ancient Greek/Roman Coins depicting lost/noteworthy sculpture

I agree in so many ways!

 

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This coin of Characene may depict an Omphalos stone.



Kingdom of Characene
(Tigris Valley - Kuwait)
Attambelos I
AR Tetradrachm
44 - 39 B.C.
12.39 gms, 27.1 mm
Obv: Diademed bearded head right
Rev: Naked Hercules seated left on stone (possibly an Omphalos stone)
club resting on knee held with right hand. Monogram above right arm. BAΣΙΛ[?] / ATTAMB[?] to right, [Σ]ΩTHP[?] to left.
Grade: gVF with sharp strike on good silver fabric. Coin is nicely centered
with attractive toning. Some letters off the flan as noted with only rough planchet surface in exergue.
Other: BMC 3. Listed in the Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Persia page 291 & plate LV #11. Coin may be dated
269-273 a.s. = 44-39 B.C. The existence of king Attambelos I was unsuspected until 5 silver tetradrachms were acquired by a soldier in Mesopotamia and submitted to the British Museum in 1920. Purportedly purchased from BC Universal, New Britain CT in 2011. From private sale March 2014.

 

Interesting thread, good idea and welcome at CT @rg3 !

1 - The already cited aqueduct :


ROMAN REPUBLIC, Marcia - L. Marcius Philippus, denarius Rome mint, 56 BC
[ANCVS] Head of Ancus Marcius right, lituus behind him
PHILIPVS AQUA MAR, Equestrian statue above a five arch aqueduct
3.66 gr
Ref : RCV #382, RSC, Marcia # 28


2 - The golden statue of Victory, standing on a globe and holding a wreath and palm, to be set up on an altar in the Curia in Rome to commemorate Octavian's victory at Actium :


Octavian, Denarius Italian mint, possibly Rome, 31-30 BC
Anepigraph, bare head of Octavian left
CAESAR - DIVI F, Victory standing right on globe, holding wreath
3.84 gr
Ref : HCRI # 408, RCV # 1552v, Cohen # 66, RIC # 255
The following comment is taken from CNG, sale 84 # 957 :
"Following his victory at Actium, Octavian ordered a golden statue of Victory, standing on a globe and holding a wreath and palm, to be set up on an altar in the Curia in Rome. This statue had been captured by the Romans from Pyrrhus in 272 BC, and it assumed a somewhat tutelary mystique, protecting the Roman state from dissolution. In AD 382, the emperor Gratian ordered its removal. Two years later, the senator and orator Symmachus urged Valentinian II to replace it, a request that was met with stiff opposition from the bishop of Milan, Ambrose. Though it was briefly returned to its place by the usurper Eugenius, it was again removed following his defeat. Petitions to Theodosius I for its subsequent replacement were refused, on grounds that the once-important symbol of the gods’ blessing on the Roman Empire was now nothing more than a piece of paganism"


3 - the statue of the sun god, with the facial features of the emperor, erected by Nero in front of his Domus Aurea (Golden House) :


Nero, Denarius - 008 Rome mint, AD 64/65
NERO CAESAR, laureate head of Nero right
AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS, Nero standing facing, holding branch and victory on globe
3,32 gr
Ref : RCV #1941, Cohen #45, RIC # 47
The following comment, from NFA, auction XX catalog, # 118 :
Nero's coinage reform of A.D. 64 saw a reduction in the weight standard of both the aureus and denarius denominations. A whole new range of reverse types was introduced with an unmistakably imperial flavor, in marked contrast to the senatorial types of the pre-reform coinage. This coin depicts a standing figure of the emperor, wearing the radiate crown of the sun god Sol, holding a branch of peace and a small figure of Victory. An allusion to the settlement of the Parthian question, following Corbulo's successes in Armenia in A.D. 63, seems unmistakable. It is tempting to identify this reverse type with the statue of the sun god, with the facial features of the emperor, erected by Nero in front of his Domus Aurea (Golden House), which was one of the principal features of the reconstruction following the Great Fire of Rome in A.D. 64. The Flavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum) was later erected on the site of the Domus Aurea's ornamental lake, and received its popular name from its close proximity to Nero's statue


4 - The temple of Romulus in Rome :


Romulus, Posthumous follis Posthumous issue under the reign of his father Maxentius
Ostia mint, 1st officina, AD 309-310
DIVO ROMVLO N V BIS CONS, Bare head of Romulus right
AETERNAE MEMORIAE, Temple with domed roof surmounted by eagle, M OST P at exergue
7.35 gr
RCV # 15050 (550), Cohen #6, RIC VI # 34

Q

 

@Cucumbor those are some great coins and interesting tidbits of information.

 

Great examples! Here are a couple of shots I took at the Palatine Museum a few weeks ago that mimic the bronze Victory:

 

This thread seems to have expanded to architectural types as well as sculptural, so I will suggest two good books:

Monuments of Ancient Rome as Coin Types, Philip Hill
Monumental Coins, Marvin Tameanko

Both of these will provide a good checklist and background for a collection.

 

As also being new to collecting Ancients, I just want to say that I am in awe of the beauty of the coins that I see on this post (and the interesting history they tell). Beautiful photos !

 

@Cucumbor
Love the Augustus, and that Nero is a great coin.