Mars Perseverance Rover Landing...Show Your Mars Coins!

Spectacular, DonnaML!!!

 

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I love this little guy: DISCO DANCING MAN! 2000 years ago! He was AHEAD of his time!


MARS


Roman Republic Anon AE Litra 230-226 BC Mars Club Galloping Horse Cr 27-2 S 596


This is kinda the "Lion laying down with the Sheep" coin -

Mars and a Lamb:


RR L Rustius 76 BCE AR Den 19mm 3.6g Mars SC Rome - Ram L RVSTI Cr 389-1 Sear 320

 

Hey, I'll bet you wouldn't be making fun of him if he still had his sword and spear!

 

AR Denarius, Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180).
(175-176)
Obv: M ANTONINVS AVG GERM SARM
Rev: TR P XXX IMP VIII COS III, Mars
Ref: RIC 349


Type: Head of Marcus Aurelius, laureate, right
Portrait: Marcus Aurelius
M ANTONINVS AVG GERM SARM

Legend: TR P XXX IMP VIII COS III
Type: Mars, helmeted, naked except for cloak flying behind, advancing right, holding transverse spear in right hand and trophy, sloped over left shoulder, in left hand

 

I don't think Mars was expecting us... He was caught prancing around to Bob Seger in less than what Tom Cruise wore in Risky Business!


Elagabalus, Ruled 218-222 AD
AR Antoninianus, Struck 219 AD, Rome mint
Obverse: IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG, Bust of Elagabalus, radiate, draped, cuirassed, right.
Reverse: MARS VICTOR, Mars, helmeted, naked except for flowing cloak, advancing right, holding transverse spear in right hand and trophy over left shoulder in left hand.
References: RIC 122f
Size: 23mm, 5.49g
Obv Die Match: CNG E-Auction 456 (11-13-2019), lot 422
Rev Die Match: Savoca Live Online Auction 7 (2-28-2016), lot 522

 

LOL, No way am I making fun! Rather, I really do like that figure. It is very, very cool. Just enjoying, how you were saying him being stocky, and how without his spear and sword, he looks like he was disco dancing! I would love that Mars statue in my home.

But, yeah, even if he had a sword and spear, he would be too little to hurt me. I would still poke fun.

 

Not everything posted here as Mars is actually Mars. At least in my opinion. This is despite them being described as Mars in various references.

@gogili1977 posted a Severus Alexander which depicts Severus Alexander dressed as Romulus.

@Ocatarinetabellatchitchix posted a Postumus which depicts Virtus rather than Mars.

I will add a Mars to the thread. This one from a time when I became distracted with collecting the eastern mint Hadrian denarii. This is one of the few that I kept hold of.

Hadrian Denarius
Obv:- HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, Bare headed, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from the rear
Rev:- COS III, Mars walking right holding spear and trophy
Eastern Mint.
Reference:- RIC -. BMCRE -.

 

An unusual Mars insofar as the legend uses the accusative case, which is rather rare on Roman coins:


Gordian III, Roman Empire, AE sestertius, 244 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG; bust of Gordian III, draped, cuirassed and laureate, r. Rev: MARTEM PROPVGNATOREM, Mars, helmeted, in military attire, hastening r., holding transverse spear in r. hand and shield in l. hand; in fields flanking, SC. 30mm, 23.58g. Ref: RIC IV Gordian III 333.

 

I agree with you that it's not crystal clear who's the character depicted on the reverse of my coin. I bought this one at FORVM where he is described as MARS, probably based on the description in RIC V :

 

I watched a 2 hour special last night showing the building of the Rover, awesome stuff.

To hear & see a lead engineer trying to explain how the " level of non Earth cleanliness " can create an unexpected form of Friction was brilliant.

Fingers crossed everything works as it should

 

@Ocatarinetabellatchitchix You are right. I was wrong in my post. I think I need to go back to bed and get some sleep before I make any more posts

 

No you were not wrong ! As I said, the identity of the character is really disputed. Mairat, in his 2014 abstract, described it as VIRTUS...

 

Groundrule: If there are no pants, the coin is Mars. Virtus was always shown with her bottom covered although one breast is usually exposed. In general, gods are clothing optional but personifications are regularly dressed. This is Mars.

 

Postumus also issued a Mars with a cloak and dated legend but the 'no pants' rule applies so we know this is the god.

 

Here is the planet Mars itself:


Sayles and Spengler write that it is not the god Mars, but "an astrological representation of the planet Mars." Many examples noted of manuscripts, metalworks and ceramics, have the same figure riding on a ram and they say that the ram is "simply a representation of the planet's day house, Aries." This idea of an astrological representation was first suggested in 1875 by Stanley Lane-Poole.

This coin is sometimes called "the headcutter". It was issued by the Artuqids of MARDIN, 1184-1201 AD. Not the Artiquids of MARSDIN, although that strange plant in the background looks like something out of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

 

Definitely not Virtus. The figure is visibly male. With chest covered. So, Mars.

 

THAT is cool! Thanks.

 

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Have you ever seen this, with Karen Black? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilogy_of_Terror#"Amelia". Believe me, I watch him very carefully. Even though he's only 60 mm. high.

More seriously, does anyone know when CNG stopped including antiquities in their auctions? My Mars Ultor is ex. CNG Sale No. 75, Lot 1514, May 23, 2007.

 

On the Mars vs. Virtus issue, I once more highly recommend this article, which I think conclusively proves -- to anyone who still doubts it (even leaving RIC aside, note that David Sear's RCV, published in this century, still identifies Virtus as male) -- that the personification of Virtus is female, and points out that a Virtus legend on a coin is not always accompanied by the personification of Virtus herself. See https://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/reverse_virtus.html, and see specifically the following passage discussing Mars on the reverse of the Postumus coin:

"Virtus embodies manly courage and strength of character. There were powerful female figures in Roman culture, but these were generally goddesses like Minerva, not mortals. So, having a female personification of these qualities sometimes presented difficulties to the propagandists. As a result, coins often showed, not Virtus herself, but a soldier or the emperor with a "VIRTVS" legend to indicate that the army, or the emperor, was valorous and manly. In fact, a whole range of characters were brought into play. Here are some.




The reverse of an antoninianus of Postumus showing heroic Mars with spear and shield.

This character on the right is definitely male, and you'd therefore think that this coin, an antoninianus of Postumus, is the exception that tests the rule. He has the spear, helmet and shield that belong to Virtus. But his lack of clothing suggests that [he] is meant to be Mars. He, too, carries spear and shield, and wears a helmet, and Mars is often shown naked. You can see some of his guises on my Mars, God of War page."

 

LOL, Yeah, I am familiar with that story. Gruesome. I wonder if I had actually seen that film... or "similar" stories.

Your Mars Ultor just seems a "happy" guy. And, he appears not to be a "fetish" doll type from Karen Black's story.