ABOUT SULLA'S NOTES
Built for the reader
This site exists for you, the visitor. Whether you arrived to research a specific coin, follow a historical thread, or simply browse images of ancient currency, everything here is built around making that experience useful and enjoyable. Your feedback shapes how the site grows: questions, corrections, and suggestions from readers directly inform which stories get added, which references get expanded, and which parts of the site get revised.
Origins of the collection
The collection itself grew out of a personal interest in ancient history and coins that goes back more than 40 years, to a first coin acquired in childhood. These Notes were started as a way to organize stories, photos, and references related to the Sulla Collection, and they remain organized that way so that you can move easily between a coin, its historical context, and the sources behind it.
Why history
Loosely paraphrasing Polybios 1.1: If previous writers had failed to praise the value of history, I would need to encourage everyone to study the past, as it is the most practical guide for living a good life. However, nearly every historian has already made this their central point. They consistently argue that studying history is the best possible training for public life and politics. They also agree that examining the misfortunes of others is the only reliable way to learn how to endure our own bad luck bravely.
What you will find here
A few themes recur across the site, encouraged by the feedback from our readers: questions of good governance, clashes of values, how historical knowledge evolves over time, and parallels between the ancient world and today. The dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla is the starting point and namesake for the collection, but the coins and periods covered on the site often range well beyond that single reign, following wherever the history and the numismatic evidence lead.
Each entry is kept brief by design, but includes references and links so that you can dig deeper into any subject that interests you. If a note leaves you wanting more, the sources are there for that reason.
Reusing text and images
Any original text or photographs on this site are free for you to reuse for educational and non-commercial purposes, provided you credit Sulla Collection, Notes on Ancient Coins, http://www.sullacoins.com. Commercial use requires permission in advance; reach out by email to arrange it. All other images cite the appropriate source and license requirements.
Get in touch
If something here is useful to you, if you spot an error, or if you have a question, a correction, or an idea for a future entry, please write: sulla80@comcast.net. The site improves because readers take the time to do this, and that collaboration is genuinely welcome.