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Gallienus and Usurpers in AD 260
The Humiliation of Valerian by Shapur I, French 15th Century, Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program When I first...

sulla80
May 30, 20206 min read


Ancient Fantasy Coin from the RBW Collection
This Italian "medalet", 20mm, 11h, 3.7g, by an unknown artist is from the 18th to early 19th century, apparently issued for the Grand...

sulla80
May 17, 20202 min read


A Denarius of Mark Antony & Lepidus
This coin was issued near the end of the Roman republic and is an artifact of Mark Antony's alliance with Lepidus in the days before they...

sulla80
May 26, 20193 min read


Barbarous Imitations
Why were these ancient imitations minted in such quantities? While the most sought after coins can reach astronomical prices, there is no...

sulla80
Oct 20, 20181 min read


Provenance
I often ask for provenance for the coins that I have purchased. Only rarely do I get anything and then it is something like from "a...

sulla80
Sep 23, 20182 min read


Coins of the Bosporan Kingdom
The Coin The Bosporan Kingdom occupied both shores of the Kerch Strait, in the eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula. It ran as a client kingdom of Rome for roughly four centuries, and its coinage records that relationship in two ways: Roman emperors appear on the reverses, and the kings' own titles advertise their loyalty. Modern catalogues call this piece a sestertius, borrowing the Roman name for a large bronze. It is lighter than the sestertii struck at Rome in the same

sulla80
Sep 22, 20186 min read
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