I recently came upon this coin for sale with a reverse that I had either never heard of or I had forgotten about. After doing some research, I found the following information: "Although the moneyer Q. Pomponius Musa is unknown to history, his choice of Hercules Musarum and the nine Muses as coin types is remarkable and clearly connected to his cognomen. This series of coin types, Hercules playing the lyre and the Muses, can be no other than the celebrated statue group by an unknown Greek artist, taken from Ambracia and placed in the Aedes Herculis Musarum, erected by M. Fulvius Nobilior in 187 BC after the capture of Ambracia in 189 BC (Plin. NH xxxv.66; Ov. Fast. vi.812). By the second century BC Rome had overrun most of Greece and was captivated by Hellenic art and culture, not the least statuary. Fulvius is said to have taken the statues to Rome because he learned in Greece that Hercules was a musagetes (leader of the Muses). Thalia, as Muse of Comedy, would have been behind the works of Roman playwrights such as Plautus. Remains of this temple have been found in the area of the Circus Flaminius close to the south-west part of the circus itself, and north-west of the porticus Octaviae. An inscription found nearby, ‘M. Fulvius M. f. Ser. n. Nobilior cos. Ambracia cepit;’ may have been on the pedestal of one of the statues. The official name of the temple was Herculis Musarum aedes, which Servius and Plutarch called Herculis et Musarum ades." I'm not certain if all nine muses are available, but doing a quick research, I found 6 available and for sale on Vcoins alone. It would seem to me that collecting all of the muses could be a worthwhile sub-collection. So I have purchased my first in this series. It may or may not be scarce or rare, but I found very few of this type for sale or in past sales information on Acsearch and CNG. This first in the series is not in the best of conditions, but it is a start. I've included a blow-up image of a better quality coin so those unfamiliar can see what it should look like. Q. POMPONIUS MUSA ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS POMPONIA AR Denarius OBVERSE: Laureate head of Apollo right; sandal to left REVERSE: Thalia, the Muse of Comedy, wearing long flowing tunic and peplum, standing left and leaning left arm on column, holding persona (comic mask) in outstretched right hand Rome 55 BC 3.39g, 16mm Crawford 410/9b; Sydenham 821; Pomponia 19 If anyone has any of the coins with one of the muses, I'd love to see them
Huge coingrats!!! Just having one of those is a major accomplishment! And what a wonderful one to snag... COMEDY! (The smile on yours mask is great) Sadly, that is my best contribution to this thread
I really like this series, but have only one of them. From what I've seen most varieties are just on the scarce side, but they get very pricey in higher grades because of the interesting theme. I'd love to snag of Thalia like yours someday. ROMAN REPUBLIC AR Denarius. 3.65g, 18mm. Rome mint, 56 BC. Q. Pomponius Musa, moneyer. Pomponia 18; Sydenham 820; Crawford 410/7c. O: Laureate head of Apollo right; behind, tortoise. R: Terpsichore, Muse of Dancing and Choral Song, standing right holding square lyre in left hand and plectrum in right; behind Q·POMPONI and before, MVSA.
@Bing - thank you for the interesting background information. Like, I suspect, many numismatists I think of Cleo as my muse : Laureate head of Apollo r.; behind, scroll in its carrying case, Rv. Clio, the muse of history, standing l., holding scroll in r. hand and resting l. elbow on column; behind, Q POMPONI before, MVSA. Crawford 410/3
Q. Pomponius Musa. 56 BC. AR Denarius (20x17mm; 3.89 gm, 2h). Rome mint. Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right; wreath to left. Rev: Polymnia, the Muse of Rhetoric, standing facing, wearing wreath and stola. Crawford 410/10a; Sydenham 817; Pomponia 15.
I recently acquired one of these denarii as well, in this case, Urania, muse of Astronomy: Roman Republic AR Denarius(3.81g), Quintus Pomponius Musa, moneyer, 56 B.C., Rome mint. Laureate head of Apollo right; behind, star. Border of dots. / Urania, muse of Astronomy left, holding rod in right hand and pointing to globe resting on tripod; on right, Q POMPONI downwards; on left, MVSA downwards. Border of dots. Crawford 410/8; Sydenham 823 Ex Harlan J Berk, 21 July 2020, ex Gorny & Mosch 146, 6 March 2006, lot 379, ex Gorny & Mosch 133, 11 October 2004, ex Münzen & Medaillen GmbH 14, 16 April 2004, lot 479, ex Münzen & Medaillen GmbH 11, 7 November 2002, lot 930, ex Numismatik Lanz, München 18, 13 May 1980, lot 253 Astronomy is one of my favorite hobbies outside coins, so here's a related image I recently took of Saturn with my phone as I was observing one night earlier this week:
A cell phone camera held up to my telescope, I should have said, but not an astrophotography setup in any way, just a normal unguided telescope with my phone held to the eyepiece.
