Since Halloween is almost upon us, I thought it would be appropriate to post our spooky coins. Just to set the mood. Zombie Vespasian. Vespasian AR Denarius, 3.27g Rome Mint, 75 AD RIC 776 (R). BMC 169. RSC 369. Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: PON MAX TR P COS VI; Victory, draped, holding wreath extended in r. hand and palm upright in l., standing l. on 'cista mystica', on either side of which is a snake, coiling up on it's tail, facing inwardly Ex Harlan J Berk 145, 14 September 2005, lot 232. Happy All Hallows' Eve!
Ghoulish fork-tongued Crispina and The Weird Sisters depicted on this provincial from Augusta Traiana.
Jekyll & Hyde on two tetradrachms from Thrace. Jekyll on the left is a normal issue depicting Dionysus from the 2nd - 1st cen. BC, while the creepy fellow on the right is Hyde, a Celtic imitation / abstraction of Dionysus from the 1st cen. BC. His pony tail terminates into a buzz-saw like object.
Scar faced Roma: ANONYMOUS ROMAN REPUBLIC AR Denarius OBVERSE: Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, X REVERSE: The Dioscuri galloping right; in exergue, ROMΛ in raised letters within linear frame Struck at Rome 214-213 BC 19.8mm, 3.45g Crawford 46/1(b)
Nothing like holding a severed head. Diocletian, (284 - 305 A.D.) Potin Tetradrachm O.: A K Γ OYA Λ ΔIOKΛHTIANOC CEB; Laureate, cuirassed bust right. R.: Alexandria standing left holding head of Serapis and scepter, star to right, L-Є across fields (Year 5). Alexandria mint, 288/289 A.D. 20mm 6.6g Milne 4915, Curtis 1956 Zombie Marcus Marcus Aurelius (161 - 180 A.D.) AR Denarius O: M AVREL ANTONINVS AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. R:TR P XXXIIII IMP X COS III P P, Victory standing left on globe, holding wreath with her right hand, cradling trophy with her left arm. Rome mint. Struck 180 A.D. 3.14g 19mm RIC III 411 var. (bust type); BMCRE 808; MIR 18, 463-4/37; RSC 975a.
I have a matching Vespasian. Vespasian AR Didrachm, 5.67g Rome mint (for Cappadocia), 76-77 AD RPC 1642 (8 spec.). Obv: AYTOKPA KAICAP OYЄCΠACIANOC CЄBACTOC; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: ΠATHP ΠATPIΔOC; Mt Argaeus; on summit, radiate figure standing, l., globe in r. hand, sceptre in l. hand Acquired from MNS, September 2015.
Some say the scariest things come from within...like this Nerva fouree with green oozing from his brain!(yeah, that's bd that I'm fighting on his head and all along the reverse coming from the inside)
Not creepy per se but snakes just creep me out. Ionia, Ephesus after 133 BC AR Cistophorus Serpent emerging from cista mystica, ivy crown around Two serpents entwined before bow case, headdress of Isis above, torch to right. DCA 325. And this ones isn't an ancient but is one of my favorite coins. And what's more creepy than a head on a platter. Malta 1742 20 Grani Obverse: Head of John the Baptist toward right on a platter Reverse: Clasped hands with date above and the value below in inner circle, legend divided by maltese crosses Ruler: Emmanuel Pinto Composition: Copper
This has been one of my favorite coins since 1984: 31 mm. Husam al din Yuluq Arslan, struck 596 AH = 1199/1200 AD, vasal of two Ayyubids: Al Afdal Ali and Calif al Nasir Figure seated holding sword in right as if about to swing and holding up severed head in his left. The reverse has a long Arabic legend. Spengler & Sayles 36. Sayles explains many Turkoman bronze types as depicting astrological references. He writes this one is a reference to the planet Mars and "the image was prompted by planetary alignments" [at the time it was struck.] The is at least one Roman Republican coin with a horseman holding a severed head. That one is interpreted as depicting victory in battle. Of course, Mars, the god, is related to battle. A good victory in battle seems a more compelling reason for a coin type than a planetary alignment.
Valentinian, the Republican coin you're referring to is Marcus Sergius Silus, the one armed Roman warrior holding a severed head on a denarius, c 116 BCE. Photo below is one I sold about a year ago.
Here’s a worthy bump to this thread. Just bought this at a show yesterday. For $10, I could not pass! Jesus’ face looks more like a skull than the hippie usually seen on these coins.
