View allAll Photos Tagged Solidus
Obverse: Bust of Magnentius right, draped and wearing cuirass. D N MAGNENTIVS P F AVG Reverse: Victory and Liberty with transverse sceptre clasping hands before a trophy. VICTORIA CAES LIB ROMANORVM In the exergue: TRT
Credit Line
Anonymous gift in memory of Zoë Wilbour (1864–1885)
Roman, Imperial Period, A.D. 350–353
Mint
Treveri
Dimensions
Diameter: 22 mm. Weight: 3.85 gm.
Accession Number
35.300
Medium or Technique
Gold
I know I said no more MGS figs for now, but I was finally able to get Solidus finished. Figuring out the tentacles bothered me, but now I got it down, and the tentacles are removable (I would have used glue, but Solidus does appear without them too).
Anyways Solidus Snake as he appears in Metal Gear Solid 2.
"We're losing our place in a world that no longer needs us. A world that now spurns our very existence. You should know that as well as I do. After I launch this weapon and get our billion dollars, we'll be able to bring chaos and honor back to this world gone soft."
— Liquid Snake
Liquid Snake, commonly referred to as Liquid, was the former squad commander of High-Tech Special Forces Unit FOXHOUND, and the twin brother of Solid Snake.
Liquid was one of the "Sons of Big Boss," created as part of the Les Enfants Terribles project, along with his clone brothers, Solid Snake and Solidus Snake. Liquid was led to believe that he was created in order to express Big Boss's recessive genetic traits, and as such, was "inferior" to Solid Snake. Because of this, he held a strong resentment towards his twin brother, who supposedly expressed "superior" genes, and wished to defeat him in combat, reclaiming what he felt was his birthright, and thus proving his superiority.
Possessing an IQ of 180, Liquid spoke seven languages fluently, including English, Spanish, French, Malay, and Arabic, the last of which he spoke like a native. His main language, English, was also spoken with an English accent of the Received Pronunciation dialect. He was almost an exact double of Solid Snake in terms of appearance, with the only distinguishable feature being his darker skin tone and fair hair color. He also had a tattoo on his left arm, which resembled the Rod of Asclepius, but with a sword in its place and with the words "Temptation Revelation."
thanks god so much the lower legs are not sculpted in crazy stupid bending shape, and ironically Solidus Snake is the first PAK figure (in my collections) that can stand well in very easy way with the heavy unit... why cyborg ninja, Dante and Vergil not made in this way??
Upper right: Byzantine pendant (AD 321) incorporating a solidus of Constantine I surrounded by the busts of six mythological figures.
Lower left: Largitio dish of the Emperor Licinius (AD 317) with punched lettering around the inside rim, "LICINI AVGVSTE SEMPER VINCAS."
the "cyber tentacles" pack is way too heavy and the figure's torso joint is not strong enough to support the heavy stuff and the figure is very easy to bend backward then fall down, so i inserted a piece of soft rubber to volume-up the back torso to support these heavy accessories. :)
Justin II. 565-578. AV Solidus (20mm, 4.36 g, 7h). Alexandria mint, 10th officina. Struck circa 567-578. Helmeted and cuirassed bust facing, holding Victory on globe and shield / Constantinopolis seated facing, head right, holding scepter and globus cruciger; staurogram to left; I//CONOB. DOC –; MIB 14; SB 347A (Constantinople). Superb EF, lustrous. Rare.
CNG102, 1133
I've finally understood the Metal Gear Solid timeline and so I made these three guys from left to right we have Liquid and Solid Snake (From MGS: The Twin Snakes) and Gray Fox (because I didn't have time and pieces to do Solidus Snake).
I'm going to do more MGS figs because they have really cool concept.
Tell me what you think,
Davide
Perianne Boring, Founder & CEO, Chamber of Digital Commerce, Jeff Bandman, COO and General Counsel, 6529 Holdings and 6529 Capital, Kathy Kraninger, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Solidus Labs, Inc., Cheyenne Ligon, Regulatory Reporter, U.S., CoinDesk
(Shutterstock/CoinDesk)
Byzance
Or
1/ Solidus Maurice Tiberius, 582-602, atelier de Constantinople. Buste cuirassé de l'empereur de face, coiffé du casque au plumet et tenant le globe croisé.
2/ Tremissis Maurice Tiberius, 582-602, atelier de Constantinople. Buste de l'empereur à droite diadémé et cuirassé.
Pièces de monnaie présentées sur www.le-maf.com, dans la salle "Archéologie et Histoire", "Numismatique".
Closed for more than 15 years, the Armenian Museum of France is fighting to re-open. Please join the cause on the museum's facebook page.
The only surviving head from a pavement that depicted the Four Seasons. The figure wears the British hooded cloak mentioned in the Emperor Diocletian's Edict of Prices in A.D. 301.
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The Edict on Maximum Prices (Latin: Ēdictum Dē Pretiīs Rērum Vēnālium, "Edict Concerning the Sale Price of Goods"; also known as the Edict on Prices or the Edict of Diocletian) was issued in 301 by Roman Emperor Diocletian.
The Edict was probably issued from Antioch or Alexandria and was set up in inscriptions in Greek and Latin. It now exists only in fragments found mainly in the eastern part of the empire, where Diocletian ruled. However, the reconstructed fragments have been sufficient to estimate many prices for goods and services for historical economists (although, it should be stressed, the Edict attempts to fix maximum prices, not fixed ones).
The Edict on Maximum Prices is still the longest surviving piece of legislation from the period of the Tetrarchy. The Edict was criticized by Lactantius, a rhetorician from Nicomedia, who blamed the emperors for the inflation and told of fighting and bloodshed that erupted from price tampering.
By the end of Diocletian's reign in 305, the Edict was for all practical purposes ignored. The Roman economy as a whole was not substantively stabilized until Constantine's coinage reforms in the 310s.
During the Crisis of the Third Century, Roman coinage had been greatly debased by the numerous emperors and usurpers who minted their own coins, using base metals to reduce the underlying metallic value of coins used to pay soldiers and public officials.
Earlier in his reign, as well as in 301 around the same time as the Edict on Prices, Diocletian issued Currency Decrees, which attempted to reform the system of taxation and to stabilize the coinage.
It is difficult to know exactly how the coinage was changed, as the values and even the names of coins are often unknown or have been lost in the historical record. The Roman Empire was awash with other coins from outside of the Empire – especially in the Mediterranean. The implied coinage changeover time was at least a decade.
Although the decree was nominally successful for a short time after it was imposed, market forces led to more and more of the decree being disregarded and reinterpreted over time.
The full mechanics of the decree have been lost. No full decree has been found, as it exists only in fragments. However, enough of the decree's text is known for the following to be understood to be true.
All coins in the Decrees and the Edict were valued according to the denarius, which Diocletian hoped to replace with a new system based on the silver argenteus and its fractions (although some modern writers call this the "denarius communist", this phrase is a modern invention, and is not found in any ancient text). The argenteus seems to have been set at 100 denarii, the silver-washed nummus at 25 denarii, and the bronze radiate at 4 or 5 denarii. The copper laureate was raised from 1 denarius to 2 denarii. The gold aureus, was revalued at at least 1,200 denarii (although one document calls it a "solidus" it was still heavier than the solidus introduced by Constantine a few years later).
During the previous decades the decreasing amount of silver in the billon coins had fuelled inflation. This inflation is understood to be the reason the decree was issued. Issues of economic system feedback were not well understood at the time.
The first two-thirds of the Edict doubled the value of the copper and billon coins, and set the death penalty for profiteers and speculators, who were blamed for the inflation and who were compared to the barbarian tribes attacking the empire. Merchants were forbidden to take their goods elsewhere and charge a higher price, and transport costs could not be used as an excuse to raise prices.
The last third of the Edict, divided into 32 sections, imposed a price ceiling – a list of maxima – for well over a thousand products. These products included various food items (beef, grain, wine, beer, sausages, etc.), clothing (shoes, cloaks, etc.), freight charges for sea travel, and weekly wages. The highest limit was on one pound of purple-dyed silk, which was set at 150,000 denarii (the price of a lion was set at the same price).
Outcome
The Edict did not solve all of the problems in the economy. Diocletian's mass minting of coins of low metallic value continued to increase inflation, and the maximum prices in the Edict were apparently too low.
Merchants either stopped producing goods, sold their goods illegally, or used barter. The Edict tended to disrupt trade and commerce, especially among merchants. It is safe to assume that a gray market economy evolved out of the edict at least between merchants.
Sometimes entire towns could no longer afford to produce trade goods. Because the Edict also set limits on wages, those who had fixed salaries (especially soldiers) found that their money was increasingly worthless as the artificial prices did not reflect actual costs (Wikipedia).
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Bignor Roman Villa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Location Bignor, England
grid reference SU988147
Country United Kingdom
Coordinates 50.92325°N 0.59475°WCoordinates: 50.92325°N 0.59475°W
Construction started c. 200 AD
Demolished c. 400 AD
Medusa mosaic
Bignor Roman Villa is a large Roman courtyard villa which has been excavated and put on public display on the Bignor estate in the English county of West Sussex. It is well known for its high quality mosaic floors, which are some of the most complete and intricate in the country.
Location
The villa is situated just north of the South Downs close to Stane Street, about 9 miles north-east of Chichester (the Roman city of Noviomagus Reginorum) and the nearby and much larger Fishbourne Roman Palace. It is on the south-facing slope of a ridge of greensand which provided better conditions for agriculture than the nearby chalk; this fact and its proximity to Roman Chichester meant that the owners were able to become wealthy from farming.
History and structure
The existence of a Romano-British farmstead on the site by the end of the 1st century is indicated by finds, but the earliest structural remains are of a simple timber farm structure dating to around 200. A four-roomed stone building was built in the middle of the 3rd century, and this was extended before 400 by the addition of a few new rooms, a hypocaust, and a portico that faced east towards Stane Street.
This building became the western wing when north and south wings and later an east wing were added. In its final form, the villa consisted of some sixty-five rooms surrounding a courtyard, with a number of outlying farm buildings. The latest phase of building involved additions to the north wing, and it is here that most of the fine mosaics are located.
The later history of the villa is not well known, but it appears to have gradually declined in status, rather than suffering a catastrophic fate, such as the fire that destroyed most of Fishbourne Palace.
Discovery and excavations
George Tupper, a farmer, discovered the villa in 1811 when his plough hit a large stone. It was almost entirely excavated by John Hawkins who lived at nearby Bignor Park, and the antiquary, Samuel Lysons. Opened to the public in 1814, it rapidly became a tourist attraction, with nearly a thousand entries in the visitors' book in the first nine months.
By 1815 the remains of a substantial villa had been uncovered and protective buildings had been erected over several of the mosaics. In 1818 Samuel Lysons read his third and final paper on the villa to the Society of Antiquaries. He had already published a series of engravings of the villa with the help of Richard Smirke and Charles Stothard. These engravings together with his three papers and his and his brother's correspondence with Hawkins form the only record of the original excavations. Excavations ceased in 1819 after Samuel Lysons' death.
No further work was undertaken on the site until 1925 when S. E. Winbolt did some minor work. Between 1956 and 1962 Sheppard Frere re-excavated parts of the villa in the first attempt to determine its chronology. Since then Thomas Tupper, the direct descendent of the discoverer, whose family still owns the site, has undertaken further excavations: with Margaret Rule in the 1970s, and David Rudling in the 1980s.
Mosaics
The rooms on display today are mostly located at the west end of the north wing, including a summer and winter (underfloor heated) dining room. The bathhouse is to the south-east. The rooms contain some of the best Roman mosaics to be found in Great Britain, both in terms of preservation, artistic merit and detailing. The Greek-key-patterned northern corridor extends for some 79 ft (24m) making it the longest in Britain (Wikipedia).
"I want my memory, my existence to remain. Unlike an intron of history... I will be remembered as an exon. That will be my legacy, my mark in history. But the Patriots would deny us even that. I will triumph over the Patriots and liberate us all. And we will become-- the "Sons of Liberty"!"
— Solidus Snake
Solidus was the third "Son of Big Boss" created by the Patriots in the early 1970s, through somatic cell cloning, as part of the project Les Enfants Terribles. The initial phase of the project produced genetically diverse twin clones, one expressing Big Boss's supposedly "inferior" genetic traits, and the other his "superior" traits. The creation of the original clones led to Big Boss's departure from the Patriots. Thus, the organization required a perfect clone in order to retain a figurehead for their organization in the image of Big Boss. Years later, Solidus's DNA would act as the key to the Patriots' master AI, to which Big Boss's genetic code was the key.
As neither of the Twin Snakes were genetically identical to Big Boss, Solidus was created with the same "perfect balance" of dominant and recessive soldier genes that Big Boss possessed. As a result, Solidus possessed a nuclear genome identical to that of Big Boss, and would take much pride in his visible similarity to the man.
The accelerated aging written into each clone's genes provided the fail-safe of a limited life-span, should Solidus's genetic data fall into enemy hands or he himself turn against the Patriots. This was apparently designed to have a greater effect in Solidus's case, thus producing the required figurehead for the Patriots (a United States President in the image of Big Boss) in a relatively short space of time. As a result, Solidus would appear considerably older than his cloned brothers in later life, despite being created shortly afterwards.
Constantius Gallus Caesar, 351 - 354
Medallion of 5 solidi, Antioch circa 351, 20.24 g. DN CONSTANTI - VS NOB CAES Bareheaded, draped and cuirassed bust l. Rev. GLORIA RO - MANORVM Constantinopolis, pearl-diademed and draped, seated l. on decorated throne, holding thyrsus in l. hand and Victory on globe in r.; her l. foot on globe. In exergue, SMANT. RIC p. 517, 71A (this coin). Wealth of the Ancient World 163 (this coin). Vagi 3326.
Unique. An outstanding medallion, bearing a portrait of great strength
and a finely executed and richly detailed reverse composition. Extremely fine
Ex Leu 28, 1981, 580; Sotheby's 19.6.1990, Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection, 161 and Sotheby's 8.7.1996, 185 sales.
Without hesitation we may attribute this medallion to an engraver of the greatest skill, for it is an artistic masterpiece of Late Antiquity. The obverse confers a noble, godlike, status on Gallus, whereas the reverse is of monumental composition, and is enriched with detail rarely if ever equalled. If doubts had existed in the East about Gallus' qualifications to rule in place of the emperor Constantius II, who was campaigning against the rebel Magnentius in Europe, a medallion such as this might have helped assuage any fears. It no doubt was produced for his accession in 351, and was distributed alongside medallions of equal value bearing the likeness of Constantius II. Portraits from the Constantinian period - especially from late in the period - represent a departure from all earlier portrait styles. Over the course of centuries the Imperial portrait evolved from the realistic to the idealized, and eventually to the stylised. One can readily observe the change from the military emperors and the tetrarchy to the Constantinian era: rigorous, practical, bearded portraits with shortly cropped hair and hard edges gave way to clean-shaven, long-haired portraits comprised mainly of soft contours indicating Oriental opulence and divine majesty. On this medallion we have a pristine example of late Constantinian portraiture in all of its sublime glory. His is a monumental, 'holy countenance' that elevates the new Caesar above the world he rules. It is more than an image of a man, it is a representation of his divine power and his unique station between the human and the divine. Statuesque imagery such as this recalls the famous passage of Ammianus Marcellinus (16,10) wherein he describes the formal entry of Constantius II into Rome: "He looked so stiffly ahead as if he had an iron band about his neck and he turned his face neither to the right nor to the left, he was not as a living person, but as an image." The reverse is a stunning example of how deeply the courts of the Roman east had been influenced by Greek and Oriental cultures. This inscription - "the glory of the Romans" - originally was introduced by Constantine the Great in reference to himself as the source of Rome's renewed glory. On this piece it seemingly refers to the seated figure Constantinopolis, indicating that the city itself was the glory of the Romans and their empire. The seated figure is simply extraordinary, and we may delight in its overall composition, which is ingeniously aligned high and to the right. Not only does this preserve open space at the left, and give prominence to the bold mintmark that trumpets its value as sacred money of Antioch, but more importantly it shakes the usual temptation of die engravers to achieve perfectly central symmetry. Adding to the impact of the composition is the rich detail and ornamentation, and the artful blending of the soft, flowing image of Constantinopolis against the rigid, jewelled frame of the throne and stylised ship's prow. These incongruous elements, which might have clashed under the hand of a less-gifted artist, here merge seamlessly. There can be little doubt that this powerful image is indebted to Phidias' famous gold and ivory statue of Zeus (Jupiter), which earlier had been the model for the facing seated Zeus on aurei of Licinius and his son (lot 269). T. F. Matthews (The Clash of Gods, A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art; Princeton, 1993) considers Phidias' statue not only to have been the source of Licinius' Zeus, but also the source of the enthroned cult images of Roma and Constantinopolis. Providing an element of immediacy to the engraver of this medallion, perhaps, was the fact that a famous copy of Phidias' statue of Zeus Olympios had been erected at Daphne, a sanctuary outside Antioch, more than 500 years before. Also, a large percentage of Licinius' Zeus aurei were struck at Antioch and, more recently still, sometime after 330 Phidias' great statue was moved from Olympia to Constantinople. (continues)
The figure of Constantinopolis - the personification of Constantine's new capital - became common to coins and medals after the city was dedicated on May 11, 330. She is shown on obverses as a helmeted bust, or on reverses as a seated or standing figure. Here she is enthroned with her foot on the prow of a warship, indicative of Constantine's naval defeat of Licinius late in 324. That is when Constantine determined to build his new capital on the site of the old Greek city of Byzantium. On this medallion the prow is adorned with a lion's head, whereas on the companion issue struck for Constantius II the prow terminates in an eagle's head. Constantinopolis holds two pagan objects: a Victory upon a globe and a thrysus. This comes as no surprise, for Constantine had made a career out of blending paganism and Christianity. The Victory is a Christianised version of Nike, whereas the thyrsus was still a thoroughly pagan object representing Bacchus (Dionysus). Here the thyrsus must allude to the familiar role Bacchus played as conqueror of the East. As such, it would reflect upon the importance of Constantinople to the empire, and perhaps even the perpetual dream of all emperors of the last century: conquering the Sasanians. The 'circulation' value of medallions (or whether they even circulated) has often been questioned. We have a perfect test case with this piece, which weighs almost precisely 4- solidi - a cumbersome figure by any reckoning. Attempts to valuate it in terms of other gold units, such as scruples, carats, fractions of a pound, and even 'festaurei', lead to dead ends. As such, we have a chance to examine the valuations of late gold medallions, especially in terms of their equivalency in silver and their gift value versus redemption value. Few contemporary sources shed light on monetary topics, but the Codex Theodosianus (13.2.1) equates five gold solidi with one pound of silver in terms of tax payments in 397 (a subsequent edict of 422, perhaps in response to a temporary condition, downgrades a pound of silver to four solidi: C.Th. 8.4.27). Ammianus Marcellinus (XX.4.18) tells us that upon his accession in 360 Julian II fixed his quinquennial augustaticum payments at five solidi and a pound of silver. Constantinus Porphyrogenetus (ceremoniis I, 91) reports these same figures for donatives of the years 473, 491 and 518. With the two sums - five solidi, and a pound of silver - being mentioned in this context, we should conclude that the two sums were valued as equals, and that the bonus was traditionally paid with appropriate quantities of the two metals. The combination of these pieces of evidence, spanning more than 150 years, suggests that, in the eyes of the late Roman government at least, five gold solidi generally held the same value as a pound of silver. Considering five solidi were 1/14- of a pound of gold, we arrive at a gold-to-silver ratio of 14:1. This is an ideal match for the generally held belief that during most of the 4th and 5th centuries the ratio of gold to silver was 14:1 or 15:1. Rarely do independent sources in this period offer confirmation this complete, especially when subjected to practical testing. In taking this to the next level, we would convert the intrinsic value of this 4- solidus medallion to 9/10 of a pound of silver. It is now worth asking: what reason would there be not to strike a medallion of this size, beauty and obvious importance at the full weight of five solidi, since that figure not only represented the benchmark of a full pound of silver, but also represented a fixed level of the accession bonus? The answer is simple: this medallion, which certainly was struck for Gallus' accession in 351, was valued at five solidi, and was the gold equivalent of a pound of silver. The ten percent differential between its 'donative value' and the intrinsic value of its gold was probably retained by the mint to cover costs, and perhaps even to generate a small profit. We must also remember that in the late Constantinian period the solidus (already a notch below the old aureus in the eyes of Rome's trading partners) had virtually lost its reputation to an epidemic of false and underweight solidi. Public confidence in Rome's once-venerable gold coinage was low, and the government's opinion was lower still (see the commentary for Valentinian I). Underweight coins and outright fakes were enough of a concern, but even the 'good' solidi of the age were only about 95 percent pure. Considering the five percent purity gap of solidi, the government's probable desire for profit (or at least to cover costs), and the likelihood that the five-solidus/pound of silver ratio was an obvious benchmark, it seems best to consider this a five-solidus medallion. If not, why would the mint not simply have increased its weight by ten percent to make perfect this otherwise beautifully conceived medallion?
In earlier times the situation might have been different, but in the late Constantinian Era it requires no great stretch of the imagination to believe that the government would have valued this piece at five solidi upon distribution, but only at its melt value of 4- solidi if it was later redeemed for tax payment.
NAC24, 310
Octavian’s Propaganda Surrounding Actium
Octavian. 32-31/29 BC. AV Aureus (7.74 g, 6h). Italian (Rome?) mint. Bare head right / CAESAR • DIVI • F below, equestrian statue of Octavian, bareheaded and nude to the waist, on horseback, galloping left, his right hand raised. RIC I 262; CRI 394; Calicó 187; BMCRE 94 = BMCRR Rome 4325-6; BN 82-4. Good VF, minor flaws, obverse and reverse fields smoothed at 3 o'clock. Coin sold AS IS. Struck on a broad flan. Rare.
The gold aureus dated back only to the time of Sulla, circa 80 BC. During the Republican and Imperatorial periods, issues of aurei were associated almost exclusively with military activity and were usually produced by travelling mints under the authority of commanders in the field. Augustus transformed the aureus into an integral part of his currency system. It was produced by virtually all of his successors, until it was replaced by Constantine’s solidus some three centuries later. cngcoins.com
A Roman Ingot 3rd – 4th century AD
Ingot 3rd-4th century AD, AV 327.95 g. A round, lentil shaped ingot inscribed EYΔ on flat side. Apparently unrecorded. A very interesting and intriguing ingot.
Ex M&M sale 61, 1982, 238.
Though the weight of the Roman pound is nowhere recorded in ancient sources, it is generally agreed to have been approximately 327.5 grams. At almost precisely that amount, this crude, marked ingot represents one pound of gold. It very likely was cast in the 3rd or 4th Century A.D. (or later), and provides insight into how larger transactions may have occurred. If it belongs to the era of the solidus, it would have been the equivalent of 72 of those nomismae. For the sake of comparison, we should note that some one-pound silver ingots from the West of the mid-4th Century were made in a more regulated form, bearing impressions of round, coin-like stamps that would appear to be official. It is difficult to determine if this ingot was official or of private manufacture, though its Greek inscription indicates it was used in the Eastern portion of the empire. Its principal inscription must be an abbreviation, and there are numerous Greek words beginning with the letter sequence epsilon upsilon delta that imply concepts such as being well-built or well-fashioned, being highly esteemed, being of good repute, good name or good credit, or righteous dealing – all of which would be appropriate to proclaim that a gold ingot was of correct weight and purity. If used by the government, the gold in this ingot likely was comprised of bullion collected as taxes, which then was delivered to the scrinium aureae massae, the department at the imperial treasury that handled gold bullion (variously described as the ‘Department of Gold Bars’ or the ‘Bureau of Gold by Mass’). This department accepted gold from a variety of sources, including tax revenues in bullion form that were created from coins that had just been melted down, only to then be allocated for re-coining.
NAC72, 804
Obverse: Bust of Constantine II right, diademed, draped, cuirassed. CONSTANTINVSIVNNOBC Reverse: Constantine, in military cloak, standing left holding banner and sceptre. At right, two military standards. PRINCIPI IVVE NTVTIS in exergue: TS
Credit Line
Anonymous gift in memory of Zoë Wilbour (1864–1885)
Roman, Imperial Period, A.D. 335
Mint
Thessalonica
Dimensions
Diameter: 22 mm. Weight: 4.38 gm.
Accession Number
35.293
Medium or Technique
Gold
From L to R: Solidus Snake, Solid Snake, and Liquid Snake as they appear in the Metal Gear Solid series.
Constans augustus, 337 – 350
Medallion of two solidi, Thessalonica 337, AV 9.01 g. CONSTANS – P F AVG Draped and cuirassed bust r., wearing pearl and rosette diadem. Rev. GLORIA RO – MANORVM Roma seated l. on shield, holding sceptre and Victory; in exergue, TSÎ. C –. Gnecchi –. RIC –. Toynbee –. Depeyrot –.
Apparently unique and unpublished. An impressive medallion with a very strong portrait, an edge nick at three o’clock on reverse, otherwise good extremely fine
When Constantine I ‘the Great’ died at an imperial residence outside of Nicomedia on May 22 of 337, the Roman world braced itself for a meteoric shift. After more than a dozen years Constantine having ruled every part of the empire as an unchallenged autocrat, Romans would now be ruled several younger men, each of relatively untested character, and each having authority over a different region. Initially, the field included five co-rulers drawn from the two branches of Constantine’s family. The practical impossibility of this must have been obvious to most everyone at the time, yet it appears to have escaped Constantine himself. The period of co-rule by these five heirs lasted merely 110 days. The brothers Constantine II, Constans and Constantius II, all sons of Constantine I by his second wife, Fausta, seemingly conspired to murder their half-cousins Delmatius and Hanniballianus. The latter two were members of a separate branch of the family descended of the union of Constantine’s father, Constantius I, and his second wife, Theodora. It was a violent coup that would have required the compliance of top-ranking military officers, for the two victims had been integrated into the plan for succession by Constantine himself. Soon after the murders, the three bothers were formally hailed Augusti on September 9 of 337. The three are known to have been together in Pannonia in the summer of that year, very likely to confer about the coup and to map out the division of spoils that would follow. Though the location of Constans is nowhere recorded for the last four months of 337, Constantine II is known to have been in Thessalonica on December 6. Collectively, this suggests that the brothers held their formal investiture somewhere in the Balkans or Northern Greece before they departed to their respective territories. The location of that ceremony may well have been Thessalonica, where this medallion was struck, arguably for that occasion. Kent records similar gold multiples with this reverse type at Antioch for Constantius II and Constans, and at Thessalonica for Constantine II, to which we may add the present specimen in the name of Constans. Its short obverse inscription and mintmark TSE place it in the inaugural phase of striking at Thessalonica after the death of Constantine, which presumably occurred at about the time of the investiture of the brothers. The style of Constans’ portrait is identical to that observed on a gold multiple of Constantine II (RIC 1) which also is from the earliest phase of production. The similarity is so great that both portrait dies were probably cut by the same artist. At 6.67 grams the example of Constantine II is a 1.5-solidus medallion, whereas this piece of Constans, at 9.01 grams, is a double-solidus. We should expect that multiples were also struck at Thessalonica for Constantius II, which one day may come to light.
NAC78, 1163
Constans augustus, 337 – 350
Medallion of four heavy siliquae or three light miliarenses, Thessalonica 340-350, AR 13.28 g. FL IVL CONSTANS – PIVS FELIX AVG Laurel and rosette-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. TRIVMFATOR – GENTIVM BARBARARVM Emperor standing l., in military attire, holding standard and resting hand on shield set on ground; in exergue, TES. C 114. Gnecchi 21. BMC Medallion 3. RIC 80.
Extremely rare. An impressive medallion with a spectacular portrait in the finest style of the period. Struck on a full flan, light iridescent tone and extremely fine
The reverse of this medallion, inscribed TRIVMFATOR GENTIVM BARBARARVM (‘triumfator over the barbarian nations’), is a gloating celebration of Roman supremacy over its foreign enemies. The claim was well deserved in the era of the Constantinian dynasty: foreign enemies had been thoroughly dominated by Constantine I, a state of affairs that may have persisted for some time had he not antagonized the Sasanians just prior to this death in 337. The recent record of his sons also was laudable. Though Constantius II, in the East, was burdened with a long and persistent war with the Sasanians, success was more visible in the West. The issuer of this piece, the Western emperor Constans, had defeated the Sarmatians in 339, and in 342 had scored a resounding victory over the Franks. It would seem that this medallion celebrates that recent victory over the Franks, and it perhaps was distributed as a bonus to troops. It may also have been associated with the beginning of his tenth anniversary (decennalia), which began on December 25, 342 and was followed by a visit to Britain, which required a winter crossing of the channel early in 343. This boastful type was an invention of Constans who struck it only at mints under his control: Trier, Aquileia, Siscia and Thessalonica. It took the form of silver medallions and miliarenses that Constans struck in his name and on behalf of his brother Constantius II. Later emperors also adopted the type, with the most exceptional case being the rebel Magnentius, who struck silver medallions of the same weight after he overthrew Constans and assumed control of Italy. The weight of these medallions is of some interest, for they consistently weigh about 13 grams (slightly less than 12 scruples), meaning about 25 were produced per Roman pound of silver. They were nearly the equivalent of three light miliarenses or four heavy siliquae and, depending on the prevailing gold-to-silver exchange ratio, approximately five would have been equal to a gold solidus.
NAC78, 1164
The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that was published by Raphael Tuck & Sons Ltd., Fine Art Publishers to Their Majesties the King and Queen and to Her Majesty Queen Mary. The card, which has a divided back, was printed in England.
On the back of the card, the publishers have printed:
"Your L.S.D. will make
men free".
No, they are not advocating the use of the hallucinogenic drug Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. It is a reference to saving money, preferably in the form of Government Bonds.
Pre-Decimal Currency
The UK 'went decimal' on the 15th. February 1971. (1971 is often called the 'Year of the Con' because manufacturers and retailers used the changeover to increase their prices).
Pre-decimalisation money (L S D) was divided into pounds (£/L), shillings (s.) and pennies (d.). 'L S D' has other meanings, but in this context it stands for the Latin words 'Libra', 'Solidus' and 'Denarius'. The coinage was as follows:
- 20 shillings (s.) in £1 (L)
- 12 pennies (d.) in 1 shilling (s.)
- 240 pennies in £1
- 480 halfpennies in £1
- 960 farthings in £1
The £ was represented by a printed note, and there was also a 10-shilling note.
A 'Guinea' (beloved of private medical consultants and solicitors) was 21 shillings - a way of extracting an additional 5% from the patient or client.
-- The British Pound and Inflation
The British pound has lost 94% its value since 1971, such that £100 in 1971 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1,806 today. The pound has had an average inflation rate of 5.51% per year between 1971 and today.
This means that today's prices are 18 times as high as average prices since 1971, according to the Office for National Statistics. A pound today only buys 5.54% of what it could buy back then.
The Adelphi Theatre
Note the Adelphi Theatre marquee on the left.
The Adelphi Theatre is a London West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals. The theatre was Grade II listed on the 1st. December 1987.
The Adelphi Theatre in the 19th. Century
It was founded in 1806 as the Sans Pareil ("Without Equal"), by merchant John Scott, and his daughter Jane. Jane was a British theatre manager, performer, and playwright.
Together, they gathered a theatrical company, and by 1809 the theatre was licensed for musical entertainments, pantomime, and burletta.
Jane wrote more than fifty stage pieces in an array of genres: melodramas, pantomimes, farces, comic operettas, historical dramas, and adaptations, as well as translations. Jane Scott retired to Surrey in 1819, marrying John Davies Middleton (1790–1867).
On the 18th. October 1819, the theatre reopened under its present name, which was adopted from the Adelphi Buildings opposite.
In its early years, the theatre was known for melodrama, called Adelphi Screamers. Many stories by Charles Dickens were also adapted for the stage here, including John Baldwin Buckstone's The Christening, a comic burletta, which opened on the 13th. October 1834, based on the story The Bloomsbury Christening. This is notable for being the first performance of a Dickens adaption.
This was the first of many of Dickens's early works adapted for the stage of the Adelphi, including The Pickwick Papers as William Leman Rede's The Peregrinations of Pickwick; or, Boz-i- a-na, a three-act burletta first performed on the 3rd. April 1837. The theatre itself made a cameo appearance in The Pickwick Papers.
Next was Frederick Henry Yates's production of Nicholas Nickleby; or, Doings at Do-The-Boys Hall in November and December 1838. This was followed by Edward Stirling's two-act burletta The Old Curiosity Shop; or, One Hour from Humphrey's Clock (1840)
The Adelphi came under the management of Madame Celeste and comedian Benjamin Webster in 1844, and Buckstone was appointed its resident dramatist. Dramatisations of Dickens continued to be performed, including A Christmas Carol; or, Past, Present, and Future opening on the 5th. February; and Beckett's The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that rang an Old Year out and a New One In.
In 1848, The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain was performed.
The old theatre was demolished, and on the 26th. December 1858, The New Adelphi was opened and was considered an improvement on the cramped circumstances of the original, which had been described as:
"A hasty conversion from a
tavern hall, permanently kept
in its provisional state".
The new theatre could seat 1,500 people, with standing room for another 500. The interior was lighted by a Stroud's Patent Sun Lamp, a brilliant array of gas mantles passed through a chandelier of cut-glass.
In the mid-19th. century, John Lawrence Toole established his comedic reputation at the Adelphi. Also in the mid-19th. century, the Adelphi hosted a number of French operettas, including La belle Hélène.
In 1867, however, the Adelphi gave English comic opera a boost by hosting the first public performance of Arthur Sullivan's first opera, Cox and Box.
The building was renovated in 1879 and again in 1887 when the house next door, along with The Hampshire Hog in The Strand and the Nell Gwynne Tavern in Bull Inn Court, were bought by the Gattis in order to enlarge the theatre.
They also built a new enlarged facade, and part of this can still be seen today above the Crystal Rooms next door to the present Adelphi Theatre.
An actor who performed regularly at the Adelphi in the latter half of the 19th. century, William Terriss, was stabbed to death during the run of 'Secret Service' on the 16th. December 1897 whilst entering the Theatre by the royal entrance in Maiden Lane. This is now recorded on a plaque on the wall by the stage door.
Outside a neighbouring pub, a sign says that the killer was one of the theatre's stage hands, but in fact Richard Archer Prince committed the murder. It has been said that Terriss' ghost haunts the theatre.
Terriss' daughter was Ellaline Terriss, a famous actress, and her husband, actor-manager Seymour Hicks managed the Adelphi for some years at the end of the 19th. century. The stage door of the current Adelphi is in Maiden Lane, but back then it was in Bull Inn Court.
William Terriss later had a theatre named after him, the Terriss Theatre in Rotherhithe, later known as the Rotherhithe Hippodrome.
The adjacent numbers 409 and 410 Strand, were built in 1886–87 by the Gatti Brothers as the Adelphi Restaurant. The frontage remains essentially the same, but with plate glass windows, and, like the theatre, is a Grade II listed building.
The Adelphi Theatre in the 20th. Century
On 11th. September 1901, a third theatre was opened as the Century Theatre, although the name reverted in 1904 under the management of Otho Stuart. George Edwardes, the doyen of London musical theatre, took over management of the theatre from Stuart in 1908.
In the early part of the 20th. century, the Adelphi was home to a number of musical comedies, the most successful of which included The Earl and the Girl (1904), The Dairymaids (1907), The Quaker Girl (1910), The Boy (1917), Clowns in Clover (1927), and Mr. Cinders (1929).
The present Adelphi opened on the 3rd. December 1930, redesigned in the Art Deco style by Ernest Schaufelberg. It was named the 'Royal Adelphi Theatre' and opened with the hit musical Ever Green, by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, based on the book Benn W. Levy.
Noël Coward's Words and Music premièred at the theatre in 1932. The operetta Balalaika (a revised version of The Gay Hussars) played at the theatre in 1936, and in 1940 the theatre's name again reverted to 'The Adelphi'.
The theatre continued to host comedy and musicals, including Bless The Bride (1947), Maggie May (1964), and A Little Night Music (1975), as well as dramas.
A proposed redevelopment of Covent Garden by the GLC in 1968 saw the theatre under threat, together with the nearby Vaudeville, Garrick, Lyceum and Duchess theatres. An active campaign by Equity, the Musicians' Union, and theatre owners under the auspices of the Save London Theatres Campaign led to the abandonment of the scheme.
On the 27th. February 1982, the Adelphi hosted the final night of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company for a concert performance of songs from all thirteen Savoy Operas as well as Cox and Box and Thespis.
In 1993, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group purchased the theatre and completely refurbished it prior to the opening of his adaptation of Sunset Boulevard. The 1998 video of Lloyd Webber's musical Cats was filmed at the theatre.
The Adelphi Theatre in the 21st. Century
In November 1997, the London production of the popular American musical Chicago premiered at the Adelphi, becoming the venue's longest-ever production during its eight-and-a-half-year run (which also made it the longest running American musical in West End history). In April 2006, Chicago transferred to the Cambridge Theatre (and later to the Garrick Theatre, where it closed in 2012.).
Michael Grandage's revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita replaced the show, beginning previews on the 2nd. June 2006 before completing a twelve-month run on the 26th. May 2007.
Brian Wilson performed his album Pet Sounds for the last time in the UK at the Adelphi in November 2006. From the 6th. July 2007, the Adelphi was home to another Lloyd Webber revival, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The 9th. March 2010 saw the premiere of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Love Never Dies, which closed on the 27th. August 2011.
The National Theatre transferred their show One Man, Two Guvnors to the theatre from the 8th. November 2011. This production moved out of the theatre on the 25th. February 2012, transferring to the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street began a limited season at the Adelphi from the 10th. March to the 22nd. September 2012, transferring from the Chichester Festival Theatre, starring Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton.
In March 2019, Waitress opened at the Adelphi. It was set to close on the 4th. July 2020, but it closed on the 16th. March, when West End theatres shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the producers later announced that the show would not re-open.
Julian II. AD 360-363. AV Solidus (19.5mm, 4.33 g, 12h). Ravenna mint. FL CL IVLIA NVS P P AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bearded bust right / VIRTVS EX ERC • GALL, soldier, head left and holding trophy, draging bound captive right; RAV (wreath). RIC VIII –, but cf. 226 (Lugdunum) and 303 (Arelate); Ranieri –; DOC –; Depeyrot –; Hunter –; Biaggi –; Cohen 76 = Welzl von Wellenheim 15358. Choice EF. Extremely rare, perhaps the second known.
Cohen, who included this type in his catalog of Roman coinage and cited coin 15358 in the collection of Leopold Welzl von Wellenheim (1773-1848), noted after the description that “this coin seems to have been misread; the mint of Ravenna was not yet seen under Julian the Philosopher.” As Welzl von Wellenheim's collection was unillustrated and had been dispersed prior to Cohen's publication, Cohen was apparently unable to check the reference or view the actual coin, therefore relying on the otherwise unknown foundation of the Ravenna mint in AD 402 for his conclusion that the coin had been misread. Subsequent numismatists have taken Cohen at his word, and not included this extremely rare gold issue of Julian in their studies of this mint. Our coin confirms that Welzl von Wellenheim's reading was correct, while Cohen's assumption was incorrect, and that, if only for the briefest moment, a mint was in operation there.
The likely circumstances leading to this issue become clear on a review of the events in Julian’s rise to power. Although Julian had spent his early years in scholarly pursuits, in his early 20s he was ordered by his half-cousin Constantius II to come to the service of the empire. In 355 Julian was appointed Caesar and was entrusted with the defense of Gaul against Germanic invasion. Julian proved a talented soldier as well as an outstanding administrator, and earned the loyalty of his troops. Constantius II, concerned at the growing popularity of his junior colleague, sought to the limit Julian’s success, and finally ordered a large part of Julian’s army to leave Julian and join Constantius’ eastern army.
Julian’s army refused to obey Constantius’ command and instead raised the reluctant Julian to the rank of Augustus in Paris in February AD 360. Julian spent the next year securing the Rhine frontier. Then, in the spring of AD 361, before marching on Constantinople, Julian moved to secure Italy and the Balkans. He sent a portion of his troops to Northern Italy while leading another portion down the Danube. However, in June forces loyal to Constantius captured Aquileia, threatening to cut Julian off from his forces in Italy while Constantius’ own forces approached from the east. Troops loyal to Julian then besieged Aquileia. The anticipated clash between the main armies was avoided only by the death of Constantius in Constantinople on 3rd November.
The present coin, struck in Ravenna and with its reverse type honoring the Gallic army, must date from the summer or autumn of AD 361. Julian’s Gallic forces in northern Italy apparently needed to strike an emergency coinage in order to defray urgent expenses. These may have been connected with naval operations, as Ravenna was the home port for the Roman fleet guarding the eastern Mediterranean, and control of the sea would have been critical in the efforts to retake Aquileia.
This dating, if accepted, also indicates that J.P.C. Kent was correct when he proposed in 1959 that the VIRTVS EXERC GALL coinage (otherwise struck by Julian only at Arelate and Lugdunum) was to be dated to AD 361 (J.P.C. Kent, ‘An introduction to the coinage of Julian the Apostate’, NC 1959, p. 112). Kent later changed his mind and re-assigned the VIRTVS EXERC GALL coinage to the end of Julian’s reign (RIC VIII p. 175). However, assuming that the VIRTVS EXERC GALL coinage was all issued in the same general period, the present coin of this type from Ravenna must prove Kent’s earlier view to be correct. There is no occasion later in Julian’s reign that would require an emergency coinage at Ravenna. Moreover, the issue at Ravenna of this type honoring the Gallic army only makes sense in the context of AD 361 when a portion of the Gallic army itself was in northern Italy. Remarkably, forty years elapsed before Ravenna next issued coinage in AD 402.
TRITONXXI, 866
Slave collar, AD 4th-6th century, Museo nazionale romano nelle Terme di Diocleziano, Rome.
The inscription requests whoever should see the would-be runaway, on whose collar it was attached. to stop him and bring him back to his owner, Zoninus, with the promise of an money reward, that is a gold coin.
FVGI, TENE ME, CVM REVOCAVERIS M(EO) D(OMINO) ZONINO ACCIPIS SOLIDVM
(ILS 8731).
I have fled, hold me; when you bring me back to my master Zoninus you receive a solidus [gold coin].
He fugit. Reten-me. Quan em retornis al meu amo Zoní, rebràs un sòlid (=moneda d'or).
Byzance
Or
1/ Solidus d'Heraclius. Constantin et Heracléonas émis à Constantinople en 610-641.
2/ Solidus Constantin II et son fils Constantin IV. Heraclès et Tiberius, 610-641, atelier de Constantinople.
3/ Solidus de Jean Zimisces émis à Constantinople en 969-976
4/ Solidus de Constantin VII et Romain II émis à Constantinople en 913-959
5/ Solidus de Constantin II et Constantin IV, 641-668, atelier de Constantinople
Pièces de monnaie présentées sur le site www.le-maf.com, dans la salle "Archéologie et Histoire", Numismatique"
Closed for more than 15 years, the Armenian Museum of France is fighting to re-open. Please join the cause on the museum's facebook page.
Solidus as he appears in Metal Gear Solid 2
Pretty happy with him at the moment. Still need the tentacles.
The Postcard
A postally unused postcard bearing no publisher's name.
All the people on the lower level around the pool have been drawn in.
Also note the ropes strung across the pool - the man in the right foreground (forewater?) is hanging on to one of them.
The Westcliff Pool
The Westcliff Sea Water Swimming Pool at Southend-on-Sea was opened in 1915, and for many years it was the most popular attraction along the Western Esplanade.
Although the pool is no more, it is well-known to a generation of current adults, as it was regularly used for school tournaments.
Originally sea water was piped directly from the sea into the pool, but by 1936 a new filtering and heating system was in operation.
In 1936, the Westcliff Pool was proudly promoted as follows:
"Corporation Sea Water Swimming Bath.
This magnificent swimming bath is 300 ft. x 75 ft.
Special floodlighting and midnight bathing
parties a popular feature.
Diving platforms, chutes, spring boards,
rafts, etc. etc.
Shower and warm plunge baths and every
convenience for both sexes.
240 separate dressing boxes for ladies and
gentlemen.
Area of water 21,000 square feet.
Facing due south is the sun terrace, 350 feet
long, replete with mattresses, rest chairs and
every comfort.
Refreshments always available at the Sun Kiosk
on the terrace.
The combined facilities for seawater and sun
bathing are second to none in the country.
Admission 6d., children 3d.
Bathing cap 2d., towel 1d., costume 1d.
Book of tickets (12) 5s., (6) 2s. 6d.
Season Tickets:
Adults 1 guinea,
Children 16s. 6d.
Family, 15s. each adult, 7s. 6d. each child".
Pre-Decimal Currency
The UK 'went decimal' on the 15th. February 1971. (1971 is often called the 'Year of the Con' because manufacturers and retailers used the changeover to increase their prices).
Pre-decimalisation money (L S D) was divided into pounds (£/L), shillings (s.) and pennies (d.).
'L S D' also stands for the hallucinogenic drug Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, but in this context it stands for the Latin words 'Libra', 'Solidus' and 'Denarius'. The coinage was as follows:
- 20 shillings (s.) in £1 (L)
- 12 pennies (d.) in 1 shilling (s.)
- 240 pennies in £1
- 480 halfpennies in £1
- 960 farthings in £1
The £ was represented by a printed note, and there was also a 10-shilling note.
A 'Guinea' (beloved of private medical consultants and solicitors) was 21 shillings - a way of extracting an additional 5% from the patient or client.
-- The British Pound and Inflation
The British pound has lost 94% its value since 1971, such that £100 in 1971 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1,806 today. The pound has had an average inflation rate of 5.51% per year between 1971 and today.
This means that today's prices are 18 times as high as average prices since 1971, according to the Office for National Statistics. A pound today only buys 5.54% of what it could buy back then.
Closure of the Pool
The pool was closed to the bathing public in October 1969.
It was turned into a dolphinarium in 1970, but the project did not last long, and the site was sold to Brent Walker, who developed the area into the Westcliff Leisure Centre, and then the Westcliff Casino.
After a further renaming, the footprint of the pool is now (2018) occupied by Maxim's Casino.
The Pool's Outer Walls
The original outer walls of the pool survive to this day - these are curved walls built in a wave shape in order to break the power of incoming sea waves.
At their thickest these walls are approx. 26 feet deep at their base, with only half their height visible above ground - the other half is sunk in a continuing curve below the mud.
The Catenary Curve
If anyone's interested, if nothing is hanging on a rope strung between two points, it adopts the shape of a catenary curve.
The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superficially similar in appearance to a parabola, but it isn't a parabola.
The mathematical properties of the catenary curve were first studied by Robert Hooke in the 1670's, and its equation was derived by Leibniz, Huygens and Johann Bernoulli in 1691.
The Use of Catenary Arches
Inverted catenaries are used in architecture and engineering when designing bridges and arches, so that internal forces do not create stresses within the structure.
Catenary arches are also often used in the construction of kilns.
Sir Christopher Wren incorporated the catenary arch into the design of the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.
Antoni Gaudi employed a series of catenary arches in 1906 to support the roof of Casa Milà, a modernist residential building in Barcelona. It is popularly known as La Pedrera or 'The Stone Quarry', because of its unconventional rough-hewn appearance.
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, is a weighted catenary - its shape corresponds to the shape of a chain having lighter links in the middle.
Style and Color: Marty & Long Bang (Pure White F18)
Character and Series: Solidus Snake (Female genderbend) (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)
Cosplayer: Angelus
Theodosius II.
Class / status: Ancient rulers embossing Authority: Theodosius II.
Denomination: Solidus
Date: 437 AD..
Mint: Constantinople (Istanbul)
Obverse: D N-Theodo SIVS P F AVG. Armored bust of Theodosius II. With helmet, spear and shield, on the emperor as a rider winner after r., In the front view.
Reverse: féliciter - NVBTIIS // CONOB. Theodosius II. Stands behind and between Valentinianus III. and Licinia Eudoxia, all three carry a Nimbus.
Numismatic, National Museums in Berlin
Acc. 1894/392
Gold, Solidus, 4.44 g, 21 mm, 6 h
. Reference: RIC X # 267 and S. 79 (this piece); A. von Sallet, Official reports from the Royal Art Collections 16, 1895, 22 (this piece); . A. von Sallet - K. Regling, the ancient coins ³ (1929) 139 with fig (this piece); . J. P. C. Kent - B. Overbeck - A. U. Stylow, The Roman coin (1973) No. 757 Plate 164 (this piece). W. Hahn, The Ostprägung of the Roman Empire in the 5th century (408-491). Moneta Imperii Romani Byzantini (1989) 23 No. 8 Plate 1, 8 (this piece)..; P. Grierson - M. Mays, Catalogue of Late Roman coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection (1992) # 395..
One of three known copies. - Minted at the wedding of Valentinian III. (Born 2.7.419) and the Emperor's daughter Licinia Eudoxia (born 422) on 29.10.437 AD -.. Gift Berlin art patron James Simon.
Photographer Obverse: Lutz Jürgen Lübke (Luebke and
Michael III "the Drunkard". 842-867. AV Solidus (20mm, 4.40 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Struck 856-867. IҺSЧS X RISτOS *, facing bust of Christ Pantokrator / + mI XAHL ЬASILЄ’, crowned facing bust of Michael, wearing slight beard and loros, and holding akakia and vexillum decorated with cross. DOC 3; Füeg 3.A; SB 1688. EF. A very attractive and very rare specimen. Among the finest known.
Ex Müller Collection; LHS (23 April 2007), lot 573.
CNG926272
Helena, mother of Constantine I
Medallion of 2 solidi, Nicomedia 324-325, AV 9.02 g. FL HELENA – AVGVSTA Diademed and draped bust r., wearing double necklace. Rev. SECVRITAS – REIPVBLICE Helena, veiled, standing facing, head l., holding branch and raising skirt. C 10. Gnecchi –. RIC –. Depeyrot –. Toynbee pl. 48, 4. Alföldi 462.
Of the highest rarity, the second specimen of this type and only the third and the finest
medallion known for this empress. A wonderful portrait of fine style and a lovely
light reddish tone. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Privately purchased from Tkalec in 1992.Of all the women associated with Constantine the Great, his mother Helena was not only the most influential, but the most enduring, for she outlived even those who were significantly younger. Because the sources that mention her are fragmentary, biased or of Byzantine vintage, we can only speculate about how strongly she influenced Constantine. But we can be sure she was an imposing woman who cast a long shadow in her son’s courts. Constantine probably was raised in rural Dardania by Helena at a time when his absentee father Constantius was among the most important men in the western provinces. Mother and son clearly forged a strong bond in those formative years, and we should presume that Helena joined Constantine at his court in Trier soon after his accession in 306. In doing so Helena went from a life of provincial obscurity which she had known for more than half a century to the highest office a woman could hold in the empire. But Helena soon had a competitor, her son’s new bride Fausta, a woman about whom the historical tradition reports few positive qualities. Together they remained the two most influential women in the court, each probably being accorded the title nobilissima femina immediately, and then the title of Augusta late in 324, after Constantine had defeated Licinius and brought the entire empire under his rule. Gold coins were struck for Helena only at Nicomedia, Thessalonica, Sirmium and Ticinum. This exceedingly rare medallion belongs to the earliest period when Helena held the title Augusta, and since it is of unusual size we might presume that it was among the gifts distributed at the ceremonies where she assumed her title. The other known gold multiple of Helena is a double-solidus from Ticinum. No literary evidence describes when Helena was hailed Augusta, but it is generally assumed to have been on November 8, 324, as a part of the ceremonies at which Constantine traced the boundaries of his future capital on the site of old Byzantium. Other appointments were also made at this grand ceremony: Constantine’s wife Fausta was raised to Augusta, his infant son Constantius II was named Caesar, his step-mother Theodora may have been given posthumous honours as Augusta, and his half-sister Constantia was downgraded from Augusta – a title she’d held as wife of his vanquished enemy Licinius – to nobilissima femina. On coinage Constantine distinguished the roles of his mother and his wife. Helena, who in the guise of Securitas, personified the "well-being of the State" whereas Fausta was shown as the mother of Constantine’s children and filled the dual role of Salus and Spes, the "health of the State" and the "hope of the State". Helena’s three surviving grandsons also struck small bronzes in her posthumous honour, on which she personified "public peace". This was a prudent message considering the bloody purge of their step-family soon after their father’s death.
NAC84, 1212
Gore Vidal - Julian
Vintage Books V-101, 1977
Cover details:
Denomination:1 Solidus
Metal: Gold
State: Roman Empire (27BC-395)
Issue year(s): 361-363
Person: Julian the Apostate (331-363)
Julian II, AV Solidus, November 3, 361-June 26, 363, Antioch, Officina 1
FL CL IVLIA_NVS P F AVG
Pearl-diademed with large forehead jewel, draped, cuirassed bust right, portrait with large, aquiline features and long, almost straight beard
Cover photo used by permission of the American Numismatic Association, New York
"I want my memory, my existence to remain. Unlike an intron of history... I will be remembered as an exon. That will be my legacy, my mark in history. But the Patriots would deny us even that. I will triumph over the Patriots and liberate us all. And we will become-- the "Sons of Liberty"!"
— Solidus Snake
A suckling pig (or sucking pig) is a piglet fed on its mother's milk (i.e., a piglet which is still a "suckling"). In culinary contexts, a suckling pig is slaughtered between the ages of two and six weeks. It is traditionally cooked whole, often roasted, in various cuisines. It is usually prepared for special occasions and gatherings.
The meat from suckling pig is pale and tender and the cooked skin is crisp and can be used for pork rinds. The texture of the meat can be somewhat gelatinous due to the amount of collagen in a young pig.
HISTORY
There are many ancient recipes for suckling pig from Roman and Chinese cuisine. Since the pig is one of the first animals domesticated by human beings for slaughter, many references to pigs are found in human culture. The suckling pig, specifically, appears in early texts such as the sixth-century Salic law. As an example of a law governing the punishment for theft, Title 2, article 1, is, in Latin, Si quis porcellum lactantem furaverit, et ei fuerit adprobatum (malb. chrane calcium hoc est) CXX dinarios qui faciunt solidos III culpabilis iudicetur. "If someone has stolen a suckling pig and this is proven against him, the guilty party will be sentenced to 120 denarii which adds up to three solidus (Latin coins)." The words "chrane calcium" are written in Frankish; "calcium" (or "galza" in other manuscripts) is the gloss for "suckling pig"; porcellum lactantem. These glosses in Frankish, the so-called Malberg-Glossen, are considered the earliest attested words in Old Dutch.
REGIONAL DISHES
There are various preparations for suckling pig in Western and Asian cuisines.
SPANISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES
LECHON ASADO
Lechón is a pork dish in several regions of the world, most specifically Spain and its former colonial possessions. The word lechón originated from the Spanish term leche (milk), alluding to the immaturity of the piglet. Lechón is a popular item in the cuisine in Spain, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Perú, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and other Spanish-speaking nations in Latin America. In Spanish cuisine, cochinillo asado is common used to refer to roast piglet, as lechón has drifted linguistically to mean any roasted pig. In most of these regions, lechón is prepared throughout the year for special occasions, during festivals, and the holidays.
After seasoning, the piglet is cooked by skewering the entire animal, entrails removed, on a large stick and cooking it in a pit filled with charcoal. The piglet is placed over the charcoal, and the stick or rod it is attached to is turned in a rotisserie action.
ASIA
In Asia, roast suckling pig is eaten in Chinese or Vietnamese restaurants for important parties.[4] It is also a popular dish at wedding dinners or a party for a baby's completion of its first month of life.
In the former Spanish colony of the Philippines, lechón (Filipino: litsón) is considered a national dish. As the usage of the term has evolved over the years, "lechón" has now come to refer to roasted pig in general (including suckling pigs). Suckling pigs in the country are referred to as lechón de leche, which corresponds to the term cochinillo in Spain.
There is also variant of Suckling Pork among the Indonesian non-Muslim ethnic groups, such as the Balinese, Batak, and Minahasa. Some pork dishes are also influenced by ethnic Chinese.
EUROPEAN
The European cuisines of Romania, Portugal (leitão), Spain, Germany, Austria, Albania, Croatia, and Georgia favor it highly as well. It also accompanies goose as the traditional Christmas feast of families in Russia and Serbia. Russian Navy maintains a tradition of presenting a roast piglet (or several) to the crew of a ship returning from deployment.
Suckling pig is known in German and Austrian cuisine as Spanferkel. It can be roasted in the oven or grilled, and is often served at festive occasions such as Oktoberfest.
UNITED STATES
The suckling pig is used in Cajun cuisine in the southern U.S., where the Cochon de Lait festival is held annually in the small town of Mansura, Louisiana. During this festival, as its name implies, suckling pigs are roasted. Other uses for the suckling pig in the U.S. include slow roasting in an oven or (as in a Hawaiian-style pig roast) in a pit. The latter remains popular in the cuisine of the Southern United States.
WIKIPEDIA
Leo III the "Isaurian", with Constantine V. 717-741. Pale AV Solidus (21mm, 4.27 g, 6h). Rome mint. Possibly dated IY 15 (731/2). D NO LЄ P A MVL, crowned and draped bust of Leo facing, holding globus cruciger and akakia / D NO CONTANTIN, crowned and draped bust of Constantine facing, holding globus cruciger and akakia; I to left, Є above star to right. DOC (72) (this coin, illustrated on pl.VI); SB 1533. Good VF, toned. Very rare.
From the collection of Dr. Lawrence A. Adams. Ex John Work Garrett Collection (Part II, Leu/Numismatic Fine Arts, 16 October 1984), lot 537 (purchased from Wayte Raymond, 23 October 1923).
The Roman solidi and tremisses of Leo III feature a series of letters/numerals in the field, presumably dates either in regnal or indictional years. Bellinger and Grierson arranged the coinage according to the sequential order of these markings but warned that the arrangement leaves certain issues stylistically out of place (DOC p. 88 and 237). Concluding that there was no satisfactory explanation for the letters/numerals, the entire series was an assigned an overarching date of 721-741.
CNG100, 312