Calpurnius Piso Frugi

Haven't gotten a roman republic for awhile & saw this for sale from another CT collector and decided to add it to my collection despite being a "Bing Grade".



L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi (90 B.C.)
AR Denarius
O: Laureate Head of Apollo right; symbol behind.
R: L PISO FRVGI, horseman, holding palm frond and reins, on horse galloping right; symbol below.
Rome Mint
3.33g
19mm
Crawford 340/1

 

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Nice coin. I have really enjoyed seeing people post their republican denarii. This is not an area of ancients I have considered collecting...

 

Nice Mat. There are a bunch in this series with different devices.

 

I particularly like the ones with the archaic numeral for 50 as on the reverse of Bing's last reverse and my left obverse. My C. Piso fourree (right) has a banker's mark much like the one on the OP coin.

 

I've got one of these. I think everyone should have at least one, they are one of the most common Republican denarii and as such, quite cheap. This one was my first Republican denarius, and was also bought from the same seller as yours(though I met him through another forum). A very interesting type due to the complex system of control marks used, as well as the high number of dies: Crawford identified 864 obverse dies and 1080 reverse dies!

 

Cool addition Mat!!!

I have about ten RR denarii, but not this particular type and the few I currently have on bid are also of other types.....but there's always next week and next month.....LOL

 

ALWAYS!!

 

Who will tell us why they made so many of these?

 

i got one!



RS is right, everyone should have at least one...glad you have one now mat!

 

Great addition Mat! I notice yours has a "banker's mark", which does not detract from the overall appeal, in fact, I think it enhances it.

 

Great examples, everyone.

I like it too, adds to the history.

 

I'm not sure what 'Bing grade' is, but I like the OP coin .

I'm of the opinion that everyone should have one too. Specifically because it represents the coinage of the Republic during the Social War when, according to Harl, the moneyer had to issue tens of millions of these denarii to pay for the few hundred thousand troops that were mobilised by Rome and her allies.

I'm embarrassed to say I don't have one of these yet...

 

Bing grade?? Not sure what that means, but the new coin definitely fits seamlessly into the Mat Collection.

Nice examples, everyone!

 

Thank you. Too often we hear about Republicans and history based only on the ancestral scenes shown on them but this is an example of a coin that was issued in huge numbers because of something going on at that time. I regret the type did not reflect something more easily connected to the Social War.

 

Hmmm, I like Doug's approach----since I LOVE the history and story behind the significance of each coin...so I'll offer an RR denarius and ask for responses as to its greater appeal than simply its appearance and genuineness:

 

Mikey Zee – nice coin! -- first thing I noticed was the wording III VIR, which adds to the appeal of the coin.

Minting coins in the Roman Republic was an administrative function shared by three magistrates. 71 BC was the first appearance on the coinage of the triumviral titles of a moneyer (III VIR = tresvir). Here's an example of that coin:


71 BC, Mn. Aquillius Mn.f Mn.n
AR denarius serratus - 19 mm
Obv: Helmeted and dr. bust of Virtus r., VIRTVS before, III VIR behind.
Rx: Warrior stg. facing., looking r., holding shield and raising figure of Sicilia who is slumped to l., MN AQVIL (MN in monogram) on r., MN F MN N (both MN in monogram) on l., SICIL in ex.
Ref: RSC Aquillia 2, Crawford 401/1, Syd 798, SR336

 

Love the coin!!! I imagine, without googling, that the reverse suggests the domination of Sicily and that alone deeply interests me!!!


Interesting observation 'a-c guru'!!!! Hmmm, I wonder who the third magistrate was??? Sicinius and Coponius are two---perhaps the third was...?Pompey?

In my case, the date the denarius was struck is highly suggestive of what I was referring to...and in a little bit I'll elaborate..

Mat, I hope you don't mind this hi-jack of the thread???

 

Finance the Social War... Rome vs. Italian Allies...evenly matched, Allies knew all the tactics, strategies, had the training, knew the complete gameplan, rough war, Marius helped settle. Would have been the end of Rome should she had lost.

 

The denarius I posted is actually an affordable, attractive and interesting example of a coin associated with Pompey the Great. It was minted in 49 BC----the year Caesar crossed the Rubicon and set in motion events that would forever change Western History---it was struck by a 'military mint' traveling with Pompey, presumably to finance the civil war and the subsequent unsuccessful defense of the Italian peninsula (and Rome itself).

Since they were meant to circulate, one can easily imagine the countless Pompeiians that once possessed it paying merchants and others for their daily needs and desires---let alone the probability it ended up in the hands of the victorious Caesarians and then continued to circulate throughout the centuries....until it ended up. 2,000 years later, in the unlikely hands of a descendant of Irish/German immigrants residing in a continent none of them even suspected existed.