Tag: Rome
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284 Rome Numerian Tetradrachm
A Nice thick Roman-Egyptian coin – with an eagle Numerian The “Crisis of the Third Century” was a period of great instability in the Roman Empire following the end of the Severan dynasty. Lasting from 235 – 284, one striking example of this was the year 238: The year of the Six Emperors. Towards the…
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107-110 A.D. Rome Trajan Æ Sestertius
The helpful power of the community Obverse The obverse of the coin shows a portrait of Emperor Trajan. Text around the edge reads in full “IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P”. Although only the first part is visible on my coin, which has also been holed.…
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St Florian Medallion
The Patron Saint of Firefighters Obverse The obverse features the text “SAINT FLORIAN” and “Patron Saint of Fire Fighters” around the edge. In the centre is a traditional image of Saint Florian pouring water out of a bucket onto buildings. Note: “firefighter” is usually written as one single word, both in UK and US English.…
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19 B.C. Rome Augustus Denarius Fouree
An ancient coin which isn’t what it seems This is a bonus entry for Day 18, “R” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!R = Rome. Obverse The Denarius is one of the most well-known denominations of ancient Roman coins. It was the most important silver coin in the Roman Republic and Empire for over 500…
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360 A.D. Rome Æ 3 Fel Temp Reparatio
A battle scene on a coin This is my entry for Day 18, “R” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!R = Rome. Obverse We can learn so much from coins that it can be amazing what you can fit on a small disc of metal. In this case one only 18mm diameter. And it can…
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133B.C. – 14A.D. Lydia 21 Æ
A 2,000 year old coin from one of the oldest coin producing places on Earth Map of Lydia from Britannica.com Lydia Founded as early as 1200 B.C. near the end of the Hittite period, Lydia, was a prosperous ancient Kingdom. Sardis was the capital of the kingdom from at least the mid-7th century B.C. The…
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518-27 Justin I Byzantine Follis
A nice large early Byzantine coin Obverse This coin was issued under Justin I, emperor of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine Empire from 518 – 527 A.D. I have previously shared not only a Byzantine coin, but a 5 Nummi coin issued under Justin I. So let’s look at some different aspects of this one.…
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Constantivs II Ivnior, VOT X, 321-324
An early commemorative coin When I think of commemorative coins, I tend to think of modern designs, made as much to sell collector items as anything else. The pieces issued on the 70th jubilee, then passing of the late Queen Elizabeth, and at crowning of Charles III all come to mind. These things should be…
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Bosporan Kingdom 20 Æ 324-325 AD
The longest surviving Roman client kingdom Due to the ongoing situation between Ukraine and Russia over Crimea, most people have a bit of an idea where it is. Here is a map from the Balsille School of International Affairs: Several thousand years ago, the territorial borders looked a lot different (courtesy Greek City Times): The…
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Constans Phoenix (Trier) 348-350 AD
A tiny happy bird Constantine the Great had four sons and two daughters. All four sons were “Caesar“, that is, prince, or heir apparent, and three became “Augustus” (Emperor) on his death (Crispus didn’t fare so well, being executed by his father in 326). Both terms Caesar and August are much more nuanced and complex.…
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Byzantine 5 Nummi, Justin I 518-527
Early Christian coins are fascinating for me as someone of faith, 1500 years later. Reverse The Chi-Rho ☧ is one of the earliest Christian symbols. Combining the Chi (X) and Rho (P), the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ or Christos. Chi-Rho is a Christogram, a monogram forming an abbreviation of the name…
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Cut Gallienus Antelope Antoninianus
Cutting coins to give change goes back much further than medieval England: This coin was issued under Gallienus. The obverse is very similar to the Gallienus Stag I posted previously. Indeed, this Antoninianus is from exactly the same series, and features an antelope: As well as being cut in half, this coin is just generally…
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Roman Republic Aes Grave (Janus & Ship’s prow)
Like many Roman pieces today, (or at least the ones I can afford), here is a coin which looks a bit rough, but has a lot of history. It is a later example of one of the earliest types of Roman coins. It even has a connection to Pompeii. Although not great seafarers, Rome did…
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Gallienus Stag, Rome 267
Here is a beautiful stag on a coin: The inscription reads “DIANAE CONS AVG” which means “Dianae Conservatrix Augusti – to Diana protector of the Emperor”. This stag coin was essentially from a series of coins with depictions of animals, appealing to the deity that animal represented for protection for the emperor / empire. There…