PHILIPPUS THE ARAB - ROMAE AETERNAE

An Antoninianus of PHILIP 1 3.5 grams 244-249

Obv; IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG. Radiate Dr Right. Rev; ROMAE AETERNAE. Rome seated Left holding Victory and spear. MINT of ROME. RIC 106a

A second Romae Aeternae from this emperor, but i just couldn't resist both the quality of this piece and its price (so low i will not mention it...). If the seller wouldn't be a trusty fellow i already did business with, and with fantastic ebay feedback, i would say it was too cheap to be true!

Joannus dixit.

CONSTANTINUS MAGNUS - VOT XX

AE2 Constantinus I as Augustus. 322-325ad. Alexandria mint SMAL.

Obv. CONTANTINUS AUG; Rev. DN CONSTANTINI MAX AUG; VOT XX.

Very long time i didn't buy a bronze coin. Marvellous portrait of the great Constantinus, one more coin of this emperor for the collection, many but all of them diferent... and of course great price as usual for these kind of coins! (the transport fees should be more expensive than the coin!...).

Joannus dixit.

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One of the great Roman emperors, Constantine rose to power when his father Constantius Chlorus died in the year 306 while campaigning against Scottish tribes. He later went on to defeat the rival emperor Maxentius in the decisive battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. He is credited for several great landmarks in history and is probably best memorialized by the city that bore his name for hundreds of years: Constantinople. Although now renamed Istanbul, this city was to be the seat of power for all Byzantine emperors for the next 1100 years. Constantine is also remembered as the first Roman emperor who embraced Christianity and instituted the buildings and papal dynasty that eventually grew into what is today the Vatican and the Pope. The latter part of his life saw his commitment to the church rise in step with the increasing repression against old-school paganism. He left behind several sons who would, after his death, turn on each other and generally undo much of the stability that Constantine had fought so hard to bring about. (Source - dirtyoldcoins.com)

GENS EGNATULEIA QUINARIUS - 97BC.

A/ C.EGNATVLEI C.F Q Head of Apollo, Q under neck. R/ Q / ROMA Victory writing under a shield.

A nice quinarius of a new gens for the collection...

"Plebeian family whose two most famous members are Lucius Egnatuleius, refered by Cicero as the questor of the fourth region who abandoned Marcus Antonius to join Octavius, and Caius Egnatuleius, monetary magister who coined only a kind of coin, the quinarius above. (Source - tesorillo.com)."

ROMAN REPUBLIC - GENS CORNELIA. 151BC.

Pub. Sulla. Circa 151 BC. AR Denarius (3.76 gm). Head of Roma right / Victory in biga right.

A fine example of a aristocratic gens not yet on my collection.

Joannus dixit.

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Cornelius (fem. Cornelia, plural Cornelii) was the nomen of the patrician gens Cornelia, one of the most important families of Ancient Rome. The origins of the family are unknown, but it may have been Etruscan in origin and as such, late-comers to the Roman patriciate.

The Sulla (pl. Sullae) branch is descended from Publius Cornelius Rufinus, dictator in 333, the first dictator year; they are next prominent under a different cognomen ''Rufinus (for their characteristic red hair) in 290 BC and 277 BC, and briefly during the Second Punic War. After a long hiatus, they only climb again to the top rank under the dictator Sulla, whose descendants remain prominent, if not consuls, for several generations. (Source - Wikipedia)

DOMITIANUS - IMPXXII COS XIV

IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P XIII, laureate head right / IMP XXII COS XVI CENS P P P / Minerva standing right on prow with sheild & spear, owl before. RSC 284.

A second Domitian for the collection. Fine portrait and elegant Minerva on reverse. Minerva was a very important divinity in Rome who was second in importance only to Jupiter and Juno. She was considered to be the goddess of wisdom and reason, war and peace. She was highly admired by Domitian and appears frequently on his coinage.

Joannus dixit.

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Titus Flavius Domitianus was the younger son of Vespasian and brother of Titus born in AD 51. Upon the death of Vitellius he was saluted as Caesar and was head of affairs in Rome until Vespasian’s return. Domitian succeeded Titus as emperor in 81 and was an absolute and cruel ruler. He held the consulship ten times during his reign and around 84 or 85 he became censor for life which allowed him to directly control who made up the Senate and took away the little power which the Senate had left in Roman matters. He also decreased the power of the Senate by allowing distinguished equestrians and provincials into its membership. He increased the pay of legionary soldiers and contributed large sums of money to public works such as the temple of Jupiter on the Capital which caused taxes to increase and their collection to be very thorough. Domitian was highly concerned with the morality of the state and was severe in enforcing laws against immorality. In 83 he had three Vestal Virgins executed for immorality and had the chief Vestal condemned to be buried alive in 90. As a result of his extreme measures Domitian became very unpopular and numerous conspiracies developed against his life. To curb these plots, Domitian had many people executed, but this did not stop attempts to remove him from power. Finally, a plot which involved his wife Domitia succeeded and Domitian was murdered on September 18, 96. (Source - http://www.usask.ca/).

GORDIANUS III - ORIENS AUGUSTUS. ANTIOCH MINT.

Antioch Mint. IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust rt / ORIENS AVG, Sol standing front, head lt., raising hand, holding globe. RIC 213, RSC 167.


One nice looking - and nice priced! - Gordianus III for my collection. Nice diferent portrait of the young emperor and nice dark patina. First one from Antioch mint.

Joannus dixit.

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The nephew of Gordian II and the grandson of Gordian I, Gordian III was born on the 20th of January 225 in Rome. After the deaths of Gordian I and II, Pupienus and Balbinus were made emperors of Rome by the Senate, but the Praetorian Guard named the 13-year old Gordian emperor. Gordian appointed Timesitheus praetorian prefect in 240 or 241. In 241 Gordian married Furia Sabinia Tranquillina, the daughter of Timesitheus. Gordian joined Timesitheus who was campaigning against the Persians. When Timesitheus died of an illness, he was replaced by Philip the Arab who was to become emperor when Gordian III died in 244. How Gordian died is not known, although Philip blamed it on an illness and it is thought that Philip engineered a mutiny. Gordian III was deified after his death. Gordian ruled from 238-244. (Source - ancienthistory.com)

BACK IN BUSINESS! VICTORIATUS 211-207BC

Victoriatus 211 -207 bc.
Laureate head of Jupiter right. / Victory standing right, erecting trophy, ROMA in ex.

After one year of non-posting (and almost non buying, also...) i am back with a beautiful piece for my republic roman coins collection, a Victoriatus that, although not breathtaking, i found nontheless charming in its contrasts and perfect centered struck...

The one i already had in my collection is down for comparaison (sorry for the terrible picture of it!...)

Joannus dixit.

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The victoriatus was a silver coin issued during the Roman Republic from about 221 BC to 170 BC. The obverse of the coin featured the bust of Jupiter and the reverse featured Victory placing a wreath upon a trophy with the inscription "ROMA" in exergue.

The victoriatus was made of a more debased silver than the denarius, which was introduced at about the same time. Hoard evidence indicates that the coin circulated in southern Italy and later Gaul, indicating that the coin was intended as replacement for the drachma or half-nomos instead of as part of the normal Roman coin system. When first issued the victoriatus had a value of about 3/4ths of a denarius, however when the quinarius was reintroduced in 101 BC with a similar type, it was valued at 1/2 a denarius. This indicates that victoriatii that were still in circulation at this time were worn and considered to be worth only half a denarius. The reintroduced quinarius was produced mainly for Cisalpine Gaul, were the victoriatus and imitations were popular. The reintroduced quinarius may have continued to be called a victoriatus, although there is no written evidence of this.

The name victoriatus is an ancient term, attested by several contemporary texts and inscriptions. The coin was known as a tropaikon (due to the trophy on the reverse) among Greek speakers. (source: Wikipedia)