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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 8144111, member: 81887&quot;][ATTACH=full]1420085[/ATTACH] </p><p>Roman Republic.&nbsp; AE as.&nbsp; c.169-158 BC.&nbsp; Obverse: Bearded face(s) of Janus left and right.&nbsp; Reverse: Ship&#039;s prow, ROMA beneath, VARO above.&nbsp; Crawford 185/1. Sydenham 364.&nbsp; This coin: Frank S. Robinson Auction 117, lot 92 (December 7, 2021).</p><p><br /></p><p>Janus was one of the earliest Roman gods, and appeared frequently on coins starting early in the Republican period.&nbsp; He is usually depicted with two faces, and is said to be able to see both past and future.&nbsp; He was often associated with transitions, beginnings, and endings, and by extension with doorways and passageways.&nbsp; The month of January is named after him.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve been seeking out a bronze coin with Janus portrait for a while, mainly because I find the type attractive and wanted a decent representative example for my collection.&nbsp; I haven&#039;t tried to find out the history of who may have issued this coin, and (unusually for me) don&#039;t particularly care, as the Janus portrait was the only selling point for me.&nbsp; Also, the image of Janus on a Republican bronze was used as the logo of Janus Films, which was a major distributor of &quot;art house&quot; foreign films in the US in the 1950s and 60s, and is still active in distribution of classic films:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1420088[/ATTACH] </p><p>There&#039;s already a thread on Janus coins so don&#039;t post them here; instead, post coins you recently acquired that you&#039;ve been selling for a while, or coins that you sought for quirky reasons (like being featured in the logo of a film distributor).&nbsp; And, Happy New Year![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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