“Horned” Elagabalus denarius

LOL, YES, I actually DO. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I have never liked Humans whom can express and enforce THEIR power or influence over another Human.

 

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WiFi hiccup. Double posted.

 

Thanks Doug, interesting, I hadn’t seen one of those with Gothico in the legend.

 

Yep, you don't want to bring the wrath of Jupiter down upon the whole empire. The praetorians thought they were saving the world from this fate.

 

That's a nice coin, with a very interesting reverse legend. I just ordered my first coin of Elagabalus today. When it arrives (or 'if', with the pandemic going on...) I will post it too. About that horn, I read about the various theories. Sear simply states that the 'small horn projecting over his forehead signi[fies] divine power'.

 

On this coin he seems to have a little horn on display on obv AND rev. LOL!

Elagabalus. AR Denarius, 19 mm, 2.49 gm. Struck 221-222 AD. Obv: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, horned, bearded, laureate, and draped bust right. Rev: SVMMVS SACERDOS AVG, Elagabalus standing left, sacrificing out of patera over lighted altar and holding branch; star in left field. RIC IV 146; BMCRE 232 var. (no beard); RSC 276 var. (no beard).

 

I have to agree with @DonnaML about the wrongness of classifying Elagabalus as worse or more depraved than any number of other emperors. Plus, who knows what really happened in some of those infamous stories.

@Shea19, that is a spectacular example of the type!! Super portrait, exceptional horn, great reverse. What a winner!

Here's mine:


Elagabalus
AR denarius, Rome mint. Struck CE 221-222. 3.55 gm
Obv: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG; laureate and draped bust right, with “horn” on forehead
Rev: SACERD DEI SOLIS ELAGAB; Elagabalus standing right, holding club and sacrificing from patera over lighted altar; star to right; faint star in left field (likely engraved and then mostly removed by grinding the field).
Ref: RIC IV 131; Thirion 302; RSC 246

 

It's been discussed here a few times before, but here's a link to the original article in which a numismatist suggested the decorative thingy on his head is a bull penis. (Copied and pasted my post from back when)

...

in 1997 a German numismatist theorized that it was a symbol of potency (the penis of a bull), probably part of his Syrian high priest attire. True or not, the bull penis identity seems to have taken hold-- I suspect because it is in line with the popular opinion that Elagabalus was one freakydeaky dude. It seems to have created a premium for coins of his which are prominently endowed with the feature .

The article:
Krengel, E. “Das sogenannte “Horn” des Elagabal – Die Spitze eines Steierpenis”, Jahrbuch fur Numismatik und Geldgeschichte 47 (1997)

Link to the article on academia.edu

It's written in German so I haven't tried to read it (my only German is knowing how to count to ten, plus coin grade words ). I may try to use one of those free online .pdf or .jpg translators. The article includes four or so pictures of bull penises next to coins with the "horned" Elagabalus, apparently demonstrating the the variation in curvature and size of various bull phalli.

 

Thanks @TIF ! I had seen references to the article and this theory, but hadn’t see the original. The photos are very interesting and make the theory much more plausible than I’d thought (although I’m a little concerned at how much time the author must have spent researching the various, uh, shapes and sizes involved).

 

I go by the fact that he was one of very few emperors under a Damnatio. I do not judge ancient morality, I look for ancient guidance. It is not my culture, and refuse to impose my morality on others.

I have never thought bad of Elagabalus based upon my judgment of him, but ancients. It's a shame, since I actually collect Emesa Stone issues of his.

Concerning Antinous, I simply repeat Roman thought. I cannot afford his coins, but own a few lead tokens of him struck in Antinopolis in Egypt.

I simply get upset when other immediately infer sexism, racism, or any other -ism when someone simply makes an observation. It was the second member who brought -ism into the conversation.

 

I hope we all realize that this is a problem in all historical 'stories'. We have what we have and we have had every bit of evidence expanded or ignored by persons with axes to grind. This is not just in antiquity. We can still find people in the US who believe Franklin Roosevelt saved humanity and others who consider him the devil incarnate. I had an uncle who held that last opinion and could not say one good word about the man. Today we are in the process of selecting a President and many lesser officials who have in common that they define truth according to a different set of parameters than their opponents. We have opposing books that cover both views but in many cases in antiquity we have one. The job of modern historians is to figure out whether there is some truth or total truth (rare) in what survived. Most I have read seem to go into the study with a preconceived idea and proceed to prove themselves smarter than their opponents. Certainly there are exceptions and it is each reader's job to sort them. The job of future historians interested in 2020 will be easier or harder depending on which data survives until the year 3020 or 4020 (if indeed you believe there will be a year of those numbers).

 

Not high quality... but... FWIW... it is rare.

Elagabalus. 218-222 AD. Samaria, Neapolis.
Obv: AVT K M [AVP - ANTWNI]NOC Laureate, cuirassed bust right, seen from front
Rev: [ΦΛ NEAC ΠO] - C - V - ΠAΛ Frontal quadriga of four horses bearing, on left, Stone of Emesa decorated with eagle and, on right, Mount Gerizim with temple, altar, steps, and colonnade.
Diam. 22 mm. Weight: 9.8 gr.
Attrib.: BM 102. SNG ANS 1006 var. Rosenberger 40. Lindgren I 2433.

 

Very interesting. If you look back at the reverse of the example I posted, and the one that @gogili1977 posted of the same type -- also RIC IV-2 146, like yours -- you can see that they both clearly have some sort of horn sticking up from Elagabalus's head on the reverse. Even though I think all three reverses are from different dies. By contrast, none of the examples people have posted with reverses with Elagabalus standing right seem to have it.

 

The main difference I see is that although interpretations of known historical events in modern times (covering the last few hundred years) differ widely, for the most part there's no dispute as to whether or when or where the actual events took place. (Not counting the crackpots who believe that no children really died at the Sandy Hook elementary school and the like.) Thus, we know that the Civil War took place and its exact dates, even though the subject of "why" has been endlessly debated (justifiably or otherwise) and undoubtedly will continue to be in the future.

By contrast, for many events in antiquity, particularly events for which there may be only a single literary source that isn't even contemporaneous -- and particularly when there's no contemporaneous archaeological (including numismatic or epigraphic) evidence -- "whether" and "when" and "where" can be in serious dispute. In addition to "why" and "how."

 

Here's mine. BTW, from what I have read about Elagabalus is that he was probably the most sexually demented emperor of all.
Per Curtis Clay: "The star apparently stood for his sun god, to whom the emperor was depicted sacrificing, and therefore it should have been placed before him...".




Elagabalus (Augustus)
Coin: Silver Denarius
IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG - Laureate, horned, draped bust right.
INVICTVS SACERDOS AVG - Elagabalus, in Syrian priestly robes, standing left, sacrificing out of patera in right hand over tripod, holding club in left hand; behind tripod, bull lying down; in field, star
Exergue:



Mint: Rome (220-222 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 2.77g / 18.6mm / 12h
References:
RIC 88b
RSC 61
BMC 212
Provenances:
Ex. Richard Weigel
Acquisition/Sale: ancientgalleonllc eBay $0.00 01/19
Notes: Feb 20, 19 - The Gary R. Wilson Collection

 

Both of these do ...

 

Here's another Elagabalus - this particular coin doesn't seem to have made an appearance yet. I'm not too sure what he is holding in his left hand - either club or branch - I am voting branch. On other coins I've seen the club is clearly different.

Elagabalus (218-222), AR Denarius, Rome, AD 221
Obv: IMP ANTONINVS - PIVS AVG, laureate, horned, cuirassed and draped bust right
Rev: P M TR P IIII COS - III P P, emperor standing left, sacrificing out of patera over altar and holding branch on left, star above patera on his right, two standards on his left.

 

Elagabalus. 218-222 AD. AR Denarius (18mm; 2.62 gm; 12h). Rome mint. Struck 221-222 AD. Obv: Laureate and draped bust right, with “horn” on forehead. Rev: INVICTVS SACERDOS AVG, Elagabalus standing left, holding patera in right hand over lighted altar and cradling club (or cypress) in left arm; recumbent bull behind altar; star to left and right. RIC IV 88 var. (only one star); Thirion 261; RSC 61c. Rare with star in left and right fields.

 

That's a grand, droopy ol' horn on that portrait, @Shea19. Very nice pickup!


ELAGABALUS
AR Denarius. 3.02g, 20.8mm. Rome mint, 1 Jan - 11 Mar AD 222. RIC 52 var. ("hornless"). O: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate and draped bust right wearing "horn". R: P M TR P V COS IIII P P, Elagabalus, in Syrian priestly robes, standing left, sacrificing out of patera in right hand over lighted altar, and holding club in left hand; star in left field.

 

Great pick-up @Shea19



Elagabalus. AD 218-222. AR Denarius. Rome mint. Struck AD 221-222.
Obv: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG - Horned, laureate, draped bust right (Younger bust without beard).
Rev: INVICTVS SACERDOS AVG (invincible priest emperor) - Elagabalus standing slightly left, branch (or club) in left, offering from patera in right hand over flaming altar, slain bull recumbent on far side of the altar, star in left field.
18.5mm, 3.15 g, 6h
Ref: RIC IV 88; Thirion 258; RSC 61