A Roman Republic Silver Denarius from L. Censorious around 82 BC. Apollo facing right or obverse. Satyr Marathas facing left on reverse. A higher condition for these coins, I’d place this in the AU area.
L. Marcius Censorinus, money triumvir in 82 BC. The reverse represents the satyr Marsyas raising right hand and holding wine-skin over his left shoulder; behind, column bearing statue on top. It was a famous statue that stood on the Roman Forum and was supposed to symbolize the Liberty of Rome.
A very nice example! The photo's a bit blurry; I might actually be able to see it better if it were smaller. Here's my specimen. I've said many times that I think letter grades are pretty meaningless for ancient coins, and that I pay little or not attention to them. I have no recollection of what grade my seller gave to my coin. But if a dealer classified yours as AU, my reaction would probably be that (at least in that photo) you can't really see any of the details of Marsyas's face and beard, or the wineskin over his shoulder. Plus, if that kind of thing counts, his right arm and the statue on top of the column are largely cut off. AU or not, though, it's really nice!
I’m still on the shaky side. These photos were taken with my cell camera resting on something higher than the coin. Did the best I could.
It's a type that is often off-center, unevenly worn, and frequently seen with al Marco adjustments. Artemide had a run of about 30 of these in a sale a few years ago, accompanied by a detailed article on the die marks. I think the article is still posted on their site. On the cell phone, a tip I recently learned and adopted: try resting the phone on a highball glass, and use the voice activated shutter, which really works well for casual pix.
Four types exist (Crawford 363/1a to 1d )- however the most common type is "no control mark": L. Censorinus, 82 BC, AR denarius, Rome mint Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right Rev: Marsyas standing left, raising hand and holding wine skin over shoulder; to right, column surmounted by statue of Victory standing right Ref: Crawford 363/1d (no control marks) Notes: Of Sulla & Apollo
Pretty much my favorite. None of mine are in great shape; my avatar is the worst - when I joined CT, I think it was my only one: This one has a die-clash and some banker's marks: This is probably my best: This one might be a fake, though I'm not sure. It weighs 2.95 grams which is too light for one of these. It doesn't look pressed, or cast or, for that matter, fourree. Here's a side few of the flan -
No sign of wings, the description was following Crawford RRC. Minerva carrying victory a possibility too. Here's the detail from my coin. and an interesting theory proposed by in this paper, "Certainly she is carrying something in her hand, and from the figure, in the front, something protrudes at a high angle. If so, it could be Venus, like the one portrayed on Buca's coins and therefore a second appropriation of divinity dear to Sulla" - The first appropriation being Apollo on the obverse, with Apollo and Venus both associated with Sulla. The reference to Buca is to Crawford 480 coins with Venus Victrix from 44 BC e.g. 480/7b, and 480/8.
I'm not so certain that she's carrying something, either on your specimen, on mine, or any of the others shown in this thread. Yes, she has one hand up near her mouth, but that could represent various things. There is sort of a shadow behind her, which I suppose could be wings if one exercises one's imagination sufficiently!
Crawford references the statue of victory found on 346 from another Marcian. While I can see some logic to various theories and at this small scale any representation will be very crude (and a reasonable excuse for any mismatch) - nothing jumps out as "definitely the answer".
That might have the most detail on the reverse of any example I've seen. Including of the little figure on the column. She definitely is holding something, like a scepter. And is wearing a strange-looking conical hat!
