CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. THE ROMAN EMPIRE in the West died not with a bang, but with a whimper. A series of short-lived rulers, mostly puppets of barbarian warlords, presided over the accelerating collapse of a state that had endured for five glorious centuries. The coins issued in the names of […]
The post Shadow Emperors: Coins of the Fall of Rome appeared first on CoinWeek: Rare Coin, Currency, and Bullion News for Collectors.
By Lucia Carbone for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… Part 1 | Part 2 * * * The second day of the RACOM conference was dedicated to the coinages issued in the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire between the late third century BCE and the end of the reign of Augustus (Fig. 1). Loyal […]
The post Rome and the Coinages of the Mediterranean Conference: Part II appeared first on CoinWeek: Rare Coin, Currency, and Bullion News for Collectors.
The latest Heritage Auctions showcase of ancient coins features the collection of Robert S. Sloan, with a focus on Roman Imperial issues. These offerings are open for bidding now exclusively at Coins.HA.com, with the concluding live session scheduled for Sunday, May 14, at 7 PM CT (8 PM ET). Robert Smullyan Sloan (1915-2013) was an […]
The post Robert S. Sloan Collection of Ancient Coins at Heritage Auctions appeared first on CoinWeek: Rare Coin, Currency, and Bullion News for Collectors.
By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. By the middle of the third century CE, the Roman Empire was in bad shape. In 253, when Valerian became emperor, the Empire had had 10 rulers since the death of Severus Alexander in 235. Most of these men had killed the preceding emperor and then taken over; several […]
The post The Ancient Roman Coins of Carus and His Brief Dynasty appeared first on CoinWeek: Numismatic & Coin Collecting News.
By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. By the middle of the third century CE, the Roman Empire was in bad shape. In 253, when Valerian became emperor, the Empire had had 10 rulers since the death of Severus Alexander in 235. Most of these men had killed the preceding emperor and then taken over; several […]
The post The Ancient Roman Coins of Carus and His Brief Dynasty appeared first on CoinWeek: Rare Coin, Currency, and Bullion News for Collectors.
By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. By the middle of the third century CE, the Roman Empire was in bad shape. In 253, when Valerian became emperor, the Empire had had 10 rulers since the death of Severus Alexander in 235. Most of these men had killed the preceding emperor and then taken over; several […]
The post The Ancient Roman Coins of Carus and His Brief Dynasty appeared first on CoinWeek: Rare Coin, Currency, and Bullion News for Collectors.
By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. It would not be possible to cover the cult of Mithras in this not-quite 2,000-word article. But I can give enough of an overview of the religion for the reader to at least understand what its basic beliefs were and its importance in ancient worlds: not only to the […]
The post The Cult of Mithras on Ancient Coins appeared first on CoinWeek: Rare Coin, Currency, and Bullion News for Collectors.
A medallion from one of the best and most important collections of ancient coins ever sold through Heritage Auctions could bring $200,000 USD or more when it crosses the block November 2 at Heritage Auctions’ World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature Auction. The Maxentius (AD 307-312). AV quaternio or medallion of 4-aurei (33mm, […]
The post Ancient Roman Rarity, 1 of 2 Known, Headed to Heritage Auction appeared first on CoinWeek.
The first installment of the Historical Scholar Collection was featured in its own catalog in our recent Chicago World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session, and the first of our four Showcase auctions was offered last month. Now, Heritage is offering selections from Part II of the Historical Scholar Collection showcase auctions. This auction is open […]
The post Heritage to Offer Ancient Coin Historical Scholar Collection, Part 2 appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Nathan Elkins for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II (r. 1952–2022) and the elevation of King Charles III has prompted questions about how the face of money will change in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. This may seem like an odd line of inquiry to numismatists […]
The post Heroes and Villains on Circulating Coins and Banknotes appeared first on CoinWeek.
Künker Auctions 376-378 by Künker GmbH …… Three of the seven catalogs–with as many as 4,715 lots and a total estimate of 9 million euros–that were published by Künker for its Fall Auction Sales are dedicated to ancient coins, on sale from 18 to 21 October 2022. This time, the variety of material is particularly […]
The post Ancient Showpieces From Köhlmoos, Salton Collections at Künker appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As a divine metal, gold not only served as a store of wealth for the rulers of ancient societies but it was also an earthly representation of unending and incorruptible divinity. Coins struck in gold, while definitely earthlier and more materialistic than religious or decorative items, also retained a […]
The post Five Ancient Gold Coins And The Stories They Tell appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Austin Andrews for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… Historians and poets alike have all had their say about the quirks of the personality, reign, and life of the Roman emperor Julian (331–363 CE). To the late 18-century historian Edward Gibbon, in his much-cited Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Julian was a doomed […]
The post Artifacts of Apostasy: Ancient Coins of Julian appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Harlan J. Berk, Ltd …… Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. has just launched sale 221 on their website with paper catalogs following in a few weeks. This catalog has a large number of affordable lots along with a few fantastic highlights worth noting. The entire sale consists of 580 ancient coins, 53 world coins […]
The post Harlan J. Berk’s 221st Buy or Bid Sale is Now Live appeared first on CoinWeek.
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 […]
The post Eroticism on Ancient Coins (Adults Only) appeared first on CoinWeek.
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 […]
The post Snakes on Ancient Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Let’s take a tour through the auction records to get a sense of the value of an ancient coin. The coin in question is quite interesting. It is an arresting denarius of Augustus struck between 18 and 19 BCE at the Spanish mint of Caesaragusta, modern-day Zaragoza. On the […]
The post A Look at the Ancient Coin Market Through Recent Auction Results appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. Apostate: (noun) a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.[1] REMEMBERED AS THE “Apostate” by his enemies, and “the Philosopher” by his friends, Flavius Claudius Julianus–or Julian–ruled as Roman emperor from November 3, 361 CE until his death on June 26, 363. On the list of emperors, […]
The post CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Julian the Apostate appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Nathan Elkins for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… Although fundamental to our discipline, one of the most difficult skills to teach aspiring Roman numismatists is how to identify coins. At archaeological field schools and in the classroom, numismatists provide some guidance and host practicums. But, at the end of the day, there is no […]
The post Identifying Ancient Roman Coins: An OCRE Tool appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. Constantine’s family was large and complex. Both he and his father had sired children with two different women, thus creating three branches [of] the Constantinian family. Most remote to Constantine was the step-family created by his father and most immediate were the two branches of direct descendants he had […]
The post CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Family of Constantine the Great appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles,) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as “Claudius the Idiot,” or “That Claudius,” or “Claudius the Stammerer,” or “Clau-Clau-Claudius,” or […]
The post CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Coinage of Claudius appeared first on CoinWeek.
Künker Auctions 365-367 by Künker GmbH …… The second part of Künker’s Spring Auction Sales is completely dedicated to antiquity. In addition to many collections of Greek, Roman Republican, Roman imperial, and late Roman coinage, a collection with world-class Celtic coins will be on offer: the Flesche Collection. * * * The material on offer […]
The post Künker Offers Ancient Greek, Roman and Celtic Coins in Spring Auctions appeared first on CoinWeek.
Over its long life, the Mediterranean superpower struck a wide array of silver ancient coins Roman silver coins were produced in astonishing variety over a period of about 800 years. Considering the broad historical themes they represent, it’s no surprise they are among the most popular of all ancient coins. Many collectors specialize in […]
The post NGC Ancient Coins: Roman Silver Type Set appeared first on CoinWeek.
Classical Numismatic Group LLC (CNG) is offering the British and Ancient collections of legendary numismatist Kenneth Bressett in a series of Keystone Auctions set to close Friday, March 11, 2022, during the American Numismatic Association (ANA) National Money Show. Born in 1928, Bressett’s long and storied numismatic career has included editing the Red Book and […]
The post CNG Brings Bressett Collection to Auction at ANA Money Show appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Nathan Elkins for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… One way to study numismatic objects is through the lens of the anthropological/archaeological concept of object biography. A helpful guide from Stanford University (PDF here) defines it as follows: “Object biography is a methodology that goes beyond provenance research to create close, contextual consideration of the […]
The post Ancient Coins and (Modern) Object Biographies appeared first on CoinWeek.
The Werner Collection of Ancient Roman and Byzantine Coins ranges over more than 1,600 years of Roman and Byzantine history, from the Republican period through the 15th century CE. Heritage Auctions is pleased to offer this collection in its Showcase Auction, with bidding open now through the live session on Sunday, February 20 at 8 […]
The post Heritage Offers Werner Collection of Ancient Roman and Byzantine Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. —Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II (1597) ROMAN EMPERORS RARELY wore an actual crown. They are more commonly shown wearing a laurel wreath or a diadem, the jeweled headband that was an ancient emblem of royalty. But the mortality statistics […]
The post Short Timers on Ancient Coins: The Briefest Reigns of Roman Emperors appeared first on CoinWeek.
The newly endowed Chair of Roman Numismatics is named in honor of renowned numismatist, scholar, and ANS Board of Trustees Vice President Andrew M. Burnett and is funded by an anonymous donor. The endowment for the chair will allow the ANS to strengthen its long-term commitment to the study and digitization of one of the […]
The post ANS Announces Andrew M. Burnett Chair of Roman Numismatics appeared first on CoinWeek.
NYINC’s Highest Grossing Auction and Highest Priced Individual Lot Following a record-breaking year in 2021, the World and Ancient Coin Department at Stack’s Bowers Galleries saw continued strong prices as over $20 million in numismatic items crossed the block in their annual official auction of the New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC). All prices […]
The post Stack’s Bowers Sells Over $20 Million in World and Ancient Coins at New York International Auction appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Nathan Elkins for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… I spend a lot of time thinking about the significance and intent behind certain images on ancient coins. I am also very much interested in what people really saw and whether visual messages were successfully communicated to people who used coins. There are several ways we […]
The post Coins and Their Target Audiences in the Roman Empire appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Russell A. Augustin, AU Capital Management, LLC …… The Secular Games at the Circus Maximus were some of the largest and most memorable celebrations in antiquity. They were held on two different cycles, first on the “saeculum”, thought to be the longest possible length of a human life (between 100 and 110 years) and […]
The post The Grandeur That Was Rome – The Secular Games of the Circus Maximus appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Nicholas Fritz – Numismatist, World and Ancient Coins, Stack’s Bowers Galleries …… The January 2022 New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC) will once again showcase Stack’s Bowers Galleries as official auctioneer of this prestigious event. This sale will feature countless highlights across many areas, including a vast array of valuable and important issues […]
The post Impressive Roman Gold Aureus Headlines New York International Numismatic Convention Auction appeared first on CoinWeek.
Auction 96 from Tauler and Fau features 273 lots and closes on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, beginning at 04:00 p.m. (Central European Time), exclusively online. This Tauler and Fau sale features an important selection of rare Ancient, Spanish, and World Coins. You will find, in the Greek Coins section, a very rare Aegina stater with […]
The post Tauler and Fau Auction 96 of Ancient, Spanish, and World Coins Open Through Nov. 3 appeared first on CoinWeek.
Auction 95 – A Roman Denarii Collection features 523 lots and closes on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, beginning at 04:00 p.m. (Central European Time), exclusively online. This sale features an important collection of silver Roman denarii: Roman Republican, Roman Imperatorial and Roman Imperial. It represents a good selection of denarii, most of them with excellent […]
The post Tauler and Fau Auction 95 of Ancient Roman Coins Open Through November 2 appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. “What was the last ancient coin?” The question is unanswerable. There was no “last” ancient coin, just as there was no “last” ancient person. Classical antiquity didn’t just stop — it morphed gradually into the medieval world, which morphed, in turn, into what we understand as the modern […]
The post CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Last Ancient Coin appeared first on CoinWeek.
CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. MOST ANCIENT PEOPLE lived close to nature. Long before they built temples of stone, they worshipped their gods in sacred groves[1]. Greeks myths describe trees inhabited by supernatural spirits called dryads[2], who could take the form of beautiful young women. The ancient Mediterranean world was a much […]
The post Trees on Ancient Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
Overview: This tetradrachm (a silver four-drachmae coin), issued around the year 2 BCE, is from the Greco-Roman city of Antioch-on-the-Orontes in what is now southern Turkey. In 31 BCE, the forces of Octavian, great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar, had defeated the forces of Marc Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, one […]
The post Ancient Coin Profiles: Roman Provincial – Antioch Tetradrachm of Augustus appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. One of the most basic tasks of a numismatist is the identification of coins. While correctly attributing the denomination, issuing authority, and date are important, determining the mint at which a coin was struck can reveal lots of contextual information. Outside of private issues and small city-states that operate […]
The post On Ancient Mintmarks and Determining an Ancient Coin’s Origin appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Jeremy Bostwick – Senior Numismatist & Cataloger, Stack’s Bowers …… The upcoming Official Auction of the ANA World’s Fair of Money from Stack’s Bowers Galleries will present a tremendous array of stunning ancient coins emanating from various well-cultivated collections. A standout among them is a dazzling and lustrous gold aureus of Roman emperor […]
The post Stunning Gold Aureus of Macrinus – A Connoisseur’s Dream appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. This article deals with three men that, while seemingly destined to become the emperor of ancient Rome–indeed, they held the title of Caesar, or second-in-command–ultimately failed, for one reason or another, to ascend the throne. During the early Julio-Claudian dynasty, the emperor would designate his successor; the title […]
The post Almost Emperors: Three Caesars Who Didn’t Quite Make It and Their Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Catawiki …… Catawiki is proud to present the Ancient Coins Exclusive Selection auction, which will start on April 23 from 2:00 pm EST onwards and end on May 9. The Exclusive Selection auction features an impressive collection of high-grade Greek, Celtic, Roman, and Byzantine coins. Among the Roman coins included in this auction are […]
The post Catawiki’s Ancient Coins Exclusive Selection Auction Kicks Off April 23 appeared first on CoinWeek.
On March 22, 2021, Künker will be auctioning off an extensive collection of coins of Roman Alexandria. Among them are 14 specimens of the zodiac series of Antoninus Pius. These pieces tell us something about how we know when events took place in ancient history. By Ursula Kampmann on behalf of Künker …… Imagine […]
The post Künker Ancient Coin Auctions: How Do We Know When the Battle at Marathon Took Place? appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Over the roughly one thousand years that followed the overthrew of the last king in 509 BCE, Rome underwent many cultural revolutions. Some of the most notable changes include the rise of the Triumvirates and the overthrow of the Republic, the increasingly autocratic nature of the subsequent Empire, and […]
The post Changes in Portraiture on Ancient Roman Coinage appeared first on CoinWeek.
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 […]
The post Images and Symbols of Egyptian Gods on Ancient Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
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 […]
The post Images and Symbols of Egyptian Gods on Ancient Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Born on December 15 in the year 37 CE, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was not necessarily destined for greatness. He was, however, the son of one of history’s most famous women, Julia Agrippina (the Younger). After her husband, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, died in 40 CE, Julia quickly remarried to the […]
The post Ancient Roman Coins: The Many Faces of Nero appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Seemingly in accordance with human nature, people began producing counterfeits immediately after the first coins in the world were struck. The drive to create forgeries is perhaps older than recorded history and unfortunately finds a ready home within coinage and numismatics. As collectors, we are naturally wary of modern […]
The post Collectible or Not? A Study of Ancient Coin Fourées appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Peter K. Tompa – Cultural Property Observer….. The following is a statement delivered at the Wednesday, July 22 meeting of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) by lawyer and numismatic advocate Peter K. Tompa concerning proposed updates to the 2021 renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Italy. These updates threaten American collectors’ […]
The post Collecting Ancient Coins: Time to Consider a New Paradigm That Facilitates Lawful Trade appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. By the beginning of the second half of the third century CE, the Roman Empire was in bad shape. Across the Rhine and Danubian frontiers, there were almost continuous incursions from barbarian tribes like the Alemanni and Goths. These invasions would devastate wide swaths of the Roman Empire. In […]
The post Coins of the Illyrian Emperors of the Third Century appeared first on CoinWeek.
ESM Collection of United States Large Cents Stack’s Bowers Galleries is thrilled to present the ESM Collection of United States Large Cents as part of our August 2020 Auction. The collection comprises a virtually complete set of large cents by major variety, spanning all issues from 1793 through the end of the type in 1857. […]
The post Stack’s Bowers Offering ESM Collection of Large Cents, Ancient Roman Solidi appeared first on CoinWeek.
By CoinWeek News Staff …. On June 8, 2020, the State Department of the United States announced a proposal to extend its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Italy. The MoU, which was originally agreed to in 2001 and augmented every five years since, establishes restrictions on imports of certain artifacts of cultural importance from Italy […]
The post Renewal of Italian MOU Threatens Ability to Collect Ancient Roman Imperial Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. A BRILLIANT ORGANIZER and commander, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa[1] engineered Octavian’s rise to supreme power in the waning days of the Roman Republic. Agrippa’s two sons with his wife Julia, Octavian’s only daughter, were Gaius Caesar[2] (born 20 BCE) and Lucius Caesar[3] (born 17 BCE). Gaius and Lucius would […]
The post The Gaius & Lucius Denarius of Augustus – CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series appeared first on CoinWeek.
An Important OCRE Update The American Numismatic Society (ANS) has recently launched an update to its Online Coins of the Roman Empire (OCRE) digital corpus. This update, months in the making, incorporates the newly published volume of Spink’s authoritative series, Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC) into OCRE. Published in 2019, this new volume updates the typology […]
The post ANS Launches Important Update to Online Imperial Roman Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
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 […]
The post CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Travels With Hadrian appeared first on CoinWeek.
Emperor Nero By Joël van Dam – Owner, Joëlnumismatics, for MA-Shops.com …… Within numismatics, there is one general topic that I like the most and that is ancient coins. In particular, Roman coins. It doesn’t matter to me if I have to talk about coins from the early Republic or about coins minted at the […]
The post MA-Shops: Ancient Coins of the Roman Emperor Nero appeared first on CoinWeek.
The reverse designs of late Roman coins typically feature military themes By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) …… Coins of the Late Roman Empire have a remarkable variety of designs. In the previous column, we examined some of the principal types encountered on the obverse – typically the imperial portrait. In this installment (and the […]
The post NGC Ancients: Late Roman Coin Reverse Types, Part 1 appeared first on CoinWeek.
Vespasian. 69-79 CE. AV Aureus – Rome Mint – Struck 70 CE By Russell A. Augustin – AU Capital Management, LLC …. Mt. Vesuvius began erupting on August 24, 79 CE and continued for two days, burying the Roman settlements of Pompeii and Herculaneum, among others. There were warning signs: small earthquakes started a few […]
The post Ancient Roman Coins – Vespasian Aureus Buried at Pompeii appeared first on CoinWeek.
Aureus 64-65, AV 7.27 g. NERO CAESAR – AVGVSTVS By Russell A. Augustin – AU Capital Management, LLC …… The name Nero holds a particularly sinister connotation due to how history remembers his cruel and self-indulgent tendencies. His reputation was equally negative during his reign, and the discontent came to a climax in 64 CE. […]
The post Ancient Roman Coins – A Conspiracy to Assassinate the Emperor Nero appeared first on CoinWeek.
By Chris Chatigny – Numismatist & Cataloger, Stacks Bowers …… This next ancient coin preview from our August ANA World’s Fair of Money auction is a magnificent Julia Domna Aureus, the wife of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus. Julia was the scion of a wealthy and powerful family from Emesa (modern-day Homs, Syria). History remembers […]
The post Elegant Julia Domna Aureus with Imperial Family at Stack’s Bowers ANA Auction appeared first on CoinWeek.
CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz…. Oderint, dum metuant (Let them hate, so long as they fear). — Caligula THE ANNALS OF THE ROMAN HISTORIAN TACITUS (56 – 117 CE) survived in one damaged medieval manuscript at the Monte Cassino monastery[1]. The section covering the reign of Emperor Caligula is missing, and we […]
The post Monster: The Coinage of Caligula appeared first on CoinWeek.
CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. IMPERIAL ROME NEVER REALLY solved the problem of orderly succession to power. The “normal” pattern of inheritance in a monarchy is an elderly ruler replaced after his natural death by a well-qualified adult son. For Rome, this was an exception, not a rule. Officially, an emperor had […]
The post Imperial Wannabes: The Ancient Coinage of Roman Usurpers appeared first on CoinWeek.
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 […]
The post NGC Ancients – Roman Provincial Coin Portraits appeared first on CoinWeek.
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 […]
The post CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Heroic Nudity on Ancient Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
The coinage of Nero spans his long reigns as Caesar and emperor Nero is among the best-known of all Roman emperors – but not for good reasons. During his eventful reign, from 54 to 68 CE, Nero had relatively few accomplishments, yet is credited with a long list of failures. The fact that he ruled […]
The post NGC Ancients: Roman Coinage of Emperor Nero appeared first on CoinWeek.
CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. Aren’t they very expensive? Along with How do you know they’re authentic?, this is probably the most common question that classical numismatists are asked about ancient coins. Well, yes and no. The price of an ancient coin, like any other price in an imperfect market economy, […]
The post CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Ancient Coins Under $100 appeared first on CoinWeek.
Vespasian. AD 69-79. AV Aureus – Rome mint – Struck AD 70 By Russell A. Augustin – AU Capital Management, LLC …. Mt. Vesuvius began erupting on August 24, 79 CE and continued for two days, burying the Roman settlements of Pompeii and Herculaneum, among others. There were warning signs: small earthquakes started a […]
The post Ancient Roman Coins – Vespasian Aureus, Buried at Pompeii appeared first on CoinWeek.
Aureus 64-65, AV 7.27 g. NERO CAESAR – AVGVSTVS By Russell A. Augustin – AU Capital Management, LLC …. The name Nero holds a particularly sinister connotation due to how history remembers his cruel and self-indulgent tendencies. His reputation was equally negative during his reign, and the discontent came to a climax in 64 CE. […]
The post Ancient Roman Coins – A Conspiracy to Assassinate the Emperor Nero appeared first on CoinWeek.
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” […]
The post Dogs on Ancient Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
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, […]
The post NGC Ancients: Roman Bronzes Appeal to Specialist Collectors appeared first on CoinWeek.
CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. …[To] sport with the passions and prejudices of his subjects, and to subvert every law of nature and decency, were in the number of his most delicious amusements. A long train of concubines, and a rapid succession of wives, among whom was a vestal virgin, ravished […]
The post Teen Weirdo Emperor: The Coinage of Elagabalus appeared first on CoinWeek.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries rang in the New Year with tremendous results at the January New York International Auction. An excellent array of coins was anchored by several superb collections, including Selections from the Estate of Richard Doty, Selections from the Michael Druck Collection, The Mezo Toth Kalman Collection, The Dr. Michael Popoff Collection and Selections […]
The post Stack’s Bowers NYINC Auction of World & Ancient Coins Realizes $4.86 Million appeared first on CoinWeek.
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 […]
The post CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Sphinxes on Ancient Coins appeared first on CoinWeek.
Ancient Roman Coins Offer Relief for Italy Earthquake Victims Gold & Silver Romans Purchased This Month Generate a 5% Relief Fund Donation By Monaco Rare Coins …… Since before the age of Christ, Italy has had its share of natural disasters, from the volcano of Pompeii, to the burning of Rome under Caesar Nero, to […]
The post Monaco Rare Coins Announces Roman Earthquake Relief Fund appeared first on CoinWeek.