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A Late Republican Cistophoric Tetradrachm
Since I first wrote about this coin four years ago, this 2017 ANS book by William E. Metcalf has become one that I've frequently...

sulla80
Aug 28, 20226 min read


Faustina the Younger
I was immediately taken with this early portrait of Faustina II on my latest coin of interest. The details of both jeweled hair on the ...

sulla80
Aug 14, 20224 min read


Who's bidding?
Have you ever asked yourself: who are the collectors that I am bidding against? A search in ACSearch turned up some interesting...

sulla80
Aug 13, 20222 min read


"Freedom" for Thessalians in 196 BC
This article was originally issued in July 2021, as we celebrated the 4th, in the United States, and the American Declaration of...

sulla80
Jul 16, 20227 min read


Julius Caesar v. Pompeians
The First Triumvirate was a powerful coalition between Julius Caesar, a young and charismatic populist, two more senior leaders who both...

sulla80
Jul 10, 20225 min read


A Fresh Start
This past week these notes pages tipped over 200 posts - which gives me an excuse to think about how to better organize these posts going...

sulla80
Jul 6, 20222 min read


A Rare Cistophoric Tetradrachm
When Attalus III died in the late spring or early summer of 133 BC, he bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans. This Early Cistophoric Coin...

sulla80
Jul 1, 20222 min read


Reading the Ancient Stars
August Signs I picked up this little coin mostly for the well executed scorpion. It is a little bronze weighing, 2.88mg and 13mm in...

sulla80
Jul 1, 20224 min read


16 Wrestling Moves
Greek wrestlers apparently had more than one move. "These staters which seemingly display only a pair of wrestling figures at first...

sulla80
Jun 26, 20222 min read


The Mystery Emperor
I am not expecting that most collectors look at this coin and say "Wow, that's a beautiful coin", I myself didn't have that reaction. I...

sulla80
Jun 26, 20225 min read


The Usurper Usurped
Today's coin is a fairly scarce issue from AD 353 which comes with interesting history of the years after Constantine the Great's death...

sulla80
Jun 17, 20226 min read


Home to Homer
"It’s for each of us to decide whether to believe in one Homer or in many, in a blind bard or in a spirit that encapsulates the most...

sulla80
Jun 11, 20225 min read


The Cimbrian War
If you look beneath the surface and consider what happened and what it felt like to the people who lived in these times, the environment...

sulla80
Jun 8, 20227 min read


The Master of Terence?
Terrence was a former slave who became a famous playwright from the Roman republic. He wrote six comic plays in the mid 2nd century BC,...

sulla80
Jun 5, 20224 min read


Finding M.CAECILIVS.Q.f.Q.n
M. Aemilius Scaurus & M. Caecilius Metellus chosen as consuls in 638 AUC (ab urbe condita or 'from the founding of the City'). Image from...

sulla80
May 22, 20228 min read


Horatii & Curiatii triplets
A Roman republican denarius from a moneyer with a family name that traces to the legendary origins of Rome (7th century BC) and the...

sulla80
May 20, 20227 min read


Roman Interference in Egypt
During the time of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Rome was already beginning to interfere in the governance of Egypt. Cicero references an...

sulla80
May 16, 20226 min read


Gold Rush
While this post will start in "modern" times with a "modern" coin, I will ask the reader's patience...eventually it will go back to...

sulla80
May 11, 20224 min read


Parthian Beginnings
After the death of Alexander the Great in June of 323 BC, his generals fought each other and divided up his empire. Seleukos I took the...

sulla80
Apr 29, 20224 min read


Roman Republican Sphinx
My coin of interest today is a Roman Republic denarius with a sphinx on the reverse, the style of the sphinx is similar to this 1st...

sulla80
Apr 22, 20223 min read
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