Acquired from JAZ Numismatics

Nice examples posted!

Here's another croc to throw into the pot, pearly whites and all.

Augustus and Agrippa, 10-14 AD
Gaul, Nemausus
AE As

ex Roma 82, lot 870

12.02 grams

 

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I’m sure I’ll find one I like sooner or later.

 

Cool coin!

Clearly, your crocodile needs to see an oral surgeon, asap. Poor little thing!

 

Yes! It's one of the salient features of the series. Some of the engravers were less studied than others - way less. It's as if they picked random people off the street and said, "Hey bub, it's your turn to make some coins."

 

James, Nice score on the dupondius ! The portrait of Augustus is handsome & the reverse is outstanding. That croc looks well fed . I have no coins with crocodiles but I do have an ancient Costa Rican jade pendant with two crocodile heads .


COSTA RICA, Atlantic Watershed Area, Circa 600-900 AD. Jade: 52.18 mm long. The center depicts a stylized front facing Jaguar with a crocodile head on each side. The back side is undecorated. Photo by AWK.

Jade was highly prized by the ancient Costa Ricans, & all their jade was carved without the use of metal tools. Natural deposits of jade have never been found in Costa Rica, but they did get jade by trading with the Olmecs & Mayans.

 

@DonnaML - here is my Octavian denarius. You’re absolutely correct that they can be expensive, so I was willing to have one that has flan damage (although not affecting the devices)

 

One of my favorite purchases from last year:
Roman Provincial - Gaul
Augustus, r. 27 B.C. - 14 A.D. (16-10 B.C.)
Nemausus AE Dupondius, 26.42 mm x 13.44 grams
Obv.: IMP DIVI F, back to back heads of Augustus right, bare, and Agrippa left, wearing rostral crown combined with laurel wreath
Rev.: COL NEM, crocodile right, chained to palm, wreath with long ties above, two palms below
Ref.: RPC I-523, SGICV 157, SRCV 1729

 

RI Augustus oak crown Agrippa rostral crown L AE Dupondius 26mm 12.6g Type III 9-3 BCE Nemausus chained Croc wreaths RIC I 158

 

Crocodile rock!



My croc!


Augustus with Agrippa, 27 BC - AD 14.
Roman Æ dupondius, 12.99 g, 26.3 mm, 4 h.
Nemausus, after 16/15 BC.
Obv: IMP/DIVI F, heads back to back of Augustus, right, bare, and Agrippa, left, wearing rostral crown.
Rev: COL-NEM to left and right of palm shoot, its tip to right, behind chained crocodile; two wreaths above palm tip.
Refs: RIC 155; RPC 523; Cohen 7; AMC 411; RCV 1729.
Notes: Sear (p. 338) notes this initial revival of the Nemausian series on a lighter weight standard is probably to be associated with Augustus' visit to Gaul in 16 BC.

 

At first glance, yours looks very similar to mine. I will compare them closely tomorrow to see if perhaps they're die matches.

 

Nice one Bing.
GAUL, Nemausus. *Augustus, with Agrippa. ***27 BC-AD 14. Æ As (25mm, 12.2g, 10h). Struck circa 9/8-3 BC. Heads of Agrippa left, wearing rostral crown and laurel wreath, and Augustus right, wearing oak wreath, back to back / Crocodile right chained to palm frond with short fronds; wreath with long ties above, [palms fronds below]. RPC I 524 corr. (Augustus with laurel wreath); RIC I 158.

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Each of these crocodiles has something to recommend it. But this thread really demonstrates to me how difficult it is to find one of these issues that has everything: sharp strike, sharp dual portraits, full legends, distinctive chain, crocodile teeth, head and tail all on flan, etc. Rarely do I see one of these issues that has it all. One doesn’t immediately spring to mind. I’m sure such an example comes at a premium.

I once sold one that had a great portrait of Augustus but a bad portrait of Agrippa. The one I have now has a nice, clear rostral crown on Agrippa, though Augustus‘s portrait is a bit scuffed. And I privileged the crocodile snout over its tail. Your mileage may vary.

 

@Alegandron, our coins are similar on both sides, but there's no die match.

 

Mine is patented. What are you doing copying my coin?

 

Even though it's not ancient, I think it's appropriate to post this Napoleonic medal (one of the more well-known such medals) in this thread. I have no doubt that its reverse is modeled on the reverse of the "COL NEM" dupondius:

France, Directorate, AE Conquest of Upper Egypt, An 7 (1798), Napoleon Bonaparte as Général de l'armée d'Orient (struck ca. 1805-1810 after Napoleon’s coronation as Emperor), Paris Mint. Artist: André Galle, under director Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon. Obv. Bust of Memnon (after the “Colossi of Memnon” in Luxor [ancient Thebes] in Upper Egypt, which actually depict Pharaoh Amenhotep III) or Isis* left, wearing wearing nemes [royal striped headdress] with uraeus [sacred cobra, worn by deities and pharaohs] at forehead, no beard, CONQUÊTE DE LA - HAUTE EGYPTE. around from 7:00, GALLE F. [fecit] beneath truncation, AN VII. below bust / Rev. Crocodile left chained to palm tree behind with wide spreading branches,** GALLE on ground line to right; in exergue, DENON DIREXIT. 35 mm., 20.89 g., 12 h. Laskey IX at p. 18 [Capt. J.C. Laskey, A Description of the Series of Medals Struck at the National Medal Mint by Order of Napoleon Bonaparte (London 1818)]; Millin & Millingen 19 at p. 9 [Aubin Louis Millin de Grandmaison & James Millingen, Medallic History of Napoleon (London 1819)]; Scargill 4 at p. 7 [Ann Mudie Scargill, Medallic History of Napoleon Bonaparte (London 1820)]; Hennin 896 at p. 688 [Michel Hennin, Histoire numismatique de la révolution française . . . depuis l'ouverture des Etats-généraux jusqu'à l'établissement du gouvernement consulaire (Paris 1826)]; Julius 694 at p. 43 [Sammlung Dr. [Paul] Julius, Heidelberg: Französische Revolution Napoleon I. und seine Zeit : Medaillen, Orden und Ehrenzeichen, Münzen (Auktion 11 Jan. 1932, Otto Helbing Nachf., München, Auktions-Katalog 66) (available at https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=514029&AuctionId=534684] [see David Block, “Books about Napoleonic Medals,” Numismatics International Bulletin, Vol. 19, No. 12 (1985), pp. 365-368 at p. 368, available at https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/522907?page=21: “This sale did not take place; the Julius Collection was not sold until 1959”).*** Purchased from Germania Inferior Numismatics.



*The substantial majority of catalogs to which I have access (i.e., the ones I cited, all of which are available online) identify the bust on the obverse as that of Isis. (If there are any more recent catalogs, please enlighten me; I have only a handful of French Napoleonic medals and never felt the need to investigate.) However, the Laskey book – the very first catalog of Napoleonic medals, published in 1818, supposedly based on “the French Medal Mint List” (see Block, op. cit. at p. 365) – identifies the bust as “Memnon.” Compare Laskey p. 18 (“a
bust of the antique statue of Memnon. On the top of the head lies a snake uncoiled, erecting his head in the front”) with Millin & Millingen p. 9 (“Head of Isis”); Scargill p. 7 (“on one side, the head of Isis, an Eyptian divinity of the earliest worship in that country, and whose origin is lost in the mist of ages”); Julius (Otto Helbing Nachf.) p. 43 (“Isiskopf links”). Hennin does not appear to identify the obverse bust. All four auction descriptions found for this medal type on ACSearch also identify the obverse bust as Isis, albeit without citation or explanation. In fact, not one of the sources identifying the obverse bust with Isis attempts to explain the basis for that identification, except for the fact that previous sources did so back to Millin & Millingen in 1819.

I would argue that there is no reasonable basis for identifying the obverse bust on this medal as Isis, who had no particular association with Upper Egypt (to the contrary, her worship spread from the Delta in Lower Egypt), and who was certainly not usually portrayed wearing the headdress of a pharaoh or male deity, i.e., the nemes with uraeus. Not to mention that there is nothing feminine about the face of the figure portrayed, even though it is admittedly beardless, and French coins and medals of the 18th and 19th centuries were hardly known for being ambiguous in portraying female figures.

By contrast, there is every reason to identify the obverse bust with “Memnon,” specifically, as Laskey recognized, with a famous statue (one of the “Colossi of Memnon”) that was still generally thought at the time to represent Memnon (based on the Greek and Roman identification of the statue as such), and was directly associated with its location in Thebes in Upper Egypt. See the Wikipedia article on the Colossi of Memnon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossi_of_Memnon), explaining that the “Colossi,” although actually constructed in the 14th century BCE to represent the Pharaoh Amenhotep III and stand guard at his mortuary temple, were commonly identified since Greek and Roman times with Memnon: “Memnon was a hero of the Trojan War, a King of Ethiopia who led his armies from Africa into Asia Minor to help defend the beleaguered city but was ultimately slain by Achilles. Memnon (whose name means the Steadfast or Resolute was said to be the son of Eos, the goddess of dawn]. He was associated with [the colossi] . . . because of the reported cry at dawn of the northern statue . . ., which became known as the Colossus of Memnon.”

I believe that it is unlikely to be a coincidence that the engravings that one of the artists accompanying Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition in 1798 did of one of the Colossi of Memnon as it would look if “reconstructed” so strongly resemble the obverse figure on this medal. See the right-hand figure in this detail, showing the statue’s left profile:



See https://www.paralosgallery.com/stock_detail.php?stockid=1976, reproducing the complete engraving (Vol. II Pl. 21) and describing it as follows:

“Charles Louis Fleury Panckoucke, Details of the Southern Colossos of Memnon, Thebes. ‘Details de Colosse du Sud,_Thèbes, Memnonium.’ Paris Impremerie de C.L.F.Pancoucke 1820-1829. Copper engraving showing one of the Colossi of Mnemnon, Thebes from the second volume of the "Antiquities "of the "Description de l'Egypte," 2nd Edition; black & white; verso blank. . . .

The image shows the statue from three sides, and in a reconstructed condition. The statue depicts Amenhotep III (fl. 14th century BC) in a seated position, his hands resting on his knees and his gaze facing eastwards towards the river. . . .

‘Description de l'Egypte, ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française.’

When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt in 1798, he brought with him an entourage of more than 160 scholars and scientists. Known as the French Commission on the Sciences and Arts of Egypt, these experts undertook an extensive survey of the country's archeology, topography, and natural history. For four years more than 150 artists, engineers, linguists, and scientists traveled throughout the country, examining almost every aspect of ancient and contemporary Egypt. They recorded and measured in meticulous detail Egypt's topography, flora and fauna, and its ancient and contemporary architecture. A soldier who was part of the expedition found the famous Rosetta Stone, which the French linguist and scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832) later used to unlock many of the mysteries that long had surrounded the language of ancient Egypt. . . .

In 1802 Napoleon authorized the publication of the commission's findings in a monumental, multi-volume work that included plates, maps, scholarly essays, and a detailed index. Publication of the original Imperial edition began in 1809 and continued to 1822, sold by subscription.

It proved so popular that a second edition was published under the post-Napoleonic Bourbon Restoration. The ‘Royal edition’ published in Paris by C.L.F. Panckoucke from 1820-1830.”

It seems entirely possible that the designers of this medal had access to engravings or prints of the Colossi of Memnon similar or identical to those published a few years later in the first edition of the Napoleonic commission’s findings. As Laskey may have had when he wrote his book published in 1818, identifying the obverse figure with the statue of Memnon.

The absence of a false beard from the medal, by contrast to the engraving, is not enough to dilute the resemblance, or to support an identification with Isis absent any other basis for such an identification that I know of. Especially given that the very next engraving of one of the Colossi in the publication of Napoleon’s expedition, this one in right profile (Thèbes. Memnonium. / Détails de la Statue Colossalle de Memnon. A(ntiquités). Vol. II. Pl. 22), shows no beard:



See https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30861960269&cm_mmc=ggl-_-COM_Shopp_Rare-_-product_id=bi: 30861960269-_-keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgYSTBhDKARIsAB8KukvMJQYAViDHKiBdxes5-L_iqTzC86tAQMKvdX4jtgNmdWcKCr8VcuAaAuFgEALw_wcB (“Original uncoloured copper engraving (plate mark 45 x 62 cm, overall sheet size 53.5 x 69.5 cm) by Cain after the drawing by Jollois and Devilliers from volume 2 of the Description de l'Égypte (2nd edition). . . . The Description de l'Égypte was the first scientific survey of all Egypt, from its antiquities to its agriculture including language, music, costume, and natural history, and it concludes with a detailed and accurate map of the region. The numerous plates depicting the antiquities provide a comprehensive record of the richness of ancient Egyptian culture. At the time of publication, the Description de l'Égypte was the largest printed work ever produced.”)


**Although none of the auction descriptions of this medal found on ACSearch make note of the resemblance, it has long been generally accepted that the reverse design was modeled on the chained crocodile depicted on the reverse of the “COL NEM” dupondius of Augustus and Agrippa (RIC I 158). See Millin & Millingen at p. 9 (“type copied from the ancient coins of Nismes, with the heads of Augustus and Agrippa”); Scargill at p. 7 (“This type is imitated from a medal struck at Nismes, when the Roman Legions, came to occupy that province after the conquest of Egypt.”)


*** N.B. This medal is not in Bramsen [Ludvig Ernst Bramsen, Médaillier Napoléon le Grand, ou, Description des médailles, clichés, repoussés, et médailles-décorations relatives aux affaires de la France pendant le consulat et l'empire, Vols I-III (Copenhagen 1904-1913), available at Newman Numismatic Portal], which begins its coverage in 1799 with the fall of the Directory and the beginning of the Consulate, i.e., immediately after Hennin's coverage ends.

 

For some additions/revisions to the footnotes to the above discussion of the "Conquest of Upper Egypt Medal," after I did some more research, see https://www.cointalk.com/threads/lets-see-your-exonumia.203005/page-611#post-8314025.