Featured That Bright, Shining Star

Woah dude, featured thread! That never happens to me! Thanks for that, much appreciated!

It’s a really cool coin, I’m glad it’s on your list, AussieCollector.

I was the only one working at the store yesterday and I must’ve listened to Handel’s Messiah about half a dozen times. It was a really slow day.

I’m attempting to bake today, say a prayer for those who will be eating the baked ‘goods’. Lol

Erin

 

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Bless you.

 

I've been able to find them in the results on vcoins when I search "Antioch Augustus" as they were minted during his reign. Most have Delta-M as the date, while Erin's is a lesser common Gamma-M.

 

Lovely coin Erin, I have been looking for one of these for ages!

 

Erin!!! Howdy!! and Merry Christmas to you!! I've missed you. I hope all is well with you and your bro and your parents, too!

WOW!! That's such a great gift you have there! It's a beautiful coin; but, of course the very bestest (I meant to say that) thing about that coin is that Deacon Ray must have held it in his own haaand!! Now you are holding it in your hand!! Oh! Erin, that's something super duper special!! May you enjoy it every single time you look at it!

Happy New Year, too to you and all your loved ones!

 

Hi again, Erin!! The card is simply gorgeous and sweet and perfect. Did Deacon Ray make the card he sent to you, himself?
All the best, again!

 

LaCointessa,

It’s so good to see you back! I hope all is well!

Thanks for your comments!

Have a very Merry Christmas!!

Erin

 

I have two such coins.



TOP: Antioch ad Orontem.
About 51 AD coin of Antioch ad Orontem (eastern side of the metropolis). Year is Rho Eta or 105 of Roman rule. (“et” is the abbreviation for “etios” = “year”.) Crescent Moon and Jupiter to the West of Aries. Author’s collection

Bottom: Antioch in Syria. About 50 AD coin of Antioch in Syria shows Jupiter to west of Aries. (EPI KOUDRATROU= “of Quadratus (the name of the Roman legate). Year is Rho Delta = 104 of Roman rule.” Author’s collection.

The Christmas Star has been debated on many levels. The International Planetarium Society website (ww.ips-planetarium.org)lists over 100 citations to the Star of Bethlehem. Some of those articles and letters were part of a multifaceted decades-long argument among at least five astronomers and one editor. Writing in ArchaeologyVol. 51, No. 6 (Nov/Dec 1998), Anthony F. Aveni cited 250 “major scholarly articles” about the Star of Bethlehem.

For 1500 years, the Christmas Star was accepted as a miracle without need of explanation. The Renaissance brought a new world view.

The scholarly tradition of explaining the Star of Bethlehem with scientific evidence apparently began with Johannes Kepler. In 1604, he publishedThe New Star in the Foot of the Serpent(De stella nova in pede serpentarii: et qui sub ejus exortum de novo iniit, trigono igneo…). In that tract, he examined a triple conjunction, as well as a nova, which he attributed causally to the conjunction. He was not alone in that kind of a belief. Others expected the conjunction to cause a comet. Reviewing the facts in 1614, Kepler said that the Star of Bethlehem was a nova in 4 BCE caused by a triple conjunction in 7 BCE. (See “Common Errors in ‘Star of Bethlehem’ Planetarium Shows,” by John Mosley, The Planetarian, Third Quarter 1981.)

The triple conjunction of 7 BCE occurred in Pisces. Some astrological lore identified that constellation with Judaea. Other traditions give Pisces to the Libyans, among others. However, back in the 1960s, at the Cleveland Museum of Science, planetarium director Dan Snow, told us of the Pisces connection.

Over the centuries, the Christmas Star has been explained as a comet, a meteor or meteor shower, but the conjunction theory has been the most popular.

In 1999, Rutgers Press published The Star of Bethlehem: the Legacy of the Magiby Dr. Michael R. Molnar. In addition to his achievements as an astronomer, Molnar is a numismatist. He was attracted to a series of coins from Antioch in the first century of the present era. They show a star, a crescent moon, and a Ram, among other symbols and legends.

It is important to note that Jesus was not the only king, and his reign was not the only new age. Julius Caesar was assassinated March 15, 44 BCE. In May through July, a comet appeared, a singular event, not Halley’s or any other recurring comet. The people of Rome accepted it as obvious fact that the soul of Julius Caesar had ascended to the heavens. Julius Caesar was the first historical Roman deified by the Senate. His adopted heir, Gaius Octavius, became at once Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, and also, Divi Filius: son of the divine.

This must be included into any broader narrative about the Greek king of Egypt, Ptolemy Soter (Savior) and the appelation found of Roman coins honoring Juno Sospita (Savior).

Moreover, although he was born 23 September and therefore a Libra, Octavian Augustus took Capricorn as his personal symbol. Capricorn is the zodiacal sign of the winter solstice, of course, and therefore the symbol of the new year – ultimately, a new age.

Molnar’s book offers images of the Caesar Comet coin and Augustus’s Capricorn on a coin. The centerpieces, however, are the coins of Antioch (the Roman mint closest to Judaea) and the astronomical interpretation of them. It is important to understand that while some were struck during the accepted lifetime of Jesus, the series is broader than that. What was meant at the detail level to the people of the time must remain at least somewhat conjectural. I believe that the iconography indicates a New Age as the Vernal Equinox moved from Aries to Pisces, thus the "Lamb of God" became IXTHEOS the Fish: Jesus Christ Son of God Our Saviour. And 2000 years later, we are moving into the Age of Aquarius.

Moreover, all of this discussion centers on the interpretation of a religious text. You can believe what you want.

 

As I live and breath......so glad to see Mike Marotta posting again. Happy Holidays dear fellow.......

 

Lovely coin. And as a native Kentuckian, I'll take the bluegrass just fine. "Sung from the heart and through the nose." My aunt helps take care of the Bill Monroe homeplace in Rosine, not far from the place of my birth. No special star on that night, alas.

 

Happy Boxing Day, @AussieCollector !

I’m sorry for not answering your question until today! If you were to visit an ancient coin dealer’s site (VCoins for instance) and search using the following information, you would be likely to find these coins: SYRIA, Seleucis (or Seleukis) and Pieria. Antioch. Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14, Ram, Star.

https://www.vcoins.com/en/Search.aspx?search=true&searchQuery=SYRIA, Seleucis and Pieria. Antioch. Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14 ram star&searchQueryExclude=&searchCategory=0&searchCategoryLevel=2&searchCategoryAncient=True&searchCategoryUs=True&searchCategoryWorld=True&searchCategoryMedieval=False&searchBetween=0&searchBetweenAnd=0&searchDate=&searchUseThesaurus=True&searchDisplayCurrency=&searchDisplay=1&searchIdStore=0&searchQueryAnyWords=&searchExactPhrase=&searchTitleAndDescription=True&searchDateType=0&searchMaxRecords=100&SearchOnSale=False&Unassigned=False

I hope this helps!

edit: @Justin Lee 's got it

 

Happy Boxing Day, Erin! Thanks for saying it first! Yes, it is great to have @LaCointessa back !

No I didn’t make Erin’s greeting card, however. The amount of time required to complete such a task would exceed my short attention span — Just kidding

 

You pwn, Deacon Ray. Never change!

I’ve shown a few people that I thought would appreciate the coin and they’ve been very impressed!

I love that the video was shot in a garage, that’s what sold me.

I hope you find the perfect coin, AussieCollector!

Erin

 

Congrats on a FEATURED thread @Johndakerftw !

I checked, no Lamb w/Star... but, here are a few Sheep/Ram/Lambs:


RR L Rustius 76 BCE AR Den 19mm 3.6g Mars SC Rome - Ram L RVSTI Cr 389-1 Sear 320



Kebren AR Obol Archaic hd Apollo L - Hd Ram in Incuse sq 5th C BCE 7.65mm 0.64g SNG Ash 1086




TROAS Neandria AR Obol 4thC BCE 0.56g 8mm Laur hd Apollo r - NEA N Ram stdng right within incuse sq SNG Cop 446



Egypt Pharaoh Nektanebo II 361-343 BCE Ram Scales Weiser 1 - Butcher 11 uncertain no Syria


How about some "HOLY GOATS"???


RR AR Denarius 3.88g L Pomponius Molo 97 BCE Rome Apollo Numa Pompilius stdng Lituus alter sacrifice goat Cr 334-1 Syd 607



RR C Renius AR Denarius 18mm 3.8g Roma 138 BC Helmeted hd Roma r X - C RENI ROMA Juno driving biga goats r whip reins scepter Cr 231-1



RR Fonteius 85 BC AR Den Apollo tbolt Cupid Goat Pilei Wreath Sear 271 Craw 353-1a



RR Cn Plancius 55 BCE Macedonia causia Cretan Goat quiver Sear 396 Craw 432-1