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Civil War Money, 42 BC
After Caesar's assassination (42 BC) as the triumvirate prepared to avenge his death, this denarius of C. Vibius Varus was issued.

sulla80
Nov 24, 20244 min read
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2024 - Top 10 Ancients
2024 has had ups and downs - it seems that every year I start with same thought. This has been an unusual year with and earth quake,...

sulla80
Nov 20, 202410 min read
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Triumphs of Augustus
Augustus' refusal to celebrate personal triumphs after his triple triumph in 29 BCE cultivated imperial image and shifted power dynamics.

sulla80
Nov 16, 20246 min read
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The Historian & Moneyer
I can imagine that there are probably not a lot of individuals who are going to add a copy of T.J. Cornell 's The Fragments of the Roman...

sulla80
Oct 4, 20243 min read
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The Torquati
Manlius Torquatus Sentences His Son to Death, Alexandre-Romain Honnet, 1799, Paris, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Public...

sulla80
Aug 24, 20246 min read
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Cicero's Savior from Exile
I was pleasantly surprised to discover the DPRR today (Digital Prosopography of the Roman Republic). I don't know how long it has been...

sulla80
Aug 22, 20244 min read
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Index to Sulla
The lifetime of Lucius Cornelius Sulla (138 - 78 BC) was the time period that initially inspired this website - this page begins to...

sulla80
Aug 3, 20244 min read
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Silenus-Silanus
This week we look at a series of three coins from 91 BCE, near the start of the Social War or Marsic War. In this war, Sulla...

sulla80
Aug 3, 20246 min read
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Ancient, Medieval, and Modern
When is a coin ancient? and when medieval? and when modern? In my notes, I am often crossing these categories, although Roman Republic...

sulla80
Jul 28, 20243 min read
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July 4, 1776
by Authority of the good People of these Colonies....these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States...

sulla80
Jul 4, 20244 min read
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Ulysses Returns
"Now, as they talked on, a dog that lay there lifted up his muzzle, pricked his ears. . . It was Argos, long-enduring Odysseus’ dog he...

sulla80
Jun 19, 20247 min read
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Greeks and Cattle
Humans have been making images of cattle for many millennia - this painting from Lascaux caves depicts aurochs (wild ancestors of...

sulla80
Jun 5, 20246 min read
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De Peltae
My coin of interest today is a Roman Republican denarius from 103BC. The first one shown here was little used and well preserved from...

sulla80
May 23, 20245 min read
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The Galvano Boys
Buying ancient coins can be particularly challenging for those just starting out. EBay is especially full of forgeries, copies,...

sulla80
May 20, 20246 min read
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Acorn Eaters to Melting Pot
Where did the people of ancient Rome originate? How do we connect the varied myths of Rome's founding from Virgil's Aeneid to the...

sulla80
May 4, 20248 min read
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Romans in Bithynia
This first coin was issued during the turbulent times of the Gracchi brothers, with unrest between the social reformers and the...

sulla80
Apr 27, 20247 min read
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Ancients and Solar Eclipses
Emperor Claudius: When the moon gets in a direct line with the sun over our heads and passes under its blazing orb, it obscures the rays...

sulla80
Apr 8, 20245 min read
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Numismatics & Generative AI
There are multiple versions of the story of Pandora. Hesiod, who is thought to have lived between 750 and 650 BC, describes the creation...

sulla80
Mar 31, 20247 min read
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Coins about Voting
Voting with pebbles detail from an Attic Red-Figured Kylix, 490–480 BC, attributed to the Brygos Painter, active about 490 - 470 BC....

sulla80
Mar 3, 20243 min read
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A Violent Election
P. Plautius Hypsaeus made the most of his moment as aedile, issuing coins highlighting his alleged ancestors: Neptune (a god) and Leucone...

sulla80
Feb 24, 20246 min read
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