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The Emperor of Rome declares Victory
WillieBoyd2
Posts: 5,400 ✭✭✭✭✭
The Emperor of Rome declares Victory!
Septimius Severus declares victory over Parthia in 202 AD.
Septimius Severus declares victory over Parthia in 202 AD.
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Those Parthians were troublemakers.
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Josh Moran
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Depends on your point of view......an awful lot of the borderers thought the same of the Romans (as did rival romans from time to time)
New name, same old game.
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I want one!
I think I wanna hang out with you guys and learn.
I recently got a wild hair and am embarking on a Roman emperor portrait set, to see how far along I get, and to get an education along the way.
So far I just have denarii of Vespasian and an inexpensive Severus Alexander. The Vespasian has an imperial eagle reverse not listed in my Sear- I am told it is a little scarcer or at least less common? It is in an ICG holder attributed to 76 AD:
Frankly, it presents a bit of a dilemma for me, since I want to collect my coins raw, and yet it seems a waste to crack it out of the nice black-insert holder. Besides, the scarcer reverse type (if it is) means little to me, since I mostly want just a clear portrait and emperor's name on the obverse, and I have seen cheaper Vespasian denarii on eBay with nicer portraits. On the other hand, this is my first Twelve Caesars coin, so what to do? I am leaning towards selling or swapping it to get more raw pieces.
I also bought these two from a forum member sight-unseen, a few minutes ago.
<< <i>Commodus. AR Den. 192 AD Rome Mint SR-5684 Fine
Trajan, AR Den. 108 AD SR-3122 VF+ >>
And of course I have some fourth- and even fifth-century small bronze already, that I have not fully attributed.
I think I want mostly denarii (and later, nice shiny silver antoninianii) or medium to large bronzes, and as few of the small AE3/4 pieces as possible, though I am sure with some emperors I will have to take what I can get. I am not collecting empresses and I will probably avoid some of the scarce usurpers. I might stick to the Western Empire but who knows where I will go at this point. I believe I want to get some of the first- and second-century stuff out of the way before I go into the later stuff.
Any advice y'all have for me is appreciated.
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
Post some pictures and someone here can probably identify them.
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Interesting project...I've thought several times about doing something like this too but never quite got around to it seriously. Specializing has always been my thing, but I do feel a pang or two of regret when I see a nice run of emperors put together by another collector. It usually gets me motivated to add a coin or two to my set, but at this rate it'll be another 150 years before the "set" is anywhere near completion.
Two thoughts:
1. It might be interesting to think about adding as many different denominations as you can. This provides more variety, might be a bit cheaper for some emperors, and (to me at least) seems to be a more interesting set than just denarii and antoninianii. In the 3rd & 4th century you can even add a bit of gold which is nice.
2. As an extention of point 1, you might consider adding Greek provincial coins as well. For some of the rare 1st century rulers (12 Caesers for instance) you can get really nice looking coins a lot cheaper than the roman equivalents.
What reference are you using? Even an older David Sear book will be helpful in planning out your collection.
Good luck!
edited to add: PS, crack those things out of the plastic. For me the whole point is to actually handle your coins. One of the things driving me from currency is the whole TPG thing which has been horrible for the "hobby" part of the exercise.
I guess I will sell the Vespasian denarius, or swap it towards some raw pieces for my set (including a different Vespasian). It would be a waste to crack it out.
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
<< <i>1. It might be interesting to think about adding as many different denominations as you can. This provides more variety, might be a bit cheaper for some emperors, and (to me at least) seems to be a more interesting set than just denarii and antoninianii. In the 3rd & 4th century you can even add a bit of gold which is nice. >>
When I can afford to do so, I think I will do this. It will make the set more visually appealing to have some variety in size and metallic content. Besides, if I shackled myself to one particular denomination, like denarii, for instance, I would make things that much more difficult, since some particular emperors might've issued a lot of one denomination but not many of another. I prefer silver, but bigger bronzes are fun, too. Of course some of my coins will end up being small bronzes. Some of the early 5th century pieces I still have only partially attributed from a bag I bought are little AE4s.
<< <i>2. As an extention of point 1, you might consider adding Greek provincial coins as well. For some of the rare 1st century rulers (12 Caesers for instance) you can get really nice looking coins a lot cheaper than the roman equivalents.
>>
By all means! As long as they have a good portrait of the emperor in question, I would do this. Particularly if the provincial piece was less expensive. Thanks for the tip- I will pay attention to those. I had already decided to include a few, but if they represent a potential to save some money on tougher emperors, then so much the better!
<< <i>What reference are you using? Even an older David Sear book will be helpful in planning out your collection. >>
I do have an older Sear, gotten secondhand from Michael (Aethelred), who has been something of a mentor to me in this area where I am less knowledgeable. Before that, he gave me the small Van Meter(?) book, which is a nice quick reference. And I have a noncoin book about the emperors. Plus I have ordered a CD. I am not sure how useful the CD will be, but it apparently provides some info on Byzantine coins as well, which I am totally without reference on. I also got a poster, just for fun. (Before I thought it out and realized there is not a single patch of free wall space inside our tiny mobile home that is big enough to hang it).
<< <i>edited to add: PS, crack those things out of the plastic. For me the whole point is to actually handle your coins. One of the things driving me from currency is the whole TPG thing which has been horrible for the "hobby" part of the exercise. >>
Ditto. While I like TPGs for more modern coins and I do think they have their uses, I do not want them for my ancient coins. Part of the appeal of an ancient coin is being able to hold and fondle a historical artifact that is thousands of years old. The plastic sort of robs one of that experience.
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
<< <i>The Parthians are still doing business at the same address.
New name, same old game. >>
Oh, I dunno. The Romans didn't have to worry about the Parthians putting a nuke into an amphora and carrying it into Rome on an oxcart.
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
<< <i>Oh, I dunno. The Romans didn't have to worry about the Parthians putting a nuke into an amphora and carrying it into Rome on an oxcart. >>
Well said.
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That could be rather unpleasant!
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.