It is said that there are three kinds of ancient coin collectors: Those who admit to having purchased fakes. Those who have purchased fakes and don’t admit it. Those who have purchased fakes and don’t know it.

The Deccan Plateau is the massive, elevated tableland that occupies the vast majority of the interior of the Indian peninsula. The word "Deccan" is an anglicized version of the Prakrit word dakkhin, which derives from the Sanskrit dakshina, meaning "south." Geologically, it is a staggering formation - a huge shield of ancient volcanic rock.Geologists call this region the Deccan Traps. It is one of the largest volcanic features on planet Earth.

With ancient coins, left facing portraits are not inherently more valuable than right facing, however for some issues the left facing version is a rarity that specialists will pay more for. Left facing Roman imperial female portraits are particularly rare. For Roman republican coins left/right portrait is not a way to tell price. Here's the first left facing portrait on a Roman Republican denarius. This coin from 137 BC is a relatively common coin and is one of the least expe

Odessos (modern Varna, Bulgaria) began as a Milesian apoikia (colony) on an older Thracian settlement in the late 7th-early 6th century BCE and became a leading member of the Pontic Pentapolis, trading between the Aegean world and inland Thrace.

Seneca (writing 62-65 AD) classifies the thunderbolt alongside torches and shooting stars as "fire squeezed out of the air" (ignis aere expressus). He views them as transient, fleeting events caused by physical "defects" or pressures in the atmosphere rather than spontaneous divine whims.

Palazzo Senatorio  (Senatorial Palace) with statues of Castor (left) and Pollux (right) at the top of the stairs to the Campidoglio, Rome, Italy. The giant sculptures of the Dioscuri were originally made in the 2nd century CE and discovered in 1561 at the Temple of Castor and Pollux near Circus Flaminius. They were restored in 1582 under Pope Gregory XIII and placed here in 1582-1583. The year 96 BCE sat quietly between crises—but it should not be mistaken for calm. The death

Imagine a crisp, golden-fried pastry crescent, similar to a Karanji  or Gujiya , filled with a decadent mixture of crushed nuts, sugar, and rare perfumes like musk, served hot from the Sultan's kitchen. Maybe I am just hungry today - we will eventually get to a coin. The Dough:  Made from Rice flour and Ghee (for a melt-in-the-mouth texture). The Filling:  A blend of Almond flour, Charoli nuts, roasted Chickpea flour, Sugar, and spices (Cardamom, Fennel, Musk). Then deep fri

By the 3rd century BC, the geopolitical landscape had fractured. Alexander the Great was dead, and his Successors (the Diadochi) were tearing his empire apart. In this chaos, the independent city-state (polis) was no longer enough to ensure survival.

Ahilyabai Holkar (1725–1795) is a luminous figure in Indian history, a "Philosopher Queen" who ruled the Maratha state of Indore with a rare blend of piety and administrative genius. Born in a village in Ahmednagar, she married into the powerful Holkar dynasty but faced early tragedy, losing her husband Khanderao in battle in 1754. Khanderao Holkar was inspecting his troops in an open palanquin when he was struck and killed by a cannonball fired from the Jat artillery during

A genuine ancient coin that has survived from 90 BCE and the "Social War" serves as a truth from that time. Everything else we "know" about this coin is "knowledge": what we write down, argue about, and base decisions on - i.e. the story we tell about that truth....

All of today's coins are from the Rauceby Hoard or more precisely PAS Coin Hoard Unique ID: LIN-F6D516. For many of the coins in this collection, the questions of "where were the found & when" will never be known. For the coins from today's notes, we know a lot about them thanks the the UK Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) managed by the British Museum that records archaeological objects found by the public to advance historical ...

M. Antonius Polemon (active AD 50–54) was the grandson of Polemon I and a great-grandson of the orator Zenon. He remained in the family's home city of Laodicea. He was a high-ranking Priest (Hiereus) and city official. He is also the great-great-grandson of Mark Antony by way Polemon I (the magistrate's grandfather) who married Pythodoris (the magistrate's great grandmother), the daughter of Antonia who was the daughter of Mark Antony. The Coin Phrygia, Laodicea. Claudius (AD

This silver double shekel (23 mm; 15.78 g; die axis 2h) belongs to the Babylonian series conventionally known as the “Baal / lion” coinage, struck at Babylon...

In " A Journey Through the Kingdom of Oude, in 1849-1850 ", Sir William Henry Sleeman, describes the violent scene of July 8, 1837, in which the British put Muhammad Ali Shah on the throne in Awadh (Oudh). The previous King, Nasir-ud-Din Haidar, died just before midnight. The Queen Mother, Padshah Begum, immediately launched an attempt to put her ward or grandson, Munna Jan, on the throne, whom she claimed was the rightful heir.  Colonel Low and British troops stormed the p

Akragas was the last of the major Greek colonies established in Sicily, founded circa 580 BC by settlers from Gela, who were themselves of Rhodian and Cretan origin. Situated on the southern coast between the rivers Akragas and Hypsas, the city occupied a strategic plateau that offered natural defenses and access to fertile hinterlands. For the first century of its existence, Akragas grew wealthy on agriculture - olives, grapes, and grain - and the breeding of horses, for whi

The New Year’s kiss is one of the most famous holiday traditions around. It can be a sweet way to ring in the new year with a partner, the slightly awkward result of too many glasses of Champagne, or the thrilling start of a new romance . - The New Year’s Eve Kiss Tradition, Explained , by Gia Yetikyel and Anna Grace Lee, December 27, 2025 Venus, goddess of Love, on the obverse of a denarius from the Roman Republic, 81 BCE For the link between the New Year's kiss and Roman Sa

The Battle at Actium in 31 BC, an early Roman Imperial monument, marble relief, first half of the 1st century A.D. (extensively restored in the 16th or 17th century) from the Collection of the Dukes of Cardona, Cordoba. Public Domain image via the Wikimedia Commons . Today's coin was issued in Antioch and comes with the story of the governor of Syria, blocking a team of gladiators from supporting Mark Antony after Actium. Anthony and Cleopatra died in August of 30 BC and the

John Of Gaunt (1340-1399) Duke Of Lancaster, Engraving, 1736, by George Vertue. A "Conder token" is a little out of place on this blog, however we will make an exception as this token comes with : some interesting history from the time of the French Revolution which drew inspiration like the American revolution from the history of the Roman Republic, a dynastic series of coins that clearly owe key elements of their style and dynastic succession to rules that were established

The “Third Democracy” is a classification used for the coins of Syracuse. This is specifically applied to coinage struck under Timoleon (ca. 344-317 BC). Coins from this era are routinely labeled “Timoleon and the Third Democracy” in auction catalogs. It is probably worth noting that “Third Democracy” is a modern analytical label, not an ancient one. The term applied to this coin from Syracuse prompted today's exploration of the tyrants and democracies of Syracuse...

Today's coin comes with several interesting connections: Herakles shipwreaked on Kos and the imagery of this coin Herakles' Second Labor (The Hydra) and the imagery on the reverse A seventh wonder of the world - the tomb of Maussolus built during the time of this coin. Herakles Detail from Hercule et l'Hydre de Lerne, 1876, oil on canvas, Gustave Moreau( 1826–1898), Public domain, via Art Institute Chicago According to legend, Herkles was shipwrecked on Kos after the Trojan W