 9.7 grams. Obverse Diocletian. Reverse Genius Standing Holding Patera And Cornucopia With HTS In Exergue. Coin 15 : Constantine AE Nummus. 317 AD To 318 AD. Arles Mint. RIC 150. 21 mm. 3.4 grams. Obverse Constantine I. Reverse Sol Standing Holding Globe With PARL In Exergue. Coin 16 : Honorius AE3 Nummus. Western Roman Empire. 401 AD To 403 AD. Antioch Mint. RIC X 99. 15 mm. 2.45 grams. Obverse Honorius Facing Front Holding Spear And Shield With Cross. Reverse Constantinopolis Seated On Throne Holding Sceptre And Globe With Victory. Coin 17 : Arcadius AE3 Nummus. Eastern Roman Empire. 401 AD To 403 AD. Antioch Mint. RIC 97. 16 mm. 2.1 grams. Obverse Arcadius Facing Front Holding Spear And Shield With Cross. Reverse Constantinopolis Seated On Throne Holding Sceptre And Globe With Victory. Coin 18 : Valentinian III AE4 Nummus. Western Roman Empire. 425 AD To 435 AD. Rome Mint. RIC X 2123. 13 mm. 1.34 grams. Obverse Valentinian III Bust Facing Right. Reverse Camp Gate. Coin 19 : Leo I AE4 Nummus. Eastern Roman Empire. 457 AD To 462 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 21461. RIC X 674. 10 mm. 1.11 grams. Obverse Leo I Bust Facing Right. Reverse Lion With Body Facing Left And Head Turned Toward Right. Coin 20 : Zeno AE4 Nummus. Eastern Roman Empire. Second Reign. 476 AD To 491 AD. Constantinople Mint. RIC X 958. 10 mm. 1.26 grams. Obverse Zeno Bust Facing Right. Reverse Monogram. Coin 21 : Anastasius I AE Nummus. Eastern Roman Empire. 491 AD To 498 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 13. 0.99 grams. 8 mm. Obverse Anastasius I Bust Facing Right. Reverse Monogram. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Low Resolution Photos : High Resolution Photos :
You have a great collection, @sand ! The variety of denominations, sizes, and colors makes it a very interesting group of coins. Here’s my Judaean collection desktop/wallpaper image.
Yep I totally agree!....Really like the caligula!...Amongst others... Ok...This is still my favourite as of now..... Reason...I actually stood where the coin was struck! The mint of Empuries....A few hours up the road, slightly North of Barcelona....An amazing feeling when I pick this coin up..... Iberia. Indigets. Emporia Æ AS...27.88mm/10.05grams..27-25 BC.. Obverse:Head of the goddess Pallas Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet with the visor raised and a large plume. Reverse: Pegasos flying right, laurel crown above rump; EMPO below. Villaronga, ACIP 1098 - R6 Ex Archer M Huntington Collection (HSA 1001.1.10234).
Thanks for this. I enjoy seeing others' compiled collections, and my OCD pings with approval at them being displayed in chronological order.
Thanks @Deacon Ray You have a fascinating collection of ancient Judaean coins. What is the range of dates, of the coins in your image? Is that a group photo, or did you combine photos of individual coins? I have some coins from the ancient Middle East, which I find very interesting.
Thanks @Spaniard The Caligula is one of my favorites also. Partly because of the 1979/1980 Malcolm McDowell "Caligula" movie, which I have on DVD, and partly because of the 1976 "I, Claudius" dramatic series, which I also have on DVD. That's a nice Pallas Athena coin you have. It is eerie to know, that you stood, where the coin was struck. I wonder, if the ghosts of the persons, who struck the coin, were watching you. It must be interesting, living in a country, with so much interesting history. I've never been to Spain, and I don't have any ancient coins from Spain. However, I have this coin, which is the most expensive coin in my entire collection, including US coins, ancient coins, medieval coins, and world coins. Potosi 8 reales cob ("Piece Of Eight"), from the reign of Philip II of Spain, assayer RL, minted in the 1590s in the New World. 27.20 grams. 37.7 mm.
sand, You've got an excellent representative collection of Roman coins, from the Republican era to the late Imperial era, assembled over the short time span of only 3 years ! I refer the larger bronze & silver coins, so numbers 1,2, 7 & 14 would be my favorites . Given more time, you will probably focus on specific areas. Presently you seem to be driven by historical interest.
Thanks @Al Kowsky Yes, I have been sort of a generalist collector, as far as ancient coins go. My ancient coin collection is very broad. Indeed, a lot of my interest in ancient coins, is based on their history. I also like the way they look. When I was a child, collecting mostly US coins and some world coins, I also had a book, which had photos of ancient coins. I remember seeing photos of an Aegina turtle stater, an Athens Owl tetradrachm, and an Alexander The Great tetradrachm. I was fascinated by those coins. But I was clueless, about how to get them. And I was obsessed with US coins. And then, I became obsessed with collecting postage stamps. And then, I mostly stopped collecting coins or stamps, for many years. Luckily, my mother kept my coins and stamps, in a box, all of those years. And then, I started collecting US coins again, and English coins. And now, I collect ancient coins, medieval coins, Crusader coins, Spanish colonial coins, English coins, and US coins. But 90% of my coin purchases, within the past 3 years, have been ancient coins. And I still have my stamps, which I like to look at, now and then. I have many pleasant memories of childhood, associated with my coins and stamps.
Very good job @sand : capturing the spirit of 700 years of coinage evolution in only 21 coins is a challenge, you got it perfectly. As said above, even though you call yourself a generalist (I am one myself), along the journey, you will upgrade some, find a niche you would like to dig in a bit more (or several, most probably too many ). Here are two virtual trays, the first is that of the generalist (30 denarii of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Pupienus. Why 30, well I guess it rings a bell to many christians here ), the second is that of the specialized collector (all of the 21 main types of antoniniani in the Divi series minted by Trajan Decius) Q
Tiberius, Claudius and Domitian must be spinning in their graves (or should I say in their urnes) seeing that an incompetent guy like Commodus is part of this series while they are left out xD
Thanks @Cucumbor You have a nice looking collection of silver denarii. In your generalist denarii collection, my favorite is the 2nd coin (Augustus?), and my 2nd favorite is the Domitian. I think that 2nd coin looks like Augustus, even though I can't read all of the legend. Is it a divus? As far as upgrades go, I have upgraded 3 of my ancient Roman coins, so now I have 3 duplicates. One upgrade is the Claudius AE as. Both of my Claudius AE asses are shown in my OP photos, because I like both of them a lot. The upgrade is the one on the left. Another upgrade is my Caligula AE as. I didn't include my first Caligula AE as, in my OP photos, because it doesn't look nearly as good as the upgrade. What's funny is, my Caligula upgrade cost half, of what my first Caligula cost. Another upgrade is my Constantine I AE nummus. Interestingly, my first Constantine I AE nummus is shown in my OP photos, because I decided, that I like my first one, better than my 2nd one. My 2nd one has a nice portrait, a very different looking portrait, but I decided not to include it, in my OP photos, because I don't look at it, very often.
I also have a handful of other ancient Roman coins, which my father gave to me, when I was a child. He knew I was collecting coins, so he bought them, when he was in Israel, in the mid 1970s. A Diocletian nummus, and some small bronze coins from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries. So, in a sense, my ancient coin collection started, when I was a child. However, as a child, I didn't know how to authenticate or attribute the coins, and I didn't buy any other ancient coins, until 3 years ago. The coins he gave to me, look authentic to me. But they are not at the same level, as the coins in my OP photos. Therefore, I didn't include them, in my OP photos. But I like them, because my father gave them to me, so many years ago.
