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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;benhur767, post: 2950923, member: 36818&quot;]A coin from my collection to honor the start of the New Year:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]720808[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Geta (as Augustus).</b> AR denarius, Rome mint, struck 211 CE; 3.15g. BMCRE C13–4, Hill 1296 (S2), RIC 79 (S), RSC 197. Obv: P SEPT GETA PIVS AVG BRIT; man’s laureate head right, bearded. Rx: TR P III – COS II P P; Janus standing front, holding reversed spear and thunderbolt. EF.</p><p><br /></p><p>According to Wikipedia:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><blockquote><p>[Janus]... is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. It is conventionally thought that the month of January is named for Janus (Ianuarius), but according to ancient Roman farmers&#039; almanacs Juno was the tutelary deity of the month.</p><p><br /></p></blockquote></blockquote><p>In regard to this specific coin of Geta, BMCRE says, &quot;[t]he &#039;Janus&#039; with thunderbolt and sceptre is certainly a fanciful expression of the duality of the Empire.&quot; The thunderbolt is the usual attribute of Jupiter, so the authors are referring to a duality between Jupiter and Janus. But why is this <i>the</i> duality of the empire? Why can&#039;t a duality between Jupiter and, say, Venus, represent the duality of the Empire? Can&#039;t dualities be drawn between many things in regard to the Roman Empire? The authors don&#039;t bother to elucidate.</p><p><br /></p><p>RIC is no better. &quot;A type Janus, holding thunderbolt, suggests an interesting association of Janus and Jupiter.&quot; The authors don&#039;t bother to explain the significance of the association, why it should be suggested, or what makes it interesting.</p><p><br /></p><p>So much for the standard references.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin of Geta was struck in 211 CE, which was a watershed year for both the Empire and the Imperial family. On this coin, Janus is holding a reversed spear, not a scepter as described by both BMCRE. The downward pointing spear symbolizes the peace which resulted from his victories. It was struck after the death of Septimius Severus at York during the campaigns in Britain, where &quot;victories&quot; were declared, and at which point Geta and Caracalla took up joint emperorship. The Janus with thunderbolt and reversed spear type could thus represent:</p><ul> <li>By the authority of Jupiter, the transition from the joint reign of Septimius, Caracalla, and Geta to the joint reign of Caracalla and Geta, and which will be consummated during peacetime, but occurred during wartime and could be attributed to it.</li> <li>The dual emperorship of Caracalla and Geta only, with Jupiter&#039;s thunderbolt representing their authority, the down-turned spear their propensity to make peace.</li> <li>An honorific of Septimius, who was deified after his death. This would have been intended to serve the dual purpose of helping to elevate Geta&#039;s standing in the eyes of the soldiers, who revered Severus and for whom the two brothers were vying to gain favor. Janus with thunderbolt and down-turned spear might then represent the transition of Septimius&#039;s authority from the realm of man to the realm of the gods. On this coin, Geta&#039;s portrait shows him with forks in his beard resembling those of his father; Geta would have hoped that his physical resemblance to Septimius would also suggest to the soldiers that he had similar qualities of character. This coin is a type chosen by Geta but not Caracalla, and it could be that the figure of Janus, with the pose and attributes typically associated with Jupiter could represent a transition of authority from the senior Severus to Geta, who was positioning himself as &quot;the new Severus.&quot; Considering both the portrait and reverse type together in this light, the coin is visual evidence of the two brothers&#039; ongoing rivalry at this time, despite the admonition of their father to &quot;be harmonious.&quot;</li> <li>The transition of the Empire, or the British province, from wartime to peacetime under the dual authority of Janus and Jupiter at a time of major transition. Jupiter is in essence lending Janus his attributes, thereby granting him the authority to oversee this transition.</li> <li>The return of the Imperial family from Britain to Rome after the conclusion of a war and a statement of their continued authority under Jupiter: a new beginning for the Empire resulting from a convergence of these events.</li> </ul><p>Please post your Janus coins, or anything you feel is relevant. And Happy New Year![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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