Post a coin related to an actual historical event!

The Roman Empire was at war during most of Marcus Aurelius' reign. From AD 161-166, the Roman army was occupied repelling the forces of the Parthians in the east, who had broken their earlier peace treaty and invaded Roman territory. Following the peace treaty of AD 166, Roman soldiers brought a plague with them when returning to Europe. This resulted in a decade-long epidemic that substantially depopulated some regions of the Empire and affected even the city of Rome, which had not suffered an outbreak in centuries. The weakened Roman provinces became vulnerable to invasion by a host of German and Sarmatian tribes. Most alarming were the invasions of the Marcomanni and Quadi, who crossed the Alps and ravaged Italy itself.

In AD 172-173, at the conclusion of the Quadic war, Marcus set about rebuilding of what had been destroyed in the fighting. He received the title of Restitutor Italiae -- the Restorer of Italy -- in AD 173, a title which had earlier been held by Hadrian. This coin commemorates the rebuilding of Italy in the wake of the war and the new title assumed by the emperor. On this well-circulated coin's reverse, the emperor assists Italia in rising up from the ground and she offers a globe, a symbol of territorial expansion.


Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 21.36 g, 29.5 mm, 12 h.
Rome, AD 173.
Obv: M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVII, head of Marcus Aurelius, laureate, right.
Rev: RESTITVTORI ITALIAE IMP VI COS III, Marcus Aurelius, in military dress, standing left, holding vertical spear in left hand and clasping right hands with Italia kneeling right before him, holding globe in left hand; SC in exergue.
Refs: RIC 1077; BMCRE 1449-1450; Cohen 538; RCV 4997; MIR 259.

 

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Common coin ..but as we all know celebrates the founding on Constantinoplis. One of the most important events in Roman history.

 

1. Dynastic aureus of Claudius announcing to the world he has chosen his nephew Nero to be his successor, thereby bypassing his own son , Britannicus. Some would say this was because he was under the spell of Agrippina, others might sat he was merely trying to spare his own son.
2. Aureus of Claudius with reverse of Praetorian camp - recalling the day of Caligula's assassination when the Praetorian guard declared him emperor and took him to the "protection" of their camp.
3. Denaius of Octavius declaring Egypt to be a defeated nation and the end of rivals Antony and Cleopatra. This is tantamount to ushering in the Roman Empire.
4. Lastly, a sestertius of Vespasian announcing the defeat of the Judean revolt and the end of the Jewish war.

 

Absolutely Amazing... all of them.

 

Claudius II Gothicus.
Cyzicus.
IMP CLAVDIVS PF AVG, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right, two dots beneath bust
VICTORIAE GOTHIC, Two captives bound and seated back to back at the base of a trophy.
RIC V-1, 252 Cyzicus var (no mintmark).

"This coin marks the victories over successive waves of invaders that threatened to dismember the empire in the late 3rd century. Gallienus (not Claudius) had achieved the initial victory over the Goths at Naissus in 268, but Claudius' victories over the Germans at Lake Benacus and the Goths at Mount Gessax shattered the barbarian armies. However, plague swept the weakened hordes, eventually claiming the emperor and much of his army as victims."

 

A pair of coins here.

Probus
Obv:– IMP C PROBVS • P • F • AVG, Radiate, cuirassed bust right
Rev:– ADVENTVS PROBI AVG, Emperor riding left, right hand raised, left holding sceptre; at foot, captive
Minted in Lugdunum (I in exe) Emission 4 Officina 1. Middle to End A.D. 277
Reference:– Cohen 68. Bastien 184 (10 examples cited). RIC 19 Bust type F

3.59 gms

Despite suffering from a partial flat strike leading to flatness at 6 o'clock on the obverse and 12 o'clock on the reverse it is still a quite desirable example of a scarce coin

The coin comes from a short issue made to commemorate Probus travelling through Lugdunum at the start of the summer of A.D. 277 travelling with his army from Asia to battle in the Rhine.



And a corresponding coin on his successful return through the city from that campaign.

Probus
Obv:– VIRTVS PRO-BI AVG, Radiate, helmeted, cuirassed bust left, holding spear and shield, decorated with emperor riding past row of soldiers with shields
Rev:– ADVENTVS PROBI AVG, Emperor riding left, right hand raised, left holding sceptre; at foot, captive
Minted in Lugdunum (IIII) Emission 5 Officina 4. End A.D. 277 to Early A.D. 278
References:– Cohen 69. Bastien 256 (2 examples). RIC 64 Bust Type G (S)
Appears to be an obverse die match to the plate example in Bastien

 

Excellent and educationnal thread.

Political/military events :

1 - A dupondius of Germanicus celebrating his victory over germans, thus bringing back to Rome the standards lost by Varus at the Teutoburg battle (the worst ashaming defeat ever in Rome history, I guess)


Germanicus, Dupondius - Posthumous issue of Caligula, in honour of his father (died AD 19)
Rome mint, AD 37-41
GERMANICVS CAESAR, Germanicus in triumphal quadriga right
SIGNIS RECEPT DEVICTIS GERM, Germanicus standing left, rising right arm, holding legionnary eagle
17.79 gr
Ref : RCV #1820, Cohen #7


2 - A septimius Severus denarius celebrating his victory over the britts, AD 210, not long before he died in York a year after


Septimius Severus, Denarius - Rome mint AD 210
SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT, Laureate head of Sevrus right
VICTORIAE BRIT, Victory facing, holding palm and attaching shield to palm tree
2.72 gr
Ref : RCV #6384, Cohen #729


People/gossip :

Two coins minted on the occasion of Caracalla's wedding to Plautilla, 202 AD, one for each of the bride and bridegroom (I have a wedding crown for Charles and Diana too, but won't dare posting it here )


Caracalla, Denarius - Rome mint, AD 202
ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, Laureate and draped bust of Caracalla right
CONCORDIA FELIX, Caracalla and Plautilla face to face, shaking hands
3.34 gr
Ref : RCV # 6794 (160), RSC # 23, RIC # 124a



Plautilla, Denarius - Rome mint, AD 202
PLAVTILLA AVGVSTA, draped bust right
CONCORDIA FELIX, Caracalla and Plautilla face to face, shaking hands
3.38 gr
Ref : RCV #7066 var, RSC # 12, RIC # 365b, BMC # 419, Hill # 584

Q

 

9/11/2001

 

9-11 / Our Constitution!

 

AV 2 Dukaten 1630 Dresden Mint
Sachsen/ Albertine Line/ Kurfurstentum
Kurfurst Johann Georg I
Struck ti commerate the 100th Anniversary of Ausgburg Confession. They struck 10/8/6/5/4/2/1 Dukaten coins for this event.

 

Kings of Macedon. temp. Perseus. 179-168 BC. AR Drachm. Third Macedonian War issue. Magistrate Hermias, Uncertain mint in Thessaly (Struck circa 171/0 B.C).
Obverse: Head of Helios facing slightly right.
Reverse: Rose with bud to right; EPMIAΣ above, Z-Ω flanking stem.
Reference: Price, Larissa, pl. LV, 247; SNG Keckman 795.
2.67g; 17mm.

In 179 BC, the ambitious Perseus, son of king Philip V of Macedon stirred anti-Roman feelings around Macedonia. Tensions escalated and Rome declared war on Macedon. This war is referred to as the Third Macedonian war and the first battle happened at 171 BC near a hill called Callinicus, close to the Roman camp at Tripolis Larisaia, five kilometres north of Larissa (the capital of Thessaly).

In both the Macedonian and Roman army there were always a considerable amount of allied and mercenary infantry and auxiliary troops. One of those mercenary troops were Cretan archers, they are well known for their outstanding archery skills and were valued in any army. These Cretan mercenaries had to be paid, however they wanted a currency that they trusted and were familiar with. Rhodian coinage circulating on Crete were familiar and trusted currency for the Cretans and it is likely that they would have required payment in that form. Rhodian-type coins were therefore struck by Perseus to pay Cretan mercenaries serving in his army.

 

How about a Trajan from his war with Dacia
Trajan denarius , Rome mint c108-109AD , Dacian seated on pile of arms, in attitude of mourning, foot on helmet; one round and one oblong shield; on l., two curved swords; on r., two spears. DAC CAP below for DACIAN CAPTIVE. (DAC CAP below for DACIAN CAPTIVE , RIC II 98).

The Dacian Wars (101–102, 105–106) were two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and Dacia during Emperor Trajan's rule. The conflicts were triggered by the constant Dacian threat on the Danubianprovince of Moesia and also by the increasing need for resources of the economy of the Empire.

 

Really great coins shown here and thank you all for the very interesting historical stories behind them. Even though some of those stories are quite dramatic. In all, if you think about it, the amount of history collected by members of this board is amazing!

That sestertius type is truly amazing. I never really noticed the lacking of the letters SC!

A very cool coin! I have a denarius of MA referring to the war with the Parthens:

Ah yes, perhaps the most warmongering emperor of them all!

 

Nice coin! I think I have an earthquake of 17 A.D. issue from Sardes:



Tiberius & Livia Æ 18
Sardes, Lydia
(c. 17-37 A.D.)
ΣEBAΣTOΣ KAIΣAΡEΩN ΣAΡΔIANΩN, Tiberius, togate, standing left, Tyche kneeling r. / ΣEBAΣTH IOYΛIOΣ KΛEΩN KAI MEMNΩN, Livia as Ceres seated right, with sceptre & grain.
RPC 2991; SNG Cop. 515.
(4.61 grams / 18 x 16 mm)


Note: Commemorating the financial assistance to Sardes after the earthquake of 17 A.D.

 

There's something about coins that have lines of text on one of the sides that is extremely interesting. The most famous type has to be the dynastic coinage of Constantine prompted by his vicennalia (325-6) and the subsequent series of 329/30, commemorating the death and the funeral of Helena at Rome:

 

For the Civil War

1558 Spanish Galleon Shipwreck

Anf for something more modern, WWII.

 

Roman Republican denarius. 18 mm. 3.93 grams.
Janus head, M.FOVRI/ L.F, Victory crowning a trophy. Moneyer: M. Fourius L.F. Philus.
Gallic trophy for a victory in Gaul c. 121 BC.
The coin is dated to c. 119 BC.

This reverse with a trophy is obviously a victory type, but which victory? The object projecting diagonally upward from the bottom of the cuirass on the trophy appears to be distinctly Gallic--a carnyx. So, it is easy to infer it refers to Gallic victory. Some earlier Republican coins referred to events in the distant past and scholars were prepared to find a similar ancestral reference for this type. Carson [p. 36] says "A reference to victories over the Gauls in 223 BC of an earlier Furius Philius." Of course, if evidence is accepted that this coin was minted before the Gallic victories of 121 BC, the Gallic-victory reference could not be to those victories, so Carson thought of a different reference, one more like the typical types of previous moneyers which basically say, "An ancestor of mine did something important." So the problem became one of "pick the ancestor." However, if the coin seems to be issued after those victories of 121, it could reference them and the question becomes "How long after?" That same year? The next year? Ten years later? The first subsequent year when a relative of the victor was a moneyer? If Crawford is right this is the first nearly current event mentioned on denarii.

For a discussion of how Roman Republican coins are assigned dates, see my pages:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Repub/TimelineTable.html
That page has examples. There is a second page with the theory of dating.

 

Thanks for the tip Valentinian! I'll add that book on my want list for sure.

 

TRAJAN
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P laureate, draped
REVERSE: COS V P P SPQR OPTIMO PRINC – DAC CAP in ex. Dacian seated r. on pile of arms, his hands bound behind him.
Struck at Rome, 103-111 AD 2.8g, 18mm
RIC 96

M SERGIUS SILUS ROMAN REPUBLIC
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: EX S C ROMA *, head of Roma right
REVERSE: horseman galloping left with sword & severed head held aloft, Q below horses leg, M SERGI below, SILVS in ex.
Struck at Rome 116 BC
3.66g, 18mm
Syd 534, Cr286/1, Sergia 1

 

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