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 Replies: 25 / Views: 7,096 |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
A crocodile chained to a palm tree, eh? ... interesting, yes?Augustus AE-Dupondius, Nemausus27 BC - 14 AD circa 10 AD Weight: 12.8 grams Diameter: 27 mm (my estimate => I still need to verify this) Obverse: Laureate Augustus and Agrippa heads back to back, IMP DIVI FPP (Heads of Agrippa (left) and Augustus (right) back to back) Reverse: Crocodile chained to palm tree COL NEM Reference: S-1731   NOTE => here is another example (nicer than mine) which gives a clearer idea of the intended coin-scene: ... cool
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Pillar of the Community
 3352 Posts |
Quote:
Interestingly, the captive crocodile is still used on the coat of arms of Nimes (formerly Nemausus) Quote:
Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination. Quote:
The city derives its name from that of a spring in the Roman village. The contemporary coat of arms of the city of Nîmes includes a crocodile chained to a palm tree with the inscription COLNEM, for Colonia Nemausus, meaning the "colony" or "settlement" of Nemausus, the local Celtic god of the Volcae Arecomici. Quote:
Veterans of the Roman legions who had served Julius Caesar in his Nile campaigns, at the end of fifteen years of soldiering, were given plots of land to cultivate on the plain of Nîmes. Quote:
Nîmes became a Roman colony sometime before 28 BC, as witnessed by the earliest coins, which bear the abbreviation NEM. COL, "Colony of Nemausus". Quote:
Nîmes was already under Roman influence, though it was Augustus who made the city the capital of Narbonne province, and gave it all its glory. Quote:
The city had an estimated population of 60,000 in the time of Augustus. Augustus gave the town a ring of ramparts six kilometres long, reinforced by fourteen towers; two gates remain today: the Porta Augusta and the Porte de France. An aqueduct was built to bring water from the hills to the north. |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Coat of arms of Nimes: Flag of Nimes: => man, Nimes sounds like an awesome place to get a tan and a cool T-shirt of a crocodile chained to a palm tree!!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Jerry, I've been to Nimes in Provence and I don't recall seeing any palm trees. In fact it was downright cold for the month of May when I was there.
These are nice coins and highly sought after. It's my understanding that many of these coins are imitative. In other words, they are ancient imitations. I have one I posted about a month or so ago, but it's in much poorer condition than yours or the other you posted.
Man, I wish I had your money!
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
DupondiusQuote:
The dupondius (Latin two-pounder) was a brass coin used during the Roman Empire and Roman Republic valued at 2 asses (1/2 of a sestertius or 1/8 of a denarius) Quote:
The dupondius was introduced during the Roman Republic as a large cast coin, although even at introduction it weighed less than 2 pounds. The coin featured the bust of Roma on the obverse and a six-spoked wheel on the reverse. Quote:
With the coinage reform of Augustus in or about 23 BC, the sestertius and dupondius were produced in a golden colored copper-alloy called orichalcum by the Romans and numismatists, and by us brass, while lower denominations were produced out of reddish copper.
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
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Man, I wish I had your money! Hi Bing ... => Ummm Bing, I don't actually have the money anymore ... just a handful of old Greek & Roman coins!! (and lovin' it!!)  |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Man, I wish I had your money. You find the nicest coins that are way too expensive for me. This is a really nice looking coin. Congrats.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Beautiful coin--and that has to be one of the earlier coats of arms in Europe.
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
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--and that has to be one of the earlier coats of arms in Europe Hi DVC ... yes, I think you're correct ... I went looking around and came-up with these fairly interesting tidbits of history (at least I thought that they were kinda interesting) ... HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF COATS OF ARMS (HERALDRY), FAMILY SURNAMES, GIVEN NAMES, TARTANS & BADGE CRESTS, FAMILY MOTTOSQuote:
THE HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF COATS OF ARMS (HERALDRY):THE ORIGINS OF HERALDRY BEGAN SOMETIME IN THE ERA OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AROUND THE 1st CENTURY A.D. THE PRACTICE OF BEARING A SYMBOL (THE COUNTRY'S NATIONAL SYMBOL) UPON THE SHIELDS OF THE SOLDIERS TO DESIGNATE TO WHICH ARMY THEY BELONGED TO, AND TO HONOR THEIR NATION THAT OF WHICH THEY WERE FIGHTING FOR. THIS PRACTICE STARTED TO SPREAD OVER THE CENTURIES TO OTHER COUNTRIES AND AGAIN TO THEIR RESPECTIVE ARMIES. VIRTUALLY, ALL OF EUROPE, SCANDINAVIA, AND THE COUNTRIES OF ASIA ALL ADOPTED THE COAT OF ARMS' PRACTICES. Quote:
THE HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF TARTANS & BADGE CRESTS:THE ORIGINS OF THE TARTANS PRESUMABLY BEGAN IN ANCIENT TIMES FROM THE CELTIC TRIBES THAT INHABITED SCOTLAND, IRELAND, AND A MAJOR PORTION OF ENGLAND PRIOR TO THE ROMAN INVASIONS IN THE 1st CENTURY A.D. THEIR ARTFORM OF INTRICATE WOVEN DESIGNS OF JEWELRY, STONE & WOOD CARVINGS, AND BODY PAINTING ARE A CLOSE RESEMBLANCE. Quote:
THE HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF SURNAMES & GIVEN NAMES:THIS IS A VERY COMPLEX AND VAST SUBJECT, AND THUS CAN ONLY BE DISCUSSED SOMEWHAT BRIEFLY HERE. THE ORIGINS OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S NAME (FIRST, OR "GIVEN NAME"), BEGAN PROBABLY WITH THE BEGINNING OF THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE AS A MEANS OF IDENTIFYING A PERSON FROM ANOTHER. AS THE CENTURIES ROLLED BY, THE GIVEN NAMES ESTABLISHED A PATTERN OF NAMES REFLECTING ONE'S PLACE OF RESIDENCE ("PLACE NAMES" i.e. WOODS, HILL, etc.), OCCUPATION (i.e. SMITH, COOPER, etc.), OR APPEARANCE (i.e. BLACK, TALLMAN, etc.). THIS EVENTUALLY HAD ALSO NEEDED TO BE RE-DEFINED TO INCLUDE THE GIVEN NAME FOLLOWED BY THEIR PLACE OF BIRTH OR RESIDENCE (i.e. JESUS OF NAZARETH, etc.). |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2100 Posts |
It is a very interesting type and not easy to obtain in decent shape. When they are in good shape they carry a premium.
I have been on the lookout for one for years and not taken the plunge..... yet...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1549 Posts |
My coin is half as good as yours.  Edited by dougsmit
09/30/2012 3:41 pm
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
dougsmit, that's awesome!! ... and hey, I need the part that you have!! (the jaws)  ... ummm, I think I remember you showing that 1/2 coin in one of your threads? (was it in your Top 20 coins thread?) maridvnvm => I'm surprised that you don't have one yet (you seem to have amazingly nice SMACKDOWN coins ... you always seem to be able to pull a couple of winners out of your bag-o-tricks!!) |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
I just showed mine on another thread, but I'll take the opportunity to show it once again.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2044 Posts |
Nice OP coin Jerry. That's one I can plan on never having if they're so expensive. lol
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Funny => "expensive" is certainly a relative term, yes? ... Ummm, this coin was certainly less expensive than my Chimaera and/or my recent Elephant coin ... I actually won this Augustus AE-Dupondius with a bid that was less than $200 (but yah, I guess that is still pretty expensive, eh?) Hey, I'm almost 50 years old and I don't have any kids to blow my "spare cash" on, so these coins allow me to live a bit on the ol' wild-side ... => everybody has a money-pit, right? (some people have their kids and their kid's sporting events, etc ... some people collect fancy cars ... some people travel the globe ... and apparently some people live in Northern Manitoba and spend their mad-money on 2000 year old coins!!) ... it's all good!!  |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Hey Bing => that's great coin, dawg (thanks for showing it off!!) ... your coin has better jaws than mine!!  Edited by stevex6
09/30/2012 5:55 pm
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Replies: 25 / Views: 7,096 |
Posted 09/30/2012 12:48 pm
