Antoninus Pius denarius with Bonus Eventus- the god of "good outcomes"

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Shea19, May 8, 2020.

  1. Shea19

    Shea19 Well-Known Member

    This denarius of Antoninus Pius features Bonus Eventus on the reverse. Bonus Eventus was the divine personification of "good outcomes" and of success in general.

    10243122-400F-4AFD-BFE2-79BA6D94C719.png
    Antoninus Pius, AR Denarius (19mm, 3.83 g). Rome mint. Struck AD 150-151. Laureate head right / Bonus Eventus, naked, standing left, holding patera and two grain ears. RIC III 196.
    CNG E-Auction 458, Ex Phil Peck Collection.

    Bonus Eventus was originally an agricultural deity, who was associated with success in agriculture and a good harvest. He later became associated more broadly with having positive and successful outcomes in general. He is often depicted, as he is here, holding grain ears, which goes along with his original agricultural association.

    Coincidentally, buying this coin ended up being a very "good outcome" for me. In the seller's photo above, there's a dark "splotch" across the emperor's forehead, so I ended up getting this for way less than I expected (which I don't think has ever happened to me at a CNG auction). When the coin arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was no dark mark or blemish on the emperor's forehead at all. Here's my photo:

    F9CDAFE4-F803-4BD5-8BCD-672F2744C519.jpeg

    I have no idea what happened in CNG's photo...maybe a shadow, lighting, or some odd photo editing? Whatever it was, I'll take it.

    Please share your coins of Bonus Eventus, any pleasant surprises like this, any denarii of A Pius, or anything else relevant!
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2020
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  3. Parthicus Maximus

    Parthicus Maximus Well-Known Member

    Very nice addition @Shea19!
    I like that portrait.
     
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  4. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    Beautiful denarius, @Shea19 !

    I have long been puzzled by this one, because Bonus Eventus is a male deity and the figure on this coin's reverse is apparently female, dressed in a stola and zona and wearing a female hairstyle, but the legend reads BONI EVENTVS.

    Domna BONI EVENTVS Denarius Emesa.jpg
    Julia Domna, AD 193-211.
    Roman AR Denarius, 2.52 g, 16.2 mm, 1 h.
    Uncertain eastern mint (Cappadocia?) formerly attributed to Emesa, AD 193-196.
    Obv: IVLIA DOMNA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust right.
    Rev: BONI EVENTVS, Fides (?) standing left, holding basket of fruit and corn ears.
    Refs: RIC 616; BMC --; Cohen 10; RCV --; CRE 328.


    Her attributes, though, are those of Fides: a basket of fruits and corn ears.

    1840774.jpg Hadrian, RIC 241a. Naumann, Auction 12, lot 512, 2 February, 2014.

    I suspect the designer of this coin (and the similar issue for Septimius Severus) conflated Fides with Bonus Eventus. Was he thinking of Agatha Tyche, the female personification of good fortune? We'll never know.

    Although Henry Cohen recognized the figure as Fides (La Foi) ...

    Capture.JPG

    ... Mattingly and Sydenham (RIC IV-1) name the reverse figure Bonus Eventus:

    Capture 1.JPG

    I believe they are in error and that Fides is clearly depicted, despite the BONI EVENTVS inscription.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2020
  5. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Congrats on the score. Very nice portrait on that one. I have two ex Phil Peck A-Pi denarii from a small group lot I purchased.

    Antoninus Pius - Den Felicitas early ex Peck 3930.jpg ANTONINUS PIUS
    AR Denarius. 3.02g, 18.1mm. Rome mint, 10 Jul - end AD 138. RIC III 4 corr. (bust type, obv legend); BMCRE pg 2, *; RSC 659a. O: IMP CAES AEL ANTONINVS AVG, bare head right. R: PONT MAX T R POT COS, Felicitas standing left, holding caduceus and cornucopiae.
    Ex Phil Peck Collection
    Notes: Rare early issue as Augustus (circa 10 Jul - end AD 138 : 3rd issue in BMCRE), before he was accorded the name Pius. RIC 4 copies an error in Cohen (bust type, legends). BMCRE notes one example (Robert Ball Sale (Berlin), 9 Feb 1932, lot 1509)

    Antoninus Pius - Den Hands Caduceus ex Peck 3929.jpg
    ANTONINUS PIUS
    AR Denarius. 3.46g, 18mm. Rome mint, AD 139. RIC 43 (S); RSC 833; BMCRE pg 17, 85. O: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, bare head right. R: TR P COS II, Clasped hands holding winged caduceus and two corn-ears.
    Ex Phil Peck Collection

    And a bonus Bonus Eventus :D:

    RR - L Scribonius 1888 McCabe New.jpg
    ROMAN REPUBLIC
    AR Denarius. 3.79g, 20.8mm. Rome mint, 62 BC. L. Scribonius Libo, moneyer. Crawford 416/1c; Sydenham 928; Scribonia 8b; Type as RBW 1502. O: Diademed head of Bonus Eventus right; LIBO behind; BON EVENT before. R: Puteal Scribonianum (Scribonian Well), decorated with garland and two lyres; anvil at base; PVTEAL above; SCRIBON in exergue.
    Ex Andrew McCabe Collection, purchased from Poinsignon, France, 2010
     
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  6. Shea19

    Shea19 Well-Known Member

    Very interesting, RC...I agree completely, I think that has to be Fides.

    Beautiful examples, @zumbly , I love the toning. I actually just got another denarius from the Peck/Morris collection, I’ve really been impressed with the size and quality of his collection, they just keep coming up at auctions.
     
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  7. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    I look forward to seeing it. I agree it’s a great collection, with not just some very nice coins, but rare and interesting ones as well. I regret I wasn’t able to buy more when Heritage sold them under the “Morris” monicker.
     
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  8. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

  9. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    L SCRIBONIUS LIBO.jpg
    L SCRIBONIUS LIBO ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS SCRIBONIA
    AR Denarius
    OBVERSE: BON EVENT LIBO, diademed head of Bonus Eventus right
    REVERSE: PVTEAL above, SCRIBON below, well-head ornamented with garland and two lyres, hammer at base
    Rome 62 BC
    3.2g, 18mm
    Cr416/1a., Scribonia 8a
    M. PLAETORIUS M.F. CESTIANUS 2.jpg
    M. PLAETORIUS M.F. CESTIANUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS PLAETORIA
    AR Denarius
    OBVERSE: Head of Bonus Eventus right; horse's leg behind. Argentarii mark in obverse
    REVERSE: M. PLAETORI CEST. EX. S. C, winged caduceus
    Rome 57 BC
    3.87g, 19 mm
    Cr405/5; Syd 807; Plaetoria 5
     
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  10. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    When a bright mirror surfaced coin is photographed with light coming straight down on the coin (axial or ring lighting) the curved surfaces can direct all the light that hits it off to the side and none back up to the camera. You were not bothered by the same thing happening on the back of the head but the same effect was there. One side benefit of taking coin photos is you can learn to read poor photos and know when the 'problem' was with the photo and not with the coin.
     
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  11. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    This overly bright Septimius Severus has the same dark forehead for the same reason.
    rg0680bb0152.jpg
     
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  12. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Nice coin, @Shea19 ... thanks for the write-up.

    Mine must had been made when Bon Eventus was for good harvests.

    I feel that this coin was carried around a lot in some one's toga sinus (since they did not have pockets...) it's been around.

    upload_2020-5-9_23-23-16.png
    RR L Scribonius Libo 62 BCE AR Denarius Puteal Scribonianum Bon Eventus Sear 367 Craw 416-1

    I also found out that BON EVENTUS was the Great-Grandfather of BON JOVI...

    (Yeah, that is a true story, @TIF )



     
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  13. Shea19

    Shea19 Well-Known Member

    Wow, thanks Doug, very interesting. I tried another shot with it directly under the light source and was able to reproduce the “dark” effect on the forehead...pretty cool.

    14F0CB16-F26C-40B6-ADBB-86B1BB6F9F0C.jpeg
     
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