This coin previously belonged to @jb_depew, who sold it via @John Anthony. I'm happy to obtain it for it depicts The Three Graces. This is the only coin type to depict the famous statuary group issued during the reign of Trebonianus Gallus, and it was issued for Gallus' son, Volusian. Gaius Vibius Afinus Gallus Veldumnianus Volusianus was awarded the rank of Caesar upon the accession of his father in AD 251, while the son of the deceased emperor Trajan Decius, Hostilian, attained the rank of Augustus. In the hope of securing his future to the throne, Volusian was wed to Decius and Herennia Etruscilla's daughter. However, upon the death of Hostilian of the plague sometime between August and November, 251, Volusian was promoted to Augustus so as to be co-emperor with his father. In 253, mutinous troops loyal to Aemilian, the governor of Moesia, killed both Volusian and his father. This coin was issued for Volusian as Augustus and it's hard to narrow down its date of issue. Volusian as Augustus, late AD 251-AD 253. Roman provincial Æ 20.1 mm, 5.91 g, 1 h. Bithynia, Nicaea, AD 151. Obv: ΑΥ Κ ΒΕΙΒ ΓΑΛΛΟC ΟΥΟΛΟCCΙΑΝΟC, radiate head, right. Rev: ΝΙΚ Α Ι Ε ΩΝ, Three Graces standing side by side, hair in bun: Grace 1 head left, Graces 2 and 3 heads right, holding undefined objects. Refs: RPC IX, 311; Sear GI 4366; BMC 13.174,139-140; SNG Von Aulock 712; Imhoof-Blumer NC 201; Waddington RG 498,784; Von Vacano 392; Staal 53.1.1; Weiser 165-167. The Three Graces appear as a major design element only on coins of the Roman provincial series. There are several dozen coins depicting the mythological trio issued from the reign of Antoninus Pius through that of Gallienus.[1] As is common in mythology, the names and number and the parentage of the Graces vary from source to source.[2] The most famous source is Hesiod,[3] who notes they were the three daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, and names them Aglaea,[4] Euphrosyne,[5] and Thalia.[6] They were associated with the Muses, and were attendants of Aphrodite. They lived on Mount Olympus, where they would host gatherings to entertain the Olympian gods and goddesses, singing and dancing to Apollo’s lyre. The Graces can be difficult to identify in archaic and classical period art as they have no particular attributes, but they are most commonly portrayed as a trio of beautiful young women who either dance or move in a procession. They appear in Archaic and Classical Greek art on pottery, relief sculpture, and even on sarcophagi. The Graces appear on the famous black-figure Francoise Vase (c. 570 BCE) in a scene from the wedding of Thetis and Peleus and in a much-copied marble relief plaque by Sokrates (c. 470 BCE) where they are in typical processional pose and hold hands. As with other similar deities representing beauty, the Graces were originally portrayed clothed in Greek art but gradually convention came to portray them naked. Pausanias, writing in the Antonine period (2nd century AD), reports: Who it was who first represented the Graces naked, whether in sculpture or in painting, I could not discover. During the earlier period, certainly, sculptors and painters alike represented them draped. At Smyrna, for instance, in the sanctuary of the Nemeses, above the images have been dedicated Graces of gold, the work of Bupalus; and in the Music Hall in the same city there is a portrait of a Grace, painted by Apelles. At Pergamus likewise, in the chamber of Attalus, are other images of Graces made by Bupalus; and near what is called the Pythium there is a portrait of Graces, painted by Pythagoras the Parian. Socrates too, son of Sophroniscus, made images of Graces for the Athenians, which are before the entrance to the Acropolis. All these are alike draped; but later artists, I do not know the reason, have changed the way of portraying them. Certainly to-day sculptors and painters represent Graces naked.[7] By the first century BC, a standard iconography had developed for the Graces,[8] which is paralleled on coinage. All of the known Three Graces coin types depict the center Grace from the reverse with arms extended around the shoulders of her companions who are both depicted as facing frontward.[9] Such is the iconography on this 2nd century marble statuary group on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: And on this 4th century mosaic inlaid in the floor of a Roman bath in Narlikuyu (Turkey): The Graces became especially popular in the Renaissance. Well-known representations of the three Graces include Botticelli's Primavera, the paintings by Raphael and Rubens, and a sculpted group by Canova. Let's see your coins depicting the Three Graces or anything you feel is relevant! ~~~ Notes 1. For a comprehensive catalog of such coins, see Staal, Mark A. The Three Graces and Their Numismatic Mythology. Mark A. Staal, 2004, pp. 4-6, 92-140. Many of his coins can be viewed at his website. 2. For a very detailed review of all the the ancient sources writing about the Graces, I recommend theoi.com: “KHARITES.” CHARITES (Kharites) - The Graces, Greek Goddesses of Pleasure & Joy, www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Kharites.html. 3. Theog. 907 ff. Hesiod, et al. Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, the Epic Cycle and Homerica, Hugh G. Evelyn-White, transl. Harvard University Press, 1998. 4. Ἀγλαία, meaning splendor, beauty, adornment. 5. Eὐφροσύνη, meaning mirth, merriment. 6. Θαλίη, meaning rich, plentiful. 7. Pausanias 9.35.6-7. Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. 8. “Marble Statue Group of the Three Graces 2nd Century A.D.” Metmuseum.org, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/256403. 9. Staal, op. cit., p. 49.
My best uncleaned find, bought back in 2003 - Caracalla with Three Graces from Trajanopolis: ATB, Aidan.
Nice coin and write-up, RC. Earlier this year I got my first and only Three Graces coin in a lot of Provincials - it is a pretty poor specimen - more like Two and a Half Graces: Julia Domna Æ 16 (193-217 A.D.) Moesia Inferior, Marcianopolis IOYΛIA Δ[O]MNA CЄB, draped bust right / [MAPKIA]NO[Π]OΛЄITΩN, Three Graces standing facing, first holds an amphora, third holds a wreath. AMNG 605 var. (obv. legend); Varbanov 887 var. (same). (6.14 grams / 23 mm) Slightly off topic, but since I just got a Volusian yesterday, I am going to toss it out here. This came from my local dealer. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, so priced it at $20, which seemed reasonable for a Volusian of any sort. Volusian Billon Tetradrachm n.d. (c. 251-253 A.D.) Syria, Seleucis & Pieria, Antiochia ad Orontem ΑΥΤΟ]Κ Κ Γ ΑΦ[ΙΝ] ΓΑΛ ΟΥƐΝΔ ΟΥΟΛΟΥϹ[Ϲ]ΙΑΝΟϹ Ϲ[Ɛ]Β, radiate, draped bust [••••]below / ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ƐΞΟΥϹΙΑϹ, eagle standing left, head right, tail right, wreath in beak, Δ between legs, SC beneath. RPC IX, 1804; Prieur 700 (2); McAlee 1188d; Mionnet V, 333. (10.05 grams / 25 mm)
I am all about the three graces!!! Great idea RC I've bid on a couple since winning her but no luck. Here is my 3 some in one some:
Neat type RC with all three facing! This one seem to be one of the more common for the type. Syria, Decapolis, Gadara. Gordian III. The Three Graces. AD 238-244. Æ20, 3.60g., 11h. Dated CY 304 (AD 240/1). Obv: ΓOPΔIANOC Radiate head right. Rev: ΓAΔA - PEWN in exergue and upwards on right, ΠOMΠ above, date ΓT upwards on left, the Three Graces nude, standing with arms entwined, flanked by two small altars in lower field. Spijkerman 91
Nice pickup, RC! One of my favorite reverse types. Three Graces, unclothed: COMMODUS AE25. 7.69g, 25mm. MOESIA INFERIOR, Marcianopolis. H&J 6.10.26.4 (this coin illustrated); RPC IV online 4319; AMNG I 540; Varbanov 702 corr. (direction of heads). O: ΑΥ ΚΑΙ Λ ΑΥΡΗ ΚΟΜΟΔΟС, Bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right. R: ΜΑΡΚΙΑΝΟΠΟΛƐΙΤΩΝ, the Three Graces standing facing, heads left, right, and right, respectively: the left holds oinochoe over dolphin, the center drapes arms over others, and the right holds wreath over oinochoe. Ex Dr. George Spradling Collection, ex Alexandre de Barros Collection (CNG E143, 12 July 2006, lot 115), ex CNG 47 (16 Sep 1998) lot 833 Three nymphs, all covered up: SICILY, Himera (as Thermai Himerensis) AE Hemilitron. 6.72g, 23.2mm. SICILY, Himera (as Thermai Himerensis), circa after 252 BC. CNS 22; SNG Cop 323; Sear 1113; Lindgren II 466. O: Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headress; club on shoulder. R: TEPMITAN, Three nymphs standing facing.
I believe that it is two facing with the mids rear facing However, a centering dimple helps give the appearance of a crotch.
Cool! I just noticed that Banduri, writing in 1718, notes an example of this coin as being in the collection of Mr. Vaillant. Bandurius, Anselmus. Numismata Imperatorum Romanorum a Trajano Decio Ad Palaeologos Augustos. Vol. 1, Montalant, 1718, p. 90. Available online here.
