I’ve held a stake in the stock market since the age of 18. I have traded stock in precious metals (miners, currencies, etc) but have never actually owned or held the materials I have invested in. Couple that with my love of history (currently Napoleon and Ancient Rome), I have ventured to invest in physical coinage. After doing some research and picking up Gareth Harney’s new book “A History of Ancient Rome in Twelve Coins“, I dived! (Keep an eye out for my review of the book later this month.)
Before you even consider buying ancient coins, always do your research, set a budget, and choose quality over quantity. It is critical that you purchase from reputable vendors. I use both MA-Shops and Vcoins- that’s all. Unless you know what you are doing- steer clear of eBay!
My first coin is a silver Denier struck in 121 A.D. under the rule of Emperor Hadrian. Hadrian was #3 out of the “Five Good Emperors” of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Many of you may have heard of the fifth- Marcus Aurelius. One of the biggest hurdles for getting into Ancient Roman coins was where to begin. Unlike many of history’s kingdoms and lands, Ancient Rome spanned a SIGNIFICANT chunk of time. This means that there are tons of leaders, and coins, to choose from. Because of my love for Stoicism, I have decided to begin my journey with coins from the Five Good Emperors period.
The Nerva–Antonine dynasty comprised seven Roman emperors who ruled from AD 96 to 192: Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), Marcus Aurelius (161–180), Lucius Verus (161–169), and Commodus (177–192). The first five of these are commonly known as the “Five Good Emperors“.
Below are the photos I took of my two new coins. One stuck in 121 and the other in 123 A.D. respectively.
Raw coin info:
Both coins were purchased on 1/28/2025 from CGB Numismatics Paris via MA-Shops
HADRIAN Denier 121 Rome R1 silver: Catalog: C.1140 RIC.94 RIC.94 BMC/RE.192 H.1/208 RCV.3523Material:SilverWeight:3.82 g. Wild Winds entry: https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s3523.html#RIC_0094
HADRIAN Denier 123 Rome silver: Catalog: C.1102 RIC.177 a RIC.177 a BMC/RE.136 RSC.1102 H.1/236Material: SilverWeight: 3.27 g. Wild Winds entry: https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/hadrian/RIC_0077-RSC1102.txt
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