A pun for the ages

Roman Republican moneyers, probably in an attempt to liven things up a bit from the traditional and repetitive Dioscuri types, would use symbols or very direct references that would be a pun on their name or family reference. Some were obscure, such as this example, but eventually evolved into outright advertising for them.

On this particular coin, the murex shell symbol makes a punning allusion to the moneyer’s name: Purpurio = Purple. The shells, found mainly around the southern Mediterranean coastline, were left to decompose and the purple ink which resulted was used to make purple dye. This dye was highly valued throughout the ancient world, and used in Rome to colour the senatorial togas.

Furius Purpurio AR Denarius (21mm, 3.66g, 6h). Rome, 169-158 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right, X behind / Luna in a biga right, PVR below horses, murex shell above, ROMA within linear frame in exergue. Crawford 187/1; Sydenham 424.









Please share your puns, even if they aren't Roman.

 

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Awesome coin. One of the most beautifully preserved Republic denarii I've seen so far. Unfortunately I can't say that I have any coin that meets that criteria yet. Maybe one day.

 

What an excellent coin! The details are quite remarkable.

This denarius struck by L. Plaetorius L. f. Cestianus shows a boxer running a victory lap. The pun the moneyer references here is the cestus, a gladiatorial boxing glove, that the athlete wears on his left hand.

 

Beautiful coin! My most popular pun coin type is of Q. Pomponius Musa who minted an entire series off of the Greek muses. The reverse of this coin depicts Terpsichore, the muse of dance.



I've read conflicting research on Petillius Capitolinus. It first indicated that the moneyer was using a pun on his name to depict the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline hill on his denarii. However, I've recently read that it is likely his family held office connected with the temple, which would mean it isn't a pun, but I'll post it here anyway. If anyone has further insight into which direction is more broadly accepted, please let me know!

 

A coin from praetor Silanus featuring a mask of Silenus-- intentional word play?


MACEDON, under Roman rule
Decimus Junius Silanus Manlianus, praetor
142-141 BCE
AE, 20 x 22 mm, 9.5 gm
Obv: Facing mask of Silenus, wearing ivy wreath
Rev: MAKE ΔONΩN legend In two lines; D above; all within ivy wreath
Ref: SNG Copenhagen 1324

...

A few favorite non coin-related jokes, some of them punny:

• It’s hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally.
• Entropy isn’t what it used to be.
• A Roman walks into a bar, holds up two fingers, and says, “Five beers, please”.
• What do you call two crows on a branch? Attempted murder.
• Two kittens on a sloped roof. Which one slides off first? The one with the lowest mew.
• A pun, a play on words, and a limerick walk into a bar. No joke. Edit: Apparently an anecdote was also in attendance.
• Helium walks into a bar and orders a beer, the bartender says, “Sorry, we don’t serve noble gases here.” He doesn’t react.

 

Nice examples folks, and nice stories behind them
No "punic" coin here sorry

Q

 

This is not my joke but one I appreciated from a Frank Robinson list long ago. The denarius of Q. Minucius Thermus shows a fight between armed opponents. That makes the coin a "Thermus Battle".

 

Calliope, the Muse of Epic poetry:

 

You have some killer denarii. I keep telling myself these are too tiny for me to collect, but you just keep throwing these things out there, like breadcrumbs in a forest..........

 

The coin of L. Torquatus has a Torq around Roma. This one is fourree.

 

Same name, different guy. L. Torquatus:

 

A torque made of two clubs? I hadn't noticed that before. Neato!

 

Agree. I can't allow a torq made of plants on the obverse (that is a wreath) but bending those clubs is 'Neato!'

 

Same dies as Joe's Petillius Capitolinus, imo one of the finest obverse dies in the entire RR series:

 

I'm glad our modern coins are not as beauty filled as the ones on this post or I would never be able to spend my change.

 

WOW!!!!

All the posts from the OP down are just SPECTACULAR!!!!

 

I figured it wouldn't take long to get into the Muses. Nice start to that AJ! I don't have a single one...yet.

Zumbly - I was not aware of that pun with your coin. I tried to buy an example not too long ago, one that I believe was from Haeberlin, but alas I came up wanting in the final tally.

And Volodya - I think we're all glad you're sharing your awesome collection. I mentioned a time machine in a prior post and I'm convinced YOU have one and are using it to sneak into the mints 2000 years ago to pick through the buckets of freshly made coins for your collection. Not fair!

 

Here's another, but 120 years later after the puns had become more blatant.

This is a posthumous issue with Caesar under Octavian by one of the last of the Republican moneyers which was a tradition that stretched about 250 years. Octavian restored it briefly well into his reign only to have it vanish from history forever.

Vitulus translates into "bull calf", or veal as we know it today.

Julius Caesar. 40 BC. AR Denarius (20mm, 3.78 g, 6h). Rome mint. Q. Voconius Vitulus, moneyer. Wreathed head of Caesar right / Bull-calf walking left; Q • VOCONIVS above, VITVL[V]S • Q/DESIGN in two lines in exergue. Crawford 526/4; CRI 331; Sydenham 1133; Kestner -; BMCRR Rome 4311-2; RSC 45.

 

oh drachm!



that's one helena coin!