Roman Republican Silver Denarius, L. Sempronius Pitio - C.5381Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 148 BC Weight: 3.7 Grams Collection: Numismatics Style: Roman Republican Medium:  More »

Roman Republican Silver Denarius, L. Sempronius Pitio - C.5381Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 148 BC Weight: 3.7 Grams Collection: Numismatics Style: Roman Republican Medium: Silver.The bust of the goddess Roma, with its winged helmet, is a popular obverse type during the Republican period. The helmet itself is reminiscent of Hellenistic and Roman helmets of the time period, categorized by scholars as the Italo-Attic type. Officers and deities are often depicted as wearing this helmet long after such a design had gone into general disuse by the military. As such, it continued to be employed as a symbol connected with deities and heroic figures of the past. The Dioscuri, depicted on the reverse of this coin, are familiar due to their attendant iconography, each wearing a conical hat crowned by a single star. The Dioscuri were mythological sons of Zeus by the Spartan queen Leda and, in addition to being revered as demigods by the Greeks, they also were attended by the Romans at an early date and associated with Roman military victory. It was believed by the Romans that after a victory early on in their history, the two deities appeared in the forum to announce that victory to the Romans. Also, the two were reported to have even assisted the Romans in said battle.   « Less

Roman Republican Silver Denarius, L. Minucius - C.5382Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 133 BC Weight: 4.0 Grams Collection: Numismatics Style: Roman Republican Medium: Silver.  More »

Roman Republican Silver Denarius, L. Minucius - C.5382Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 133 BC Weight: 4.0 Grams Collection: Numismatics Style: Roman Republican Medium: Silver. The bust of the goddess Roma, with its winged helmet, is a popular obverse type during the Republican period. The helmet itself is reminiscent of Hellenistic and Roman helmets of the time period, categorized by scholars as the Italo-Attic type. Officers and deities are often depicted as wearing this helmet long after such a design had gone into general disuse. As such, it continued to be employed as a symbol connected with deities and heroic figures of the past.   « Less

Roman Republican Silver Denarius, L. Titurius Sabinus - C.5383Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 89 BC Weight: 4.2 Grams Collection: Numismatics Style: Roman Republican Medium:  More »

Roman Republican Silver Denarius, L. Titurius Sabinus - C.5383Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 89 BC Weight: 4.2 Grams Collection: Numismatics Style: Roman Republican Medium: Silver. The family of Titurius Sabinus traced its heritage to the Sabines, and possibly to king Tatius himself, depicted on the obverse of this coin. The Sabines were an Italian tribe, neighbors of the nascent settlement of Rome, whose proximity provided a ready source of wives for the Romans who were lacking women at this early stage of their history. The event in which many Sabine women were carried off by Romans is historically referred to as “The Rape of the Sabines.”   « Less

Silver Serrate Denarius of Lucius Memmia Galeria - C.7680Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 106 BC Collection: Numismatics Style: Roman Republican Medium: Silver. Obverse: Laureate  More »

Silver Serrate Denarius of Lucius Memmia Galeria - C.7680Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 106 BC Collection: Numismatics Style: Roman Republican Medium: Silver. Obverse: Laureate head of Saturn left, harpa and ROMA behind Reverse:Venus in big aright,holding staff,Cupid flies above,holding wreath,Vbelow horses’forelegsandpelleton ground below belly, L. MEMMI / GAL in exergue (M and E in ligature)Some areas of toning on obverse. That Venus was the tutelary deity of the Memmia gens explains the presence of this goddess and her son on the reverse of the coin.Crawford 313/1c. RSC Memmia 2a. - (C.7680)   « Less

Gold Aureus of Emperor Marcus Aurelius - C.404Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 161 AD to 180 ADCatalogue: V25Collection: NumismaticsStyle: RomanMedium: Gold. Marcus Aurelius  More »

Gold Aureus of Emperor Marcus Aurelius - C.404Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 161 AD to 180 ADCatalogue: V25Collection: NumismaticsStyle: RomanMedium: Gold. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was the Emperor of Rome from 161 until his death in 180 A.D. Born Marcus Annius Verus, he was adopted by the emperor Antoninus Pius in 138, and married his daughter Annia Galeria Faustina a few years later. He succeeded to the throne without difficulty on Antoninus' death. Marcus Aurelius was educated by the best tutors in Rome and was a devotee of Stoicism. However, he felt with more religious fervor the communion of man in the unity of the universe than most other Stoics. In his later years, he wrote the Meditations as a relief from his lonely office, in which he attempts to reconcile his Stoic philosophy of virtue and self-sacrifice with his role as emperor.   « Less

Gold Aureus of Emperor Marcus Aurelius - C.405Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 161 AD to 180 ADCatalogue: V25Collection: NumismaticStyle: RomanMedium: Gold.How many hands have  More »

Gold Aureus of Emperor Marcus Aurelius - C.405Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 161 AD to 180 ADCatalogue: V25Collection: NumismaticStyle: RomanMedium: Gold.How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the coin traversed on its journey into our possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of who might have touched the coin before us, or where the coin will venture to after it leaves our hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of the state that struck them, of a specific time and location, whether contemporary currencies or artifacts of long forgotten empires. This stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail that is often lacking in contemporary machine-made currencies. Although Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is considered among the most important books in history, his legacy extends beyond the written word. The philosophical leader Marcus Aurelius lives on in artifacts like this coin: concrete remnants of ancient empires passed from the hands of civilization to civilization, from generation to generation that appear as vibrant today as the day they were struck. - (C.405)   « Less

Roman Gold Aureus of Emperor Hadrian - C.466Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 117 AD to 138 ADCollection: NumismaticsStyle: RomanMedium: Gold. Hadrian spent much of his reign  More »

Roman Gold Aureus of Emperor Hadrian - C.466Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 117 AD to 138 ADCollection: NumismaticsStyle: RomanMedium: Gold. Hadrian spent much of his reign traveling about the Roman Empire and checking into the well - being of the cities, towns, provinces, and ordinary citizens over whom he ruled. He was always interested in civic improvements, and would often have a new bridge, road, aqueduct, or temple built when he thought that the local citizens would benefit by such new construction. The reign of Hadrian at the height of the PAX ROMANA period was a time of great peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire. He continued the public works building projects that his adoptive father Trajan began and strengthened the defenses on the borders of the empire. Because of attacks on Roman citizens living in southern Britain, he built Hadrian's Wall across a narrow part of the island. Hadrian was an educated emperor and a patron of the arts. He spent most of his reign visiting the different provinces of the empire and personally overseeing the improvements and public works carried out under his orders. Like Trajan and Nerva before him, he adopted a grown man in order to make him heir to the throne. When his first adopted son Aelius Caesar died of illness, Hadrian adopted another, Antoninus Pius, who would succeed him when Hadrian died in his bed after a long illness.   « Less

Roman Gold Aureus of Emperor Hadrian - C.486Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 117 AD to 138 ADCollection: NumismaticsStyle: RomanMedium: Gold. Hadrian spent much of his reign  More »

Roman Gold Aureus of Emperor Hadrian - C.486Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 117 AD to 138 ADCollection: NumismaticsStyle: RomanMedium: Gold. Hadrian spent much of his reign traveling about the Roman Empire and checking into the well - being of the cities, towns, provinces, and ordinary citizens over whom he ruled. He was always interested in civic improvements, and would often have a new bridge, road, aqueduct, or temple built when he thought that the local citizens would benefit by such new construction. The reign of Hadrian at the height of the PAX ROMANA period was a time of great peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire. He continued the public works building projects that his adoptive father Trajan began and strengthened the defenses on the borders of the empire. Because of attacks on Roman citizens living in southern Britain, he built Hadrian's Wall across a narrow part of the island. Hadrian was an educated emperor and a patron of the arts. He spent most of his reign visiting the different provinces of the empire and personally overseeing the improvements and public works carried out under his orders. Like Trajan and Nerva before him, he adopted a grown man in order to make him heir to the throne. When his first adopted son Aelius Caesar died of illness, Hadrian adopted another, Antoninus Pius, who would succeed him when Hadrian died in his bed after a long illness.   « Less

Roman Gold Aureus of Emperor Hadrian - C.844Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 117 AD to 138 ADCollection: NumismaticsStyle: RomanMedium: Gold. Hadrian spent much of his reign  More »

Roman Gold Aureus of Emperor Hadrian - C.844Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 117 AD to 138 ADCollection: NumismaticsStyle: RomanMedium: Gold. Hadrian spent much of his reign traveling about the Roman Empire and checking into the well - being of the cities, towns, provinces, and ordinary citizens over whom he ruled. He was always interested in civic improvements, and would often have a new bridge, road, aqueduct, or temple built when he thought that the local citizens would benefit by such new construction. The reign of Hadrian at the height of the PAX ROMANA period was a time of great peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire. He continued the public works building projects that his adoptive father Trajan began and strengthened the defenses on the borders of the empire. Because of attacks on Roman citizens living in southern Britain, he built Hadrian's Wall across a narrow part of the island. Hadrian was an educated emperor and a patron of the arts. He spent most of his reign visiting the different provinces of the empire and personally overseeing the improvements and public works carried out under his orders. Like Trajan and Nerva before him, he adopted a grown man in order to make him heir to the throne. When his first adopted son Aelius Caesar died of illness, Hadrian adopted another, Antoninus Pius, who would succeed him when Hadrian died in his bed after a long illness.   « Less

Roman Gold Aureus Depicting Emperor Tiberius - C.3006Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 14 AD to 37 ADCollection: NumismaticsStyle: RomanMedium: Gold. Tiberius was a tragic figure.  More »

Roman Gold Aureus Depicting Emperor Tiberius - C.3006Origin: MediterraneanCirca: 14 AD to 37 ADCollection: NumismaticsStyle: RomanMedium: Gold. Tiberius was a tragic figure. He was an outstanding military commander - the best of his age - but he was neither interested in, nor fitted for politics. Yet, as the son of Emperor Augustus, he was doomed to be emperor. He knew Augustus favored others over him and that he was about the eighth choice. It was his mother, Livia, who was determined that Tiberius should succeed. He was unenthusiastic about becoming emperor and ended by loathing his position. Historically, he has a reputation for being over suspicious to the point of paranoia, constantly fearing plots against his life by senators or popular rivals. In the latter part of his reign, Tiberius moved to the island of Capri, out of touch with Rome but still emperor.   « Less