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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;IMP Shogun, post: 6351527, member: 114683&quot;]Greetings,</p><p><br /></p><p>My usual - a coin, a bit of history and a billion photography questions.</p><p><br /></p><p>190 A.D. was pretty close to Commodus&#039; full descent into the madness that seems to come frequently to those that inherit absolute power. Commodus even renamed Rome</p><p>Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana while also changing his own name to Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus. Seemingly mild changes when compared to thinking one is the incarnation of Hercules.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Megalomania apparently does lead to some appealing coins:</p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/media/commodus-serst-marti-vltori.16426/full?lightbox=1&amp;last_edit_date=1613097719" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Commodus 177-192 A.D. sestertius RIC III 598 Mars&nbsp; Struck around 191 in Roma</p><p><b>L AEL AVREL COMM AVG P / FEL MARTI VLTORI AVG COS VI P P S C</b></p><p>Mars standing right, holding spear and shield set on ground to right</p><p>29mm 26.37g</p><p><br /></p><p>On the reverse of this somewhat rough example you can make out the phrase VLTORI, which is part of MARTI VLTORI or to Mars, the Avenger. Unfortunately most of the Fel Marti is off the flan or worn, but the VLTORI can be fully read if I squint!</p><p><br /></p><p>The Temple of Mars Ultor stands in the Forum of Augustus in Rome and was built to commemorate Augustus&#039; victory in 42 BCE at the Battle of Philippi over the assassins of Julius Caesar. The building became the place where important military decisions were taken and a site of several state ceremonies with a military connotation.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.ancient.eu/article/617/temple-of-mars-ultor-rome/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.ancient.eu/article/617/temple-of-mars-ultor-rome/" rel="nofollow">Temple of Mars Ultor, Rome - Ancient History Encyclopedia</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Another great example of absolute power corrupting absolutely, and a really good contrast to the above rough bronze:</p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/media/elagabalus-libertas.16428/full?lightbox=1&amp;last_edit_date=1613099961" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Elagabalus 218–222 A.D. denarius RIC IV 107 Libertas Struck 220-221 in Roma</p><p><b>IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG / LIBERTAS AVG</b></p><p>Libertas standing left, holding pileus and vindicta; star to right</p><p>19.5mm 2.65g</p><p><br /></p><p><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p><b><i>If you made it this far you probably expect a photography question</i></b>. Well you are in luck! I recently invested in a macro lens and used it for the above two coins. Yes I had to come up with a good story to post these coins so I could get some pointers. The focal distance was just under 1-foot, but I&#039;m not sure how much I should be zooming or extending the lens (it extends quite a bit). <i>Said another way, what distance should I position the coin so that the lens doesn&#039;t extend (or what focal length should I use). </i>It&#039;s a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also my image sizes are apparently getting larger and I had to take a screen snip of the Commodus bronze to upload it. Where do you all host your pictures?</p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Let&#039;s see your megalomaniacs! </i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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