The planet Mercury will be visible to the naked eye for the 2 next weeks. Another phenomenon that will make January 2021 special is the elongation of Mercury on the night of January 24. The planet will be at its closest point to Earth, and will therefore be observable without tools. It should be possible to spot it with binoculars and then with the naked eye from January 8 or 9, just above a clear west-southwest horizon; you can start looking for it about 40 minutes after sunset. Mercury (Latin Mercurius) was, in the Roman religion, god of traders and merchants, travelers and carriers of goods, thieves and tricksters. He is commonly identified with the Greek Hermes, the floating-footed messenger of the gods. The cult of Mercury is ancient and tradition has it that his temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome was dedicated in 495 BC. There, Mercury was associated with Maia, who was identified as his mother by her association with the Greek Maia, one of the Pleiades, who was the mother of Hermes through Zeus; likewise, because of this Greek connection, Mercury was considered the son of Jupiter. Mercury and Maia were honored at the Mercuralia festival on May 15th, the day of the dedication of the temple of Mercury on the Aventine. Mercury is sometimes depicted as holding a purse, symbolic of its business functions. The artists, like the followers of the Roman religion themselves, freely borrowed the attributes of Hermes and depicted Mercury also wearing winged sandals or a winged cap and carrying a caduceus. Please show us your mercurian coins ! Gordian III Thrace Mercury holding purse & caduceus
Mercury/Hermes does not appear terribly often in coins, it seems like. Here are my contributions: Diadumenian (already #1 in my top 10 of 2021) Macrinus: My coins are based upon the following Greek statue prototype (roman copy below)
Bah. I tried Sunday and Monday to photograph the triple near-conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury, but all I could capture was Jupiter. I just couldn't find a good enough southwest horizon.
I have one Roman Republican coin with Mercury on the obverse (the Mamilius Limetanus denarius with Ulysses and his dog Argus on the reverse), and one Roman Provincial coin (a Pentassarion from Marcianopolis) with the confronted busts of Macrinus and Diadumenian on the obverse, and depicting Hermes with his purse and caduceus on the reverse. Not a lot!
Anonymous Ae Sextans Post Semi Libral Standard 215-212 BC Obv Head of Mercury right wearing winged petasus. Two dots above Rv Prow of galley right Below two dots Crawford 41/9 10.90 grms 25 mm photo by W. Hansen Planchet archives at: https://edmontoncoinclub.com/the-planchet/the-planchet-archived/
I believe this type of Herennius Etruscus is (apart form a little statue on a temple reverse of Marcus Aurelius) the only depiction of Mercury on a Sestertius: Q HER ETR MES DECIVS NOB C - Draped bust of Herennius Etruscus right PIETAS AVGG S C - Mercury standing left, holding purse in right hand, caduceus in left Sestertius, Rome (1st officina), 3rd emission of Trajan Decius, spring 250-mid 251 AD 28mm / 15.72 g, RIC IV 167a corr. (draped) (R 2); Cohen 12, Banti 1 ex Auction Emporium Hamburg 73, 23.04.2015 (lot 241) What might have inspired Trajan Decius to associate the protector of commerce with his elder son?
Interesting! Wonder why Mercury never shows up on the sestertii. my two examples are 4 or 5 assaria denominations, “sestertii” in spirit, I suppose, though that doesn’t really count
I can only show Hermes on this Tranquillina coin. It's nice enough and clearly shows the full purse and the caduceus, although some one viciously scratched the god in the middle. Colybrassus in Pamphylia. Tranquillina (Augusta, 241-244). AE18. Obv: Draped bust to the right. Rev. Hermes standing left, holding purse and caduceus. Something like a plant is on the ground. 18 mm, 3.06 gr.
Nice coins!.....I do like the style of Hermes wearing his Petasus.... Here's my only one with a sweet Griffin reverse.. Ionia, Phokaia, c. 350-300 BC. Æ (15mm, 4.36g, 11h). Phokleon, magistrate. Obverse..Head of Hermes facing left wearing a Petasos hat tied at the back. Reverse..Forepart of a griffin springing left. ΦΩKAEΩN (PHOKAEON), name of the magistrate below. SNG Copenhagen 1039ff (magistrate); BMC 101.
MARCUS AURELIUS AE Sestertius. 29.44g, 31mm, Rome mint, AD 173. RIC 1075; Cohen 535. O: M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVII, laureate head right. R: IMP VI - COS III, Mercury standing left on pedestal, holding caduceus and purse, within a tetrastyle temple with telamons as columns; semicircular pediment containing, from left to right, tortoise, cockerel, ram, winged helmet, caduceus, and purse; S - C in field, RELIG AVG in exergue. Notes: This type is popularly associated with the Rain Miracle of the Legio XII Fulminata (Thundering 12th Legion). According to Cassius Dio, sometime during the Marcomannic Wars, the 12th Legion under the command of Marcus Aurelius himself encountered a Quadi army and soon found themselves encircled and heavily outnumbered. Stricken with fatigue, thirst, and the heat, they were on the verge of capture when an Egyptian magician named Anurphis, a companion of the emperor, invoked the aid of Mercury as god of the wind and air. A sudden storm thereafter arose in the midst of the battle, reviving the Romans with rain while destroying their enemies with hail and lightning. Hermes has a cute little pet on the one below. CARACALLA AE28. 12.12g, 27.7mm. THRACE, Hadrianopolis, circa AD 198-217. Yurukova, Hadrianopolis 156 (var.?, V- / R-); Varbanov -. O: ΑΥΤ Κ Μ ΑΥΡΗ – ΑΝΤΩΝΙΝΟΣ, Laureate bust right, with slight drapery on left shoulder. R: ΑΔΡΙΑΝ-ΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ, Hermes standing left, holding purse and caduceus; at feet to left, ram standing left.
How lucky you were, @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, to see this elusive planet. I've never been able to witness the innermost planet; I don't have an unimpeded view of the horizon at dusk or dawn. Here's a coin of Mercury! Gallienus, AD 253-268. Roman silvered billon antoninianus, 4.25 g, 21.3 mm, 11 h. Antioch, AD 267. Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: FIDES AVG, Mercury standing right, holding marsupium (purse) and caduceus; PXV (=TR P XV) in exergue. Refs: RIC 607F; Göbl 1667k; Cohen 219; RCV 10212; Hunter p. lxx.
This marble head of Hermes, circa 1st century AD, was sold a month ago by Sotheby's for 5000 GBP. Here is the description: "with long beard of overlapping curls, the eyes recessed for inlay, his wavy hair arranged in three rows of spirals curls above the forehead, bound in a fillet, and falling in long strands behind the ears; no restorations".(Height 18 cm)
That's a splendid example! I can't remember ever seeing a sestertius of this type with better face detail on Mercury – and I have looked through the auction archives quite extensively before purchasing my modest antoninianus featuring the same reverse: Herennius Etruscus, Roman Empire, AR antoninianus, 251 AD, Rome mint. Obv: bust of Herennius Etruscus, radiate, draped, r. Rev: PIETAS AVGG; Mercury, nude except for cloak on shoulders, standing l., holding purse and caduceus. 20mm, 3.17g. Ref: RIC IV Trajan Decius 142. Ex JB collection; ex AMCC 2, lot 201. And in addition, here is a Republican Mercury: Roman Republic, anonymous issue, AE semuncia (post-semilibral standard), 215–212 BC, Rome mint. Obv: head of Mercury r. Rev: prow r.; above, ROMA. 20mm, 6.97g. Ref: RRC 41/11.
I wonder how they identified this god as Hermes. To me, it looks like it could be almost any of the Olympian gods! With the long beard, I assume it's Greek rather than Roman -- I don't ever remember seeing a Roman representation of Hermes/Mercury, especially that late, who wasn't clean-shaven.
Thank you again, @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix , for another interesting thread. Wouldn’t it be fun if we all tried to get our best shot of Mercury this week until the 24th? I live on a small hill with a good view to w/sw. I will watch out for Mercury rising. Looks like I need to watch out for a Mercury coin too, because this is the closest I am per now: On the other hand, I have a plaster copy of a bust of Hermes, that I spent my whole allowance buying from a gift shop in Halkidiki, Greece, when I was 11. Always was a geek, apparently.
HERMES Sicily Menainon Hermes in petasos, kerykeion caduceus, two pellets Hexas MERCURY RR Anon AE Semuncia 217-215 19mm Mercury Prow Sear 620 Craw 38-7
Well, I finally managed to get a glimpse this evening, although I didn't have the real camera along, just the new Samsung phone:
Republic, Sextans - Rome, circa 211-206 BC Head of Mercury right, wearing petasus, two pellets above helmet ROMA, Prow of galley right, surmounted by a victory right 5.11 gr Ref : RCV #1218 Q
