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Standards Restored
"I compelled the Parthians to restore to me the spoils and standards of three Roman armies and to ask as suppliants for the friendship of...

sulla80
Mar 17, 20243 min read


Reading Arabic Coins
"Harun al-Rashid receiving a delegation of Charlemagne in Baghdad", oil on canvas by Julius Köckert (1827–1918), 1864, held by the...

sulla80
Mar 11, 20245 min read


Coins about Voting
Voting with pebbles detail from an Attic Red-Figured Kylix, 490–480 BC, attributed to the Brygos Painter, active about 490 - 470 BC....

sulla80
Mar 3, 20243 min read


Where are all the Spartan coins?
In antiquity, the city-state of Lacedaemon (Λακεδαίμων) with Sparta as its main settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River was located ...

sulla80
Mar 2, 20243 min read


A Violent Election
P. Plautius Hypsaeus made the most of his moment as aedile, issuing coins highlighting his alleged ancestors: Neptune (a god) and Leucone...

sulla80
Feb 24, 20246 min read


A Fierce Parthian Portrait
This week's coin of interest is a 13.24g tetradrachm of Artabanus II (also know as Artabanus III and IV by various historians). This...

sulla80
Feb 17, 20248 min read


Capitolia Heliopolitana
The Capitolia were games (held every 4 years) established by Domitian in 86 AD in Rome. "In 86 AD, emperor Domitian organized the first...

sulla80
Feb 17, 20244 min read


Tigranes II Overstrike
At first the "headdress" on this coin caught my attention - what is going on here? This coin is an interesting strike by Tigranes II over...

sulla80
Feb 10, 20244 min read


From Slave to Sultan
Baybars I was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria from the Bahri dynasty, of Turkic Kipchak origin. Islamic, Mamluks, al-Zahir...

sulla80
Feb 10, 20244 min read


Tears of Chios
On my way to India this past week, I had a short layover in Athens. Sadly, on this trip, I only saw the Athens airport, where I picked up...

sulla80
Feb 3, 20244 min read


Seleucid usurper in Asia Minor
One of my sub-collections is a set of coins of the Seleucid kings. This collection is a mix of bronze and silver coins that is now up to...

sulla80
Jan 27, 20245 min read


Latin Rulers of Constantinople
Saladin, Sultan of Egypt, had conquered Jerusalem in AD 1187. Pope Innocent III launched the Fourth Crusade in AD 1202 with the goal of ...

sulla80
Jan 19, 20242 min read


A Rare Tyche
When you are looking at a coin from "Heraklea" or "Heraclea" or "Heraclia", you have to start by considering "which location". ...

sulla80
Jan 11, 20243 min read


CABЄINA CЄBASTH
Today's coin of interest comes from the reign of Hadrian (CE 117 to 138). This coin is issued in the name of his wife Sabina, from...

sulla80
Jan 6, 20244 min read


46 BC, The Longest Year
I took this photograph of the clock in the old town square in Prague a few years ago. The clock dates from 1410 and was made by Mikuláš...

sulla80
Jan 1, 20246 min read


Selene, Moon Goddess
The ancient Romans, celebrated a feast on March 31st, in the Temple of Luna on the Aventine Hill to honor the Moon Goddess, a cult...

sulla80
Dec 26, 20238 min read


Soul of an Ancient Collector
Perfectly centered and well preserved coins, are certainly worthy of admiration. However, as a collector of ancients, I find beauty...

sulla80
Dec 19, 20235 min read


Julius Caesar in Antioch
The coins of Syrian Antioch show dates from a "Caesarean Era" which honors Julius Caesar and his liberation of the city and generous building efforts. The events leading up to Caesar's visit to Antioch In 66 BC, during The Third Mithridatic War (73-63 BC) between the Roman Republic and Mithridates VI of Pontus, Pompey “The Great” took command of the war. Tigranes II “The Great”, allied to Mithridates VI and married to Mithridates' daughter, surrendered Armenia and became a

sulla80
Dec 16, 20237 min read


An Emerging Story
I have been accumulating some interesting, and good looking coins from Asia, roughly areas today that are Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan....

sulla80
Dec 10, 20237 min read


Joyful Arrival of the Emperor
The Emperor Commodus was murdered on December 31, 192, and the Empire faced another period of a civil war. His murderers put foward...

sulla80
Dec 2, 20237 min read
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