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The Invincible Sun god

I was captivated by a discussion of Christmas origins, on YouTube. Because I have nothing better to do, I was motivated into looking into depictions of Sol on ancient coinage. These three may be the beginnings of an active collecting topic, because as I said, I have nothing better to do with my time. ;)

Gordian III (I am fascinated by this emperor, anyway)

Probus

Constantine I

Honors flysis Income beezis Onches nobis Inob keesis

DPOTD

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    TitusFlaviusTitusFlavius Posts: 319 ✭✭✭

    Neat coins. I have a similar coin of Probus with the consular bust, and facing Sol in quadriga (I wish more of the late emperors had been as creative with their designs). I think Emperor Aurelian was the first to promote Sol, in an attempt to create a unifying focal point in the traditional pantheon, without abandoning it all together. If you haven't picked up a coin of Aurelian yet, I'm sure he'd fit right in with these three.

    Out of curiosity, why the fascination with Gordian III? Not questioning it, just curious.

    "Render therfore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." Matthew 22: 21
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    harashaharasha Posts: 3,079 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 21, 2019 7:40PM

    @TitusFlavius : When I was a kid, I collected Lincoln pennies. The brick and mortar where I usually went had a small display of ancient Romans. The prices were not displayed and not having much money, I was too shy to ask. Finally, I could not help myself any longer and asked for the price. The darn things cost less than the pennies that I was buying. The very first Roman coin I ever purchased was a Gordian III antoninianus. Set me back $3.50. I was hooked, collecting ancients for several years before prices and other themes weaned me away. But I still have a special place in my heart for imperial Romans, especially Gordian III. See my link, below.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/whiteamethyst/albums/72157655031591969

    Honors flysis Income beezis Onches nobis Inob keesis

    DPOTD
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    TitusFlaviusTitusFlavius Posts: 319 ✭✭✭

    Cool! I too went from pennies, eventually to ancients. Gordian III has always been a bit mysterious to me. Despite reigning for a decent time (by third century standards), not many personal details about the emperor have come down through the sources. I have a Liberalitas Ant of him. A denarius of his is high on my want list, since his reign was the last major issue of the traditional silver denarius.

    "Render therfore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." Matthew 22: 21
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