Ancient NGO's

This coin seems to read "PETA" at the top of the reverse.
To a modern Caifornian, PETA would be "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals".

Suetonius described the eating habits of Vitellius (13):

He was chiefly addicted to the vices of luxury and cruelty. He always made three meals a day, sometimes four; breakfast, dinner, and supper, and a drunken revel after all. This load of victuals he could well enough bear, from a custom to which he had enured himself, of frequently vomiting. For these several meals he would make different appointments at the houses of his friends on the same day. None ever entertained him at less expense than four hundred thousand sesterces. The most famous was a set entertainment given him by his brother, at which, it is said, there were served up no less than two thousand choice fishes, and seven thousand birds. Yet even this supper he himself outdid, at a feast which he gave upon the first use of a dish which had been made for him, and which, for its extraordinary size, he called " The Shield of Minerva." In this dish there were tossed up together the livers of char-fish, the brains of pheasants and peacocks, with the tongues of flamingos, and the entrails of lampreys, which had been brought in ships of war as far as from the Carpathian Sea, and the Spanish Straits. He was not only a man of an insatiable appetite, but would gratify it likewise at unseasonable times, and with any garbage that came in his way; so that, at a sacrifice, he would snatch from the fire flesh and cakes, and eat them upon the spot. When he travelled, he did the same at the inns upon the road, whether the meat was fresh dressed and hot, or what had been left the day before, and was half-eaten.
Suetonius: The Lives of the Twelve Caesars; An English Translation, Augmented with the Biographies of Contemporary Statesmen, Orators, Poets, and Other Associates. Suetonius. Publishing Editor. J. Eugene Reed. Alexander Thomson. Philadelphia. Gebbie & Co. 1889​

So, I am guessing that for an ancient Roman or provincial coin, the PETA would more likely stand for "People Eating Tasty Animals".

If anyone who has volume 1 of RPC could comment on whether this coin might be an Augustus of Calagurris, I would be grateful. 6g., 18mm. Before its BD bath.

Otherwise, is it time for a thread of coins depicting eating, or possibly just the tasty animals?

 

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Vitellius should have been in a hot-dog eating competition!

 

These are not my 'thing' but I would start looking in the Colonies of the East (Ceasarea, Decopolis region) under Septimius Severus. This is just a feeling from style. 100% guess. Who here collects these regions and can say I am far off base? The reverse looks like a plowing or founder's scene.

I'm having trouble thinking of coin types that would remind people that the rulers ate better than they did. We have plenty of grain types but not yummy beast types. When we think of animals eaten in antiquity beef was not high on the list. We do see bull/cow sacrifice scenes and I'm sure the 'leftovers' were eaten but I don't recall much about beef as a popular edible with herds raised or the purpose. Who has studied this?

Peta was not founded in ancient times. For that matter, the concept of ethical treatment of humans was not well founded then.

 

Petra, "founder plowing" scene. Looks like it might be limited to Elagabalus.

ACsearch results for "petra plowing".

An example from CNG's archives:


SYRIA, Decapolis. Petra. Elagabalus. AD 218-222. Æ (20mm, 6.02 g, 6h). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Founder plowing right with bull and cow. Spijkerman 56; Rosenberger 35; SNG ANS 1373-7. VF, gray-green patina with earthen deposits.

 

It's a good thing he was assassinated before consuming all the visible wildlife .

 

THRACE, Hadrianopolis. Gordian III
AE 18 mm, 2.59 gm
Obv: AVT K M ANT ΓORΔIANOC AVΓ; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: AΔPIANOΠOΛEITΩN; ostrich running like stevex6 is chasing it with a basting brush
Ref: Varbanov 3833, rare
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-now-extinct-animal-on-a-roman-coin.287175/

In addition to sometimes being used in fights in the Colosseum, ostriches were kept in aviaries, stocked in reserves for local safaris, used to draw chariots, and- my favorite- occasionally given away as dinner party door prizes by everyone's favorite wacky weirdo, Elagabalus.

From Historia Augusta, The Life of Elagabalus, chapter 22:

At his banquets he would also distribute chances inscribed on spoons, the chance of one person reading "ten camels," of another "ten flies," of another "ten pounds of gold," of another "ten pounds of lead," of another "ten ostriches," of another "ten hens-eggs," so that they were chances indeed and men tried their luck. These he also gave at his games, distributing chances for ten bears or ten dormice, ten lettuces or ten pounds of gold. Indeed he was the first to introduce this practice of giving chances, which we still maintain. And the performers too he invited to what really were chances, giving as prizes a dead dog or a pound of beef, or else a hundred aurei, or a hundred pieces of silver, or a hundred coppers, and so on. All this so pleased the populace that after each occasion they rejoiced that he was emperor.

Of course, they were also eaten.

 

Sorry folks, but it doesn't get any tastier than Criadillas. There's nothing that says authentic Spanish food quite like floured and fried bulls' testicles. I know it sounds weird, but don't knock it until you try it. It's really good.

People eat weirder things if you think about it. Here in the US, frog legs and gator tail are considered delicacies in some parts of the country. The French eat snails, and rich Americans pay lots of money for "escargot" which is a fancy word for common land snails. So don't knock the bull testicles down until you've sampled it.



Bull ball (testicle) soup is also a great delicacy. I had some in a restaurant in Madrid that was next to Ventas, where the bullfighting arena is. Hands down the best soup I've ever had.

And here the magnificent bull on a coin:



Another worthy of mention would definitely be Cochinillo Asado. It consists of a 21 day old suckling pig, fed only on it's mother's milk, that has been roasted. This is a traditional dish in the northern regions of central Spain. I had this dish in Segovia, together with Sangre de Toro wine, and it was one of the top 3 dishes I've ever tasted in my life.



and here is a relative of the tasty little guy above:



PETA would definitely not do well in Spain. Vegetarianism is almost non-existent over there. I doubt the average Spaniard even knows anyone who is a vegetarian.

There are other Spanish dishes I absolutely love, but I don't have animals on coins to represent them. One such honorable mention is Arros Negro Con Calamares. It consists of white rice died black by squid ink, and a generous serving of baby squids mixed in. Yum!

 

One more thing, as far as animals are concerned, I'm a strong PETA supporter: People Eating Tasty Animals. Off the top of my head I can recall quite a sizeable amount of animals I've sampled.

I've eaten lion, zebra, kiwi, American buffalo, hutia, dolphin, shark, rattle snake, deer, moose, bear, snails, gator, frogs, cat, horse, octopus, squid, oyster, crickets, tarantula, seahorse, etc. Basically, if I can legally get my hands on it to try it here in the US, or eat it at a restaurant while traveling in a foreign country, I go out of my way to try it.

I used to work for a Japanese company, and they used to gift me bags of seahorse snacks all the time. Pretty tasty stuff. That's about the one thing I miss from working there.

 

Most interesting is the last paragraph from the date sauce recipe where we are told that the eating of ostrich is related in Historia Augusta which is known as the last reliable source we have. Perhaps your coin is where HA got the idea?

 

How on earth did you find kiwi?

As a New Zealander I have to say as far as eating national emblems goes its hard to go past kangaroo. It’s actually pretty tasty!

Unlikely to find kiwis or kangaroo on a Roman coin though!

 

Clark's Fish Camp in Jacksonville, Florida. They specialize in exotic meats. I go there every once in a while whenever I'm visiting family up there. During one of my visits they happened to have kiwi on the menu. I couldn't help myself...had to order it. Interestingly, they have a vegetarian menu too, though I'm not sure too many vegetarians will enjoy eating in a restaurant full of stuffed exotic animals, and with all kinds of exotic meats on sale.

 

I'm in Spain quite a bit to visit family and holy moly the food is the second best part (after family, of course). We must have eaten a whole leg of jamon serrano in the two weeks we spent there this summer.

 

One of my favorites. I always say that our family mark where they have traveled by the food that we eat. I'm looking forward to some excellent food in Europe next month. Have a good time while you are visiting.

 

I am like you. I have to taste one of everything. Mine have mostly been from animals in the field. Leopard, muskox, wildebeeste, impala, warthog, crocodile, alligator, American bison, cape buffalo, kudu, gemsbok, blesbok, moose, elk, pronghorn, deer, javelina, hartebeest, duiker, rattlesnake, various turtles, bear, ostrich, horse, Limpopo bushbuck, octopus, squid, tiger just to name a few.

 

That's nice. Frankly, I find American diet quite boring. Most people go their entire lives on nothing but beef, pork, chicken, salmon, tilapia, and turkey. I think most people would be surprised at just how nicely varied and tasty their meals can be if they would just expand their horizons and add some variety. Simple things like goat, lamb, duck, rabbit, deer, squid or octopus, etc. can be had for reasonable prices and make some wonderful dishes.

I also admire Asians for being so open to food sources. I've had all sorts of bugs and even tarantula. They may look creepy and terify our Western sensitivity, but the reality is that if you put your inhibitions aside and actually taste these things, they are surprisingly quite good and full of flavor...not to mention far healthier than many of the domesticated animals we do eat.

 

One of my favorite meals is squirrel gravy and buckwheat cakes. Most people turn up their noses, but, heck, why not give it a try. You'll never know till you try it.

 

You are quite correct. Try it. If you don't like it, then try something else. So many like you say get caught up in thinking it must taste like it looks, or something like that. I just like to try new things, including food. I lived off of wild game exclusively for about 10-12 years.

 

You seem to have enjoyed, Sallent, lots of animated dishes, in true Roman tradition. Thanks for your advert for PETA, too, although the spirit of your publicity is somewhat questionable. And you seem completely unconcerned about the ghosts of birds, fish, various animals haunting your dreams at night. My guess is that your sleep is thoroughly deep and contented.

 

.......... and, of course, you haven’t lived until you have eaten Lancashire black pudding.