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<p>[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 4618445, member: 110350"]Not even a horse!</p><p><br /></p><p>I know nothing about boats -- it's probably been 15 years since I've even set foot on one (a whale watching trip off Cape Cod) -- but I found this coin so appealing, and so detailed, that I couldn't resist buying it:</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, C. Fonteius, AR Denarius, 114-113 BCE. Obv. Laureate, Janiform head of the Dioscuri, control mark N under left chin [<i>mark of value * (= 16) under right chin is worn off</i>] / Rev. Galley left with three rowers, <i>gubernator </i>(pilot) at stern, anchor beneath galley, C • FONT above, ROMA below. Crawford 290/1, RSC I Fonteia 1 (ill.), Sear RCV I 167 (ill.), Sydenham 555. 20 mm., 3.90 g. <i>Ex: CNG Auction May 2012 Lot 293, Ex: Bruce R. Brace Collection.</i>*</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1143680[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>* According to H.A. Seaby in RSC I (at p. 48), the Janiform head on the obverse relates to the origins of the Fonteia <i>gens</i> -- which claimed as its founder Fons or Fontus, supposedly the son of Janus -- and the galley on the reverse relates to the naval exploits of the moneyer’s ancestor P. Fonteius Capito, who was praetor in Sardinia in 169 BCE. Crawford disagrees. (See Vol. I at p. 305.) He states that there is no good evidence for the existence of Fontus, and that the Janiform head should instead be regarded as that of the Dioscuri, because the <i>gens</i> Fonteia came from Tusculum, the chief cult-center of the Dioscuri in Latium. Crawford also states that the reverse is “doubtless” an allusion to the transmarine origin of Telegonus (the son of Ulysses and Circe), who was the legendary founder of Tusculum. Sear agrees with Crawford.</p><p><br /></p><p>I had never heard of Bruce R. Brace before, but it seems that he "was a scholar and by many considered to be a dean of Roman Numismatics in Canada. Coins from his extensive collection were sold by CNG in 2012 and 2013." <a href="https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ancient_numismatic_enterprise/9/product/ptolemaic_coins_an_introduction_for_collectors_by_richard_a_hazzard__ex_bruce_r_brace_library/630746/Default.aspx" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ancient_numismatic_enterprise/9/product/ptolemaic_coins_an_introduction_for_collectors_by_richard_a_hazzard__ex_bruce_r_brace_library/630746/Default.aspx" rel="nofollow">https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ancient_numismatic_enterprise/9/product/ptolemaic_coins_an_introduction_for_collectors_by_richard_a_hazzard__ex_bruce_r_brace_library/630746/Default.aspx</a> . According to Google, he was the former General Chairman of the Canadian Numismatic Association, the recipient of their J.D. Ferguson Award in 1984, and the former honorary curator of the McMaster University Museum of Art coin collection, at least a portion of which is now known as the Bruce R. Brace Coin Collection. If this coin was good enough for him, it's certainly more than good enough for me!</p><p><br /></p><p>A few questions: is the object beneath the stern of the boat supposed to be the anchor? What are those things hanging off the stern that look like ropes with claws attached? And, what is the object attached to the side of the boat, on the far left, that looks a little like an animal skull in profile?</p><p><br /></p><p>If anyone wants to, please feel free to post your own Janiform heads (other than one of the many Republican cast or struck bronze coins with Janus on the obverse, since there are about a million of them and I've already seen a great many posted here). Or to post your own coins showing the entirety of a galley or other boat (other than one of the Marc Antony legionary coins, which have also been posted extensively here). I'm looking to see something new!</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is my one other Janus coin:</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, M Fovri L.f. Philus, AR Denarius 119 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Janus, M•FOVRI•L•F around / Rev. Roma with Corinthian helmet standing left holding scepter, crowning trophy surmounted by helmet and flanked by carnyx and shield on each side, Gallic arms around; star above, ROMA to right, PHLI in exergue. RSC I Furia 18 (ill.), Crawford 281/1, Sydenham 529, Sear RCV I 156 (ill.), BMCRR Italy 555. 20.13 mm., 3.66 g. [<i>According to Crawford (Vol. I p. 297), this reverse probably refers to "the defeat of the Allobroges and Arverni and the triumphs of 120."</i>]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1143684[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 4618445, member: 110350"]Not even a horse! I know nothing about boats -- it's probably been 15 years since I've even set foot on one (a whale watching trip off Cape Cod) -- but I found this coin so appealing, and so detailed, that I couldn't resist buying it: Roman Republic, C. Fonteius, AR Denarius, 114-113 BCE. Obv. Laureate, Janiform head of the Dioscuri, control mark N under left chin [[I]mark of value * (= 16) under right chin is worn off[/I]] / Rev. Galley left with three rowers, [I]gubernator [/I](pilot) at stern, anchor beneath galley, C • FONT above, ROMA below. Crawford 290/1, RSC I Fonteia 1 (ill.), Sear RCV I 167 (ill.), Sydenham 555. 20 mm., 3.90 g. [I]Ex: CNG Auction May 2012 Lot 293, Ex: Bruce R. Brace Collection.[/I]* [ATTACH=full]1143680[/ATTACH] * According to H.A. Seaby in RSC I (at p. 48), the Janiform head on the obverse relates to the origins of the Fonteia [I]gens[/I] -- which claimed as its founder Fons or Fontus, supposedly the son of Janus -- and the galley on the reverse relates to the naval exploits of the moneyer’s ancestor P. Fonteius Capito, who was praetor in Sardinia in 169 BCE. Crawford disagrees. (See Vol. I at p. 305.) He states that there is no good evidence for the existence of Fontus, and that the Janiform head should instead be regarded as that of the Dioscuri, because the [I]gens[/I] Fonteia came from Tusculum, the chief cult-center of the Dioscuri in Latium. Crawford also states that the reverse is “doubtless” an allusion to the transmarine origin of Telegonus (the son of Ulysses and Circe), who was the legendary founder of Tusculum. Sear agrees with Crawford. I had never heard of Bruce R. Brace before, but it seems that he "was a scholar and by many considered to be a dean of Roman Numismatics in Canada. Coins from his extensive collection were sold by CNG in 2012 and 2013." [URL]https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ancient_numismatic_enterprise/9/product/ptolemaic_coins_an_introduction_for_collectors_by_richard_a_hazzard__ex_bruce_r_brace_library/630746/Default.aspx[/URL] . According to Google, he was the former General Chairman of the Canadian Numismatic Association, the recipient of their J.D. Ferguson Award in 1984, and the former honorary curator of the McMaster University Museum of Art coin collection, at least a portion of which is now known as the Bruce R. Brace Coin Collection. If this coin was good enough for him, it's certainly more than good enough for me! A few questions: is the object beneath the stern of the boat supposed to be the anchor? What are those things hanging off the stern that look like ropes with claws attached? And, what is the object attached to the side of the boat, on the far left, that looks a little like an animal skull in profile? If anyone wants to, please feel free to post your own Janiform heads (other than one of the many Republican cast or struck bronze coins with Janus on the obverse, since there are about a million of them and I've already seen a great many posted here). Or to post your own coins showing the entirety of a galley or other boat (other than one of the Marc Antony legionary coins, which have also been posted extensively here). I'm looking to see something new! Here is my one other Janus coin: Roman Republic, M Fovri L.f. Philus, AR Denarius 119 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Janus, M•FOVRI•L•F around / Rev. Roma with Corinthian helmet standing left holding scepter, crowning trophy surmounted by helmet and flanked by carnyx and shield on each side, Gallic arms around; star above, ROMA to right, PHLI in exergue. RSC I Furia 18 (ill.), Crawford 281/1, Sydenham 529, Sear RCV I 156 (ill.), BMCRR Italy 555. 20.13 mm., 3.66 g. [[I]According to Crawford (Vol. I p. 297), this reverse probably refers to "the defeat of the Allobroges and Arverni and the triumphs of 120."[/I]] [ATTACH=full]1143684[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
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A Roman Republican coin WITHOUT an animal reverse
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