Category Archives: Commodus

Snakes on Ancient Coins

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. This reptile, as an image of divinity and of nature, is figured both in its natural shape, and under a variety of monstrous and imaginary forms, on a great multitude of coins of Greek cities … It is less frequently found on coins with Latin inscriptions, but still there […]

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Weapons on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. ANCIENT GREEK ARMIES fought mainly with the spear. Roman legions fought mostly with the sword. Persians fought largely with the bow and arrow[1]. The mythical warrior Herakles (or Hercules) wielded a knobby wooden club. All these weapons, and many others, feature prominently on ancient coins. War was […]

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NGC Ancients – The Lives of Four Emperors on Roman Coins

A popular way to collect ancient Roman coins is by emperor By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) …… Portraits are one of the hallmarks of coins of the Roman Empire. For centuries, collectors have marveled at the images of emperors and members of their families that appear on coins. Not surprisingly, portraits often are the focus […]

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MA-Shops: Hercules on Ancient Coins

By Joël van Dam – Owner of Joëlnumismatics, for MA-Shops.com …… There is no theme based on myths in the history of coinage that can be detected so frequently as the ” Hercules ” theme. If you don’t know a lot about this theme, then it isn’t strange that you might expect that he was popular only […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Heroic Nudity on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. It hardly needs repeating here that the gap between ancient and modern sensibilities is unbridgeable. — Caroline Vout (2007)[1] FOR MUCH OF THE YEAR, the Mediterranean climate is hot, and it makes a certain amount of sense for clothing to be optional. Every bit of thread in […]

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Why Hollywood Gets Ancient Coins Wrong

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. I have endured what no one on earth has endured before. I kissed the hands of the man who killed my son. I loved my boy from the moment he opened his eyes until the moment you closed them. Let me wash his body. Let me say […]

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Dogs on Ancient Coins

  CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. You ain’t nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time. You ain’t nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time. You ain’t never caught a rabbit, and you ain’t no friend of mine. –Elvis Presley, 20th-century American philosopher, covering Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog” […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Janus, God of January

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….   ANCIENT ROMANS KNEW even less about the prehistoric origins of their religion than we do, since we have knowledge from centuries of archaeology. Latin writers of the Classical era tried to connect their own native Italian gods to the prestigious gods of ancient Greece, with their complex genealogies […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Janus, God of January

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …. ANCIENT ROMANS KNEW even less about the prehistoric origins of their religion than we do, since we have knowledge from centuries of archaeology. Latin writers of the Classical era tried to connect their own native Italian gods to the prestigious gods of ancient Greece, with their complex genealogies and […]

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Philosopher King: The Coinage of Marcus Aurelius

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil. –The Meditations, 2:1 OF ALL THE ROMAN EMPERORS, Marcus Aurelius comes […]

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NGC Ancient Coins: The Golden Age of Rome

Perhaps no epoch in history has been so admired as the Roman Empire of the 2nd Century CE – Rome’s ‘Golden Age’ – during which the Romans achieved a balance of political stability and economic and intellectual success that had never before existed Rome’s Golden Age is famously described by the historian Edward Gibbon. In […]

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NGC Ancient Roman Coins: The Golden Age of Rome

Perhaps no epoch in history has been so admired as the Roman Empire of the 2nd Century CE. The Emperors are depicted on these ancient Roman coins. During this time, Romans achieved a balance of political stability and economic and intellectual success that had never before existed Ancient Roman Coins Rome’s Golden Age is famously […]

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Naville Numismatics Live Auction 24 Online Now

By Naville Numismatics Ltd …..   Dear Collector, It is our pleasure to present Naville Numismatics (NN) Live Auction 24. The auction will close on Sunday, 17 July 2016, 2:00 pm UK time, at which time the live session will begin. Absentee bidders can bid electronically through the Naville Numismatics website from the day the […]

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Naville Numismatics Live Auction 19 Now Online

By Naville Numismatics Ltd…. It is our pleasure to present Naville Numismatics (NN) Live Auction 19. The auction will close on Sunday 13 December 2015, 18.00 UK time, at which time the live session will begin. Absentee bidders can bid electronically through Naville Numismatics website from the day the sale is published online up to […]

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For Ancient Coin Collectors – Jacquier Auction 40

Celts. Eburones (Gallia Belgica). Electrum stater By Paul-Francis Jacquier Auctions…. Aficionados looking for numismatic rarities certainly know auction house Paul-Francis Jacquier. Once again, his 40th catalog offers extraordinary items featuring perfect bronzes dating from Roman Imperial Times as well as a number of rare quinarii. 920 lots will come under the hammer at Auction 40 […]

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Gorny & Mosch Auctions: From the Wappenmünze to the German Thaler

The Gorny & Mosch October sale has much to offer. The sessions will present a wide range of numismatic highlights, featuring rarities from the ancient world and showpieces from Germany alike. The Middle Ages are particularly well represented as well. Over the course of its auction week, Gorny & Mosch will conduct three auction sales. […]

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