Carus: Who said being bald isn't cool?

No Carus yet, but I have his son and daughter in law:

 

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I don't know if Carus looks bald on the following coin which was struck in Cyzicus.
RIC 118c - second emission.

 

The father and son pair, Gordian I and II, ruled 21 days, March 22 to April 12, 238, and are both rare and expensive.

Gordian II, the younger, was the bald one:


Gordian I, the father, was not bald:


I remember that by remembering is seems wrong that the son became bald before the father.

 

Wow, Been looking for those! You just moved me into a covetous mode...

Gorgeous coins Warren!

 

This coin has the odd style associated with the Tripolis mint (identified by "TR" in the reverse field).

He is not totally bald, but well on his way.

 

Carus bald? no way.

 

He sure was bald


Carus, Antoninianus Lyon mint (Lugdunum), 4th officina, AD 282
IMP C M AVR CARVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
SALVS AVG, Salus standing right, feeding a snake. D in left field
3.78 gr
Carus, antoninien, Ref : Cohen # 74, RIC # 16, Bastien # 464, RCV -



Carus, Posthumous antoninianus minted in Lugdunum, 2nd officina, AD 284-285
DIVO CARO PIO, Radiate head of Carus right
CONSECRATIO, Eagle facing, II at exergue
3.50 gr
Ref : Cohen #18, RCV #12394

Q

 

His baldness seems apparent even on the reverse of the coin below. Carus is the bald dude on the left...

 

For sure he was bald I was just joking....

 

I've always had a soft spot for poor Carus and have always enjoyed this section of Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:

Book 1, Chapter VII, Part II:

“The successor of Artaxerxes, Varanes, or Bahram, though he had subdued the Segestans, one of the most warlike nations of Upper Asia, was alarmed at the approach of the Romans, and endeavored to retard their progress by a negotiation of peace.

His ambassadors entered the camp about sunset, at the time when the troops were satisfying their hunger with a frugal repast. The Persians expressed their desire of being introduced to the presence of the Roman emperor. They were at length conducted to a soldier, who was seated on the grass. A piece of stale bacon and a few hard peas composed his supper. A coarse woollen garment of purple was the only circumstance that announced his dignity. The conference was conducted with the same disregard of courtly elegance. Carus, taking off a cap which he wore to conceal his baldness, assured the ambassadors, that, unless their master acknowledged the superiority of Rome, he would speedily render Persia as naked of trees as his own head was destitute of hair. Notwithstanding some traces of art and preparation, we may discover in this scene the manners of Carus, and the severe simplicity which the martial princes who succeeded Gallienus, had already restored in the Roman camps. The ministers of the Great King trembled and retired.”

Excerpt From: Edward Gibbon. “History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/hi...f-the-roman-empire-volume-1/id506622041?mt=11

Carus. AD 282-283. Antoninianus. Rome mint, 2nd officina. 2nd emission, AD 282. Radiate and cuirassed bust right
Obverse: IMP C M AVR CARVS P F AVG
Reverse: IOVI V_I_CTORI
/ Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe and scepter; eagle standing at feet to left; BKA. RIC V 38; Pink VI/2, p. 32.

 

Love that story!

 

Fresh from the mailbox... It's hard to tell in this photo... but ahead of the laurel he is most definitely bald on this tetradrachm. This small feature is interesting because by this point in time, most of the busts on tetradrachms from Alexandria were fairly generic and portrayed few recognizable traits of the emperors they depicted.

Carus tetradrachm - Alexandria.
Obverse: A K MA KAROC CEB, laureate bust right
Reverse: Dikaiosyne standing left holding scales & cornucopiae.
In the fields LA=Year 1 (=282/283).
Milne 4660, Geissen 3161. Dattari 5565.

 

Some issues, like this one from Ticinum, spell his name with a "K". I have enjoyed this coin since 1988.


IMP C M AVR KARVS PF AVG, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, head bald in front
PAX EXERCITI, Pax standing left holding out branch and standard in left
VI XXI in exergue.
RIC V.II 73, plate VI.8, same obverse die. Ticinum mint. AD 282.
Sear III 12175 variety (KARVS).

ex Malloy auction XXVI, November 1988, lot 667.

 

Wow that's cool, I didn't know about the "K" variety. That's another I'll have to add to the list of coins to lookout for. Are they relatively rare?

I love the color of the patina. A great coin, thanks for sharing it!

A follow up... PAX EXERCITI... means Peace (brought about by) the Army I think. What peace does this coin refer to?

 

Was it the peace along the Danube or with the Sassanids... or both?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carus
"Having defeated the Quadi and Sarmatians on the Danube,[17] for which he was given the title Germanicus Maximus,[18] Carus proceeded through Thrace and Asia Minor, annexed Mesopotamia, pressed on to Seleucia and Ctesiphon, and marched his soldiers beyond the Tigris.[19]

The Sassanid King Bahram II, limited by internal opposition and his troops occupied with a campaign in modern-day Afghanistan, could not effectively defend his territory.[20] The victories of Carus avenged all the previous defeats suffered by the Romans against the Sassanids, and he received the title of Persicus Maximus.[21]"

 

Oh, hey, what's going on in this thread?​

 

So Rome had a SLAP-HEAD:



Carus may had descended from OTHO, the Wig-Man


RI Otho 69 CE BI AR Tet 23mm Egypt Helmeted Roma Emmet 186

 

Before my late (very witty and prone to say whatever popped into her mind) mother-in-law died my wife and I took her out to lunch one day. She was suffering from macular degeneration and was legally blind. I have been follically challenged for years but am not completely bald.

Suddenly she looked at me and exclaimed (quite loudly): “My god, Steve, what are you using to wash your head? Mop and Glow?”

Steve