My collection has been going so Greek lately that it was only when I was recording this new pickup that I realized it was my very first Roman Republic coin purchased this year. The Some-Dude-Running reverse seems a little mundane at first, but it drew my attention because it wasn't an RR type I'd seen before. The athletic motif may allude to a sporty ancestor of the moneyer, or perhaps to public games being held at the time. The athlete is shown running his victory lap, holding in one hand the palm branch given to a victor of the games while wearing in the other a cestus, marking him as a boxer. The cestus, a gladiatorial battle glove, is a play on the cognomen Cestianus, making this one of the punning types popular with the wittier moneyers of the Republic. There are a few different control marks seen on this series (torch, discus, strigil), but all varieties appear to be quite rare. A bonus discovery made when doing online research was that my coin illustrates the type for Plaetoria 2 on Wildwinds. What really surprised me, though, was the $660 hammer price recorded for its previous auction outing (Freeman & Sear Mail Bid Sale 12, 28 October 2005)... surprising because I paid about $500 less than that for it. It may be a cheap thrill, but I think I'm going to go wave a palm branch and do a little victory lap now . Do share any coins you have that refer to athletic games or if you have any of the RR punning types. ROMAN REPUBLIC L. Plaetorius L. f. Cestianus AR Denarius 3.9g, 17.3mm Rome mint, 67 BC Crawford 396/1b; Sydenham 792a; Plaetoria 2 O: Diademed and draped bust of Juno Moneta right; MONETA downwards behind, [SC below chin]. R: Victorious boxer running right, one hand holding a palm branch and the other wearing a cestus and trailing ribbons; L PLAETORI downwards behind, L F Q S C upwards before, torch below. Ex Andrew McCabe Collection Ex Freeman & Sear Mail Bid Sale 12, 28 October 2005 Notes: Here's what a Roman cestus (circa 1st - 2nd centuries AD) would have looked like worn on the hand of a gladiatorial combatant. Vicious!
I Think that's a fabulous pick-up.......even without the humongous 'savings' from the previous hammer price you mentioned. It's got all the unusual or untypical content that I truly love and has so much to say to those who make any attempt to 'read' it. And that is a VERY nasty cestus!! Unfortunately, my RR coins are either from un-athletic moneyers or slow-witted ones since there's no effort at any play on words......so I'm 'punless' as well----or perhaps there are and I'm the slow-witted one who hasn't noticed yet LOL
Winna-winna!! Wow, Z-Bro => that RR is a very cool addition to your awesome collection (and you're correct, I don't recall seeing one of those before? ... bonus points) Yah, snagging an auction-coin for less than you anticipated is always a super sweet feeling!! (congrats, brother) Oh, and yes again => that "boxing-glove" looks like it might shorten the length of the fights?!! (*ouch*)
I'm jealous. Very nice coin. The only RR coin I have with a play on words is a poor quality Pansa Denarius: C VIBIUS CF CN PANSA CAETRONIANUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS VIBIA AR Denarius OBVERSE: Mask of Pan right, PANSA below REVERSE: IOVIS AXVR before, C VIBIVS C F C N behind, Jupiter Axurus seated left Rome 48 BC 5.6, 18mm Cr449/1a; Syd 947; Vibia 18
Thanks for the compliments, friends. I'm particularly fond of these scarce little survivors that make it down to us through the ages, especially if they have an interesting story to tell. This one is a keeper! I want one of these too!
Pamphylia, Aspendos c. BC 370-330 AR Stater 24 mm x 10.05 grams Obv: Two Greco wrestlers nude arm control. A PH Rev: Slinger / Trisklion (perpetual legs) device. Native Aspendos Text.
An appropriate course of action for the best kind of thrill. Excellent coin and even better the second time through.
Thanks for the comments, everyone. The past year and a half has really opened my eyes to how interesting RRs can be (thanks in no small part to the coins shown here on Cointalk).
