Legend Numismatics

Mike Markowitz

Mike Markowitz is a member of the Ancient Numismatic Society of Washington. He has been a serious collector of ancient coins since 1993. He is a wargame designer, historian, and defense analyst. He has degrees in History from the University of Rochester, New York, and Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine. Born in New York City, he lives in Fairfax, Virginia.
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Recent Articles by this Author

Griffins on Ancient Coins. Image: Adobe Stock / Numismatica Ars Classica / CoinWeek.

Griffins on Ancient Coins

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ..... But in the north of Europe there is by far the most gold. In this matter again I cannot...
The House of Valentinian - Ancient Byzantine coins.

The House of Valentinian: CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek .....   THE ROMAN EMPEROR Jovian was found dead at the age of 33 on February 17, 364 CE--apparently suffocated by...
10 Beautiful women on ancient coins.

Not Just a Pretty Face: 10 Beautiful Women on Ancient Coins

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek .....   Beauty is truth, truth beauty, —that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. — John Keats,...

Breakaway Empire: Coins of the Gallic Emperors

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek .....   FOR FOURTEEN YEARS during the late third century (260 - 274 CE), the western provinces of the Roman Empire...
The Coins of Justinian II

Coins of Justinian II: The Emperor Who Lost His Nose

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek .....   Constantine IV was barely seventeen when his wife Anastasia had given birth to their son. It was a mistake...

Dates on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz .....   “Why put a date on a coin?” Most suggest that the mint used a date to monitor...
Juno on Ancient Coins. Image: CoinWeek.

Juno on Ancient Coins – Roman Queen of the Gods

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz .....   FOR ANCIENT ROMANS, Juno (Iuno in Latin) was the queen of the gods, sister and wife of...
Hera: Queen of the Gods

Hera on Ancient Coins – Queen of the Gods

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz .....   HERA WAS REVERED as a protector by many Greek cities, and subsequently they tried to represent her...
Satraps.

Satraps: Ancient Coins of the Persian Governors

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ..... THE ACHAEMENID EMPIRE of Persia founded by Cyrus the Great (ruled 559-530 BCE) was eventually conquered (330...
Coins of the Fall of Rome by Mike Markowitz

Shadow Emperors: Coins of the Fall of Rome

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ..... THE ROMAN EMPIRE in the West died not with a bang, but with a whimper. A series...
Goats on Ancient Coins. Image: CoinWeek / Adobe Stock.

Oh, You Kid: Goats on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ..... GOATS WERE FIRST domesticated as long as 11,000 years ago, probably in the Zagros Mountains of Iran...
The Coins of Pompey the Great.

The Ancient Coins of Pompey the Great

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ..... There was something of Jekyll and Hyde in Pompey. One side, the bright side, shows him as...
Good Dad, Bad Son: Disappointing Heirs of Great Rulers and Their Coins

Good Dad, Bad Son: Disappointing Heirs of Great Rulers

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ..... HISTORY IS LITTERED with great and wise rulers who fathered heirs who were monsters or idiots: sons...
Born Into the Purple: The Coinage of Constantine VII

Born Into the Purple: The Coinage of Constantine VII

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ..... His constitution was sickly and he was indeed invalid throughout his life. His father’s birth was doubtful;...
The Bulgar Slayer. Image: CoinWeek.

Bulgar Slayer: The Coinage of Basil II

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ..... No lonelier man ever occupied the Byzantine throne - or any other, for that matter. Basil was ugly, dirty,...
The Coins of Carthage During Hannibal's War With Rome

The Coins of Carthage During Hannibal’s War With Rome

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ..... BORN IN 247 BCE at Carthage (near modern Tunis in North Africa), Hannibal Barca is remembered as one of...
Coins of the Medieval Ottoman Sultans of Turkey

Coins of the Medieval Ottoman Sultans of Turkey

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ..... AT THE BEGINNING of the 14th century (c. 1300 CE), Anatolia (modern Türkiye) was a patchwork of “beyliks”, small,...
Diyonusus God of Wine on Ancient Coins

God of Wine: Dionysus on Ancient Coins

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ..... WINE PLAYED SUCH a central role in Greek and Roman culture, economics, and religion that it is no surprise...
CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Kings of Bithynia

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Kings of Bithynia

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ..... ALONGSIDE THE GREAT Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires that emerged from the breakup of Alexander the Great’s empire following his...
Last of His Line: Medieval Coins of Defunct Dynasties

Last of His Line: Medieval Coins of Defunct Dynasties

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ..... History is an account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and...

Bullion Sharks Silver

Bullion Sharks Gold

Doug Winter Numismatics Branch Mint Gold

Atlas Numismatics World and Ancient Coins

Dillon Gage Precious Metals Depository