Newby with Question

I've been following these conversations and such about the ancient coins, Roman in general and I can't believe the knowledge flowing through here. I've been a bit shy to even come out and ask for your help, but I think the time has come. My collecting only stretches to finding one coin of each emperor if possible within my means. I friend of mine, a real coin collector, large cents is his game, bought this coin from a show he attended and we can't identify it, please help, I'll bet it takes someone all of the time it takes to answer the question that someone will know this. I appreciate your help and look forward to tomorrows threads. Mike

 

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That is the emperor Elagabalus with the personification of faithfulness, Fides, on the reverse.

 

Elagabalus tends to be a bit more expensive than other contemporary emperors.

he’s widely known for being a SUPER FREAK, which is why I like him.

 

Despite the fact that the obverse legend says “ANTONIVS PIVS,” he’s not the emperor we tend to call AP.

Caracalla also tended to have the same legend, despite being a different emperor.

it may be worthwhile to note that Elagabalus is not the name he was given back in the day; neither is Caracalla the name the guy had 2000 years ago.

foe these emperors with the same “name,” it takes experience in identifying the portrait look and style

 

Your coin is a denarius of emperor Elagabalus (218-222); it's RIC 73, with the obverse legend IMP ANTONINVS AVG and the reverse legend FIDES MILITVM.
I hope you'll enjoy our Forum!

 

Welcome aboard. Feel free to ask more questions as they arise. Most of us are here because we love talking about ancient coins. (And yes, some of us DO have lives.)

The coin you listed was in good condition and easy for experienced collector to identify. Also, your photos were very good, and that helps a lot. On a more obscure coin or one in rougher condition, you can increase your chances of getting an accurate identification if you include the size and weight of the coin with the photo.

 

hotwheelsearl makes a good point here. Coin students over the years have invented a standard system of names that serves to separate out the various rulers that used the same names before someone came up with the idea of using numerals. Many people took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus in whole or part and expected to be addressed by titles so birth names were not of great importance rather like we have today with the Roman Catholic Pope. Titus Aelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Antoninus were well remembered and most popular names for centuries to follow. It is our job to learn how to tell their coins apart.

You are always welcome to ask help here but sometimes we might provide a reference to a place you can read an overview and understand how it is we came to the ID provided. Separating coins of Caracalla and Elagabalus are a problem to many beginners so I would send you to my page on the matter:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/car-elag.html

While someone will answer your questions, we might prefer you study provided references and the ask questions to clarify what you learned rather than just posting a series of 'what is it' questions every time you get a coin. We are always particularly happy when you get to the point you can help the next wave of new people who ask the same questions that troubled you not long before.

We tell people not to buy coins from unknown sources to avoid fakes but you might be surprised how quickly you might discover that you know enough about the coins that you see errors in the ID's posted by sellers who know less than you do. That does not mean you should start buying 'rare' coins from unknown sellers because of the danger of fakes but it should help you spot sellers that you might not trust to know what they are doing.

We hope you enjoy the Coin Talk experience.

 

Welcome. BTW.. Elagabalus or Helio Gabalus is the nick name of this Emperor (Marcus Antoninus). "Helio" in Greek means sun, that's Elagabalus original religion or myth. I wanted to ask my coin-Friends What does the nick name Caracalla mean?

 

Cloak or Cape worn by the roman army. Caligula was little boots.

 

I believe Caracalla was named for a red cloak that he often wore as a child. but I don't know exactly what Caracalla translates to.

 

I just checked Google translate, which I probably should have done before posting the last message. Caracalla is Latin for "hooded."

 

Just done the same. I read in one of my Vindolanda books about a cloak which was exceptionally warm, it cost around 4,000 denari, so not for the common soldier.

 

Hood is also for the head. "Hooded" reminds us of Robin Hood. At first, I wanted to guess myself wondering if his nick -name was related to the murder of his brother Geta who was in his mother's hand ! Red Hood. That's mere imagination .

 

I think @Roman Collector gets the Speedy Gonzalez award for the correct answer in one minute.

Steve

 

Nice coin of Elagabalus. When entering Rome for the first time since being acclaimed emperor by the Roman troops stationed in Emesa, Syria (modern day Homs) he danced backward, keeping his eyes on a chariot containing the holy rock or baetyl of Emesa. Elagabal translates from the Syriac as God's mountain (Allah + Gebel in Arabic as well). He truly was one of the weirdest of emperors known to the Romans, even if his activities as high priest of the religion he followed seemed normal to the Emesans. His mother claimed that he was the son of Caracalla which granted him legitimacy, although this apocryphal claim is almost certainly untrue. Nice coin and Welcome to Cointalk @Mikenwuf

 

WOW!!!! I can't thank all of you enough for the direction and information about this coin and the ruler depicted. The knowledge it must take to know this and especially from on top of the head is amazing. I'll probably never had this much knowledge about these coins, if it were my main interest, yes, I go all out. Honestly, the Gladiator, the movie is what even got me interested in looking at coins and the fact that my friend brought me a few and it piqued my interest. Without even looking, it sounds like there must hundreds of reference books out there, if someone had a opinion on the very first book I should buy, that would be welcomed. Once again, thanks for all the responses and information about Elagabalus and the coin itself. Everyone take care, Happy Holidays and talk to you soon. Mike. (Cited from: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ne...utm_campaign=Feed:+cointalk+(CoinTalk+Update))

 

If I hand to start from scratch, I would probably start with the Handbook of Roman Imperial Coins by David van Meter. It's out of print, but used copies are available.

 

One more question for the forum, any suggestions on a reasonable scale that goes to 100ths of a gram, mine only goes to full grams, it's a postal scale. Thanks once again. I know I can look for one, but once again, just looking for a suggestion. Thanks again, Mike.

 

They're not expensive at all, especially those which are made in China, like mine. I've been using that digital scale for10 years so far. Very precise and lasting. You can read 2 numbers after coma, like 14.73 g. Good Luck.

 

Triton T3 or T2 digital scales are both very good and inexpensive.