Can anyone help identyfing this Papius?

Thanks, Radu. I think my information is, largely, correct. If anyone has different ideas I would be happy to consider them.

 

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Sorry Bert, but you are entirely incorrect with respect to this coin. The OP coin was struck in Rome, circa 79 BCE, thus there is certainly no Christian symbolism. In fact, the coin is quite pagan in it's motifs. The obverse depicts Juno Sospita, recognizable by her goatskin headdress. There was a temple/cult to Juno Sospita in Lanuvium, a Latin town 32km southeast of Rome. Papius was a Roman Republican magistrate only known through his coins, and it’s likely that Papius or his family came from Lanuvium. The griffin on the reverse may have some connection to the cult of Juno Sospita, but it's unclear.

These denarii have paired obverse and reverse control symbols, with no symbol pair appearing on more than one set of dies. The paired control symbols have some loose relationship to one another. Sydenham argued that the symbols were propaganda for popularist trade guilds. However, because of the breadth and variety of symbol material, Crawford rules-out any intended meaning. This same control system of paired symbols would be re-used 20 years later by another Lanuvian, L. Roscius Fabatus.

 

There are a few symbols that are repeated on different die pairs. The jug and tall cup (BMCRR Symbol pair 11) occurs from 3 different die pairs.

Mine is one pair.

CNG Example from a different pair



It is thought that different sumbol pairs are intended to represent different guilds. The one above being wine-vendors for example.

The following pairs might be for the temple priests.

Minerva? Owl and Raven?

Neptune? Dolphin wrapped around anchor and Hippocamp

Mercury? Harpa and Petasos

 

Clearly that one represents Hogwarts .

 

Are you certain those symbols are the same? They seem a bit different to me - in more than just a stylistic way. On reverse, for instance, one jug has a tall neck, while the other has no neck. This may seem like a minor distinction to us, but the ancients used different designs for different things - i.e. pouring water vs. wine.

 

I don't think we can be sure of anything given the lack of documentation but these are generally attributed as the same symbols.. If you follow the link given by JayGT4 above you will see three pairs listed under symbol pair 11. I believe that the BM currently list them as the same symbol description too.

 

I agree that the symbols on the second coin in your post is a perfect match to Crawford symbol pair 11. However, the symbols on the first coin are very different, and I'm fairly certain they represent different objects. Look at them critically, and I think you'll agree. Crawford's list does not include a matching pair for your first coin. I strongly suspect both the website Jay provided and the BM misattributed the first symbol pair as Crawford pair 11 because they could find no better Crawford match. BM website does have occasional misattributions - trust me on that! I will look at Charles Hersh's manuscript on symbols and report back on whether he had a separate listing for the first symbol pair.

EDIT: Charles Hersh, who I think we can all recognize as an expert, had a working manuscript that he maintained regarding control symbols on Roman Coins. It's kept at the ANS. In addition to symbol pair 11 (numbered the same by BMC and Crawford) which matches Martin's second coin, Hersh recognized an unpublished symbol pair "I" cup with jug or pitcher, accompanied by a drawing that matches the symbol pair on Martin's first coin. Hersh recognized it as an unpublished pair, distinct from Crawford/BMC pair 11.

 

New info added above.

 

Yes, I was, by and large, incorrect. I was barking up a wrong tree. Having gone online again, Carausius' views (probably from the same pages that I have just scanned) about Papius were confirmed. He "was a Roman Republican Magistrate, only known through his coins." "This silver coin was minted by Lucius Papius in 79 BC." And yet, Carausius is not as unwavering as all that. "it's likely that" and "may have some connection" as well as "I've deleted my initial guess of what the symbols depict, because I'm really uncertain," and "it's unclear." Nevertheless, Brother, we can certainly spare you a well-earned sestertius !

 

The following two coins (both in the BM) also appear to be the same symbols (amphora and fallen amphora) but from different dies.

 

I agree with @maridvnvm on this symbol pair! Same symbols, different dies. The very minor differences with the obverse symbols appear stylistic in this case, and the coins both appear genuine.

 

New symbol pairs seem to turn every year or so at the moment. My Dolphin/Hippocamp above is still the only example from this die pair known to Richard Schaefer and has been added to the RDP (Republican Die Project).

Some dies are apparently scarcer than others but don't necessarily carry a premium.

Shoe/Sandal
Symbol variety – RRC -. Babelon -. BMCRR -.
3.78g. 19.71 mm. 180 degrees.
This is the fifth example in the RDP and according to Richard Schaefer is the best of the five examples.

Slytherin/The Grim?
Snake/Dog
Symbol variety – RRC 122 Babelon 9. BMCRR unknown. CNR unknown
ex SteveX6 collection
3.42g. 18.68 mm. 180 degrees