My coins through the centuries (6th BC - 15th AD) - ValiantKnight

This was a small project that I was meaning to do for some time: to pick a coin from my collection for each century from 6th century BC to 15th century. I know there were coins made before and after this range but I figure this was a large enough timespan to make an uninterrupted chain of coins from my collection. There wasn't much of a selection process in choosing them, although with some centuries it was a bit tough to decide, but basically each coin was the most appropriate for that century (ex. Constantine for 4th AD), the best looking (ex. Justinian, Sisebut for 6th and 7th AD respectively), or the only coin I have from that century (ex. Bayezid for 15th century). And/or they also happened to be my favorite from that century. And the few that have overlapping centuries of minting I cheated a little bit with (ex. Miletos for 6th BC, Alexios trachy for 13th AD). I hope you enjoy, and I also hope this interests others here to do something similar.

6th century BC

Miletos, Ionia
AR twelfth-stater
Obv: Forepart of lion left, head turned
Rev: Floral, star, or sun pattern in incuse square
Mint: Miletos
Date: 525-494 BC
Ref: SNG Cop 952



5th century BC

Kyzikos, Mysia
AR hemiobol
Obv: Forepart of running boar left, tunny fish behind neck
Rev: Lion's head left, jaws wide open, small panther head above
Mint: Kyzikos
Date: 5th century BC
Ref: Rosen 522



4th century BC

Maroneia, Thrace
AE 14
Obv: Horse prancing right, PNK monogram below
Rev: MAΡ-ΩNI-TΩN around linear square containing vine, VE-monogram below
Mint: Maroneia
Date: 400-350 BC
Ref: BMC 66



3rd century BC

Antiochus III, Seleucid Empire
AE chalkous
Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right
Rev: BASILEWS ANTIOXOY, Apollo standing left holding bow & arrow
Mint: Antioch
Date: 223-187 BC
Ref: SNGCop 154



2nd century BC

Demetrius I, Seleucid Empire
AR tetradrachm
Obv: Diademed head right, within wreath
Rev: BASILEWS DHMHTRIOU, Tyche holding scepter and cornucopia, seated left on throne supported by tritoness, monogram to outer left
Mint: Antioch
Date:161-150 BC
Ref: SC 1634
Provenance: Ex Stephen Glover Collection (Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 264)



1st century BC

Manius Cordius Rufus, Roman Republic
AR denarius
Obv: Jugate heads of the Dioscuri right; stars above
Rev: Venus Verticordia holding scales and sceptre; on her shoulder, Cupid
Mint: Rome
Date: 46 BC
Ref: Cordia 1



1st century AD

Vespasian, Roman Empire
AR denarius
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG, laureate head right
Rev: PON MAX TR P COS V, emperor seated right, holding sceptre and branch
Mint: Rome
Date: 74 AD
Ref: RIC 702



2nd century AD

Antoninus Pius, Roman Empire
AR denarius
Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, laureate bust right
Rev: COS III DES IIII, Virtus holding spear & parazonium
Mint: Rome
Date: 144 AD
Ref: RIC 118



3rd century AD

Victorinus, Gallic Empire
AE antoninianus
Obv: IMP C VICTORINVS P F AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust right
Rev: SALVS AVG, Salus standing right, feeding serpent in arms
Mint: “Southern mint”
Date: 268-270 AD
Ref: RIC 67



4th century AD

Constantine I, Western Roman Empire
AE follis
Obv: IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev: SOLI INV-I-CTO COMITI, Sol standing left, chlamys across left shoulder, holding globe and raising right hand
Mint: Rome
Mintmark: RS
Date: 316-317 AD
Ref: RIC VII 57



(more in the next posts)

 

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5th century AD

Jovinus, Western Roman Empire
AR siliqua
Obv: D N IOVIN-VS P F AVG, Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Rev: VICTOR-IA AVGG, Roma seated left on stylized cuirass, holding Victory on globe and reversed spear
Mint: Lugdunum
Mintmark: SMLDV
Date: 411-413 AD
Ref: RIC X 1717



6th century AD

Justinian, Byzantine Empire
AV solidus
Obv: D N IVSTINI-ANVS P P AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, holding cross on globe and shield
Rev: VICTORI-A AVGGG delta, angel standing facing, holding P-headed cross and cross on globe, star in right field
Mint: Constantinople
Mintmark: CONOB
Date: 542-565 AD
Ref: SB 140



7th century AD

Sisebut, Visigothic Kingdom
AV tremissis
Obv: + SISEBVTVS REX, bust facing
Rev: + TOLETO PIVS, bust facing
Mint: Toledo
Date: 612-621 AD
Ref: Miles 183a



8th century AD

Under Yazid II, Umayyad Caliphate
AR dirham
Obv: (center, in Arabic) "There is no God but Allah. He has no equal"
(in margins, in Arabic) “In the name of God. This Dirham was struck in Wasit in the year two and one hundred” (AH 102)
Rev: (center, in Arabic) "God is One God. The eternal and indivisible, who has not begotten, and has not been begotten and never is there His equal"
(in margins, in Arabic) “Muhammad is the messenger of God. He sent him with guidance and the true religion to reveal it to all religions even if the polytheists abhor it”
Mint: Wasit
Date: 720-721 AD
Ref: Klat 695



9th century AD

Louis the Pious, Carolingian Empire
AR denier
Obv: + HLVDOVVICVS IMP, legend around cross in circle
Rev: + METALLVM, legend around cross in circle
Mint: Metallum
Date: 816-819 AD
Ref: MEC 762



10th century AD

Constantine VII, Byzantine Empire
AE follis
Obv: CONST bASIL ROM, bust facing, crowned, with short beard and wearing vertical loros, holding akakia and cross on globe
Rev: +CONST-EN QEO bA-SILEVS R-OMEON, legend in four lines
Mint: Constantinople
Date: 913-959
Ref: SB 1761 (overstruck on SB 1760)



11th century AD

Herbert I, Count of Maine, Kingdom of France
AR denier
Obv: +COMES CENOMANIS ("Count of Maine"), monogram of Herbert within circle
Rev: +SIGNVM DEI VIVI ("sign of the living God"), cross with pellets and letters in corners, all within circle
Mint: Le Mans
Date: 1017-1035 AD
Ref: B., 170; P.A., 1548; Legros, 568; D., 398



12th century AD

Manuel Komnenos, Byzantine Empire
AE trachy
Obv: IC-XC to left and right of Christ bearded and nimbate, wearing tunic and colobium, seated upon throne without back, holds Gospels in left hand
Rev: MANUHL DECP, Manuel on left, holding labarum and cross on globe, being crowned by Mary on right, both standing facing; M between their heads
Mint: Constantinople
Date: 1143-1180
Ref: SB 1966



13th century AD

Alexios III Angelos, Byzantine Empire
AE trachy
Obv: IC-XC to left and right of Christ, nimbate, bust facing, right hand raised, holding scroll in left
Rev: ALEZIOC DECP O KWNTANTI, Alexios, crowned, wearing loros, on left, holding labarum; St. Constantine, nimbate, wearing loros, bearded, on right, holding labarum and holding cross on globe between them
Mint: Constantinople
Date: 1195-1203
Ref: SB 2011



14th century AD

Gregory XI, Papal States
AR bolognino
Obv: ·S· PETRVS· P, mitred bust facing
Rev: +DE·ROMA·, in center: ·V·R·B·I· in angles, in pattern of short cross
Mint: Rome
Date: 1370-1378
Ref: Berman 209

 

15th century AD

Bayezid II, Ottoman Empire
AR akce
Obv: "Sultan Bayezid bin Mehmed Khan" (in Arabic), legend within border of dots
Rev: "Glorious victory", "Constantinople", all in Arabic
Mint: Constantinople
Date: 1481 (AH 885)
Ref: Pere 86

 

VK,
Your 6th century BC Ionian 1/12 stater is an awesome solid starter for this thread. Can't guite decide which are my favorites, it's a tie between the Justinian solidus and the Visigothic tremissis of Sisebut.

 

Such a GREAT idea @ValiantKnight ! Now I will have to see how many CENTURY holes that I have after the Fall of the Western Empire...

 

Gnarly set bro and an excellent display of the coins through time. Fine selections.

 

You have more centuries covered than me. Very nice set and a good way to present them.

 

A very nice idea, VK! I like the almost infinite variety of themes that can be collected under the aegis of "ancient coins." Now all you need to do is get all the other coins from those centuries!

 

Thanks for the feedback! As I further acquire coins I will update the list and sometime in the future I will repost in a different thread my new list. I do have other Greek cities, barbarian kingdoms, and a few other stuff like Chinese and Spanish so if I do something where I display all the nations/states/cultures I have, those will go there.

 

Jango, congrats on finishing-off your "every coin-century" set ...

I also completed this awesome coin-feat a few years ago (man, it is a great feeling to finish-off a side-avenue set, eh?)

Ummm, I tried to find my coin-thread, but discovered that it was actually two or three separate threads, so I figured that they weren't worth posting

=> congrats again on those sweet coins!!

 

This type of post makes me envious of folks who don't place artificial boundaries on their collection. An impressive trip through the centuries!

 

Thanks Steve and David!

 

I really enjoyed your thread. It was fun & was educational.

 

I have thought about doing something like this. I was thinking of getting a coin from each of the dominant cultures/empires in each century. So, the 4-5th century BC would have a Greek and a Persian coin, the 4th century AD might have a Roman, Sassanid, and Celtic (barbaric) coin. Or something like that. It would take a lot of planning.

 

I really like this approach. You have shown a fantastic variety of coins through the centuries. It demonstrates how varied ancient coins truly are. It also lets us know the wonderful collecting opportunities available to those with the interest and passion to pursue them.

My current focus is collecting coins of historical figures. It would, I think, be interesting to combine your approach with mine. A collection could be assembled of historical figures 1 per century. Of course this is only one of many possible directions a collection like this could take.

My favourites are the Justinian solidus and the Sisebut.

 

Really cool idea for a thread and also there are some very cool coins here! Your collection spans many more centuries than mine!

 

I have been wanting to put a set like this together at some point. I have no idea how complete it is with the coins I have now.

 

I was kind of surprised I had all centuries from nearly the dawn of coinage to the end of the Middle Ages represented in my collection. Guess my recent Greek excursion helped!

Thanks for the additional comments guys!

 

A neat idea for a post!

 

Thanks randy!