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...

The conflict between East and West is an important theme in my collection with Sulla leaving Rome to take on Mithridates VI of Pontus who...

“The cistophorus, with its writhing serpents and over-elaborate ornamentation, is perhaps the ugliest coin in the Greek series....

Some of the most used reference books for ancient coins are not new. For Roman republican coins, RRC was published by Crawford in 1974 –...

It has been a long time since my last visit to the Cloisters in NY. It is an oasis of medieval history, strangely out of place on the...

One does not have to look far to see signs in Nîmes, France of the city's origins as a Roman colony. The crocodile chained to the palm...

This year I have explored the coins of Asia Minor or the Anatolian peninsula. Anatolia called this by the Greeks, meaning "The East" is...

The mailman brought an interesting tetradrachm that highlights the detailed inspection that can be required to differentiate between...

In 1237 AD, Ḡīāṯ-al-Dīn Kayḵosrow II became sultan when his father died. He would reign until his death in 1245 AD. Bar Hebraeus (AD 1226...

This year I have explored the coins of Asia Minor or the Anatolian peninsula. Anatolia from Greek Ἀνατολή, meaning "The East" is the...

Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, by Joseph-Benoît Suvée (1795, Louvre), Public Domain image from the wikipedia. Cornelia was the daughter...

While it is possible that one more coin might show up this year, it seems unlikely that I will displace any of the coins listed below, so...

"Better one sparrow in thy hand than a thousand on the wing" - Proverbs of Ahikar the Wise, 6th Century Assyria, #51 Image: Noodle...

This large Antiochus III Seleucid bronze, called "Denomination A" in SC (Houghton & Lorber) appears to be very rare and the best example...

Image: Emperor Probus, Abraham Bogaert, De Roomsche Monarchy, 1697 Today's coin of interest is a coin of Emperor Probus from AD 280. I...

Walters Art Gallery, Twelve Gods Relief, 1st Century BC - 1st Century AD (Public Domain Image) The twelve Olympians were the major...

Understanding ancient coins can sometimes get very contentious as those studying the coins disagree. One such battle arose over the...

Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos baptizes Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus from a 12th or 13th century illuminated manuscript known as the...

"Nile water had always played an important role in the cults of Sarapis-Osiris and Isis. Both he and Isis were believed to summon...

This is the first coin that I have with full obverse bust of Vulcan. I admit, that "dancing chicken" was not the intent of the moneyer,...