Numismatic Nemeses in Aeternum, or at least a long time

I must admit to a certain perversity in arranging coins in my collection. For those historical figures who were mortal enemies in their lifetimes and hardly got along with each other, I have paired them in my collection so that, however they felt about propinquity in their lifetimes, in my collection they are with each other in a kind of long term numismatic limbo. Only with my passing and the dissolution of my collection will their spirits be released to reside with someone perhaps more congenial.

I have any number of such wickedly delicious parings and I thought it might be fun (perversely) to see what couplings we could duplicate here. As readers can see I have put side to side two denarii, one of a triumphant Caesar Augustus with a still hopeful Mark Antony who of course would battle it out for supremacy of the incipient Roman Imperium much to the detriment of Mark Antony, who you can see is about to have his reverse image butted by Caesar's "gotcha" bull. Perhaps members might be able to duplicate such pairings from their own collections, say a drachma of Alexander the Great with a siglos of Darius III, a denarius of Julius Caesar with one of Brutus, or maybe even a kind of trifecta with coins of Galba, Vitellius and Otho in a numismatic triptych. Maybe a Byzantine emperor with his Persian adversary. Or extending it to the Middle Ages, a coin of Saladin and one of Richard the Lion Heart. One could even take this to more modern times such as a coin of President George Washington with one of King George III or even paper currency, say American Civil War notes, one with Abraham Lincoln and another of Jeff Davis. I don't want to name many more as that would spoil the fun of readers rummaging through their memories, and collections, for similar matchings. So let's see who you might have and his (or her) nemesis to be honored by being brought together again on this site.

 

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VITELLIUS
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P, laureate head right
REVERSE: XV VIR SACR FAC Tripod, raven below, dolphin above
Struck at Rome, Apr/Dec 69AD
2.9g, 19mm
RIC 109, BMC 39, S 2201

VESPASIAN
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG, laureate head right
REVERSE: COS ITER FORT RED, Fortuna standing left, resting hand on galley prow and holding cornucopia
Struck at Rome, 70 AD
2.62g, 18mm
RIC 19; RSC 84
EX David Atherton Collection

 

Considering what the end of Vitellius was out on the streets of Rome, he might have welcomed whatever it was Vespasian had in mind for him.

 

I have several, as a focus of mine is on the Roman Republic and their adversaries...

However, here is a famous opposing pairing:

Rome had been ruled by Kings traditionally since 753 BCE. However, her last King, after many offenses and excesses at the expense of the Roman people... Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was deposed in 509 BCE. The Monarchy was replaced by a Republic.

Instrumental in the overthrow of the monarchy, one of the first two Consuls of Rome in 509BCE, was Lucius Junius Brutus. He was consul with Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus and later Publius Valerius Publicola. According to Livy, one of Brutus' first acts as a Consul was to have the Roman citizens swear an oath to never allow a King of Rome. Even when his own two sons were caught in a conspiracy to restore the monarchy, under orders of the Consuls, he stoically witnessed their execution... Tough love...

Later, in 439 BCE Republican Rome was gripped in a severe famine; people starving, suffering abounded. Enter Spurius Maelius, a wealthy Plebeian, who saw an opportunity to seize Rome... He purchased a large amount of wheat to distribute - at a low price - to the starving people of Rome. However, his ulterior motive was to foster support to usurp the fledgling Republic and proclaim himself Rex (King). A hated word in Roman vocabulary! The cry of the people arose and Maelius was to appear before the aging Cincinnatus, (the elected Dictator during this crisis.) Enter Gaius Servilius Ahala, Magister Equitum (Master of the Horse). Maelius refused to appear, and was hunted down and killed by Ahala. Ahala then razed his home to the ground and distributed the withheld wheat to the starving people.

Fast forward to 54 BCE: Long descendant of the two early Republic Heroes, Marcius Junius Brutus, (also known as Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus), new to politics at 31 years old, enters the membership of the vigintisexvirate (the three Moneyers authorized to mint coinage). This was the first step on the cursus honorum - the road to political office in the Republic. Because of his deep-rooted love for the Res Publica, he honors his ancestral heritage by placing the busts of both great family forefathers, Brutus and Ahala, on the obverse and reverse of the denarius issue of 54BCE.

You all know the rest of the story as Senator Brutus, who on the Idus Martiae, 15-Mar-44 BCE, delivered the killing blow to the Tyrant Gaius Iulius Caesar, usurper of the Res Publica...


Roman Republic 54 BCE
AR Denarius, 18.3mm, 3.7g
Moneyer: Marcus Iunius Brutus (aka Quintus Servillius Caepio Brutus)
Obv: Bare hd of L. Iunius Brutus (Consul 509 BCE), Bearded r, BRVTVS behind
Rev: Bare hd of C. Servilius Ahala (Master of the Horse 439 BCE), bearded r, AHALA behind
Ref: Sear 398, Crawford 433/2, from collection W. Esty CKXSUB 613

And, of course...


Roman Imperatorial Era
Julius Caesar Lifetime
P Sepullius Macer AR Den
1st 2 weeks-Mar 44 BCE 4.03g.
CAESAR – DICT PERPETVO Veiled -
Venus Victory sceptre star
Syd 1074a Sear Imperators 107e Cr 480-14
Rare

Andrew Alföldi arranges Crawford 480 series coins in (44 BC) month order as follows:

RRC 480/1, Buca - January
RRC 480/2, DICT QVART - early February
RRC 480/3/4/5, CAESAR IMP - late February
RRC 480/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14, DICT PERPETVO - early to mid March14
RRC 480/17/18, CAESAR IMPER - late March
RRC 480/19/20, PARENS PATRIAE - April
RRC 480/15/16, MARIDIANVS - April
RRC 480/21/22, CLEMENTIAE CAESARIS and Mark Antony - April

 

Thanks for the history story of very early Rome. Because Rome had not yet established its own system of coinage at that time we frequently don't spend much time on it. I notice your denarius of Brutus has many scratches on the face of Brutus. Do you think this may have been a numismatic damnatio memoriae from a supporter of a now post mortem Julius Caesar?

 

It is a thought. I have wondered about that, but I side with Brutus’ camp, so I think they are just scratches.