Finally, my Top 10 for 2020, all Roman Republican

HAB Peace 28 2.0 · Dec 9, 2020

DonnaML said: ↑

This is the first time I'm posting No. 6, which happens to be my Roman Republican denarius No. 42. A good number to stop on this year, since the number will always remind me not only of Jackie Robinson, but also, of course, of the greatest relief pitcher of all time! And a good coin to accompany with one of my longest footnotes ever!

6. Roman Republic, C. Naevius Balbus, AR Serrate Denarius, 79 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Head of Venus [or Juno, see BMCRR p. 366] right, wearing diadem, necklace and long earring, hair long, S • C [Senatus Consulto] behind / Rev. Victory, naked to waist, driving triga right, with rightmost horse turning head back towards the others; control-number CLIII (= 153, with L in form of upside-down T); in exergue, C•NAE•BALB [AE and LB ligate]. Crawford 382/1b, RSC I Naevia 6 (ill.), Sydenham 760b, Sear RCV I 309 (ill.), Grueber, BMCRR 2926-2976 (this control-number at BMCRR 2964), RRM I Ch. 6 at pp. 28-31. 19 mm., 3.92 g.*

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*The moneyer is “not otherwise known” (Crawford p. 398), although he has been speculatively identified with the Sullan cavalry officer named Balbus, mentioned by Plutarch, who reached Rome in time to stop the Samnites’ advance on the Colline Gate. (Harlan at 28.) The deity on the obverse has most often been identified with Venus (Crawford p. 398, Harlan p. 30, RSC I p. 68. Sear RCV I p. 130), particularly given her claimed resemblance to Venus as depicted on earlier coins by Gaius Norbanus (Crawford 357) and Lucius Cornelius Sulla (Crawford 359) (see Crawford, id.). If she is Venus, the depiction could be another allusion to the Sullan victory at the Colline Gate, which took place near the Temple of Venus Erycina. (Crawford and Harlan, id..) However, Grueber identifies the deity as Juno (see BMCRR p. 366), given the similar head expressly identified as Juno Moneta on a later coin of L. Plaetorius (Crawford 396).

This was a large issue (as was the next issue, the denarius of Ti. Claudius Ti.f. Ap.n. Nero, Crawford 383, which also bears the “Senatus Consulto” authorization). According to Crawford, there were 280 obverse and 311 reverse dies of this issue in two subtypes, the first bearing the letters of the Latin alphabet on the obverse as control marks (type 382/1a), and the second bearing the letters of the Latin alphabet and the numerals from I to CCXXX on the reverse (type 382/1b, represented in this coin). See Sear RCV I at p. 130: "This and the following type represent further large outputs of coinage specially authorized by decree of the Senate, doubtless necessitated by the extensive military operations during the dictatorship of Sulla.” Specifically, according to Harlan (p. 29), this issue and the next were minted for the use of the proconsul Quintus Caecilius Metullus Pius (see Crawford 374/1, the Pietas with elephant reverse) (coin # 5 on this list) for paying his troops in Sulla’s campaign against the rebellious Sertorius in Spain.

Sear also notes at p. 130 of RCV I that the three-horse chariot (triga) depicted on the reverse “is rarely depicted on the Republican coinage, the only other example being on a denarius of Ap. Claudius Pulcher issued in 111/110 BC” (Crawford 299/1a). Harlan states at p. 31 that the triga’s current use in Rome in the first century BCE, at a time when it was no longer used by the Greeks, “was only found in the celebration of the Ludi Romani, a religious and ceremonial survival of the games originally held by the dictator Aulus Postumius to commemorate [his] victory [over the Latins] at Lake Regillus” in the 490s BCE (famously aided by Castor and Pollux). As the Roman practice in these games is described by Dionysius of Halicarnassus (7.73.2), the “third horse, joined to the team by a trace, runs alongside the two horses yoked together in the usual way” -- explaining why the third horse on the reverse looks back at the other two. According to Harlan, “Naevius’ imagery is intended to recall that ancient victory which established Roman imperium, echoing the caput rerum theme found on the coinage of Aulus Postumius Albinus [Crawford 372/1]. Victory driving the three-horse chariot shows that all efforts to dispute Roman rule were fated to end in Roman victory.”

The next coin is closely related both in purpose and in theme; I could hardly pick one for my top ten without the other!

7. Roman Republic, Ti. Claudius Ti.f. Ap.n. Nero [Tiberius Claudius Nero, son of Tiberius and grandson of Appius], AR Serrate Denarius, 78 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Draped bust of Diana right with hair in topknot, bow and quiver over shoulder, figure of stag at end of bow (horns to left), S • C [Senatus Consulto] before / Rev. Winged Victory driving galloping biga right, with horses’ heads straining forward, holding wreath in right hand and palm frond and reins in left hand, control number CXXXIIII beneath horses; in exergue, TI•CLAVD•TI•F [VD ligate] / [A]P•N [AP ligate] in two lines. Crawford 383/1, RSC Claudia 5, Sear RCV I 310 (ill.), Sydenham 770, BMCRR 3096-3113 [Control number CXXXIIII not included], Harlan, RRM I Ch. 8, pp. 36-39. 18 mm., 4.01 g., 6 h.*

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*The moneyer belonged to the patrician Nerones branch of the Claudii, and was the paternal grandfather of the Emperor Tiberius. Harlan, supra at p. 36. See also https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius_Claudius_Nero_(grandfather_of_Tiberius_Caesar). Later on, according to Harlan, he served under Pompey in the pirate wars of 67 BCE, with his area of command the Spanish waters as far as the Pillar of Hercules. This coin was part of a large issue in two series, with control numbers in the first series running from I to CLXV, and in the second series using the letter A coupled with numbers 1 to CLXXXII. It is believed that this issue, like the large issue of Naevius Balbus in the previous year (Crawford 382/1, also showing Victory at the reins of a chariot, albeit a triga) represents money minted for the use of Quintus Caecilius Metullus Pius (the issuer of Crawford 374/1 in 81 BCE, with an elephant reverse) (coin # 5 on this list) in Sulla’s Spanish war against Sertorius in 79 BCE. Id. Sear agrees; see Sear RCV I at p. 130.

In 1904, Grueber posited in BMCRR that Diana’s appearance on the obverse of this coin was a reference to the Sabine origin of the gens Claudia, given Diana’s own Sabine origin. Crawford rejected this view, but Harlan agrees with Grueber; see RRM I at p. 37. He also notes that the inspiration for Diana’s portrayal on this coin must have been her depiction on the obverse of the coin of Aulus Postumius in 81 BCE (Crawford 372/1, with a reverse showing a heifer about to be sacrificed by a priest to Diana on the Aventine Hill)(coin # 4 on this list): “the goddess is depicted in the very same style on both coins: her hair is tied in a knot on top of her head and the unmistakable attributes of bow and quiver are over her shoulder making the identity of the goddess certain. Claudius’ coin continues the theme of caput orbis terrarum [Rome as head of the world] so clearly expressed by Postumius. Diana, whose appearance on Roman coinage during the 70s was far more common than any other decade of Republican coinage, was emblematic of the extension of Roman imperium.” Id.

Here are Nos. 6 & 7 again, one above the other:

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8. Roman Republic, Publius Fonteius P.f. Capito, AR Denarius 55 BCE [Harlan: 54 BCE], Rome mint. Obv. Helmeted and draped bust of Mars with slight beard, right, with trophy over far shoulder, P•FONTEIVS•P•F•CAPITO•III•VIR counter-clockwise around / Rev. Helmeted and caped Roman soldier on horseback galloping right, thrusting his spear down at helmeted Gallic warrior crouching beneath horse, holding his shield up with left hand to try to fend off horse, and thrusting sword with his right hand at unarmed captive to left; the captive’s Gallic helmet [and shield, off flan] sailing off to lower right; MN•FONT•TR•MIL clockwise above. Crawford 429/1, RSC I Fonteia 17, Sear RCV I 392 (ill.), Sydenham 900, Harlan, Michael, Roman Republican Moneyers and Their Coins 63 BCE-49 BCE (2nd Revised Edition 2015), Ch. 22 at pp. 174-175 ("RRM II"). 17.8 mm., 3.97 g. (Purchased from Zuzim Inc., Brooklyn, NY, Aug. 2020. Ex: Roma Numismatics, E-Sale 54, Feb. 28, 2019, Lot 558 [see https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5704785]; Ex: Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 100, May 29, 2017, Lot 329 [see https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=131&l=114088]; Ex: Gerhard Hirsch Auction 168, Nov. 22-24, 1990, Munich, Lot 434. Formerly in NGC slab, Cert. No. 4629554-001, Graded Ch. AU, Strike: 4/5, Surface 4/5.)*

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*The moneyer is usually identified as either (1) the Publius Fonteius who became the adoptive father of the famous Publius Clodius Pulcher when the latter changed his patrician status to plebeian; or (2) a friend of Cicero named Fonteius, mentioned in a letter to his brother Atticus. However, both Crawford (Vol. I at p. 453) and, at greater length, Harlan in RRM II (Ch. 22 at pp. 171-173) point out the lack of evidence for either theory. The scene on the reverse of this coin is believed to record the exploits of the moneyer’s ancestor, the military tribune Manius Fonteius (identified as such in the reverse legend), who may have been on the staff of Marcus Fonteius, governor of Narbonese (Transalpine) Gaul from 76-73 BCE. See RSC I at p. 49, Crawford Vol. I at p. 453, Harlan RRM II at pp. 174-175.

The next one finished first in my poll:

9. Roman Republic, Cn. Plancius, AR Denarius, 55 BCE, Rome mint. Obv. Female head (Macedonia [RCV, Crawford, & RRM II] or Diana Planciana [BMCRR & RSC]) right, wearing causia, CN. PLANCIVS before, AED. CVR. S. C. behind/ Rev. Cretan goat standing right, bow and quiver to left. RSC I Plancia 1, Crawford 432/1, Sydenham 933, Sear RCV I 396 (ill.), Harlan, RRM II Ch. 17 at pp. 141-144, BMCRR Rome 3920. 18 mm, 3.82 gm, 5h. SB Binder 8 RRC 432/1 (96-0, 97-0, 100, 101). Purchased from Eukratides Ancient Numismatics [Bradley J. Bowlin], Feb. 18, 2020. Ex. Davis & Clark, Paris, France, Jan. 27, 1975 (with “Certificat de Garantie” from Dr. Cahn, agreed expert, Basel.)

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10. Roman Republic, C. Vibius Varus, AR Denarius, 42 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Head of Bacchus (or Liber)* right, wearing earring and wreath of ivy and grapes / Rev. Spotted panther [leopard or cheetah]** springing left towards garlanded altar on top of which lies a bearded mask of Silenus or Pan,*** and against which leans a thyrsus with fillet (ribbon); C • VIBIVS in exergue, VARVS upwards to right. Crawford 494/36, RSC I Vibia 24, Sydenahm 1138, BMCRR 4295, Sear RCV I 496. 17 mm., 3.60 g. Ex. Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG, Auction 83, May 20, 2015, Lot 83; ex. Frank Sternberg Auction 17, Zurich, May 1986, Lot 519.

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*The identification of the obverse head as Bacchus or Liber is essentially immaterial. See Jones, John Melville, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (Seaby, London, 1990) at p. 33 (entry for “Bacchus”): “For the Romans . . . . [Bacchus] was generally identified with the Italian deity Liber, whose name is probably derived from the same root as the word ‘libation,’ suggesting that in Italy he was an earth or vegetation spirit who could be worshipped by pouring offerings upon the ground. . . . Bacchus appears rarely upon Roman imperial coins (and when he is given a name, he is called Liber). He is shown as a youthful male figure, nude or partly draped, perhaps with a wreath of ivy leaves. He may bear a thyrsus and be accompanied by Ariadne, a bacchant or maenad, or a panther.”

** See https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ro...nother-panther-thats-really-a-leopard.370346/ (my original post of this coin) for my argument that the big cats generally referred to as “panthers” in ancient coin reference works are, when their spots are visible (as on this coin), actually leopards or sometimes cheetahs. I realize that my argument didn't persuade everyone, but so be it!

***The mask has more frequently been identified with Pan than with Silenus, but because the moneyer’s branch of the gens Vibia lacks the cognomen “Pansa” (a reason for the appearance of Pan on the coins of moneyers with that cognomen, as a pun), Silenus appears to be a more likely identification, given the association of Silenus with Bacchus. See Jones, supra at p, 289, identifying Silenus as “[a]n elderly attendant of Bacchus.” See also id. at p. 234 (entry for “Pan”), noting that “[a] bearded head which appears on [the obverse of] a silver sestertius of T. Carisius [46 BC), with a reverse type of a panther bearing a thyrsus, has been identified as Pan but is more likely to be a Silenus, matching the Bacchic reverse type.”

I hope you enjoyed these coins. Please post whatever you feel is relevant.
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Nice collection and post. I know you’ve put a lot of time and effort into your hobby. So props.

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singig · Dec 11, 2020

Fantastic coins, congratulations !! Very difficult to choose the best one, I gave up.

Gavin Richardson · Dec 15, 2020

Sorry I'm late to the Republican party. (See what I did there?) At any rate, I wanted to wait until I could spend some time with this list. And what a list! It's hard to pick a favorite, so let me just comment that something about that sacrificing scene reminded me of this image of Dido sacrificing, from the Vatican Vergil, ca. 400 AD. I guess these iconographies are pretty stable.

DonnaML · Dec 15, 2020

Gavin Richardson said: ↑

Sorry I'm late to the Republican party. (See what I did there?) At any rate, I wanted to wait until I could spend some time with this list. And what a list! It's hard to pick a favorite, so let me just comment that something about that sacrificing scene reminded me of this image of Dido sacrificing, from the Vatican Vergil, ca. 400 AD. I guess these iconographies are pretty stable.

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Thank you. That's a fascinating image.

And, speaking of this particular stable (pun intended?) iconography, I think we need a sacrificial scene with a lighted altar involving a goat, in addition to the one with a heifer, in order to properly match it. (Pun intended.) Here's one I like, even though it didn't make my top 10 for this year:

Roman Republic, L. Pomponius Molo, AR Denarius, 97 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Apollo right, L•POMPON• MOLO / Rev. Numa Pompilius [legendary second king of Rome after Romulus], holding lituus in left hand, standing right before a lighted altar, at which he is about to sacrifice a goat, which is led by a victimarius standing left, NVMA•POMPIL in exergue (MA and MP in monogram). Crawford 334/1, RSC I Pomponia 6 (ill.), BMCRR Italy 733, Sydenham 607, Sear RCV I 214 (ill.). 19.7 mm., 3,86 g. *[Double die match to CNG E-Auction 157, Jan. 2007, Lot 149?]

*See RSC I at p. 77: “This type is an allusion to the supposed descent of the gens [Pomponia] from Pompo, one of the sons of Numa Pompilius, who is here represented as sacrificing to Apollo.” Crawford’s interpretation is the same; see Crawford Vol. I at p. 333.

Bing · Dec 15, 2020

Gavin Richardson · Dec 15, 2020

Ah yes. A coin for every sacrifice.

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Finally, my Top 10 for 2020, all Roman Republican

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Finally, my Top 10 for 2020, all Roman Republican

HAB Peace 28 2.0 The spiders are as big as the door

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singig Well-Known Member

Gavin Richardson Well-Known Member

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