MARCUS AURELIUS AGAIN...

Obv.: M AUREL ANTONINUS AUG

Rev.: TRP XXXII IMP VIIII COS III PP

178-179DC.


And another Marcus Aurelius coin added! A good emperor deserves all the attention...

This one with Mars on reverse...already had one, but not with this quality. I will probably sell the other one...

SALVE MARCUS AURELIUS, SON OF ANTONINUS!

MARCUS AURELIUS. ANTONINVS AVG. ARMENIACVS.
REV. P.M.TR.P..XIX.IMP.II.COS.III.

Hail Marcus Aurelius, adoptive son of the great Antoninus Pius... The last one of the "good emperors"...

Nº3 Marcus Aurelius on my collection, but i believe the best one! Hard to find in this condition on Ebay, specially the reverse...

Joannus dixit.

Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus, 121–180, Roman emperor, named originally Marcus Annius Verus. He was a nephew of Faustina, the wife of Antoninus Pius, who adopted him. Marcus married Antoninus' daughter, another Faustina. From youth he was a diligent student and a zealous Stoic. With his adoptive brother, Lucius Verus, as colleague, Marcus succeeded Antoninus in 161. Verus allowed him to dominate, and from 169 Marcus was sole emperor. His reign was spent defending the empire against Parthians, Germans, and Britons. He won a victory over the Marcomanni (167–168), which was commemorated by the Antonine column (Piazza Colonna, Rome), erected by his son and successor, Commodus. Devoted to his duty and humanitarian in his conception of it, Marcus Aurelius was concerned with improving living conditions for the poor, particularly minors. He was always lenient with political criminals and tried to decrease the brutality at gladiatorial shows. He did, however, persecute the Christians, whom he regarded as natural enemies of the empire. His Meditations, available in several translations, expresses with great beauty and humanity a philosophy with a Stoic basis.

source - allrefer.com

NEW COINS FOR MAY06 - A GOOD MONTH...

Almost at the end of another month, here are the new "babies" aded to my collection...
If i had to choose the may winner, i would say Thorius coin, probably. And once again, the last shall be the first!
Salute!

Joannus dixit.

» República: Saranus Atillius


» República: Fabius Labeo


» Império: Domitianus


» Império: Gordianus III


» República: gens Herennia


»República: gens Papia


» República: gens Postumia


» República: Maenius Antiaticus


» República: gens Thoria

WHAT A BEAUTY! NEW COIN ADDED...

A superb new addition... Thorius Balbus famous "bull coin", 105bc...
Just observe how male this bull is!... the quality of the details...
Yep... very happy.

Joannus dixit.


"Thorii Balbi, plebeians.
1. C. thorius balbus, of Lanuvium, is said by Cicero to have lived in such a manner, that there was not a single pleasure, however refined and rare, which he did not enjoy. (De Fin. ii. 20.). The annexed coin of L. Thorius Balbus contains on the obverse the head of Juno Sospita, whose worship was of great antiquity at Lanuvium, with the letters I. S. M. R. (that is, Junonis Sospifae maynae reginae); and on the reverse L. thorivs balbvs, with a bull rush­ing forward. Eckhel (v. p. 324, &c.) thinks that the bull has an allusion to the name of Thorius, which the Romans might regard as the same as the Greek frodpios, impetuous.
2. sp. thorius balbus, tribune of the plebs about b. c. Ill, was a popular speaker, and intro­duced in his tribuneship an agrarian law, of which considerable fragments have been discovered on bronze tablets, and of which an account is given in the Diet, of Ant. s.v. Thoria Lex. (Cic. Brut. 36, de Orat. ii. 70 ; Appian, B. C. i. 27.)"

Source - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities edited by William Smith (1870).

EBAY VS LOCAL COIN DEALERS...

It's a constant subject, on which is the best and safest path: Ebay auctions and shops or local dealers...
I personally find it impossible to resist Ebay's quantity of items and auctions prices. Online shops tend to be somehow expensive when compare to auctions prices.

"Support your local dealers"... yep, sure. When they are selling Gordianus III denarii at 100USD (for the newcomerson roman coins world, This is one of the most common emperors), what support can be given??

Dealers are safe...humm...if you have some experience on roman coins, you will be somehow hard to fool with fake coins. If they are so perfect copies that they fool your experienced eyes...well...they will fool the dealer as well!!

So, for me, it's Ebay, with caution. But if you have a good dealer... keep him (and negociate)!

More opinions, i ask.

Joannus dixit.

INTERESTING NEWS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL...

Liverpool, UK - 3 March 2006: An archaeologist at the University of Liverpool is examining more than 1,000 Roman silver coins from museums around the world in order to establish their true economic value.
Dr Matthew Ponting, from the University’s School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, is investigating the chemical composition of the coins to further understanding of how and where they were made. Dr Ponting believes that analysis of the coins will also shed more light on the political and economic issues of the Roman Empire.

Dr Ponting and his colleague Professor Kevin Butcher from the American University of Beirut, are using unique analysis techniques to examine the make-up of the coins and establish their silver content. The analysis will also identify particular chemical elements which will help the archaeologists establish where and how the coins were made.

Dr Ponting said: “For the first time we are able to use a combination of chemical and isotopic analysis on these coins. Chemical analysis will give useful trace element ‘finger prints’ telling us about the type of ores exploited and the technology used in smelting and refining the metal.”

The team is analysing the coins by drilling a small hole in their outer edge to get beneath the treated surface and investigate their different layers.
Dr Ponting added: “By measuring the isotopes of lead in the coins it is often possible to ascertain where that metal came from. This is done by comparing the isotopic 'signature’ of the silver coin, with isotopic ‘signatures’ of known Roman silver mining regions. In this way I hope to be able to investigate where Rome was getting its silver from.”
Silver coins formed the backbone of currency in the Roman Empire. Roman emperors manipulated the silver content of the coins to solve short-term financial problems frequently caused by government overspending. For the most part, this manipulation involved the reduction of the silver content of the coinage in conjunction with a drop in weight. Dr Ponting said: “In the 1970s a study documented the silver contents of Roman Imperial silver coins by analysing their surface. Until recently this was the principal reference for economic historians on the monetary policies of the Roman Empire.
“During the 1990s, however, historians realised that many Roman silver coins were deliberately treated to remove some of the copper from their surface, giving impure coins the appearance of being pure and disguising the debasement of the currency. Analysis of the coins’ surface had therefore overestimated their silver content.”

Joannus dixit.

Source - www.liv.ac.uk

Photo - detail from a republic vittoriato from my collection.

WELCOME ROMAN COINS WORSHIPERS...

My lover is History...
My heart is in Ancient History...
My passion are roman coins...
And my ultimate desire are roman republic coins such as this one, from my collection (gens Coelia).

I have collected roman coins for more than five years now, having choosen to adquire few but nice ones, instead of many and lower quality...

My last inventory accounted:
- 15 republic coins plus one "fourree"; some anonymous and various families as Renia, Gelia, Atilia, Safra, Aburia, Cato, Fannia, Licinia, Tullia, Coelia, Aemilia and Saturnia;
- 34 denarii and antoniniani, from various emperors including, by cronological order, Vespasianus, Domitianus, Trajanus, Hadrianus, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Septimus Severus, Caracalla, Alexander Severus, Maximinus, Gordianus III, Phillipus, Trajanus Decius, Valerianus, Gallienus, Aurelianus, Probus, etc...
- 35 bronze coins from lower empire, emperors such as Licinius, Constantinus, Crispus, Constans, Constantius II, Valens,Valentinianus, Gratianus, Theodosius, Arcadius and Honorius.

So far, no gold coins yet and no really rare coins either (still waiting for the lottery jackpot...), but some really very good looking ones! A little but rich and high quality collection that i am proud of...

Waiting for comments from other roman coins addicted collectors...

Joannus dixit.

Photo - Obverse from a republic coin (Gens Coelia) from my collection.