The Temple of Mars Ultor home of the war machine.

The preserved remains of Temple of Mars Ultor dominated the main axis of the Forum of Augustus. It was built for two reasons: to fulfill a vow made by Augustus before the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C.; and to celebrate the return, in 19 B.C., of the Roman legionary standards taken by the Parthians as booty after the disastrous defeat of Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 B.C. The senate met here to consider declaring war or awarding triumphs. Ceremonies were held here for boys assuming the adult toga and for commanders going off to the provinces. I was lucky enough to visit this site in 2012 (pic below) and was gobsmacked, one can only imagine what it looked like when built, although the image on my coin looks different I can only have a guess that it was the outer curved collanade on both sides of the Augustan Forum to make it clear to the poulace where this temple stood.


Augustus 27-14 BC. Spanish mint (Colonia Partica?)
Denarius AR
17mm., 3,48g. RIC 119. Ex Savoca silver auction.
CAESAR AVGVSTO, laureate head right / S P -Q R, temple of Mars Ultor: round-domed, tetrastyle temple set on podium of three steps, within which is a chariot right, carrying an aquila and miniature galloping horses.

The temple of Mars Ultor as it stands today, (my pic)
The pediment of the Temple of Mars Ultor can be seen in a fragment now embedded in the garden façade of the Villa Medici in Rome.

 

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Wow great thread @Ancient Aussie! I really enjoyed the write up, your new coin and your site photos (as always)!

All your great architecture coins have convinced me I need to step up my game in 2018 and pull the trigger on one of the types I've been watching for. I went 0 for 35 in 2017 on architecture types

 

Happy you liked it, but I have rules about Coin Talk members bidding against me in auctions ha ha.

 

Hahaha you should have thought of that before you showed me all those epic coins and photos! Guess I'll have to limit my chase to the types you already have. Plenty of good ones to choose from

 

i managed to get one.. in fact it was this one, minted by the traveling coiners of Marc's after the battle of Philippi . worn but proud. And that's a fine coin and super pics AA

 

Thanks, I love that coin of yours, one I would like in my collection.

 

Nice! This is a really great historical type and fits in perfectly with your architectural collection.

 

Thanks, I am really happy with the coin looks better in hand than photo suggests.

 

Oh cool! Sweet coin @Ancient Aussie

 

Nice one! It's awesome that we can collect these coins and in some cases visit the ruins of the site they depict.

 

Great post and neat coin @Ancient Aussie!

 

Awesome thread!! What a wonderful coin and write-up!!!

I lose track of all those I chased but lost....and coins of this 'theme' seem to be among them

 

Great writeup @Ancient Aussie, and cool coin


Augustus, Denarius Colonia Patricia mint ? ca. 19-18 BC
CAESARI AVGVSTO, laureate head right
SP - QR on either side of a domed terastyle temple, in which is a chariot with aquila.
3,66 gr
Ref : RSC # 279, RIC # 119

Q

 

Interesting post Peter. It's my dream to someday make it to Italy to see some of the historical sites. It would be hard to choose with just a short 2 or 3 week visit.

 

Thanks Q, I love that strong detail on yours particularly around the chariot. Very nice indeed with the toning.

 

Thanks Albert, great coin and I am sure you will realize your dream. After the first trip you will probably want to go again to catch up what you've missed on the first, but 2-3 weeks should be enough if planned properly as there is so much to see.

 

Nice historical write-up and coin @Ancient Aussie !

 

Great coin and write-up!! I would love to have one these types.

 

Great coins, everyone! Thanks for the site pictures, @Ancient Aussie

 

..these are fantastic coins.. OP and the others... i want one bad now for sure!.. note to self...get one this year