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Seleucid usurper in Asia Minor
One of my sub-collections is a set of coins of the Seleucid kings. This collection is a mix of bronze and silver coins that is now up to...

sulla80
Jan 27, 20245 min read
83 views


Latin Rulers of Constantinople
Saladin, Sultan of Egypt, had conquered Jerusalem in AD 1187. Pope Innocent III launched the Fourth Crusade in AD 1202 with the goal of ...

sulla80
Jan 19, 20242 min read
496 views


A Rare Tyche
When you are looking at a coin from "Heraklea" or "Heraclea" or "Heraclia", you have to start by considering "which location". ...

sulla80
Jan 11, 20243 min read
43 views


CABЄINA CЄBASTH
Today's coin of interest comes from the reign of Hadrian (CE 117 to 138). This coin is issued in the name of his wife Sabina, from...

sulla80
Jan 6, 20244 min read
27 views


Selene, Moon Goddess
The ancient Romans, celebrated a feast on March 31st, in the Temple of Luna on the Aventine Hill to honor the Moon Goddess, a cult...

sulla80
Dec 26, 20238 min read
265 views


Julius Caesar in Antioch
The coins of Syrian Antioch show dates from a "Caesarean Era" which honors Julius Caesar and his liberation of the city and generous...

sulla80
Dec 16, 20237 min read
333 views


An Emerging Story
I have been accumulating some interesting, and good looking coins from Asia, roughly areas today that are Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan....

sulla80
Dec 10, 20237 min read
270 views


Artemis & Abydos
This AR (silver) tetradrachm is from Abydos in Troas, northwestern Turkiye, on the coast at the narrowest point of the Hellespont....

sulla80
Nov 25, 20236 min read
49 views


Top 10 Ancients for 2023
2023 has been a year with many ups and downs - and a surprisingly good year for coins. Although I did add several Roman Republican...

sulla80
Nov 17, 20238 min read
238 views


Sanctuary of Zeus Stratios
Amasia (variants: Amasea, Amasya, Amaseia) sits on a narrow pass or gorge between two large hills. Cut into the rock faces above the river..

sulla80
Nov 16, 20238 min read
219 views


Alexandria ad Issum
Each week, these notes share an ancient coin, context for the coin, relevant art, modern references and ancient sources. Sometimes we...

sulla80
Oct 22, 202310 min read
146 views


Nakrasa, Lydia
An usual location for a Roman Provincial coin of Hadrian is as good a reason as any to add it to a collection. I didn't recognize...

sulla80
Sep 21, 20233 min read
72 views


The Great God Darzalas-Serapis
The coin that we share today is from Roman emperor Gordian III and was issued in Odessus, Moesia Inferior which is today the city of...

sulla80
Aug 13, 20233 min read
1,027 views


Seleucid End
With the end of the Third Mithridatic War, Rome became the supreme power in control of all the Mediterranean. Pompey celebrated a victory...

sulla80
Aug 5, 20236 min read
280 views


Myndos, Caria
Dionysos, god of wine, pleasure, wildness was the son of Zeus and princess Semele of Thebes. His mother was killed by Hera's jealousy...

sulla80
Jul 3, 20233 min read
80 views


Hermias, Boy on a Dolphin
Hegesidemus writes that in the city of Iasos a boy named Hermias, while riding across the sea on a dolphin lost his life...

sulla80
May 20, 20233 min read
288 views


Head in Hand
Maximinus II is known in coin auctions as Daia, this name perhaps a misspelling from the writing of Lacantius, that is challenged by...

sulla80
May 6, 202310 min read
61 views


Ephesus & Arados
The Phoenician city of Aradus issued attic weight drachms closely imitating the Ephesian types from 171/0 BC (year 89) to 110/09 BC (year...

sulla80
Apr 15, 20235 min read
117 views


Fish in Love with Goats
Perhaps close to Valentine's day it is appropriate to begin with a love story between fish and goats. These passages from Oppian's...

sulla80
Feb 18, 20236 min read
82 views


A Coin of Isinda
My coin of interest today is a rare civic issue of a small town from the time of the Roman civil wars, perhaps very near to the time of...

sulla80
Jan 16, 20234 min read
99 views
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