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sulla80
Dec 62 min read
What is this coin?
This week, a mystery coin has been re-identified. Somewhere along the way, it lost its attribution.
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sulla80
Nov 2010 min read
2024 - Top 10 Ancients
2024 has had ups and downs - it seems that every year I start with same thought. This has been an unusual year with and earth quake,...
157 views
sulla80
Nov 166 min read
Triumphs of Augustus
Augustus' refusal to celebrate personal triumphs after his triple triumph in 29 BCE cultivated imperial image and shifted power dynamics.
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sulla80
Oct 272 min read
Annius Verus or Summer Personified?
Late Roman, AD 330 - 335, marble sarcophagus depicting the four seasons at Dumbarton Oaks . I was pleased to add an unusual quadrans to...
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sulla80
Sep 285 min read
Sol Invictus
The Saturnalia was perhaps the most popular of Roman holidays. Catullus wrote to his friend Calvus circa 57-54 BCE that is was "optimus...
94 views
sulla80
Sep 812 min read
Zeus-Serapis?
This set of notes started from a discussion of "syncretism" and when or how Zeus and Serapis started to blend across Greco-Roman-Egyptian...
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sulla80
Jul 275 min read
Temple of Artemis, Ephesus
Paul the Apostle (2BC–64/65) stayed in Ephesus for about two and a half years from 53-56 BCE. In Acts 19.24-28 there is a story of Paul...
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sulla80
Jul 264 min read
What's new in ancient coin collecting?
The coins that are the subject of these Notes are often thousands of years old, so it is perhaps not surprising that much is unchanged in...
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sulla80
Jul 154 min read
Sibling Rivalry
The two sons left by Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, both received the surname Antoninus, one from the army, the other from...
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sulla80
Jun 224 min read
Nerva: Succession & Reign
Nerva was named by the Senate as emperor on the same day that Domitian which certainly opens suspicion that there was no shortage of plan...
980 views
sulla80
Jun 164 min read
Severina, Empress
Ulpia Severina Augusta, wife of Emperor Aurelian is not named in ancient literature, however the Historia Augusta mentions her: Clothing...
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sulla80
Jun 84 min read
The Year of Six Emperors
"It so happened that the two men were not in complete accord: so great is the desire for sole rule and so contrary to the usual practice...
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sulla80
Mar 173 min read
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...
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sulla80
Feb 174 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...
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sulla80
Jan 64 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...
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sulla80
Dec 26, 20238 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...
211 views
sulla80
Dec 19, 20235 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...
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sulla80
Dec 2, 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...
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sulla80
Nov 16, 20238 min read
Sanctuary of Zeus Stratios
Amasia (variants: Amasea, Amasya, Amaseia) sits on a narrow pass or gorge between two large hills. Cut into the rock faces above the river..
146 views
sulla80
Nov 11, 20234 min read
City of the Sun
Veterans Day honors active and former US service members and is celebrated, in the US, today, November 11th. My coin today comes from a...
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