top of page


Consualia
The Consualia was a harvest festival, held on August 21 (or 18). Consus, the name of the god, is from condere, “to store up.” The...

sulla80
Aug 19, 20236 min read


Perikles, Lycian Dynast
It doesn't take long browsing the notes on this site to see that degree to which my interests have strayed from the coins of the 1st cent...

sulla80
Aug 1, 20234 min read


The Last Days of Sulla
Samnite soldiers depicted on a 4th Century BC frieze from Nola in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples via Wikimedia Commons...

sulla80
Jul 22, 20234 min read


Son of Mithridates VI
Having failed to capture or kill Mithridates of Pontus, Lucullus lost credibility with the Senate and his troops. He was replaced by...

sulla80
Jun 23, 20233 min read


A Coin for Juneteenth
On June 16th 2021, Public Law 17 from the 117th Congress established June 19th as "Juneteenth National Independence Day", a legal public...

sulla80
Jun 18, 20235 min read


Venus the Purifier
Sewage systems have a long history. One ancient sewer from the Sumarian city Eshnunna in central Mesopotamia, consisted of brick sewers...

sulla80
Apr 30, 20235 min read


Salacia/Amphitrite
This week, we return to Rome with a (Crawford 399) denarius depicting Neptune and Amphitrite/Salacia. The time period a few years after...

sulla80
Mar 26, 20235 min read


Proscribed by the Triumvirate
Today's post looks at another coin from the unraveling Roman Republic. This coin issued in 47 BC only a few years before the assassination of Julius Caesar (Ides of March 44 BC) and in the midst of Caesar's civil war with Pompey's allies (49-45 BC). The coin comes with a story of the proscriptions under Mark Antony, Octavian, & Lepidus as the triumvirate they took control. The moneyer responsible for this coin (along with Cicero and hundreds or thousands of others) was on the

sulla80
Feb 20, 20238 min read


Inflation, Debasement, and Politics
Inflation for the moment seems to be relaxing a bit, the price of gas, one of the more daily visible symbols, was $3.30 a gallon yesterday at a gas station near me, a big improvement from last summer when they spiked up to about $5. This, along with an article by Kevin Butcher, triggered thoughts about inflation, monetary policy, and politics. Admittedly this note wanders from anything directly relevant to ancient coins and into a sidetrack with wishful thinking for modern po

sulla80
Feb 5, 20237 min read


Coins of Massalia
Marseille Greek Colony, P. Puvis de Chavannes, 1869, oil on canvas, commissioned in 1867 by the city of Marseille for the west wing of...

sulla80
Jan 15, 20238 min read


Fighting for Liberty
In 27 BC, the Roman Senate granted Octavian the title of "Augustus" and he became the first Roman Emperor, effectively ending the Roman...

sulla80
Jan 14, 20235 min read


Ludi Saeculares
My coins of interest today recognize the Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games). This post explores the origins from the time of the Roman...

sulla80
Dec 27, 20227 min read


Cassius, Conspirator
My coin of interest today was issued by Gaius Cassius Longinus not long before Mark Antony defeated him at Philippi where he committed...

sulla80
Dec 10, 20227 min read


The Road to Philippi
Both coins shared today are sometime labeled by auction houses as "castrensis moneta mint in Italy?". The description is one that...

sulla80
Nov 26, 20225 min read


Romans in Judaea
Ruins of Herod's Castle in Fortress Massada, Israel, used under license from Shutterstock. Vespasian and his sons used their success in...

sulla80
Nov 23, 20228 min read


Top 10 Ancients for 2022
"CXXXII. The offering is to be made in this way: Offer to Jupiter Dapalis a cup of wine of any size you wish, observing the day as a...

sulla80
Nov 20, 20226 min read


Rome & Africa
The modern countries, bordering the Mediterranean, west of Egypt, in northern Africa (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia)...

sulla80
Oct 30, 20229 min read


Norbanus, Casualty of Sulla’s Return
The Roman republic of the first century BC is my home base for collecting. My latest AR denarius, from 83 BC, was issued by Gaius...

sulla80
Oct 2, 20226 min read


A Late Republican Cistophoric Tetradrachm
Since I first wrote about this coin four years ago, this 2017 ANS book by William E. Metcalf has become one that I've frequently...

sulla80
Aug 28, 20226 min read


"Freedom" for Thessalians in 196 BC
This article was originally issued in July 2021, as we celebrated the 4th, in the United States, and the American Declaration of...

sulla80
Jul 16, 20227 min read
bottom of page
