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Consualia
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...

sulla80
Aug 19, 20236 min read


The Great God Darzalas-Serapis
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...

sulla80
Aug 13, 20233 min read


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

sulla80
Aug 5, 20236 min read


Perikles, Lycian Dynast
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...

sulla80
Aug 1, 20234 min read


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

sulla80
Jul 22, 20234 min read


Vespasian in Alexandria
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...

sulla80
Jul 9, 20234 min read


Myndos, Caria
Dionysos, god of wine, pleasure, wildness was the son of Zeus and princess Semele of Thebes. His mother was killed by Hera's jealousy...

sulla80
Jul 3, 20233 min read


Son of Mithridates VI
Having failed to capture or kill Mithridates of Pontus, Lucullus lost credibility with the Senate and his troops. He was replaced by...

sulla80
Jun 23, 20233 min read


A Coin for Juneteenth
On June 16th 2021, Public Law 17 from the 117th Congress established June 19th as "Juneteenth National Independence Day", a legal public...

sulla80
Jun 18, 20235 min read


A Father's Day Coin
In the US, the third Sunday in June is reserved to celebrate fathers. While several internet sites mention the necktie as tie most...

sulla80
Jun 17, 20235 min read


Nilus & Euthenia
My coin of interest today is a Roman Egyptian tetradrachm from Claudius II "Gothicus", features jugate busts of Nilus and Euthenia. The...

sulla80
Jun 10, 20232 min read


Hermias, Boy on a Dolphin
Hegesidemus writes that in the city of Iasos a boy named Hermias, while riding across the sea on a dolphin lost his life...

sulla80
May 20, 20233 min read


The Battle of Milvian Bridge
A detail from The Battle at the Milvian Bridge, 1666, an etching by Gérard Audran (1640-1703) after a painting by Charles Le Brun (1619–1690). The unfinished painting by Le Brun, was meant to prove he had surpassed the famous version designed by Raphael for the Vatican in the early 16th century. In the painting, Constantine charges across a bridge (today Ponte Milvio) toward Maxentius who falls into the Tiber. (image Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons ) Today's follis of Co

sulla80
May 19, 20238 min read


Nero, "Periodonikes"
Nero was a fan of Greek Athletics. He tried to set up the Neronia, a Roman counterpart of the Olympics and other Pan-Hellenic festivals...

sulla80
May 19, 20236 min read


Head in Hand
Maximinus II is known in coin auctions as Daia, this name perhaps a misspelling from the writing of Lacantius, that is challenged by...

sulla80
May 6, 202310 min read


Venus the Purifier
Sewage systems have a long history. One ancient sewer from the Sumarian city Eshnunna in central Mesopotamia, consisted of brick sewers...

sulla80
Apr 30, 20235 min read


Queen Cleopatra Thea
My coin of interest today is one of few coins, that I have, issued in the name of a reigning Queen (βασίλισσα). The AE coin also appears...

sulla80
Apr 23, 20234 min read


Ephesus & Arados
The Phoenician city of Aradus issued attic weight drachms closely imitating the Ephesian types from 171/0 BC (year 89) to 110/09 BC (year...

sulla80
Apr 15, 20235 min read


King Phraates IV and Son
This post was originally published in August 27, 2020 and has been updated with additional coins, references and images. I had been...

sulla80
Apr 10, 20236 min read


Hadrian, Big & Small
A brief note today on a small coin from Hadrian, contrasted here with a large sestertius from Rome. The smaller coin is an uncertain...

sulla80
Apr 2, 20232 min read
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