Ancients => Holy Ox!!

This is my second win from the most recent CNG auction ... this is probably my favourite of all the spoils?!

Yah, I love scoring these cool AR RR examples ... and I thought this particualr coin was quite a nice example of this coin-type (the sweet bucranium was merely the icing on the cake)

A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus. AR Serrate Denarius
Rome mint
81 BC
Diameter: 20 mm
Weight: 3.68 grams
Obverse: Draped bust of Diana right, with bow and quiver over shoulder; bucranium above
Reverse: Togate figure standing left on rock, holding aspergillum over head of ox standing right; lighted altar between them
Reference: Crawford 372/1; Sydenham 745; Postumia 7
Other: 10h … sweetly toned, a few light marks
From the Archer M. Huntington Collection, ANS 1001.1.12745



"Please" pile-on and post all of your gorgeous/humble examples ...

AR RR examples
Diana examples
Bucranium examples
Aspergillum examples
Ox examples
Serrate examples (bottle-caps)
Underpants
Altar examples
etc

 

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By the way, I always love adding words to my vocabulary ...

Aspergillum ... is a liturgical implement used to sprinkle holy water

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspergillum

Yah, I'm sure that most of you probably knew that word already, eh? (religion wasn't one of my family's strongest-suits) ... I learned about Jesus and God mostly through swear words

 

Nice catch RR are special

 

Thanks, Oki

Funny enough, I guess this Herennius Etruscus example that I posted in one of Bing's threads today had an aspergillum in it, eh?

Herennius Etruscus AR Antoninianus
"PIETAS AVGVSTORVM Implements"
250-251 AD
Rome Mint
Diameter: 23mm
Weight: 3.80 grams
Obverse: Q HER ETR MES DECIVS NOB C, draped bust right
Reverse: PIETAS AVGVSTORVM, sprinkler, simpulum, jug, and lituus (sacrificial implements of the priest )
Reference: RIC IV: 143



=> I'm assuming that "sprinkler" is an aspergillum?

 

Nice one little brother. I have a different coin minted by the same moneyerin the same year:

A. POSTUMIUS A.F. SP.N. ALBINUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS POSTUMIA
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: HISPAN, veiled head of Hispania
REVERSE: A ALBIN S N, togate figure standing left between legionary eagle and fasces, POST A F in ex
Rome 81 BC
3.34g; 20mm
Syd 746; Cr372/2

 

EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian AE Diobol 133-34 AD Apis Bull altar before

 

Awesome coins, fellas (thanks for posting your sweet examples)

 

I was watching that coin the past week or so hoping you'd win it. Awesome coin man.

 

I wouldn't mind adding that one to my ancient collection.

 

Oooh, that example is excellent! I saw it and was lamenting a little the fact that I already had one of them. Congrats on the score, bro .


Notes: This reverse type shows a sacrifice scene at the temple of Diana on the Aventine Hill. The sacrifice was made to seek the goddess's favour before the Battle of Lake Regillus, where the Roman Army commanded by A. Postumius Albus triumphed over the Latin League and Lucius Tarquinus Superbus, the expelled king of Rome.

 

RR Anon AR Didrachm 275-270 BCE ROMANO Apollo-Galloping Horse Sear23


RR Anon AE 28mm 19.2g Quadrans - Sicily mint 214-212 BCE Hercules-Erymanthian boar headdress - Bull ex RBW Craw 72/7

 

That is a nice one. I have had mine for decades and it is a bright and shiny as the day I got it. Most of my 20+ year silver has toned over time so I have to wonder what they put on it before I got it. Yours has exceptional centering compared to most of this type. Well played!

 

Steve that is just a gorgeous Denarius. Period. Well done. Everything is "right" about that coin! Would love to have that guy!

 

Sweet coin, my Canadian coin bro. That RR has tons of character.

I only have one RR with a bull... L. Thorius Balbus. One day I hope to upgrade it. If I do, I'll definitely do a giveaway with it.

 

@stevex6
Great coin win. You have a busy coin. I like all of the interesting features on your coin: bull, alter with fire, water sprinkler, guy in toga, Diana with flowing ribbon (to make her look more feminine), bow arrows and a bulcrania (there is only one). I am amazed at the features the Romans could fit on a 20mm coin.
I wonder if the rock on the reverse had a special meaning to the Sabins or Postumumus family.
My guy in a toga is voting -

Bucranium (plural bucrania; Latin, from Greek βουκράνιον, referring to the skull of an ox)

 

That is pretty cool on the Bucranium meaning "Ox SKULL". I named two of my dogs over the years as Bucephalus (I and II) meaning "Ox HEAD" (after Alexander the Great's Horse's name).

Both were Bassets and were pretty stubborn creatures that I thoroughly loved!

 

Great name for any pet.

 

Here are a couple more cool AR RR examples with "Diana" ...

C. Postumus



C. Hosidius C.f. Geta



I've shown you mine => let's see yours

 

I looked up your new coin @stevex6 in Michael Harlan's book: Roman Republican Moneyers and their coins. I found this interesting tidbit:

" On one of the Sabine farms there was a heifer of marvelous size and beauty, but most conspicuous for her horns. The prophets foretold that imperium would reside in whatever city the man came from who sacrificed the heifer to Diana. So the Sabine led the heifer to Diane's shrine and stood before the alter. Aware of the prophecy, the Roman priest weighed the momentous consequences, "Stranger", he said, " are you preparing to make an impure sacrifice to Diana? Will you not first purify yourself in a living river?" Not wanting to do anything wrong in the eyes of the goddess, the Sabine went down into the valley to the Tiber to purify himself. Our moneyer has depicted the scene at the point when the Roman priest has been left alone with the heifer standing before the lighted alter located on the rocks of the Aventine. He has started the sacrifice by sprinkling her head with holy water; and so it came to be that it was a Roman who sacrificed the heifer to Diana. For generations thereafter the heifer's skull with it's wondrous horns was seen hanging in the vestibule of the temple of Diana on the Aventine. Since it was customary in her other temples to hang stag heads, the cow skull here identifies this unique scene. Unfortunately, those wondrous horns depicted on Postumius' bovine led Crawford to misidentify the heifer as a bull and this description continues to be repeated in some modern catalogs."

Harlan goes on to say there are differing versions of the story, but all identify the bovine as a heifer and not a bull or ox. This also includes the skull on the obverse which then would not be a bucranium (or maybe it is).

BTW, this book is a great read and a must for those who collect Roman Republican coinage.

 

Thanks for the extra info, Bing ... that was very interesting

=> I copied it into my coin notes