sulla80
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...
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sulla80
- May 16
- 6 min
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...
24 views
sulla80
- May 11
- 4 min
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...
18 views
sulla80
- Apr 29
- 3 min
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...
28 views
sulla80
- Apr 22
- 3 min
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...
37 views
sulla80
- Apr 13
- 9 min
Between the Seleucid and Attalid Kingdom
Since my first note (November 2020) on countermarks of Attic tetradrachms, I have added three more coins, so my notes needed some ...
115 views
sulla80
- Apr 9
- 5 min
The End of Parthia
February 19, 197, the armies of Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus clashed in Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France), and concluded the civil...
45 views
sulla80
- Mar 31
- 8 min
Laϊs of Corinth
Perhaps it is not surprising in these notes pages that Lais of Corinth attracted my interest because of the reverse of an ancient coin....
47 views
sulla80
- Mar 27
- 4 min
Tigranes II the Great
Seleucid King Antiochus The Great (223-187 BC), expanded his empire by installing Artaxias as the governor (strategos) of Greater Armenia...
32 views
sulla80
- Mar 17
- 5 min
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...
62 views
sulla80
- Mar 12
- 2 min
Nesak Huns
The winged bull's head crown of this Nezak Shah is worth a closer look. These eastern neighbors to the Sasanians left behind many coins,...
12 views
sulla80
- Mar 9
- 4 min
Happiness of the Public
According to this US Inflation Calculator, which must be good because it was ranked highest by Google, if I purchased a coin in 1978 for...
41 views
sulla80
- Mar 5
- 5 min
Boeotian Federal Coinage
Boeotia provides an early example of representative and federated democracy. "Ancient democracies and federations of states" is a theme...
33 views
sulla80
- Mar 2
- 2 min
The Judgement of Paris
Some questions are best avoided. When faced with three beautiful coins, it seems that asking "Which is fairest?" is perhaps not a good...
56 views
sulla80
- Feb 27
- 5 min
Antiochus IV "Egyptianizing"
This coin was produced in Antioch during the sixth Syrian war (170-168). At 10.32 grams it is significantly underweight compared to the...
29 views
sulla80
- Feb 24
- 3 min
Rome v. Parthia (AD 161-166)
I wrote an earlier post on Rome v. Parthia - in May 53 BC, when at Carrhae, Mesopotamia a member of the Sūrēn (Surena) family won a...
46 views
sulla80
- Feb 19
- 5 min
Thracian Wine & Coins
A nice glass of red wine would go well with today's post. There is evidence of wine making in Thrace from 4300 BC. The coins of...
57 views
sulla80
- Feb 12
- 6 min
United Tribes of Gaul
Eventually this post will reach two denarii that were issued to commemorate Julius Caesar's victories in the Gallic Wars with Celtic...
24 views
sulla80
- Feb 5
- 6 min
Perfect, Rare or Beautiful?
This post starts with a few thoughts on the ingredients that make up an attractive ancient coin and will eventually get to a coin of...
34 views
sulla80
- Jan 29
- 6 min
A Paeonian Tetradrachm
An event during Alexander the Great's conquest of the Achaemenid Empire is potentially depicted on the reverse of my coin today. However,...
61 views