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Message:: [QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 3144678, member: 83845"]Welcome to Round 1 (Group 3) of CIT 2018!  If you are unaware of the tournament I invite you to get caught up with all the fun on the following link: <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it%E2%80%99s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it%E2%80%99s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it’s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/</a> [ATTACH=full]804436[/ATTACH] I want to give a special thank you to the participants for volunteering to play the game.  We have a great group of people here at CT. ........................................................ #12 [USER=74712]@FitzNigel[/USER] [ATTACH=full]804432[/ATTACH] Imperial RomePlautilla, r. 202-205 A.D.Rome Mint, AR Denarius, 18.82 mm x 3.15 gramsObv.: PLAVTILLAE AVGVSTAE. Draped bust right, hair coiled in horizontal ridges and fastened in bun on backRev.: CONCORDIAE AETERNAE. Caracalla standing left, clasping hands with Plautilla standing rightRef.: RIC IV-1 Caracalla 361, p. 269 (scarce) Price: $100 Why It’s Cool:Plautilla was the wife of emperor Caracalla. This issue (and a similar one with Caracalla’s portrait on the obverse) celebrates their marriage and the “eternal harmony” that would come from it. Of course, it was an arranged marriage and the two hated one another, so the coin showing them clasping hands is nothing more than imperial propaganda. Once her father was overthrown as praetorian prefect, Plautilla would be sent into exile, and eventually murdered once Caracalla’s father was no longer around to stop him. Plautilla’s coins are excellent sources for Roman hairstyles, as she showed off five different styles in just three years of coinage. In this issue, she is sporting the “melon style,” with her hair coiled in horizontal ridges and fastened in a high bun in the back. Also, this coin was a bit of a bargain, as others with a sharp obverse tend to go for between $150 and $200 at CNG (and those with a sharp reverse have gone for as much as $500). ........................................................ #21 [USER=74968]@Orfew[/USER] [ATTACH=full]804434[/ATTACH] Julius Caesar. AR Denarius, 44 BC. (19.00 mm 3.68 g)Obv:. Laureate head right; before, CAESAR IMP; behind, star of eight rays. Rev: P. SEPVLLIVS MACER. Venus standing left, holding Victory and sceptre (resting on star?). Cr. 480/5b RSC 41 BMC 4165 Syd 1071Sear (2000) 1412 A very elegant portrait. Perfectly struck on broad flan. Areas of flatness and scratch on obverse, otherwise about VF.Ex: Artemide Asti E-Auction 43 E, June 9, 2018. Price: $619 Why It’s Cool:This coin features a lifetime portrait of Julius Caesar as dictator. It took me a while to find one that I liked. When these come up for auction there is much competition for them. It is not that they are particularly rare, one can find numerous examples for sale at any given time, it is the fact that these are sought after by many collectors. A lifetime portrait of Julius Caesar is a major purchase (at least for me), and would be the centerpiece of many ancient coin collections. This particular coin features a portrait of Julius Caesar on the obverse with the legend “Caesar Imp”, meaning Julius Caesar Imperator. At this time “Imperator” did not exactly mean emperor it was more like victorious general. On the reverse we see Venus standing and the name of the moneyer who issued the coin. Venus is important as Julius Caesar claimed he was a descendant of Venus. The moneyer’s name is P. Sepullius Macer. Julius Caesar was the first living Roman to have his portrait on a coin. For some Romans this was too much to stand for. The Romans had a troubled history with their kings and did not want to return to those times. Some believe that these portrait coins so troubled high ranking Romans that it led to the assassination of Ceasar. One fascinating aspect of these lifetime denarii is that they were minted before the assassination. This coin in particular was issued near the end of February which means it was minted mere weeks before the death of Julius Caesar on March 15. This is according to the work of A. Alfoeldi. Since the publication of his work other sources have disputed the sequencing of the portrait denarii of Caesar. Some have claimed that all of the Crawford 480 series were in fact lifetime issues. One of the ideas that attracted me to ancient coins in the first place concerned holding a piece of important history in one’s hand. It can be argued that the life and death of Caesar were very important to history. Holding one of these coins takes us back to an important and fascinating historical period. As to the coin itself, it is struck on a large flan, the portrait is well centered, the obverse legend is very easy to read, and the reverse is quite pleasing as well with good details preserved. The obverse portrait has a deep scratch across the head. However, given the other qualities of the coin this was easy to overlook. I also considered this coin to be a bargain. I paid 619.00 all in for the coin and I would do so again. Perhaps the scratch on the head kept the bidders away. ........................................................ A Gentle ReminderWe have had a remarkably fun and friendly tournament so far and I want to thank all of our members who have contributed and commented <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Let's continue to do a good job of keeping our tournament friendly! Instead of focusing comments too much on why you didn't vote for one coin over the other try to focus on why you did vote for the one you chose! Remember that everyone gets 3 votes to choose which coin you think comes out on top in each of the three categories. With that I will open the floor to comments, pile-ons and shameless lobbying.[/QUOTE]

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