This coin stands out for the biga of lions (chariot drawn by 2 lions) and the unusually deep and jagged indent on the obverse, "al marco"...

The later Republican period of Rome was marked by civil wars and the eventual transition to empire under Octavian/Augustus. There is a rich numismatic and literary legacy that provides a lot of information about the people and events of this time. The denarii of this era offer a tangible connection to the moneyers who, from this early position in Roman government, often grew into key leaders in Roman society and politics. Prominent figures like Cicero and Caesar documented t

The Gates of Janus were an important symbol of war and peace in Rome: they were opened when Rome was at war (most of the time) and closed...

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

Today's coins of interest are from Probus, a soldier emperor, who rose up from the ranks and served four emperors before being proclaimed...

My primary collection centers on the lifetime of Sulla and his reign as consul and dictator in Rome. Today's coin of interest falls in...

These notes started with the questions of "what differentiates a Palenzuela type Iberian denarius minted in Osca from one that is not...

It seems that the uptick in interest in Rome is having an effect on the popularity of my musings on what has, up until now, felt like an...

The U.S. Naval War College in Newport Rhode Island teaches a Fleet Seminar Program for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard officers of...

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...

Although today's note will start with a trending TikTok theme, it will eventually lead to a Roman Republican denarius and the question of...

Germanicus had a complicated royal family tree: he was the son of general Nero Claudius Drusus who was the son of Livia Drusilla and stepson the Emperor Augustus. He was also the son of Antonia who was the daughter of Mark Antony with Augustus' sister Octavia minor. He was also the nephew and adopted son of the emperor Tiberius. Germanicus was beloved in Rome. For a guy who died at ~35 he was busy: quaestor at 21, twice consul, triumphant commander of armies on the Rhine and

The Greeks & Romans had multiple of myths about fierce boars running wild. Wild boars were common in ancient Greece and they made worthy...

The Consualia was a harvest festival, held on August 21 (or 18). Consus, the name of the god, is from condere, “to store up.” The...

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...

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

It doesn't take long browsing the notes on this site to see that degree to which my interests have strayed from the coins of the 1st cent...

Samnite soldiers depicted on a 4th Century BC frieze from Nola in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples via Wikimedia Commons...

A summary of Curtis Clay's argument and its evidence Septimius Severus, 193-211. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.30 g, 12 h), Rome, 196. L SEPT SE[V PERT] AVG IMP VIII Laureate head of Septimius Severus to right. Rev. FORTVNAE REDVC[I] Fortuna seated left, holding rudder in her right hand and cornucopiae in her left; below throne, wheel. BMC 161-2. Cohen 188. RIC 78a. The conclusion asserted Curtis Clay, well respected numismatist trained at Oxford, argued that Septimius Severus d

What an ancient coin costs is always a factor of who sees it. The range of ancient coins is so broad that inevitably there are...