Guys, I'm leaving for the airport in a few hours. Keep me entertained while I wait for my flight to Cuba by showing me your coins from traveling mints. Here is mine, a Victoriatus from a military traveling mint in Southern Italy Circa 209 BCE. My coin Bros and Sis, I shall miss all of you, even though I will be soaking my body in a warm tropical beach with crystal clear water, drinking mojitos, and visiting historical sites in the island of my birth. See you all next month.
I do wish you a good trip and an enjoyable visit @Sallent. I don't have any traveling mint coins to contribute, but, if I can be forgiven this "treachery" to our coin interest, here is my favorite cactus, native to your birth country, from another hobby of mine: Melocactus matanzanus (Cuba)
Enjoy Cuba @Sallent ! When you return, what body % will you be in Mojitos? RR Caesar AR Denarius 49 BCE Traveling Mint Elephant-Pontificates Sear 1399 Craw 443-1 RImp Antony-Octavian AR Denarius 41 BCE 3.65g 18.7mm Military mint Syria star Craw 528-2a Sear 1507 RImp Lepidus Mark Antony 43 BC AR quinarius 13.9m 1.82g Military mint TransAl Gaul pontificate Cr 489-3 Syd 1158a RSC 3 RARE Carthage Iberia 218-208 BC AE 13 1-4 Calco Barcid Military Mint 2nd Punic Tanit Helmet (2nd Punic War)
I reckon all the Marcus Antonius Legio Denarii are from traveling military mints: RImp Marc Antony AR Den 32-31 BC Legio III Ship Eagle Standards S 1479 Cr 544-15 RImp Marc Antony AR Den 32-31 BC Leg V Ship Eagle Standards S 1479 Cr 544-18 RImp Marc Antony Legio XVI AR Den 18mm 3.4g Mil mint 32-31 BCE Praetorian Galley Aquila 2 Stds Cr 544-31 RSC 48 RImp Marc Antony 32-31 BCE AR Legio X Equestris - Caesar Denarius B bankers mark Eagle Galley Standards Rome ISCA Legio II Augusta 75-300 CE Caerleon Concrete 2 pcs 26x21mm ea
Have a great trip and enjoy. Do you still have family there? It's always good to visit family and friends. How about a Hadrian travel series?
I'm skeptical of the notion of "travelling mints" in many cases--I think most ancient coins, even those struck to pay armies on the march, were struck in some established city with an established minting tradition, even if we often can't name the mint with any precision. One rare Imperatorial coin which surely does merit the term travelling mint is the rare denarius of L. Staius Murcus. The following isn't my coin, but I did write the description and commentary, so I suppose it's fair to post it here: L. Staius Murcus; 42-41 BC, Denarius, 3.73g. Cr-510/1, Syd-1315 (R8), RSC Statia-1, Sear Imperators-337. Obv: Head of Neptune r., with trident over shoulder. Rx: Male figure on r., with r. hand raising kneeling female figure on l.; behind, trophy; in exergue, MVRCVS IMP. Lucius Staius Murcus began his political career as a legate of Caesar in Gaul and Africa from 48-46 BC. After Caesar's murder, he was appointed proconsul of Syria by the Senate. When Cassius arrived in the province in 43 BC, Murcus promptly transferred his allegiance and legions to the Liberator and was rewarded with command of a fleet. He demonstrated considerable skill as a naval tactician and in uneasy partnership with Ahenobarbus achieved complete control of the Adriatic and the seas around Greece. After the Republican disaster at Philippi, the two admirals waited developments in the Ionian Sea in support of no cause but their own, pirates in all but name. Murcus eventually made the ill-fated decision to throw in his lot with Sextus Pompey in Sicily. Pompey no doubt welcomed the arrival of Murcus' ships and well-seasoned crews, but Murcus himself was inconveniently accustomed to his own independent command. The two men soon quarreled; Pompey accused Murcus of conspiracy and ordered his execution in 40/39 BC. The rare coinage of Staius Murcus has never received the careful examination it merits. The depiction of Neptune on the obverse is an exact echo of an issue struck by Brutus in the previous year (Crawford 507/2), perhaps an indication of Murcus' lingering allegiance to the Republican cause. The type and legend of the reverse is more difficult to explain. For what victory did Murcus justify the adoption of the title IMP for Imperator? Sear in "Imperators" suggests the successful siege of Bassus in Apamaea in 43 BC as a suitable occasion, but Republican commanders didn't typically claim imperium for victory over their fellow Romans. Nor would that land siege two years earlier resonate with the sailors under Murcus' command in 41 BC, presumably the intended targets of the message. How does the title relate to the scene depicted? Is the standing male figure Murcus? Is the kneeling figure Roma, as suggested by Crawford? Again, what battle is represented by the trophy? An attractive example of an extremely rare coin, without the porosity, poor centering and double-striking that notoriously plague this issue. It's been plausibly suggested that the endemic double-striking indicates that these coins were actually struck aboard a ship in Murcus' fleet!.
I can only imagine the mixed feelings you must be experiencing @Sallent traveling to Cuba, but I hope you have a wonderful trip. I guess I'll throw in my most recent purchase of a denarius struck by Anthony and his traveling military mint: Mark Antony & Julius Caesar. 43 B.C. AR denarius (17 mm, 3.44 g, 5 h). Mint traveling with Antony in Cisalpine Gaul. CAESAR [DIC], bare head of Julius Caesar right; behind, capis / M A[NT(Conjoined letters)]O IMP R P C (= ReiPublicae Constituendae---Regulation of the Republic), bare head of Marc Antony right; behind, lituus. Crawford 488/1; HCRI 118; Sydenham 1165; RSC 2. Lightly toned. Good metal. Nearly very fine.
I love that Victoriatus. One of the type is neat the top of the list of coins in actively on the lookout for. Hmmm I don't think I have a traveling mint coin to share Oh well... have a good vacation @Sallent!
