Featured The 12 Caesars giveaway... giveaway (read on. It’ll make sense)

As if the title isn’t confusing enough, it’s my second choice for the title of this giveaway, giveaway. Going off of what is hot/trending on social media is a good way to get participation... but something about calling this the COIN-VID-19 giveaway made me think people might not want to participate
“So,” you might ask, “why is the giveaway a giveaway, ry to the ro?”
If I’m being honest, it’s cause i can’t trust you.
Calm down. Not you the reader of this and long time CT buddy O mine. But the Non-royal you. Everyone.
Learning from giveaways of the past, in this giveaway the winner will get to pick who the prize goes to!(and, no, you cannot pick yourself. You weisenhiemer)

Without further ado,


Here’s what’s up for grabs:

The 12 Caesars by Michael Grant, not Suetonius. It’s a fun and far less sensationalizing account of these great (ish) men. And it has TONS of excellent pictures of coins, statues etc





I’m throwing in a dup of the second Caesar minted by the second to last of them (of the twelve of course)!



Divus Augustus
Æ Dupondius. Struck under Titus, Rome, AD 79-81. DIVVS AVGVSTVS PATER, radiate head left / PROVIDENT, temple, S-C across fields. RIC 191. 10.g, 28 mm

Here’s how it works:
If you are interested in



Or just want to play along, please post:
Your favorite Caesar (a coin or image would be nice)
Why he is your favorite (stories and anecdotes are appreciated. Remember, Ryro likee to laugh and I think we could all use some chucks about now).
& Who you think my favorite Caesar of the 12 is (no joking here this is serious, jk make fun/love

Once the thread slows down (if it catches steam in the first place) in a couple of days, I’ll pick what I think is the best/funniest/most deserving response. And that will be our first loser


That’s right, I like your opinion/response so much that you win no prize... other than who should receive the prize. That person will decide the fates of many Hence, wait for it...The 12 Caesars giveaway... giveaway!!!

Catch: Edit: Thanks to @Theodosius anyone can enter and this prize could go anywhere in the world! Now, I’m not an American snob (more like American slob), which is why I can’t afford shipping outside of the US. Books are silly expensive to ship. I still want worldwide participation though. I thought this up as we need a reason and a way to have some fun locked inside our homes. Unless the person who picks the ultimate winner wants to foot the bill they will need to pick one of the US contestants.
As well, please don’t enter to win and sell these. Just, not cool my dudes and dudets.
Ta boot: if I truly deem you awesome I may have a couple pretty cool(cheap) secondary prizes just in case.
Lastly, go wash your hands and smile while you look in the mirror. Cause, if your mirror looks like mine, then you’re dead sexy

 

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I like this. I also like your choice of memes and videos. Quality stuff. Not that I'm trying to butter you up in order to win...ok maybe a little...

If I was to choose my favorite Caesar, I would have to choose Domitian. Not because he was particularly great. But because he is the only Caesar that I have a decent looking coin of...

He was super suspicious of everyone around him (as we should all be during this time of plague...who knows who is carrying it!) and it was eventually those closest to him that did him in. Et tu, Nerva?

I choose @Jwt708 as the winner since he was the one who turned me to the dark side of ancients

Without further ado, here is the bad boy himself, Domitian:

(He is either green with envy for whoever will win, or has a spot of the ole' Corona virus...you choose)

 

If I had to pick one of the "12 Caesars" as my favorite, it would have to be Vespasian. He seems to me the most humanly relatable of the lot- he's the Caesar you'd want to have a beer with. A couple of portraits:
Showing off his two fine sons (well, one fine son and one other son) Titus and Domitian :

And a nice portrait on a big, heavy sestertius:

Anecdotes: Vespasian had a ready wit and practical, earthy sensibilities, and several examples have survived. When a friend criticized him for instituting a tax on the public toilets, he told a slave to bring an example of the money raised by the tax. He handed the coin to the friend and asked, "Does it stink?" On his friend admitting it did not, Vespasian replied "But it comes from urine!" ("Urine" is probably too polite a translation.) While on his deathbed, upon realizing he would probably die and then be posthumously deified by the Senate, he gave his last words "Oh dear, I think I'm turning into a god!" And he wasn't a bloodthirsty maniac only out for his own gain, unlike certain other Caesars, so there's that.

Who is @Ryro's favorite of the 12 Caesars? I'm guessing Otho, because, like Ryro, he is very easy to forget about. (I'm kidding! Please don't send me a box of coronavirus )

 

Oh dang, I forgot to pick @Ryro 's favorite Caesar.... Ummm I will go with.....Nero.
Why? Because I can, for some reason, imagine him playing his fiddle as Rome burned...
Here is a Nero just to keep this coin themed

 

Here's my Alexandrian tet of Nero. Now some of these can get a bit noodly, but this one is OK.

 

There are a lot of cool coins of the 12 Caesars and some ... umm ... colorful figures in this period of Roman history. You have some real terrible people, such as Tiberius, Caligula and Nero, but aren't they interesting?

I've got Tiberius as my avatar, and I'm tempted to post it here as my selection, because it really is my favorite coin of the twelve. But he's not really a good role model, is he? I'm with @Parthicus in choosing Vespasian. He was pragmatic, down-to-earth, and had a sense of humor. And he was downright humble by Caligula and Nero standards.

Here's one with a Salus reverse type in the hope that the goddess will keep us all safe from COVID-19:


Vespasian, AD 69-79.
Roman AR denarius, 3.18 g, 18.4 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 73.
Obv: IMP CAES VESP AVG P M COS IIII CEN, laureate head, right.
Rev: SALVS AVG, Salus seated left, holding patera, left hand at side.
Refs: RIC 58; RIC 2.1 522; BMCRE 87-89; Cohen/RSC 432; CBN 76; RCV 2307.

And I nominate Erin @Johndakerftw to be the recipient of the giveaway! She has been going through a rough patch and could use a little TLC from us.

 

I'm not certain that I am a witty kinda guy, but at times I can amuse myself pretty well. It seems I have to explain my witticisms to others (my wife for example), so, if I have to explain, it's not funny, eh? Except that I laugh (which is the point). So let me give this a try.

My choice of Caesar has to be Augustus. The first of the 12 in reality since Julius shouldn't be counted (that's my thinking anyway). Octavian/Augustus was able to bring the Romans together after disastrous civil wars and upheavals, and not necessarily through muscle. More guile and ruthlessness. He was one of the most effective and controversial leaders in human history. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana. The Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries, despite continuous wars of imperial expansion on the Empire's frontiers and the year-long civil war known as the "Year of the Four Emperors" over the imperial succession.

AUGUSTUS
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: CAESAR AVGVSTVS, head left wearing oak wreath
REVERSE: DIVVS-IVLIVS to left and right of eight rayed comet
with tail upwards
Uncertain Spanish Mint, possibly Caesaraugusta 19-18 BC
3.45g, 21mm
RIC 137b RSC 97

Now as for Ryro's choice of Caesar, I have put on my thinking cap

to explore Ryro's mind. Wow, what a mess in there, eh @Ryro? I keep trying to follow your thought process, but get swept away by thoughts like beer, women and song. I keep getting caught in "ink blots".



Back to Ryro's favorite Caesar, and from the ink blots I saw in his thought process, I believe it may just be crazy/crafty ole Claudius. Ryro and he are distant cousins I believe.

CLAUDIUS
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG P M TR P VI IMP XI, laureate head right
REVERSE: PACI AVGVSTAE, Pax-Nemesis advancing right, drawing out fold of robe at neck, holding caduceus above serpent preceding her
Struck at Rome, 46/7AD
3.6g, 19mm
RIC39, BMC40

I believe I saw that same look on Ryro's face. Duh!
(Nice thread brother)

 

I like that Claudus @Bing. Shame poor Victory's head got lopped off. Sounds like something Domitian would do...Not trying to stack the deck in my favor but....I mean...come on...

 

Thanks so much, Roman Collector, I really appreciate it.

Thanks for the awesome giveaway, Ryro. You’re a pretty cool dude!

Erin

 

Alright, I'll play:

1. Favorite Caesar

Vespasian all the time.


Vespasian, Roman Empire, denarius, 77/78 AD, Rome mint. Obv: CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG, laureate head of Vespasian right. Rev; ANNONA AVG, Annona seated left, holding corn ears. 19mm, 3.33g. Ref: RIC II Vespasian 964.

2. But why?
His famous urine joke has already been mentioned above, but there are numerous other good ones. Is there something like pathological humor? If so, Vespasian is a prime example. To quote Suetonius:

"Nothing could stop this flow of humour, even the fear of imminent death. Among the many portents of his end was a yawning crevice in Augustus' mausoleum. 'That will be for Junia Calvina,' he said, 'she is one of his descendants.' And at the fatal sight of a comet he cried: 'Look at that long hair! The King of Parthia must be going to die.' His death-bed joke was: 'Dear me! I must be turning into a god.'"

That alone makes Vespasian deserving of the honorary title of MFCTHOW ("Most Fun Caesar to Hang Out With"). Unfortunately, it doesn't appear on his coins.

Apart from cracking good jokes, Vespasian brought peace and stability to an empire almost wrecked by the shenanigans of some of his incapable predecessors, reformed the senate, and built the Colosseum. Also, Vespasian can be considered an inventor of public education: he funded Quintilian's teaching efforts with a very generous stipend. Working in education myself, I can only applaud this as a shining example that every modern politician should follow!

3. Ryro's Favorite Caesar

Probably either Caligula or Elagabalus – he strikes me as that sort of guy... Just kidding.

My guess would be Claudius, pretty much the only loveable and good-natured Julio-Claudian emperor apart from, maybe, Augustus.

I'm about 94.7% sure that Ryro indicated in another thread that he has both read Robert Graves' wonderful Claudius novels and watched the classic TV series based on them. If he didn't develop a sympathy for Claudius after that, he must be completely heartless. Yet, him doing this give-away proves that he is not. Ergo, his favorite Caesar must be Claudius. QED.

Here is a humble Claudius as:


Claudius, Roman Empire, as, 41–54 AD, Rome mint. Obv: [TI] CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP, bareheaded head of Claudius left. Rev; S–C, Minerva walking left, brandishing javelin and holding shield. 29mm, 10.35g. Ref: RIC I, 100.

If you should choose this post, please send the coin and book to @Johndakerftw . I guess Erin could use some cheering up these days.

 

Without doubt Claudius , emperor against his will , but made an excellent emperor surrounded by enemies.
Loved the movie I Claudius with Derek Jacobi as Claudius.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...+claudius+1976&qpvt=i+claudius+1976&FORM=VDRE

 

CLAUDIUS the Runt of the Julio-Claudian litter.


RI Claudius 41-54 Ae As 28mm LIBERTAS AVGVSTA holding pileus S-C RIC 113

This is CLAUDIUS our recent addition...yes, he was the RUNT of his litter. Presently, at 6 months, he is about 3.5 lbs / 1.6 Kg. His brothers and sisters are all around 10 lbs / 4.5 Kg. NO, I did NOT name him. My wife, who is historically challenged named him!

Claudius The Runt


Blue Approves

(He has a piece of tree bark in his mouth.)


I am lobbying for the 13th Caesar... the Guy who started the Civil War to extinguish the Julio-Claudian Dynasty... His name was Julius Caesar Vindex, and was a Gaul nobleman. The irony.


IVLIVS CAESAR VINDEX

RI Civil War VINDEX 68-69 CE AR Denarius 3.22g Gallic mint SALVS GENERIS HVMANI Victory l globe - SPQR in wreath RIC 72 BMCRE 34-36 RSC 420 R


Giveaways to @Johndakerftw ... she is an animal lover!

(You are quite generous, @Ryro ... that is a great book and coin)

 

Thank you so much, @Orielensis and @Alegandron. I really appreciate your nominations.

I must say that I am in Canada and, unfortunately, if I were to win, I don’t have any extra funds to pay for shipping right now.

Though, Ryro is doing a far out job and I appreciate his giveaway to lift all of our spirits right now.

Erin

 

I would be happy to cover any shipping charges if @Johndakerftw were to be selected.
Us Canadians have to stick together!

 

Thank you so much for the offer, @Clavdivs.

Erin

 

My Favorite Caesar!

 

Oh, snap! CT legend and all around good guy (just don't tell him that I said so) @Theodosius has more than graciously offered to pay international shipping. That means, like everybody's least favorite Virus, we are world wide!
That means anyone can enter and anyone can win!!!

 

..with all due respect to whom you've mentioned, i believe it was Claudius who offered to cover shipping sir......and i ain't sure who your favorite Caesar is, but i know your favorite dude.....and i also nominate Erin

 

Better than ALL the Caesars, save for the effectiveness of Julius...


Kingdom of Makedon
Philip II 382-336 BCE (Reign 359-336 BCE)
AR Tetradrachm.
Mint: Pella, lifetime issue, struck circa 353-349 BC.
25 mm. 14.4 g
Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right Rev: ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ,
Rev: Philip on horseback left, wearing kausia and raising right hand; spearhead below, star below horse's raised foreleg.
Le Rider 102 (D58/R82); SNG ANS 357Hey, better than ALL the Caesars, save for the effectiveness of Julius...

I vote for Erin, @Johndakerftw !

 

I think I pm-ed about the same time as @Clavdivs made his generous offer. I will cover anywhere in the world if he would like to cover Canada, but I am good with anything.


John