P. Plautius Hypsaeus made the most of his moment as aedile, issuing coins highlighting his alleged ancestors: Neptune (a god) and Leucone...

This week's coin of interest is a 13.24g tetradrachm of Artabanus II (also know as Artabanus III and IV by various historians). This table from Chris Hopkins @ Parthia.Com maps the various assignments: Fred Shore writes about this coin: "The rare series of tetradrachms of Artabanos with facing bust show a fierce warrior-king, certainly an image we would expect from a king who regained his throne wearing the rags he wore as a solitary hunter in exile. They probably present a c

The Capitolia were games (held every 4 years) established by Domitian in 86 AD in Rome. "In 86 AD, emperor Domitian organized the first...

At first the "headdress" on this coin caught my attention - what is going on here? This coin is an interesting strike by Tigranes II over...

Baybars I was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria from the Bahri dynasty, of Turkic Kipchak origin. Islamic, Mamluks, al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars I, AH 658-676 / AD 1260-1277, Dirham (Silver, 19mm, 2.93g), [al-Qāhira (Cairo)]. Obv: ‘al-sulṭān al-malik / al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dunyā wa al-Dīn / Bibars qasīm amīr al-muʾminīn’ (‘Sultan [and] King al-Zahir Rukn al-Dunya wa al-Din Baybars, associate of the Commander of the Believers’ in Arabic); lion walking to left. Rev: withi

On my way to India this past week, I had a short layover in Athens. Sadly, on this trip, I only saw the Athens airport, where I picked up...

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...

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

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

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...

I took this photograph of the clock in the old town square in Prague a few years ago. The clock dates from 1410 and was made by Mikuláš...

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...

Perfectly centered and well preserved coins, are certainly worthy of admiration. However, as a collector of ancients, I find beauty...

The coins of Syrian Antioch show dates from a "Caesarean Era" which honors Julius Caesar and his liberation of the city and generous building efforts. The events leading up to Caesar's visit to Antioch In 66 BC, during The Third Mithridatic War (73-63 BC) between the Roman Republic and Mithridates VI of Pontus, Pompey “The Great” took command of the war. Tigranes II “The Great”, allied to Mithridates VI and married to Mithridates' daughter, surrendered Armenia and became a

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

The Emperor Commodus was murdered on December 31, 192, and the Empire faced another period of a civil war. His murderers put foward...

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

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

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

Veterans Day honors active and former US service members and is celebrated, in the US, today, November 11th. My coin today comes from a...