Category Archives: Hadrian

What Makes the Most Expensive Ancient Coins So Valuable

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As someone working in the field of “pre-modern numismatics” at NAC USA, I have the extremely rare opportunity to handle some of the best ancient coins in the world. Now, more than ever, I ask myself a deceptively complex question. What drives the value of a coin? Which factors […]

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Eroticism on Ancient Coins (Adults Only)

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …..   THROUGH A LONG chain of pious frauds and medieval myth-making, the February 14 feast day of St. Valentine, an obscure third-century martyr, became a day for celebrating romantic Love in Western popular culture. It may be no surprise to the reader that classical numismatics has relatively […]

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Mythology and Ancient Coins

By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. The mythology of ancient Greece and Rome is vast, and many volumes have been written on it over the centuries. In the United States, several books have popularized the subject, with Bulfinch’s Mythology (1855) being the gold standard. Using it as a guide, the following is a brief exploration […]

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The Quinarius: An Ancient Roman Coin You’ve Never Heard of

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. ANCIENT ROME ISSUED coins for almost eight centuries. Among the bewildering variety of denominations that circulated during this long span of time, the quinarius stands out as one of the most obscure. Struck in both gold and silver, the type is so scarce that many experienced collectors […]

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The Influence of Historic and Ancient Coin Designs

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. History is a continuum and time moves linearly. Generally, as time progresses, artistic and cultural trends evolve and build upon each other. One perfect example is the Hellenistic influence seen in Buddhist artwork from the Gandharan province in the first century BCE. The Bactrian and other Greek kings who […]

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Music on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. MUSIC IS MUCH older than civilization — it may be as old as language itself. The earliest known musical instrument, a flute made from a bear’s shinbone found in 1995 in a cave in Slovenia, dates from 43,000 years ago[1]. In the ancient world, musical instruments played […]

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Lady Liberty: The Allegory of a Nation

By Dan Duncan – Pinnacle Rarities …… In discussions of our nation’s coinage, the use of a female allegory for Liberty dates back to the earliest days of our Independence, pre-dating the foundation of the United States Mint. In 1785, copper patterns were created using designs suggested by the early Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris. […]

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LGBTQ+ Representation on Ancient Coins and Tokens

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. While Pride month is over, I feel it would be interesting to dive into the history of LGBTQ+ representations on ancient coinage. This representation can take several forms. Firstly, as everyone should be aware by now, the LGBTQ+ community is not an invention of modern society. Queer individuals are […]

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Ancient Coins – Elephants on Ancient Coinage

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …..   STRONG, INTELLIGENT AND long-lived – yet surprisingly gentle – elephants have long exerted a powerful hold over the human imagination. Prehistoric cave paintings depict elephants and their extinct cousins, the wooly mammoth and mastodon. Ivory from elephant tusks was a precious raw material in the ancient […]

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Temples on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. Temples were designed to house a statue of the deity and store votive offerings, and were not intended to provide accommodation for a congregation of worshippers (Adkins, 218). Two of the most common circulating American coins depict buildings modeled on Greco-Roman temples: the Lincoln Memorial on the […]

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Images and Symbols of Egyptian Gods on Ancient Coins

By Austin Andrews for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… With its range of hawk-headed and half-mummified deities, the Egyptian pantheon has inspired devotion and intrigue for millennia. Egyptians were drawing, painting, and carving images of their gods well before the first pharaohs, over five thousand years ago. While coined money was not a regular part […]

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Images and Symbols of Egyptian Gods on Ancient Coins

By Austin Andrews for American Numismatic Society (ANS) ……   With its range of hawk-headed and half-mummified deities, the Egyptian pantheon has inspired devotion and intrigue for millennia. Egyptians were drawing, painting, and carving images of their gods well before the first pharaohs, over five thousand years ago. While coined money was not a regular […]

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Reading Ancient Roman Coins

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. ANCIENT ROMANS WERE practical-minded people; they didn’t like wasted effort. Every letter on an ancient Roman coin die was painstakingly engraved by hand, so inscriptions on Roman coins are often heavily abbreviated. Generations of classical scholars have toiled to unravel the meaning of these cryptic abbreviations, so we can […]

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Ancient and Modern Gold Coins Highlight Catawiki Auctions

By CoinWeek …. Internet auction site Catawiki offers a wide range of collectibles, including fine art, jewelry, comics, toys, militaria, wine, and antiques. Numismatists will also find a large selection of precious metal bullion, currency, stamps, and rare coins. This week, we focus on auction highlights that have recently closed and are still open for […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Travels With Hadrian

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, TRAVEL was hazardous and uncomfortable, even for the elite. Yet remarkably, the Roman emperor Hadrian spent half of his 21-year reign on the road, visiting almost every province of the vast empire. The mint celebrated these grand tours with extensive coinage in gold, silver and […]

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Wacks Collection Includes Rare Roman Related Judaean Coins

By Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers …… Ancient Judaean coins – ranging from small bronze “Widow’s Mites” to the impressive silver Shekels of the First Revolt (66-70 CE) and the silver Selas (Tetradrachms) of the Second Revolt (132-5 CE) – are often found in hoards. But the coins issued by the Romans that relate to […]

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Scarce Cameo 1882 Proof Half Dollar Among New Inventory at Atlas Numismatics

By Atlas Numismatics …… Atlas Numismatics will be attending the Whitman Spring Expo February 28 through March 3, 2019. If you would like us to bring any specific items for your examination at the show please contact us at your earliest convenience. Atlas Numismatics New Inventory These five items are just a sample of the 875 […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coins, Aliens and UFOs

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …. On the wall of his office in the FBI building’s basement, Special Agent Fox Mulder of the TV series The X-Files has a UFO poster that proclaims: I WANT TO BELIEVE. The sentiment is widely shared, even among numismatists, who are generally a rather skeptical bunch. The “Alien” Coin […]

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MA-Shops: Jupiter on Ancient Coins

By Joël van Dam – Owner, Joëlnumismatics, for MA-Shops.com …… Jupiter, the Roman Zeus Last month I spoke a little about mythology on ancient coins. This month, I want to begin to discuss the gods and goddesses, and heroes and monsters of myth–beginning with the Roman god Jupiter. I came to the conclusion when I […]

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Grading Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. FEW TOPICS IN CLASSICAL NUMISMATICS provoke more ferocious argument than the grading of ancient coins. Among collectors of classic American coins the 70-point “Sheldon Scale”[1] is universally accepted as a standard. Machine-made modern coins in the highest grades have literally, never been touched by human hands. Ancient […]

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A Guide to Ancient Coin Collecting

By Joe Jaroch –  Posted with Permission from AU Capital Management ………. Amassing a collection of ancient coins can seem like a daunting task: the U.S. Mint has existed for little more than two hundred years, but the Classical world spans a colossal twenty-one centuries. Where would a collection begin, let alone end? That’s where […]

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Building Museums One Coin at a Time: Mike Markowitz Interviews David Vagi of NGC Ancients

By CoinWeek …. Earlier this year, Charles teamed up with CoinWeek’s resident Ancient Coin expert Mike Markowitz to check out the New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC). Among the many dealers and collectors we spoke to, Mike caught up with NGC Ancients director and grading finalizer David Vagi, for whom Mike offers effulgent praise indeed. […]

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Ancient Roman Gold Coins – Faustina, Wife of Marcus Aurelius

Ancinet Roman Gold Coin – Aureus of Faustina Junior, wife of Marcus Aurelius By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC …… Annia Galeria Faustina was a daughter of Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. She was named after her mother and was her parents’ fourth and youngest child and their second daughter. She was also their only […]

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NGC Ancients – Roman Provincial Coin Portraits

Portraits on Roman provincial coins range from crude to skillfully engraved Roman provincial coins–those struck outside of Italy, in the provinces of Rome–are among the most fascinating of all ancient coins. They often have intriguing designs and bear portraits of great interest. The die engraving on provincial coins varies incredibly, from cartoonish efforts to artistic […]

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Ancient Roman Coins – Rome at its Finest under Emperor Antoninus Pius

138-161 AD. Aureus, 7.30g (6h). Rome, 140-4 AD By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC …… Antoninus Pius is remembered by history as a kind, just, and intelligent emperor. Having held the title for 23 years, the longest reign since that of Augustus, he had a great deal of time in office to make […]

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Ancient Roman Coins – Military Strength in Rome’s Golden Age

Ancient Roman Coins – HADRIAN. 117-138 AD. Aureus  Struck 124-128 AD. By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC …..   Hadrian was the third of the Five Good Emperors (all shown on ancient roman coins ), reigning during the peak of Roman prosperity. His ascension to the throne was met with some controversy as […]

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American Numismatic Society Announces 2018 Gala Honorees

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is pleased to announce that on Thursday, January 11, 2018, it will honor the Rosen Family with the Trustees’ Award at the Annual Gala Dinner at the Harvard Club in New York City. The Rosen Family have been generous supporters of the ANS for over four decades and have greatly […]

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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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Continental Dollar, Ancient and World Coin Auctions by Gorny & Mosch

October 11-13, 2017, Gorny & Mosch will conduct their Fall Auctions, offering ancient & world coins and medals. The B-Auction featuring the less expensive material as well as multiple lots will take place as an e-auction on October 15, 2017. On October 11-13, 2017, Gorny & Mosch will conduct two sales. Auction 249 focuses on […]

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Continental Dollar, Ancient and World Coin Auctions by Gorny & Mosch

October 11-13, 2017, Gorny & Mosch will conduct their Fall Auctions, offering ancient & world coins and medals. The B-Auction featuring the less expensive material as well as multiple lots will take place as an e-auction on October 15, 2017. On October 11-13, 2017, Gorny & Mosch will conduct two sales. Auction 249 focuses on […]

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The Star and Crescent on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. OUR MOON IS SOLID, not transparent. So it is impossible for a star to appear between the points of a crescent moon. But ancient artists did not care about this, even if they understood it. Because the orbits of the Earth, the Moon and the planets all […]

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Heritage ANA Platinum Night to Feature World Coins, Ancient Roman Gold

  Since Heritage’s first ANA showcase offering of world and ancient coins in 2014, the Platinum Night auction has been a marquee event for lovers of rare and beautiful coins. With nearly 500 exceptional lots from every era and region, this year’s offering, scheduled for Thursday, August 3, adds luster to this legacy. Their selection […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coins, Aliens and UFOs

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …. On the wall of his office in the FBI building’s basement, Special Agent Fox Mulder of the TV series The X-Files has a UFO poster that proclaims: I WANT TO BELIEVE. The sentiment is widely shared, even among numismatists, who are generally a rather skeptical bunch. The “Alien” Coin […]

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NGC Ancients: Roman Bronzes Appeal to Specialist Collectors

The early Romans’ appreciation for copper money remained strong through the collapse of the Roman Empire In the ancient Greek world there was a strong preference for precious metal coinage. Base metal coins were added to the mix only long after gold, silver and electrum coins had come into regular use – and even then, […]

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Ancient Coin with Early Depiction of Colosseum Fetches Record Price at Dix Noonan Webb

By Dix Noonan Webb …… An important collection of Roman bronze coins formed by a connoisseur before and during the Second World War and back on the market for the first time in 75 years attracted furious bidding at Dix Noonan Webb in London. Every single one of the 194 lots sold in an auction […]

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Ancient Coins – How Elephants were Depicted on Ancient Coinage

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. STRONG, INTELLIGENT AND LONG-LIVED – yet surprisingly gentle – elephants have long exerted a powerful hold over the human imagination. Prehistoric cave paintings depict elephants and their extinct cousins, the wooly mammoth and mastodon. Ivory from elephant tusks was a precious raw material in the ancient world […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Sphinxes on Ancient Coins

The business of a sphinx is to be mysterious By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….   …somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs…[1] — W. B. Yeats, “The Second Coming” (1920) IN […]

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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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A Guide to Ancient Coin Collecting

By Joe Jaroch -  Posted with Permission from AU Capital Management ………. Amassing a collection of ancient coins can seem like a daunting task: the U.S. Mint has existed for little more than two hundred years, but the Classical world spans a colossal twenty-one centuries. Where would a collection begin, let alone end? That’s where […]

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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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Rarities from Northern Greece in Upcoming Gorny & Mosch Auction

From October 10-14, 2016 Gorny & Mosch will hold three auctions. Several collections will be on sale, for example, an exquisite collection of coins from Northern Greece, as well as extensive collections of Bavaria, Stolberg, Salzburg, and Russia From October 10-14, 2016 Gorny & Mosch will hold three fall auctions. As always, the first (Auction […]

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Ancient Coins – A Stunning Lucius Verus Gold Aureus

Late in 136 CE, the emperor Hadrian adopted a handsome, but otherwise undistinguished aristocrat named Lucius Aurelius Commodus as his intended successor, giving him the name Aelius Caesar. The new heir already had a seven-year-old son, who received the name Lucius Verus, and the boy’s place in the dynastic succession seemed secure. But Aelius died […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coinage of Pergamon

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek…. NOW AND THEN IN HISTORY, economic, political and social forces come together in just the right combination to make a particular city the dynamic locus of cultural creativity. We see this in Athens in the time of Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BCE), Florence during the Renaissance (c. 1350 – 1450 […]

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Ancient Coin Profile – Pompeia’s Pick: The Wandering Emperor’s Wife

By Heritage Auctions ….. The Roman empress Vibia Sabina (83 CE – 136/137) was both the wife and second cousin, once removed, of Roman emperor Publius Aelius Hadrianus (Hadrian). The path that took her to that exalted perch, and put her face on our gold coin, was long and winding. Sabina’s mother was Salonina Matidia, the […]

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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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