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The Chariot of Victory
Public Domain Image, etching "Aurora" by Guido Reni 1886 In 1637, Francescus Junius published "De Pictvra Vetervm Libri Tres" (Of Ancient...

sulla80
Dec 4, 20213 min read
38 views


Top 10 Ancients for 2021
Next week is Thanksgiving, and I am looking forward to the family gathering and a return to Thanksgiving traditions that we missed last...

sulla80
Nov 20, 20217 min read
71 views


Ancient artwork
This week I am adding an extra "Note" commemorating 3 years of "Notes on Ancient Coins" and post number 160. The photos celebrate the...

sulla80
Nov 7, 20212 min read
42 views


The Right of Appeal
"Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as...

sulla80
Nov 5, 20215 min read
128 views


Rats in Rome
“There are many rats depicted on ancient coins, this one has an actual rat.” - Frank Robinson, ancient coin dealer, in one of his online...

sulla80
Oct 30, 20217 min read
247 views


Goats, Beans and Biscotti
‘With these beans I throw I redeem me and mine.’ -Ovid, Fasti Book V, Lemuria Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz by Thomé,...

sulla80
Sep 12, 20218 min read
103 views


Grain and Civil Unrest in the Republic
In his introduction to “The Roman Republic”, Michael Crawford writes: “Some parts of the story may perhaps seem unduly dramatic; I can...

sulla80
Aug 29, 20216 min read
70 views


Coins of the Second Triumvirate
Lex Titia, passed by the senate on November, 27 43 BCE, formed the "2nd Triumvirate", and granted broad authority to Mark Antony, Lepidus...

sulla80
Aug 20, 202111 min read
2,132 views


"Sullan Era" Tetradrachms
This note will start with a drachm from Cappadocia, a key point of conflict between the Roman republic and the Kingdom of Pontus. There...

sulla80
Aug 8, 20218 min read
199 views


Mysterious AE from 1st Century BCE
My coin of interest today is a mysterious AE from the late first century with no shortage of competing views on whose portrait appears on...

sulla80
Aug 4, 20213 min read
77 views


Cato the Younger
The history of the Roman Republic has no shortage of dramatic figures and events, and yet the story of Cato the Younger (Cato Minor)...

sulla80
Aug 1, 20215 min read
200 views


Sulla's Uncle or Grandfather
My denarius of interest today was issued by a relative of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. The relationship between this moneyer and the dictator,...

sulla80
Jul 25, 20213 min read
128 views


Where to start and end?
The question often posed by family members caught up with me this morning: "Is your collection done?" A fair question, but not one I have...

sulla80
Jun 26, 20213 min read
71 views


The Temple on Mt. Eryx
In the second major battle of the second Punic wars, the Carthaginian general, Hannibal, defeated the Romans on Lake Trasimene. Quintus...

sulla80
Apr 27, 20215 min read
235 views


Not the Usual "12 Caesars"
Suetonius is responsible for setting the 12-Caesars benchmark that all ancient coin collectors have to live with. There are other sets...

sulla80
Apr 13, 20215 min read
285 views


Sulla's Warning
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Crabb, George. Universal Historical Dictionary; Vol. 1. London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1825. This coin from...

sulla80
Apr 5, 20213 min read
110 views


FRVGI, Father & Son
Here are five coins from father and son, the last one a coin that just arrived today. The denarius of the father, from the time of the...

sulla80
Mar 30, 20215 min read
127 views


Roman Provinces & Corruption
Gate to the agora (assembly place) of ancient Kibyra I think it is only fair to offer caution that this thread wanders a bit far from...

sulla80
Mar 28, 20215 min read
129 views


Europa
My first coin today is a Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachm of Caracalla, from Sidon with Europa on the reverse. Sidon is named for King Sidon...

sulla80
Mar 13, 20213 min read
60 views


Roman Political Career Paths
This coin prompted a bit of exploration of the cursus honorem, the ladder of a political career in ancient Rome. It also added the word...

sulla80
Mar 7, 20212 min read
63 views
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