Here we have my latest acquisition, one of my very favorite types of ancients, a beautiful, stunning to my eyes, and very mysterious coin with more questions than answers. Q. Crepereius M.f. Rocus (69 BC). AR serratus denarius (19mm, 1h). NGC Choice Fine, bankers marks. Rome. Draped bust of Amphitrite right, seen from behind; sea anemone (erroneously listed as an oenochoe by Heritage) left, I right / Q•CREPER•M•F / ROCVS, Neptune driving biga of hippocamps right, brandishing trident in right hand, reins in left; I above. Crawford 399/1b. Sydenham 796. Crepereia 1. Ex: CNG 261 lot 239 Aug 2011, Auctiones GMBH #67 March 2020, Purchased from Heritage Feb 2022. From the Werner Collection. Who were the Crepereius? To what event are they eluding on the coin?? And my favorite question, who is the beauty being portrayed on the coin's obverse??? She is most commonly referred to as Amphitrite who's Roman counterpart is Salacia. Though, the Roman version was considered watered down compared to the Greek. This is a Roman coin and the reverse is always described as Neptune, not Poseidon... So, why do almost all major references list her as Amphitrite and not Salacia? The coin has a very notably Greek and not Roman style about it, which maybe what causes the name change. But who knows? (Here the couple are, presumably, in a beefed up version of Neptune's ride shown on the coins reverse) Andrew McCabe (who knows a lot more than I do about ancients) believes it more likely a pairing of Neptune with Venus. But for my 2 cents, her hair looks wet on the coin and all of the control marks behind the beauty's head are sea creatures. So, I am going with the consensus here that this is of the wife of Poseidon Amphitrite, or as the Roman's would view it, Neptune's wifey Salacia. (Why does nobody ever notice the mustachioed fish below) Amphitrite was one of 100 daughters of Nereus and Doris. Making her both an Oceanid and Nereid. Poseidon saw her and her sisters dancing on the isle of Naxos and was smitten. However, she refused his proposal of marriage in hopes of saving her chastity. She fled to Atlas, but was either convinced to go back or retrieved by a dolphin (no, not a seaman) and brought back to Poseidon. The dolphin was made into a constellation for it's services. After the wedding Amphitrite seemed to simmer down and take to her godly hubby and enjoyed the perks of being queen of the sea. Her offspring included dolphins and seals! They even had Spongebob's good buddy Triton as their merman son (geeee, a happy ending) Here is my first coin of this type with the crab and letter "C" control marks (that's right. I am going to try to catch every critter in the sea a total of 10 different controls. Sea below Creperius, Rocus Denarius. 68 BC. Uncertain mint. (Ffc-657). (Craw-399-1b). (Cal-522). Obv: Bust of the back of the Sea Goddess to the right, C to the right, to the left crab. Rev .: Neptune with trident, in biga pulled by hippocampi to the right, below Q CREPER M (F) / ROCVS. Ag. 3.61 g. Usually struck off center. Very scarce. VF. Ex: Tauler & Fau Borrowed from @TIF 's amazing write up and coin on the type, found here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/yeehah-giddyup-seahorsey.285894/#post-2558565 Sadly, some dork thought it would be cool to lock her away from me. Like Neptune, I sent my fastest dolphin to rescue her and bring her into my hands: (Look at that saweet toning. Couldn't see that when she was locked away) A short story on researching her: While looking for more information on the sea anemone type (Heritage erroneously listed the item behind her as an oenochoe. OUCH! Poor job identifying your coins Heritage. I would hardly call an oenochoe (drinking vessel) a sea critter) I found that the coin was up for sale a couple years ago by Auctiones GMBH pre being entombed. And I kept digging and found it was sold 11 years ago from CNG! To top it off Heritage sold it as part of the Werner collection (anyone know who that is?). Not a bad little provenance she is starting to build. Not only that, but CNG rightly listed it as a sea anemone (kudos to CNG and @Barry Murphy for getting it correct). So this little cutie was sold by CNG, correctly ID'd, and then a decade later someone else sent it back to them to have them put it in plastic only to be miss identified by a major firm once they got it back and sold it! So please, show us your sea critters, Poseidon, Amphitrite, Neptune, Salacia, most beautiful RRs, ancient mysteries or anything that takes you under the sea.
...great coin Ryro!...and another great Ryro production! ..i'm still awaiting for a bi & tri riga ..and i dig that rhythmic delivery!
AWESOME writeup @Ryro ! POSEIDON Makedon Perseus 178-168 BCE AE 23 Poseidon Club Lucania Paestum (Poseidoneia) 218-201 BCE AE SEXTANS Poseidon- Dolphin (started cut for change) Craw 4-1 Sicily Syracuse Hieron II 275-215 BCE AE20 Poseidon Trident Dolphin Left
Beautiful! Congrats on the score. One of my favorite RR types and I especially like how well-centered it is for the issue. ROMAN REPUBLIC AR Denarius. 3.69g, 18mm. Rome, 72 BC. Crawford 399/1b. O: Bust of Amphitrite or Venus right, seen from behind; octopus behind and E before. R: Neptune in biga of sea-horses, brandishing trident, [E?] above, Q. CREPER. M. F. ROCVS in two lines below. Ex Andrew McCabe Collection The Thessalian bronze below has on the reverse Amphitrite's sister, Thetis, mother of the hero Achilles. THESSALY, Larissa-Kremaste AE Trichalkon. 5.38g, 19mm. THESSALY, Larissa Kremaste, 3rd century BC. Rogers 315; Lindgren II 1401 (this coin); BCD Thessaly II 403.1; HGC 4, 13. O: Head of Achilles left. R: ΛΑΡΙ, Thetis seated left on hippocamp, holding shield of Achilles with AX monogram. Ex BCD Collection; ex Henry Clay Lindgren Collection Depending on which legend is being followed, the one below has either Amphitrite's father or grandfather, Oceanus. HADRIAN AR Denarius. 2.98g, 19.1mm. Rome mint, AD 121-123. RIC II.3 520. O: IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG, laureate bust right. R: P M TR P COS III, Oceanus reclining left on a dolphin, crab claw horns on his head, holding an anchor in his right hand. Ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli Collection And here's a random sea beastie, an Ichthyocentaur: PLAUTILLA AE Assarion. 3.68g, 19.4mm. BITHYNIA, Nicomedia, circa AD 202-205. RG 253 (same obv. die); Lindgren & Kovacs 172 (same obv. die). O: ΦOY ΠΛAYTIΛΛA CEBA-CTH, draped bust right. R: NIKOMHΔEΩN - ΔIC NEΩKO/PΩN (second neocorate), (Female?) Ichthyocentaur, diademed, nude, with forefeet of horse and serpentine fishtail, riding left over waves, holding rudder over left shoulder and in extended right hand unknown object (dolphin? conch shell?).
Here's some Neptune! Claudius II, AD 268-270. Roman billon Antoninianus, 4.12 g, 20.6 mm, 5 h. Antioch, 1st emission, AD 268-269. Obv: IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG, radiate and draped bust of Claudius Gothicus, right. Rev: NEPTVN AVG, Neptune, standing left, holding dolphin in right hand and trident in left hand; A in exergue. Refs: RIC 214; MER/RIC temp 1018; Cohen 183; RCV 11353; Hunter 78; Huvelin 1990, 5.
Thanks for the tag, @Ryro . Love the new coin! I'm fond of the type and also love anything with hippocamps and related themes. ROMAN REPUBLIC Moneyer Q. Crepereius M.f. Rocus 69 BCE (revised from Crawford's 72 BCE) AR serrate denarius; 3.99 gm Obv: draped bust of Amphitrite seen from behind, with head turned r.; behind, sea anemone; horizontal I to right of right shoulder (only partly visible on this coin) Rev: Neptune in biga of hippocamps right, holding reins and brandishing trident; above, I and below, Q·CREPER·M·F / ROCVS Ref: Crawford 399/1b; Babelon Crepereia 1. Sydenham 796a. Rare. from HJB BBS 200, October 2016 ex NAC 78 lot 1828, from the JD Collection of Roman Republican Coins BRUTTIUM, the Brettii 216-214 BCE Æ quartuncia, 13.5mm, 2.06 g Obv: head of Amphitrite left, wearing crab headdress Rev: crab; torch above, BPET-TIΩN above and below Ref: Pfeiler p. 33, 4a; Scheu, Bronze 51; HN Italy 1944; SNG ANS 123–4; SNG Lloyd –; McClean 1579 THESSALY, Larissa Kremaste 4th century BCE Æ Trichalkon; 16mm, 6.0 g Obv: head of Achilles left Rev: ΛΑΡΙ; Thetis, holding shield of Achilles with AX (=Achilles) monogram, seated left on hippocamp Ref: BCD Thessaly I –; BCD Thessaly II 403.1; HGC 4, 13 Ex BCD Collection Ex Hopper Collection (Sotheby’s, 9 March 1989), lot 519 (part) So envious!!
That's a very cool subset to go for, i.e. the control marks! Your new coin is stellar. I'd like to second @TypeCoin971793's comment in TIF's old thread, that this control mark: ... looks a LOT more like a horshoe crab than a sponge. It wouldn't be surprising if horseshoe crabs used to live in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Here's my Punic War Amphitrite from the Brettii, like TIF's: 2.85g, 14mm
Good catch! I completely agree. Imagining that control mark as any type of sponge is a stretch but it's very similar in shape to a horseshoe crab!
Thanks to all my friends for the nautical niceties and naughties LOVE these Syracusan types @Alegandron They are hard to come by in good shape and yours is in very good shape indeed. Here's mine in need of a reshoot: Gadzooks @zumbly that Plautilla is something I have never seen and now need in my life! And excellent Octopus example of the Rocus Here is one of my Rome under the Augustii. Purchased from a CT, I don't think any ancient collector can talk Neptune and not think of Agrippa: Dang it @Roman Collector you know I aint big on LRBs. And now you've just shown me one that I must get! Very cool Neptune You are most welcome for the tag and thank you for sharing your wonders of the ancient sea @TIF I keep trying for one of those Amphitrite from the Bretti but know I will never find one as sweet as yours! I seem to recall a picture somewhere of a certain CTer all dressed up and ready to play in the ocean as Amphitrite herself I know how much you enjoy Syracusans, so here are a couple more of mine with the nautical theme: And a little lady dipping her toes in the water for good measure: Thanks Sevs! I hate to correct a pal, but I can see the diagram is mixed up. As you see on the type below, the Greeks DID have a letter "J", and it's the J type that is the sponge: and the H, of course, is a Squidward:
@Ryro .....That's a wonderful looking coin!....High on my want list too Ssssshhhhush! Thanks for the fun/interesting write up...Great coins posted everyone... Sicily, Syracuse. Hieron II. 274-216 BC. Æ-Litra (19mm, 6.38g). Obverse..Diademed head of Poseidon left with border of dots. Reverse..ΙΕΡΩΝΟΣ, Ornate scroll decorated trident with lotiform shaft flanked by dolphins...........Ref:for type SNG Cop 844-856
@Ryro, according to Crawford I at p. 411, the moneyer "is presumably a younger brother of M. Crepereius, Tr. Mil. [Military Tribune] 69 [BCE], and connected with the Roman negotiatores [i.e., businessmen] with the same nomen functioning in the Greek East . . . ; the marine types . . . and control-symbols are tolerably appropriate for a man with such a background." I notice that not a single one of these is currently for sale on either VCoins or MA-Shops. Frustrating! Some sea creatures and Neptunes of my own. Here's my one ancient coin depicting a hippocamp: Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, Rome Mint, 9th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl), 267-268 AD. Obv. Radiate cuirassed bust right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Hippocamp swimming right, NEP-TVNO CONS AVG; in exergue, N [= Nu, for 9th Officina). RIC V-1 245, RSC IV 668 (ill.), Wolkow 23i9, Bust Type B3, Ribbons Type 3 [Cédric Wolkow, Catalogue des monnaies romaines - Gallien - L'émission dite "Du Bestiaire" - atelier de Rome (BNumis, édition 2019). at p. 87], Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 743b, Sear RCV III 10292. 19 mm., g. Purchased from Akropolis Ancient Coins, May 2021. I have three ancient coins portraying Capricorns: Augustus, AR Cistophoric tetradrachm [= three denarii]*, 27-26 BCE, Province of Asia [NW Asia Minor], Mysia, Pergamum[?] Mint. Obv. Bare head right, IMP•CAESAR downwards behind, lituus before / Rev. Capricorn** swimming right with head turned back to left, cornucopiae on its back, AVGVSTVS below; all within a laurel wreath tied in bow at bottom. RIC I Augustus 488 (2nd ed. 1984) [see http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.1(2).aug.488]; RSC I Augustus 16a (3rd ed. 1978) (ill. p. 132); RPC I Online 2208 [see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/2208]; Sear RCV I 1585; Sutherland Group IIIβ, nos 87–98a [see Sutherland, C.H.V., The Cistophori of Augustus (London, 1970)]; BMCRE I Augustus 698; BMCRR II (East) 287. 26 mm., 11.7 g. Purchased Feb. 2022 from Wessex Coins, UK. [Footnotes omitted.] Divus Vespasian AR Denarius, 80 AD Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, DIVVS AVGVSTVS VESPASIANVS / Rev. Foreparts of two capricorns springing in opposite directions, supporting round shield inscribed S C; globe below. RSC II Vespasian 497 (ill.), RIC II-1 Titus 357 (2007), old RIC II Titus 63 (1926), Sear RCV I Titus 2569 (ill.), BMCRE Titus 129. 17 mm., 2.84 g., 6 h. Julia Paula (first wife of Elagabalus), AE 21, 219-220 AD, Mysia, Parium [Parion in Greek]. Obv. Draped and diademed bust right, IVLIA P-AVLA AVG / Rev. Capricorn right, holding globe between hooves, cornucopia above, CGIHP [Colonia Gemella Ivlia Hadriana Pariana -- colony founded by Julius Caesar] below. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. VI, 3858 (temporary); RPC Online at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/6/3858; Lindgren & Kovacs 289 [Lindgren, H.C. & Kovacs, F.L., Ancient Bronze Coins of Asia Minor and the Levant (San Mateo, CA 1985). 21 mm., 5.67 g., 10 h. (Purchased from VAuctions, Pars Coins, Sale 354, Lot 195, Nov. 16, 2020.) I have two portraying Neptune, one of them with Cupid riding a dolphin on the reverse: Roman Republic, L Lucretius Trio, AR Denarius, 76 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Neptune right, XXXIII above and trident behind/ Rev. Cupid (or Infant Genius) on dolphin right; L LVCRETIVS TRIO. Crawford 390/2, Sydenham 784, RSC I Lucretia 3, Sear RCV I 322 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 16 at pp. 98, 100-103 [Michael Harlan, Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins, 81 BCE-64 BCE (Vol. I) (2012)], BMCRR Rome 3247. 19 mm., 3.9 g. Agrippa (d. 12 BCE), AE As, Memorial issue struck by Caligula, 37-41 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Head of Agrippa left, wearing rostral crown, M AGRIPPA L - F COS III / Rev. Neptune standing left, holding trident in left hand; dolphin resting left on his right forearm; S - C on either side of Neptune. RIC I Caligula [Gaius] 58, Sear RCV I 1812, Cohen Agrippa 3. 31 mm., 11.0 g. Finally, I have one modern (19th century) historical medal depicting both Neptune and a hippocamp: Great Britain, Admiral Lord Exmouth and the Bombardment of Algiers by the British Fleet, 1816 (struck 1820). Obv. Uniformed bust of Lord Exmouth, right, ADMIRAL LORD EXMOUTH / Rev. Neptune with trident pointing downwards, subduing and pacifying a hippocamp (sea-horse) beneath him, which he stands upon while it swims left on surface of ocean, with its head turned back towards him; in exergue, ALGIERS AUGUST 18 / 1816. By L. Brenet and F.-P. Gerard. AE 41 mm. Mudie 39, Eimer 1085 & Pl. 117, BHM 921. Purchased February 2022.* *Issued in 1820 as part of James Mudie’s series of 40 medals commemorating British Military and Naval Victories, this medal is one of the few in the series that does not directly relate to the Napoleonic Wars. Instead, it commemorates the British attack on Algiers in 1816 to free European slaves from captivity. See BHM at p. 223: “The city of Algiers continued to support piracy and was used as refuge for those engaged in the slave trade. The British fleet under Lord Exmouth successfully bombarded the city upon the refusal of the city to abolish Christian slavery, a new treaty with the Dey abolishing this followed and Exmouth received honors from most of the states of Christendom.” Concerning the reverse design, Mudie states as follows at p. 149 of in his book An Historical and Critical Account of A Grand Series of National Medals, published in 1820 simultaneously with the medals (I own a copy of the original edition): “The superiority and grandeur of Britain on the Ocean, are here typified by Neptune controuling [sic] a Sea-Horse, which, from the inscription on the exergue. . ., more immediately relates to the successful attack on the chief piratical state of Barbary.” I must say that the hippocamp looks both subdued and pacified under the power of Britannic Neptune, dominating the seas and all the creatures in it -- or anywhere near it! -- like Rome in its day.
