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Ancient Empires

Category:  Ancients
Owner:  karl49
Last Modified:  8/9/2016


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View Coin DARIUS I (XERXES I & II Achaemenid Empire Persia ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ACHAEMENID EMPIRE c.5th Century BC AV Daric Achaemenid Empire spear. rv incuse punch. obv hero-king w/bow & NGC AU Strike: 4/5 Surface: 5/5
View Coin PHILIP II Macedon ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) KINGDOM OF MACEDON Philip II, 359-336 BC AR Tetradrachm Kingdom Of Macedon Zeus/youth on horseback early posthumous issue NGC AU Surface: 4/5 Surface: 4/5 King of Macedon from 359 BC until assassinated (for reasons not undisputed) in 336 BC. Father of Alexander the Great by his wife Olympias. An innovative, active militarist, he fought the key city states of Greece into submission, but remained cowed, as did his son afterward, to the Spartans.

The youth on horseback on the reverse of the Tetradrachm provokes thoughts of his teenage son Alexander who fought side by side with his father with great success. Philip's primary legacy was his son whom he prepared well despite episodes of love-hate.
View Coin ALEXANDER III Macedon ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) KINGDOM OF MACEDON Alexander III, 336-323 BC AV Stater Kingdom Of Macedon obv Athena. rv Nike. early posthumous issue NGC Ch AU Strike: 5/5 Surface: 5/5
View Coin ALEXANDER III Macedon ALEXANDER THE GREAT (336-50BC) SILVER TET (16.5GMS) NGC King of Macedon beginning in 336 BC at the age of twenty after inheriting his father Philip II's strong and powerful realm. Educated by Aristotle and having served as a field commander, Alexander continued his father's expansionist plans by first conquering the Persian Empire. Forced (by his own troops) to abandon his plans to subdue India in 326 BC, he died in Babylon in 323 BC while contemplating attacks on Arabia at the age of 32.

Never defeated in a battle, he was competitive with his father and his father's legacy. He was a patron of the arts, science and literature. He was, at once, charismatic, logical, perceptive and calculating, yet could be violent of temper and impulsive. His campaigns did much to spread Hellenistic culture and open trade routes.
View Coin LYSIMACHUS Thrace ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) KINGDOM OF THRACE Lysimachus, 305-281 BC AR Tetradrachm Kingdom Of Thrace Alexander III/Athena posthumous issue NGC XF Strike: 5/5 Surface: 5/5 King of Macedon beginning in 336 BC at the age of twenty after inheriting his father Philip II's strong and powerful realm. Educated by Aristotle and having served as a field commander, Alexander continued his father's expansionist plans by first conquering the Persian Empire. Forced (by his own troops) to abandon his plans to subdue India in 326 BC, he died in Babylon in 323 BC while contemplating attacks on Arabia at the age of 32.

Never defeated in a battle, he was competitive with his father and his father's legacy. He was a patron of the arts, science and literature. He was, at once, charismatic, logical, perceptive and calculating, yet could be violent of temper and impulsive. His campaigns did much to spread Hellenistic culture and open trade routes.
View Coin SELEUCUS I Seleucid Kingdom ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) SELEUCID KINGDOM Seleucus I, 312-281 BC AR Tetradrachm Seleucid Kingdom rv Nike crowns trophy ob Alex.III or Seleucus I NGC AU Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5 Seleucus (Seleukos) had been a Macedonian general under Alexander III “the Great”. After Alexander’s death in 323 BC, he first supported, then conspired against, the empire’s regent Perdiccas, the nominal functional, if not the official familial, successor to Alexander. After additional turmoil, and with the support of Ptolemy I of Egypt, a former comrade-in-arms, Seleucus gained control of Babylon in 312 BC and began expansions beyond Babylonia into the eastern regions of Alexander’s empire.

As did Alexander before him, his efforts succeeded as far east as India by 303 BC. He then made peace with Indian Emperor Maurya at that time. Some of the conquered territory of the Indus River Valley and other lands were ceded to India, and Seleucus obtained in exchange a large body of war elephants. These beasts were used later in successful battles against Antigonus and against Lysimachus, another former comrade. Seleucus thoughts after defeating Lysimachus were to obtain control of some of the western territories, e.g. Thrace and Macedon and possibly of Greece itself. Seleucus, however, was assassinated while in Thrace and was succeeded by his son Antiochus I.
The Seleucid Empire continued to exist until eventually overthrown by Roman general Pompey in the first century BC. The empire had previously lost much territory to the Parthians under Mithridates I in the second century BC, and later had been invaded by the Armenian king Tigranes the Great prior to Pompey’s victory.

The tetradrachm of 312-281 BC depicts Seleucus (or possibly Alexander) wearing an Attic helmet covered with panther skin and adorned with bull’s horns and ear. The reverse shows a standing Nike presenting a crowning trophy of arms. Oliver Hoover’s scholarship published by CNG in 2009 is that the portrait is of Seleucus himself. The Greek inscription makes it no doubt that the coin was issued in the name of king Seleucus.
View Coin PTOLEMY I Ptolemaic Kingdom ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM Ptolemy II, 285/4-246 BC AR Tetradrachm Ptolemaic Kingdom Sidon. 'K' behind ear. perhaps Ptolemy I issue NGC AU Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5 Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt (323–283 BC) and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty. His portrait is on the tetradrachm of his successor Ptolemy II although the coin was possibly issued during Ptolemy I's reign.
View Coin ARSINOE II Ptolemaic Kingdom ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM Arsinoe II, d.270/68 BC AV Octodrachm Ptolemaic Kingdom rv diademed cornucopias issued after c.193/2 BC NGC Ch AU Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5 Arsinoë II, b. 316 BC–d. 270-260 BC, was a Ptolemaic Greek Princess of Ancient Egypt and through marriage to Lysimachus, a former general of Alexander the Great, was Queen of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedonia. Later, she became co-ruler of Egypt with her brother-husband Ptolemy II Philadelphus ("Ptolemy the Sibling-Loving", appropriately).

She had married Lysimachus when he as about 60 years old, she being 15. She bore him three sons, whom she favored for succession by having Lysimachus’ first son by another marriage poisoned for treason. After being widowed, she married her paternal half –brother Ptolemy Keraunos to help retain power in Macedonia and Thrace. He, however, discovered a subsequent conspiracy of hers, had two of her sons killed, and forced Arsinoe and the eldest son to flee for their lives.

In Alexandria, she was reunited with her brother Ptolemy II. Subsequently, she may have instigated the ousting of his wife Arsinoe I. She married Ptolemy II thus spawning the epithet “sibling loving”. She was a powerful co-ruler with Ptolemy. After her death, she was named a Goddess and continued to be depicted on the coinage of Ptolemaic Egypt.

The mnaieion or octodrachm is a posthumous issue minted in Alexandria decades after her death under Ptolemy VI-VIII. Her portrait on these later “K-type” octodrachms bear little resemblance to the face of Arsinoe II appearing on coins during her lifetime. It is suggested that the later portrait is of Cleopatra II, who was a scheming “piece of work” herself. Of course, Cleopatra VII was THE Cleopatra and the last of the line.
View Coin HANNIBAL Carthage ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ZEUGITANA, CARTHAGE c.213-210 BC AR Half-Shekel Zeugitana, Carthage obv Male hd. rv elephant. Carthage or Sicilian mint NGC AU Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5
View Coin EUCRATIDES I Bactria ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) KINGDOM OF BACTRIA Eucratides I, c170-145 BC AR Tetradrachm Kingdom Of Bactria rv Dioscuri on horseback obv Eucratides helmeted NGC MS Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5 Eucratides the Great was one of the most important Greco-Bactrian kings, descendants of dignitaries of Alexander the Great. The tetradrachm has a legend reading "of great king Eucratides". The dioscuri are pictured. In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux were twin brothers, together known as the Dioskouri. Among others they were associated with horsemanship.
View Coin MITHRADATES II Parthian Kingdom ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) PARTHIAN KINGDOM Mithradates II,c.121-91BC AR Drachm Parthian Kingdom rv Arsaces I hldg. bow obv diademed bust NGC Ch AU Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5 Mithridates II is considered the greatest of the Parthian kings, under whom the empire reached its greatest extent. He was known as "the Great" even in ancient times and was self-identified as "King of Kings". He recovered Babylonia, conquered Mesopotamia and then Armenia where he took hostage a youthful Tigranes who was to become Tigranes the Great.
View Coin MITHRADATES VI Pontic Kingdom ANCIENT - GREEK CIVIC (7th CENT BC - 1st CENT AD) THRACE, ODESSUS c.125-70 BC AR Tetradrachm Thrace, Odessus of Heracles/Zeus std. Mithradates VI in guise NGC AU Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5
View Coin TIGRANES II Kingdom of Armenia ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) KINGS OF ARMENIA Tigranes II, 95-56 BC AR Tetradrachm Kings Of Armenia branch; the Orontes below rv Tyche std., hldg. palm NGC AU Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5 Tigranes the Great (140 – 55 BC) was emperor of Armenia under whom the country became, for a short time, the strongest state east of the Roman Republic. Tigranes had been a hostage until the age of 45 at the court of King Mithradates II of Parthia after the Armenian defeat in 105 BC. At its height, his empire extended from the Pontic Alps (in modern north-eastern Turkey) to Mesopotamia, and from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. He was ultimately cowed by the legions of Rome, most finally under Pompey the Great who left the aged Tigranes as a figurehead king until his death. According to some researchers, the "symbol on his crown that features a star with a curved tail may represent the passage of Halley's Comet in 87 BC." (See obverse of the tetradrachm)
View Coin JULIUS CAESAR Republic of Rome CAESAR ROME - JULIUS (49-48BC) DENARIUS NGC ABOUT UNCIRCULATED In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey the Great formed an alliance (“First Triumvirate”) that was to dominate Roman politics for several years. He was elected as a Consul in 59 BC shortly after forming the triumvirate. The alliance’s attempts to amass power through populism were naturally opposed by the elite of the Roman Senate, among them Cato the Younger and Cicero.

Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 51 BC extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and to the banks of the Rhine River. Caesar let his armies to cross both when he built a bridge across the Rhine and conducted the first invasion of Britain.

The AR Denarius was issued by the military mint traveling with Caesar. The elephant is advancing right, trampling on a horned serpent representing the opposition. The sinlge word “CAESAR” says it all. Emblems of the priestly pontificate: simpulum, aspergillum, securis, and apex are shown on the reverse.

Pompey forced his cause before the Senate, and the Senators called for Caesar to stand trial in Rome for various charges. Consequently, Caesar marched from Gaul to Rome with his Legion and decidedly “crossed the Rubicon” in 49 BC. A civil war arose during which the popular Caesar prevailed leaving little consequential opposition.

After assuming control of government, he began extensive reforms of Roman society and government. He centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity". A group of senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus, assassinated the dictator on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, hoping to restore the constitutional government of the Republic. However, the result was a series of civil wars, which ultimately led to the establishment of the permanent Roman Empire by Caesar's adopted heir Octavius (later known as Augustus).
View Coin POMPEY MAGNUS Roman Imperatorial ANCIENT - ROMAN IMPERATORIAL (1st CENT BC) ROMAN IMPERATORIAL Pompey Jr., d.45 BC AR Denarius rv Hispania & soldier(?) Spain 46-45 BC. obv Roma NGC XF Strike: 4/5 Surface: 5/5 Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), usually known as Pompey or Pompey the Great was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He was born into Roman nobility and achieved, at a young age, great success as a general. He was consul of Rome three times and celebrated an equal number of triumphs. Late in life he chose to oppose his former ally of the First Triumvirate, Julius Caesar, and was soundly defeated at Pharsalus. His days ended in Egypt, a victim of assassination while on the run following defeat.

Sulla had dubbed Pompey as “Magnus” (the Great) following success in defeating the Marians in Sicily and in Africa in 82-81 BC. Soon thereafter, the Senate called on him to suppress the revolt of Lepidus after Sulla’s death. In 76 BC, he was named as proconsul of Hispania to end the significant revolt of general Sertorius.

Pictured on the left my Sextus Pompey. Denarius (Silver, 3.65 g 12), Military mint in Sicily, 42-40 BC. Obv: MAG.PIVS.IMP.ITER Bare head of Cn. Pompeius Magnus to right; behind, jug; before, lituus. Rev. PRAEF / CLAS.ET.ORAE / MARIT.EX.S.C Neptune standing left, holding aplustre in his hand and with his right foot on a prow; to left and right, one of the Catanaean brothers bearing his parent on his shoulders.

The commemorative AR denarius issued by Pompey’s son Gnaeus Pompeius (see right) depicts Hispania extending a symbol of peace to a Roman soldier (Pompey the Great?) as he disembarks a ship. The insurrection in Spain actually took years to quell after the arrival of Pompey due to the tactics of Sertorius. In 71 BC, Pompey returned to Rome, and while en route, captured the remnants of Spartacus’ army of rebellious slaves. Thus, Pompey took credit for ending the Third Servile war much to the anger of Crassus. A triumph and a consulship followed.

Through negotiations, bribery, tributes and the like, Pompey diminished the threat of piracy in the Mediterranean Sea although, again, he took credit as a great victor of the “war”. With support of Julius Caesar he was named to command the Legion against Mithridates VI of Pontus in the East. After forcing an alliance with Tigranes the Great of Armenia, Pompey commanded a series of victories against Mithradates, the Syrian King Antiochus XIII Asiaticus, and the defenders of civil war torn Jerusalem in the south. The victories, annexations of Bithynia et Ponus, Syria, Cilicia and Crete, and political settlement in Judea in the East on behalf of Rome led to this third triumph in Rome in 61 BC on his 45th birthday.

Pompey, victorious in reality and in hyperbole, would later find himself no match as a general against his former ally Julius Caesar.
View Coin JULIUS CAESAR Roman Imperatorial ANCIENT - ROMAN IMPERATORIAL (1st CENT BC) ROMAN IMPERATORIAL Julius Caesar, d.44 BC AR Denarius rv Venus hldg. Victory 44 BC. P.Sepullius Macer. NGC XF Strike: 3/5 Surface: 4/5
View Coin AGRIPPA Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN PROVINCIAL (2nd CENT BC - 3rd CENT BC) GAUL, NEMAUSUS Augustus & Agrippa AE Dupondius(?) Gaul, Nemausus ex Alberto Campana Coll. c.AD 10-14. rv crocodile. NGC Ch XF Strike: 5/5 Surface: 2/5 Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (64/63 BC – 12 BC) was a Roman statesman and general. He was “everything” to his great partner Octavian (later, Emperor Caesar Augustus): close friend, son-in-law, project manager, and trusted military lieutenant.

The probable AE dupondius from Gaul depicts the busts of both the great partners on the obverse and, on reverse, the subjugation of Egypt with the design symbology of a chained crocodile of the Nile.

Also, Agrippa was father-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, maternal grandfather of the Emperor Caligula, and maternal great-grandfather of the Emperor Nero. He was responsible for most of Octavian’s military victories, most notably winning the naval Battle of Actium against the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt.

In the aftermath of Julius Caesar’s assassination, Agrippa had fought with Octavian and Antony to defeat the assassins at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. Several domestic grabs for power were then put down with Agrippa in charge of Octavian’s forces against, notably, Sextus Pompey and even Antony himself.

Around 39 BC, Agrippa put down a rising of the Aquitanians in Gaul and fought off the Germanic tribes across the Rhine River. Returning to Rome at Octavian’s request, he was instrumental in the ultimate defeat of Sextus in 36 BC though his generalship and his technological inventiveness.

By 34 BC he returned to Rome to oversee a number of additions and improvements to the city: renovation of the Aqua Marcia aqueduct, extension of the water distribution network, street repairs, and additions of public baths and gardens.

On September 2, 31 BC, the famous Battle of Actium was fought. Octavian's victory, which gave him the mastery of Rome and the Empire, was mainly due to Agrippa’s advice and leadership. In 27 BC, while Agrippa held his third consulship, Octavian was proclaimed by the Senate as Emperor Augustus.

In commemoration of the Battle of Actium, Agrippa built and dedicated the building that served as the Roman Pantheon before its destruction in 80 AD. (Emperor Hadrian used Agrippa's design to build his own Pantheon, which survives in Rome. The inscription of the later building, which was built around 125 AD, preserves the text of the inscription from Agrippa's original structure.)

Agrippa continued to ably serve his friend Augustus until his death at the age of 51 in 12 BC. Augustus greatly honored the memory of his longtime partner including internment of his friend in his own mausoleum.
View Coin BRUTUS Roman ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) THRACIAN OR SCYTHIAN Coson, after 54 BC AV Stater Thracian Or Scythian rv eagle wreath scepter obv procession NGC MS Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5 In 45 BC, Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Julius Caesar's assassins, was, like the other conspiratorial Senators, granted amnesty, at the suggestion of Marc Antony, by the Senate (!) for their act, but popular outcry against the murderers forced him and others to leave Rome. He settled in Crete.

This AV stater coin may have been struck a couple of years after Caesar's death after Brutus and Cassius had fled to the eastern empire. Rome was plunged into a bitter civil war after the assassination as several factions fought for control of the empire. Brutus was in Greece to raise an army of 17 legions to fight the combined armies of Marc Antony and Octavian (later known as Caesar Augustus).

It is believed a Thracian king named Koson (who was allied with the Republican legions led by Brutus) provided the gold that Brutus used to mint this coin. Antony and Octavian crushed Brutus and his ally Cassius at the battle of Phillipi in Greece in 42 BC. Brutus committed suicide soon thereafter. Despite Brutus's murder of Caesar, the Republic quickly came to an end when the Roman Senate ushered in the Imperial era by declaring Octavian as Emperor Augustus.

View Coin AUGUSTUS Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Augustus, 27 BC-AD 14 AR Denarius rv bull butting Lugdunum NGC VF Surface: 5/5 Surface: 5/5
View Coin CLAUDIUS Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Claudius, AD 41-54 AR Denarius hldg. caduceus over snake rv Nemesis raising robe, NGC Ch XF Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5
View Coin TIBERIUS Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Tiberius, AD 14-37 AR Denarius 'Tribute Penny' Lugdunum. rv Livia as Pax NGC Ch XF Strike: 4/5 Surface: 5/5 At present, I have no picture of my "Tribute Penny", but my AR Tetradrachm of Roman Egypt (14-37 AD) shown here has an outstanding laureate head of Tiberius on the obverse and a radiate head of Augustus on the reverse.
View Coin NERO Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Nero, AD 54-68 AR Denarius rv Jupiter std. NGC F Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5
View Coin VESPASIAN Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Vespasian, AD 69-79 Plated Denarius rv emperor std. ancient forgery NGC Ch XF Strike: 4/5 Surface: 5/5
View Coin TITUS Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Titus, AD 79-81 AR Denarius rv thunderbolt on throne NGC XF Strike: 5/5 Surface: 5/5
View Coin DOMITIAN Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Domitian, AD 81-96 AR Denarius rv Minerva advancing NGC Ch AU Strike: 4/5 Surface: 2/5
View Coin NERVA Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Nerva, AD 96-98 AR Denarius rv clasped hands NGC Ch AU Surface: 5/5 Surface: 5/5 After a lifetime of competent imperial service under Nero and later the Flavians, Marcus Cocceius Nerva Caesar Augustus, aged 65, was declared Emperor in Year 96 after the assassination of Domitian by palace intrigue. Nerva was the first Senate-elected Roman Emperor and later was honored as the first of Gibbon’s “Five Good Emperors”. Modern historians see Nerva as well-intentioned, but ineffectual in his brief reign. While he reversed many of Domitian’s abuses and led efforts to help the populace, including the poorest, his efforts placed financial stress on the Empire. The gold and sliver statues of Domitian were melted to aid the economy, and Nerva declared that no similar images of himself be created.

A childless, non-militarist Nerva was never fully accepted by the Roman army, and a crisis of confidence was forced by the Praetorian Guard. To appease both the army and the people, Nerva had little choice but to adopt Trajan and to name this popular Spanish legionaire as his successor. Nerva all but abdicated, thereafter. He died of a stroke early in 98, still a consul of Rome.

“Concordia Exercituum” on the reverse of the denarius symbolizes the forced “unity” between the Emperor and the Roman army with the clasped hands
View Coin TRAJAN Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Trajan, AD 98-117 AR Denarius rv Genius/Bonus Eventus NGC AU Strike: 3/5 Surface: 3/5 The icon of the deity Bonus Eventus ("Good Outcome") on the reverse of the denarius is notably apt for coinage of Trajan. Officially honored as Optimus Princeps ("the best ruler") by his own Senate, his success was remembered by subsequent Senates who would upon ascension of each new emperor, pronouce the hopeful wish:" felicior Augusto, melior Traiano" ("[be] luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan").

Trajan ruled from 98 AD until his death by natural causes in 117 AD. He was the driving force of the greatest expansion of the Roman Empire in history.

He has remained exalted by historians of all ages. In medieval times, it was rumored than Pope Gregory I, with divine help, had Trajan resurrected and baptized into Christianity. Christian theologians such as Thomas Aquinas viewed him as a so-called "virtuous pagan", and Dante sees Trajan in Heaven in the Divine Comedy.

Some of Trajan's building works remain evident in Rome. Trajan's Column is perhaps the most notable.
View Coin HADRIAN Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Hadrian, AD 117-138 AR Denarius rv Aequitas or Moneta stg NGC Ch XF Surface: 5/5 Surface: 5/5
View Coin MARCUS AURELIUS Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Mar. Aurelius, AD 161-180 AR Denarius rv Minerva stg. NGC XF Surface: 4/5 Surface: 4/5
View Coin ANTONINUS PIUS Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Antoninus Pius,AD 138-161 AR Denarius rv Pax stg. NGC Ch AU Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5
View Coin ANTONINUS PIUS Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Antoninus Pius,AD 138-161 AR Denarius rv thunderbolt on throne NGC Ch XF Surface: 4/5 Surface: 4/5 Pictured coin is a mint state, uncertified AR denarius of Antoninus with laurate head right and with reverse of PAX standing holding branch and cornucopiae
View Coin SEVRUS ALEXANDER Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Sev.Alexander, AD 222-235 AR Denarius rv Mars advancing NGC Ch AU Surface: 5/5 Surface: 5/5 The design of Mars advancing on the denarius might be described as wishful thinking. In fact, Severus Alexander, who by accounts, could have been a revered emperor, became disliked by many of the legionaires and a portion of the general populace though his inadequacy as a military leader.

Severus Alexander was the last of the Severans and a "modest and dutiful youth of only seventeen years of age" (Gibbon) when his reign began in 222 after the assassination of the excessive Elagabalus and of his mother. It was a prosperous period for Rome, but in dealing with the ascendant Sassanids, Alexander managed to check their advance but at great loss in the battlefield under his personal generalship. Then, in confronting the threats of the Germanic tribes, he resorted to diplomacy and bribery to delay them. For these things, the militarists sought to replace him by deadly force.

He and his mother Julia Mamaea, who had been the "real power behind the throne" were themselves assassinated in March 235. This event marked the beginning of the "Crisis of the Third Century".

Alexander was a man of dignity and morals, shunned imperial extravagances, and accepted counsel from the Senators (as well as from his mother and his grandmother before her). He was a man of religious tolerance and is said to have worshipped Christ. Furthermore, he allowed the erection of a Jewish synagogue in Rome and presented it with a scroll of the Torah.
View Coin VOLOGASES VI Parthian Kingdom ANCIENT - GREEK EMPIRES (6th CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) PARTHIAN KINGDOM Vologases VI, cAD 207-222 AR Drachm Parthian Kingdom rv Arsaces I hldg. bow obv bust with tiara NGC MS Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5 According to some tradition, the first ruler of the Parthians was Arsaces I who revolted ( c. 250–211 BC ) from the Seleucid kingdom that Hellenistic state having originated from the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Parthians established control first in a region south of the Caspian Sea. Mithradates I (ruled 171-138 BC) and Artabanus II (ruled 128-124 BC) added conquests to expand the empire to include all of the Iranian plateau and the Tigris-Euphrates valley. Mithradates II the Great who reigned 35 years until 88 BC defended the empire from the Scythians, the Armenians and the further waning Seleucids and thereby expanded the empire even more. Incursions and interferences by Rome troubled the empire thereafter. Trajan and Septimus Severus initiated attacks in the Second Century AD which were disabling. The Sasanians from southern Iran overthrew the Parthians in the first half of the Third Century bringing to an end their lengthy history.

The Drachm of Vologases VI is an example of one of the last coins issued under Parthian rule.
View Coin CONSTANTINE I Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Constantine I, AD 307-337 AE3 (BI Nummus) rv Sol hldg. globe London NGC Ch XF Strike: 5/5 Surface: 5/5 Constantine I “the Great” ruled as emperor of the Roman Empire from 306 to 337 AD. Known, perhaps incorrectly, as the first emperor to claim conversion to Christianity, he promulgated a number of reforms to strengthen the empire militarily, as well as financially and socially. Of interest to the numismatist, he called for a new gold coin, the solidus, to address inflation.

He was influential to the growth of Christianity having decreed tolerance for the religion and calling the First Council of Nicaea in 325. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built in Jerusalem by his order.

He made Byzantium the new capital city of the empire and renamed it after himself to Constantinople. He restored dynastic succession to the benefit of three of his sons who ruled as emperors after his death.

Although venerated by several religions today, including Eastern Orthodox Christians, he was certainly no “saint” in the strictest sense: his eldest son Crispus and his wife Fausta were executed by his order, possibly (only) for having engaged in incest. Modern historians have often been less taken by Constantine as paragon of virtue than were the early Christians. It has been suggested that his interest in Christianity was based in political expediency, for example.

His legacy includes reunification and extension of the empire. He died while making plans for an expedition to address incursions of the Persians in the east.
View Coin HELENA Roman Empire ANCIENT - ROMAN EMPIRE (1st CENT BC - 5th CENT AD) ROMAN EMPIRE Helena, AD 324-328/30 AE3 (BI Nummus) rv Helena as Securitas Thessalonica NGC MS Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5
View Coin LEO I Roman Empire ANCIENT - EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE (4th CENT AD - 5th CENT AD) EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE Leo I, AD 457-474 AV Solidus rv Victory w/long cross obv facing military bust NGC MS Strike: 4/5 Surface: 5/5 Leo I, born in 401 AD, was Byzantine Emperor from 457 to 474. While a capable ruler, the perhaps greater personage of Pope Leo I of Rome is recalled. The emperor and the pope lived in very nearly the same era: Pope Leo I was born circa 400 AD and died in 461. Pope Leo is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy. Although historians debate exactly what caused Attila to demur, the fact of the embassy with the pope is not disputed.
View Coin JUSTINIAN I Byzantine Empire ANCIENT - BYZANTINE (5th CENT AD - 15th CENT AD) BYZANTINE EMPIRE Justinian I, AD 527-565 AV Solidus Empire rv Angel hldg. P-cross obv facing bust NGC Ch AU Surface: 4/5 Surface: 4/5 Justinian I, traditionally known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565 AD. His legacy is formidable. He realized the partial recovery of the long lost western Empire from the Vandals, Ostrogoths, the Visigoths and the Tzani.

By order of Justinian a new basis for civil jurisprudence, the Corpus Juris Civilis or “Code of Justinian” was developed. After a revival in the Middle Ages, this Roman code established a basis of civil law which continues to the present day in many states.

The devastation resulting from the outbreak of bubonic plague in the 542 AD led to a territorial decline and general loss of the empire’s splendor well before the end of Justinian’s reign.

The AV solidus has an obverse depiction of Justinian. The reverse shows an angel standing with a Tau-Rho cross, or staurogram, in reference to Jesus’ crucifixion in right hand and a globus cruciger in left hand symbolizing Christ’s dominion over the world.
View Coin HERACLIUS Byzantine Empire ANCIENT - BYZANTINE (5th CENT AD - 15th CENT AD) BYZANTINE EMPIRE Heraclius+Her.Constantine AV Solidus Empire rv cross potent on steps AD 613-641. Short beard. NGC MS Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5 History credits Heraclius with many accomplishments, and he is ranked among the great of Roman emperors. He was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641 AD and is credited with victory over the Persian Sassanids as the empire drove the Persians from Asia Minor. The victory was short-lived as the Muslims not only defeated the Sassanids completely but conquered Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Egypt from the Romans. Heraclius was the first emperor to engage the Muslims and possibly corresponded personally with Muhammad. In any event, he is viewed favorably in Islamic tradition.
On the AV solidus of 613-641 AD, Heraclius is pictured on obverse with his son Heraclius Constantine (the future Constantine III). The reverse shows Christ’s cross potent on steps. This reminds that Heraclius recovered the “True Cross” from the Persians in 628 and ultimately had it returned to Jerusalem where it had been discovered though the efforts of Ste. Helena at the end of the 4th century.
View Coin CONSTANTINE IX Byzantine Empire ANCIENT - BYZANTINE (5th CENT AD - 15th CENT AD) BYZANTINE EMPIRE Constantine IX,AD 1042-55 AR Miliaresion Empire rv emperor w/cross sword obv Virgin Orans NGC Ch AU Strike: 5/5 Surface: 3/5
View Coin ALEXIUS I Byzantine Empire ANCIENT - BYZANTINE (5th CENT AD - 15th CENT AD) BYZANTINE EMPIRE Alexius I, AD 1081-1118 AV Hyperpyron Empire rv Alexius manus Dei obv Christ std. NGC MS Strike: 5/5 Surface: 5/5
View Coin CHRIST Byzantine Empire ANCIENT - BYZANTINE (5th CENT AD - 15th CENT AD) BYZANTINE EMPIRE Anonymous Issue AE Follis Empire Christ/cross inscription Class B (c.AD 1028-1041) NGC Ch AU Strike: 4/5 Surface: 5/5 Ancient Byzantine 'Portrait of Christ' Coins. 969 - 1081 AD
Some of the first coin issues ever to depict Jesus Christ

These coins were minted at a time surrounding the end of the first millenium, and it was "known" far and wide that the world was about to end. So, everyone got super pious and brought religion into every aspect of their everyday life... even making their coins, front and back, carriers of the image and message of God. It is said that upon the eve of December 31, 999 AD (Y1K), everyone packed into churches to spend the night, just to make sure they got a good spot on the way up to heaven.

Anonymous. 1028-1034 AD. Æ Follis, Class B, 9.79 grams. (Sear1823)
Obv: Nimbate Bust of Christ facing holding Book of Gospels.
Rx: IS XS bASILE bASILE divided by large cross.
Sear1823

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