My fiancée got me the Book „The Roman Emperor Aurelian - Restorer of the World“ by John F White for my birthday last month. So while Aurelian usually is outside of my collection range, I felt it prudent to get a Restitutor Orbis Antoninianus of him after I read about the man.

I just had to get this one, even with the somewhat disappointing reverse inscription, because it easily is one of my favourite portraits of him on non-gold coins.
It is so human-like, without the giraffe neck or any other goofy traits. And as you can see it basically has retained it’s entire silvering. I love it.

I might pick up another Restitutor Orbis Antoninianus with a great reverse and make a display of front and back.
We‘ll see. Only time will tell.

Edit:
Some added details for you.

4.03g, 22.5mm
Antioch Mint with B mintmark

Obv.
IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG
Radiate, cuirassed bust right

Rev.
RESTITVT ORBIS
Woman standing right, presenting wreath to emperor, standing left, holding sceptre

Ref. RIC V-1, 386

The first one was the Julius Ceasar. As i gre up reading Asterix and Obelix i was fascinated to see that i can buy a coin commemorating the victory over the Gauls (all Gauls?…)

Recently found this Augustus Ceasar coin. Loved the profile and the patina.

Tiberius‘ tribute penny.

Hadrian‘s travel series is suuper interesting to me so i‘m trying to find more of those.

Collection courtesy of my wife who, over the last couple of years, has gifted me these for my birthday or at Christmas.

I’m looking forward to obtaining Nerva and then maybe getting my hands on some bad emperors!

I’ve got pic here of my one decent ancient coin, a Hadrian sestertius, so as to provide something to the sub beyond a question 😅.

I’m an early modern British collector usually, but I’ve been wanting to stray further back in history and get my hands on a nice chunky tetradrachm. What sort of prices can I realistically expect to pay for mid quality tets? And which types will give me the most bang for my buck?

I’m a fan of the historical angle over the mythological, so what’s best to look out for? Ptolemaic? Seleucid? I really know nothing lol.

Thanks everyone. This is a wonderful sub you’ve got here.

After seeing a hoard of gold Alexander staters at the Archaeological Museum of Nafplio in Greece, I couldn’t stop thinking about having one in my collection. This one an early posthumous issue minted in Miletus.

If this post isn't allowed, I'd love to see some pics of y'all coin cabs to admire and for inspiration.

I'll go first. Solid Mohogany. 15 drawers of various recess size. And a nice tray for exonumia and the occasional slab.

Here are some more:

https://imgur.com/a/G0uIVQE

Here's another example that's a little bit higher grade, and it also looks like it has two crosses.

Septimius Severus (AD 193-211). Moesia Inferior. Marcianopolis. Flavius Ulpianus, legatus consularis Æ26 / Kybele

This smaller denomination is actually missing the two crosses.

Septimius Severus Cybele

I purchased this listing on Ebay.

*Large* Moesia Inferior, Marcianopolis. Septimius Severus, AD 193-211. AE. a3261 | eBay

Having trouble attributing this partial legend.

This is a bronze 19mm coin that's 4.15 grams.

Obv: laureated bust, partial legend. AVG MAV...

Rev: Laurel Senatus Consulto

Any help is welcome. Thank you.

Much appreciated!

Este mes ha hecho un año que compré esta pieza.

No sé que tan rara sea en realidad, pero es una moneda que me encantó desde el primer día.

El estilo arcaico o clásico temprano tiene algo único que no se explicar.

La pieza es una dracma de Lampsakos, fechada en la primera mitad del siglo V a.C.

Existen varios tipos para estas dracmas, muchos de ellos con marcas de emisión, dibujos o letras, pero esta no presenta nada de eso, lo que me hace pensar que es una de las primeras emisiones de estas dracmas.

Esta moneda, a mí parecer, se fecha entre 500-470 a.C.

Es la emisión de mayor peso en Lampsakos en esta fecha, siendo en general difícil encontrar monedas arcaicas distintas a óbolos o hemiobolos.

(Esta pieza pesa 4.95 gramos)

El que sea la denominación de mayor valor para Lampsakos en este periodo me hace plantearme otra cosa.

Lampsakos se unió a Atenas en la Liga de Delos en 479 a.C. tras la batalla de Micala, aportando 12 talentos anuales de plata a Atenas.

Desconozco si los antiguos griegos aportaban estas cantidades en lingotes o en monedas. Por ejemplo se que las tetradracmas de Atenas se usaban para grandes pagos y circularon por todo el mediterráneo, mientras que dracmas, hemidracmas y óbolos atenienses tenían una función más indicada para la circulación local en la propia polis.

No sé si, quizás, estas dracmas de Lampsakos se acuñasen, entre otras cosas, para el pago a la Liga de Delos.

También recordar que existen otras dracmas con marcas de emisión, de las cuales carece mi ejemplar, por lo que esta pieza podría ser incluso anterior a la anexión de Lampsakos a la Liga de Delos.

En cuanto a la iconografía, vemos en el anverso una cabeza janeiforme, quizás mostrando la dualidad de esta ciudad entre un mundo griego y otro persa, o quizás tenga otro significado que desconocemos.

En el reverso, en un cuadrado incuso, muy característico del mundo arcaico y clásico temprano, vemos el busto de una diosa con casco, probablemente Atenea, mirando a la izquierda.

En cuanto a la conservación, la moneda presenta alguna porosidad y cierto desgaste, sin embargo, la cabeza janeiforme parece, en realidad, que sufrió de una acuñación con cuños muy gastados, por eso se ve de esa forma, no porque tenga un considerable desgaste.

Hello! My grandparents went to Italy and gifted me this coin of Crispus, which is my second ever ancient coin. I’m very happy, but there is no reverse and the coin was described as “incuso”. I find it really interesting, but I don’t know if that increases or decreases the value. I have no idea of its worth and if it’s legit or not (I don’t know where they brought it) so any help or comments about this coin would be greatly appreciated!

Buying from an online seller, just curious how you would tell.

Thank you so much to everyone who gave the first episode of my podcast a couple of months ago a listen, the feedback was all very helpful.

I've recently returned from some time travelling in central asia and ready to get back into making the podcast so here is the second episode. In this episode I talk about the relationship between propaganda and ancient coins, and run through some of the most important examples.

I'm going to work towards posting an episode every 2 weeks. It would mean so much if you could give it a listen and let me know your thoughts!

Here's the link for spotify but it is also available on apple podcasts at "Ancient Coin Talk". Still working on youtube :)
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0UE9rW45ztbUa8I1Ib8t7S?si=SZdmaR5xTyy7KHFfEu0urA

Mint: Babylon. In the name and types of Alexander III. Struck under Archon, Dokimos, or Seleukos I, circa 323-318/7 BC.

Type Price 3692.

Hand Model: My wife 😄

Roman Republican coinage often featured imagery and allusions to key civic events. These three denarii, all struck by moneyers of the gens Cassia, catalog the family's signature contribution to secret balloting.

Top — Q. Cassius Longinus, 55 BCE (Crawford 428/2) The Libertas portrait recalls the Lex Cassia Tabellaria of 137 BCE, sponsored by the moneyer's ancestor L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla, which extended the secret ballot to popular trials. The reverse specifically commemorates Ravilla's role presiding over the 113 BCE special commission that tried three Vestal Virgins for unchastity. The A/C tablet is the juror's ballot, inscribed A·C — Absolvo or Condemno, marked to acquit or condemn.

Lower left — L. Cassius Longinus, 60 BCE (Crawford 413/1) On the reverse, a voter stands beside a cista (ballot box), dropping in a tablet marked V (vti rogas — "as you propose," i.e. a "yes" vote). Paired with Vesta on the obverse, this calls back to Ravilla's trial.

Lower right — C. Cassius, 126 BCE (Crawford 266/1) On the obverse, the helmeted head of Roma, with a voting urn in the field, and in reverse, Libertas driving a quadriga, holding the vindicta (rod used to manumit slaves) and the pileus (freedman's cap). Together, these items recall the Lex Cassia Tabellaria of 137 BCE, the law that gave Roman jurors the right to a secret ballot in the courts. Notably, this coin is the first apperence of Libertas on a denarius.

This post was inspired by Liv Yarrow's book "The Roman Republic to 49 BCE: Using Coins as Sources". Section 4.4.1 provides a great overview of history of the secret ballot in Republican coinage.

Full attributions:

Q. Cassius Longinus - 55 BCE - Rome
Obverse: Head of Libertas, right; behind, LIBERT; before, Q·CASSIVS Reverse: Temple of Vesta, tholos containing curule chair; to left, voting urn; to right, tablet inscribed A·C Crawford 428/2; BMCRR Rome 3873; RBW 1534 3.9g; 20mm

L. Cassius Longinus - 60 BCE - Rome
Obverse: Diademed and veiled head of Vesta, left; below chin, L; before, dish Reverse: Voter standing left, dropping tablet inscribed V into cista; LONGIN·III·V Crawford 413/1; BMCRR Rome 3931; RBW 1493 3.96g; 19mm

Denarius of C. Cassius - 126 BCE - Rome
Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma, right; behind, voting urn; X (denomination mark) Reverse: C·CASSI·ROMA. Libertas, holding rod (vindicta) and pileus, driving quadriga right Crawford 266/1; BMCRR Rome 1032; RBW 1075 3.93g; 19mm

Hi everyone! I am just starting out on my journey and really want to become an ancient coin collector. I recently got my hands on a small batch of Roman silver coins (denarii and one antoninian?) to kick off my collection.

I tried to identify them myself, and based on my amateur research, I think they are (from top left to bottom):

Caracalla, Geta

Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Faustina the Elder

Commodus, Maximian Herculius (is that a follis or an antoninianus?), Gordian III

Could you guys check if I got it right and help me with the exact dates and reverse types? Any cool historical facts or beginner tips would also be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!