guy

Remember, Numimatics isn't just the study of coins. It also includes the study of tokens and medals. The following are Ancient Roman tokens. They are probably tokens to a brothel or game pieces. These erotic tokens are called spintriae (singular: spintria): (Remember, mature adult readers only): http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?searc...mp;a=&l=#19 One can only wonder what the numbers on the reverse represent. Here's an interesting theory about these spintriae:

Looks like an interesting exhibit in Philadelphia dealing with Ancient Rome's influence on the United States, especially early colonial and revolutionary America: Quote from an article in the Wall Street journal: By JULIA M. KLEIN Philadelphia "During their long separations, John Adams and his wife, Abigail, exchanged more than 1,000 letters. As the American struggle for independence intensified, Abigail signed off as "Portia," the wife of the Roman senator Brutus. But Adams never responded in kind, perhaps because of a reluctance to identify so brazenly with Julius Caesar's assassin. This story, from the exhibition "Ancient Rome & America," underlines the importance to early America of classical models

During the last half of the Roman Empire, Rome's major opponent was disease. After disease, their next major opponent was themselves. Foreign enemies were able to exploit Rome's weaknesses after Rome had either been devastated by disease or weakened by one of their many civil wars. Although the Parthians may not have penetrated much beyond Asia Minor, the plague the Romans brought home during the war with Parthia (known as the Antonine plague or the plague of Galen) extended to the heart of the Roman empire and the city of Rome, probably causing the deaths of two emperors (Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus). guy also known as gaius

Article on John Hannah who plays Batiatus: http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/ne...nnah15_ST_N.htm guy also known as gaius

Patience with me on this one. It appears that Italy is demanding a permit on Ancient Roman coins exported to the United States...even one found in England. Ouch. Here's an article dealing with the subject: http://ancientcoincollecting.blogspot.com/...-speak-out.html Oh, the insanity. I know its difficult reading. But if this agreement is passed, it could have a devastating impact on the collection and study of Ancient Roman coins. Here's an important part of the article: Why oppose these import restrictions? Because Roman coins are at the very core of the cultural experience that we all treasure. They have circulated all over the known world in antiquity and since through trade and collector markets. It is impossible to distinguish a Roman coin found in Britain, for example, from exactly the same type, mint, etc found in Italy. Requiring an export permit from Italy on a coin found and legally exported from Britain would not only be impractical, it would not have any legal foundation. guy also known as gaius

*Unfortunately this is unlikely since decimalisation in the late 60's. A QV penny is somewhat different from a modern penny so a 'modern British' analogy would have to be finding a QV shilling as the modern 5P is based on the same size as an old shilling. Mind you having said that not long back we found an old Victorian coin stuck inside a secret drawer of a piece of furniture on sale in an antique shop but that's another story Point well made. (One can guess on which side of the Atlantic I reside.) Hey, wait a minute.... You mean I can't spend those farthings I collected as a kid on my trip to England? Well, thanks for reading my post, anyway. I think the analogy of old coins in modern American change is still valid, however. guy also known as gaius

Here's an interesting video of Roman Republic coins found in Cheshire, England. Sorry. The video was disabled. See the video in a post #5. According to the video some of these coins date from 109 BCE. These coins would predate Caesar's visit to Britain (55-54 BCE) and Claudius's arrival (AD 43) by many years. Instead of being decirculated (like modern coinage), many older Roman coins would continue to be used in Ancient Rome more than a hundred years after they were minted. A possible analogue would be finding an Indian Head penny in modern American change or a Queen Victoria penny in British change. guy also known as gaius Addendum: I made out this not so rare coin of Augustus at 0:58 of the newer video: http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?searc...amp;a=&l=#0 The reverse shows two heirs and grandsons of Augustus (both of whom prematurely died): Lucius and Gaius. They are holding honorary shields and spears. Also pictured are a ladle and lituus. Lucius died in AD 2, followed by his brother Gaius in AD 4. These coins were probably brought to Britain after AD 43 when Claudius returned after Caesar's departure almost a century earlier. guy also known as gaius

Heaven forbid! Is this supposed to be controversial? Many of us question the sanity of religious fundamentalists. On the other hand, not many people are willing to question the science behind some of the global warming dogma / hysteria. Well, who knows? Maybe someone will dare to question humoral theory (that was scientific dogma for nearly two thousand years). But why contradict "the view of most scientists"? guy also known as gaius

Happy 420 guy also known as gaius

I used to smoke cigars, but no longer. My asthma has been acting up. I love Amsterdam, but I wouldn't admit to smoking anything there. I really love the Dutch art, however. I'd much rather have a heated argument about Leuktra than any modern topic. guy also known as gaius

I think you are both correct, but let's ask Professor Kagan: The Battle of Leuctra begins at 25:00 The issue of cavalry at 33:11 guy also known as gaius

Video evidence of the battle guy also known as gaius

I defer to our many military experts, but from what I remember, the strongest elements of an Ancient Greek army were usually on the right. Epaminondas, the Theban general who was very familiar with Spatan tactics, placed his best troops fifty men deep on his left, contrary to the military tradition of the day. The remainder of his troops were placed in shallower columns on his center and right that progressively fell behind the column to their left, forming a "diagonal". Once the Theban left crushed the Spartan right, the remaining Spartan allies fled the field since the Spartan right was considered the stongest, most experienced fighters. guy also known as gaius

Agree, but I was commenting on Maty's unique humor: "...raped the cattle and rustled the women..." guy also known as gaius

Those randy Ancient Brits. LOL. Was it something in the beer? guy also known as gaius

In the US, we have this program: http://www.spike.com/show/31082 guy also known as gaius

Are you saying there were only 300 troops among the Greeks? Respectfully, I don't think so. There were also 700 Thespians and 400 Thebens...and probably a lot more as well as a couple thousand helots in support at the final battle. Before that final day, there were several thousand other Greek allies who retreated only when it appeared hopeless. A late Empire army means less discipline, less training, and even less loyalty. It also spells a more likely defeat of the Romans. On the other hand, let's consider Persian wicker shields vs. a well-disciplined Roman killing machine of a Julius Caesar. Throw in a few hundred auxiliary Roman archers and Balearic slingers. More interesting. The Battle at Thermopylae (at least initially) was a frontal encounter in a limited area. This would play to the legion's strength. guy also known as gaius

Nice pictures. Thank you. guy also known as gaius

Were you able to go to Carthage? Was there much to see there? I would love to go there, as well as see Palmyra (in Syria) along with the Parthian and Sassanian ruins in Iran and Iraq as soon as thing are less insane in that region. (That should be just around the time my unicorn ranch is up and running.) guy also known as gaius

Here's information about the coin at auction in case we loose the above link (edit mine): The Roman Republic M. Iunius Brutus with L. Plaetorius Caestianus. No.: 282 Estimate: CHF 60000 [sold for $92,865 on 12.05.2004] d=22 mm Aureus [gold], mint moving with Brutus in Northern Greece circa 43-42, AV 7.84 g. BRVT IMP

Nice coin. Too much for my pocket book. It looks like it sold for more than $92,000 in 2004. Here's what the coin looked like at auction and the associated information: http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?searc...p;view_mode=1#1 guy also known as gaius (Please consider having this thread moved to the Numismatica subforum.)

Interesting video:

Yep, a belated Saint Patrick's Day to all. My inner-Italian, however, prefers to celebrate the day with these memories of a Gallic past: guy also known as gaius

Thank you for sharing. I am usually a big fan of Ms. Hughes. She is a wonderful and insightful expert on Ancient Greece. I really liked her series "Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore." She has a unique enthusiasm for ancient Greek history. Once she gets away from Ancient Greece, however, I find her less useful. Her series on the Moors was just unadulterated propaganda. Let's not mention the Roman Visigothic people and their rich Latinized culture that the Moors destroyed. Instead, let's focus on those nasty Catholic Christians who stole Spain from the Moors. (Special attention around 2:25 of the video.) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x31l8t_wh...n-europe_school

This post is part of a continuing series about Roman coins for us novice or non-coin collectors. As I learn from the great teachers and experts, I will continue to add to this series. This post and the attached links deal with the reverse (back) of Roman coins and their historical contexts. Many people are fascinated by coins from the Roman Empire because of the great diversity of images on the reverse of the coins. Since Roman coins were used as a means of spreading Imperial propaganda throughout the Empire, the reverse of the coins were a perfect vehicle to spread this message to a diverse and largely illiterate population. This message could range from the hope or celebration of military success to depictions of architectural feats or the Imperial family. They reverse of the coins would frequently have either an image of a deity (god and goddess) or of a personification. A personification was an image of an idea, concept, or geographic location; e.g., good fortune, fruitfulness and fertility, chastity and modesty, Rome, etc. In the formally Christianized Empire, gods and goddesses were no longer customary, of course, but the use of personifications continued. For example, the image of the goddess Victory was common on the reverse of coins throughout the history of the Roman Empire. During the Christianized era, however, Victory lost her divine status and was relegated to a mere personification, more compatible with a Christian Empire. The links below mostly deal with the images of deities or personifications. This is a link to an article by Beast Coins, both a teacher and dealer of Ancient coins: http://www.beastcoins.com/Topical/Deities/AncientDeities.htm This is a link to Doug Smith's excellent articles. His knowledge about Ancient coins is very extensive, but I admire most his enthusiasm about the coins' historical background. Personifications: http://dougsmith.ancients.info/pers.html Deities: http://dougsmith.ancients.info/gods.html This article is from Bill Welch's site, which has been recognized as one of the best by his expert peers in the field: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/coin_language.html guy also known as gaius