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

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 The giant sculptures of the Dioscuri were originally made in the 2nd century CE and discovered in 1561 at the Temple of Castor and Pollux near Circus Flaminius.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

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....

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

2025 has been a better than average year across the board. 2024 wrapped up with surgery and a year later I am fully recovered with a very low chance of recurrence. On the coin front, I sold more than 150 coins and didn't add very many. I may have been more selective in buying this year - opting for quality over quantity - but it also feels like there were fewer coins available that I was interested in. Still no shortage of nice coins added this year. There is a long list o

In 86 BCE Sulla broke Mithridates’ European offensive with back‑to‑back victories at Chaeronea and Orchomenus, achieved under acute supply constraints after the sack of Athens.  This cleared Greece of Pontic forces and opened the road to the 85 BCE peace at Dardanus.  As Mithridates’ general Archelaus leveraged Greek defections (notably Athens under Aristion), Sulla crossed into Greece, besieged and stormed Athens/Piraeus, and financed siege operations by stripping nearby san

Detail from Les Sabines or The Intervention of the Sabine Women by Jacques-Louis David, 1799 , oil on canvas, Louvre , Paris. The...

Today's coin of interest is a scarce Republican denarius struck by L. Appuleius Saturninus in 104 BCE shows the helmeted head of Roma on...

Entry for the denarius of C Valerius Flaccus in Monnaies de la République Romaine by Ernest Babelon (1854-1924) Romans considered...

This coin is my latest RR denarius a story of family propaganda from ancient Rome in the run-up to and early phases of the Caesar–Pompey civil war. Albinus Bruti f, 48 BCE, AR Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.72 g, 9 h), Rome. Obv: A POSTVMIVS COS, bare head of A. Postumius to right. Rev: ALBINV / BRVTI•F within wreath of grain ears. Ref: Babelon (Postumia) 14 and (Junia) 29. Crawford 450/3b. CRI 27. RBW 1578. Sydenham 943a. Notes: Lightly toned. Struck from somewhat worn dies

Richard Witschonke’s 2012 article, published in the Revue Belge de Numismatique , tackles a long-standing puzzle in Roman Republican...

Auctions are the main place to buy rare collectibles such as coins and fine art, and auction design and behavioral factors can impact final prices. A number of questions captured my attention today...

Today's coins are 2 denarii from 116-117 BC from the Roman republic. They are beautifully toned and well executed examples with more than 60 years of provenance going back to 1964 and held for all of that time in the personal collection of Robert W. Hoge, a distinguished American numismatist who purchased the coins in his late teens. These two coins come from the personal collection of Robert W. Hoge, acquired during his teenage years, and highlight two distinct and importa

Head of Pompey the Great, 1st century AD, Marble, 41 cm tall, from the Tomb of the Licinii, Via Salaria, currently at the Ny Carlsberg...

Suetonius describes how Julius Caesar broke all norms with his return to Rome in 46 BC, after defeating the Pompeians in North Africa. ...

While Lavinium was building, the following omens are said to have appeared to the Trojans. When a fire broke out spontaneously in the ...

Circa 50 BCE, Marcellinus struck coins honoring his ancestor, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, victor over Viridomarus and conqueror of Syracuse..

Antiochus III was defeated by the Romans in two successive defeats, first at Thermopylae and afterward in Magensia and forced to accept ...