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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 2913009, member: 81887&quot;]Here&#039;s a write-up of another coin from the Baltimore show last weekend:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]703693[/ATTACH] </p><p>Roman Republic.&nbsp; AR denarius.&nbsp; Lucius Marcius Censorinus (82 BC).&nbsp; Obverse: Bust of Apollo right.&nbsp; Reverse: The satyr Marsyas standing left, holding wineskin over shoulder, to left inscription [L CENSOR], to right column with statue (Minerva?) on top.&nbsp; RSC Marcia 24, Sydenham 737, Crawford 363/1d.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin was struck by Lucius Marcius Censorinus in 82 BC.&nbsp; Very little information about him is available, though he was part of a distinguished family with several other notable members, including a son of the same name who served under Marc Antony.&nbsp; The coin type is presumably a pun on his gens name (Marcius/Marsyas), although it has also been suggested as a political reference (see the section Political Climate in this Wikipedia article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denarius_of_L._Censorinus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denarius_of_L._Censorinus" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denarius_of_L._Censorinus</a> ).&nbsp; Here&#039;s the story of Marsyas and Apollo, which I wrote for a post some months ago:</p><p><br /></p><p>Marsyas was renowned for his abilities as a musician on the aulos (a paired double-reed instrument with a rather mournful sound- check out the videos on Youtube for the keyword &quot;aulos&quot;). Unfortunately, Marsyas forgot the Three Rules for Not Being Horribly Punished by the Gods. Rule 1: Don&#039;t challenge a god in a contest. Marsyas challenged the god Apollo to a music contest, with Marsyas on aulos and Apollo on his customary lute. Rule 2: If you do challenge a god in a contest, don&#039;t let the judges also be gods. The contest was judged by the Muses. Rule 3: If for some reason you have challenged a god to a contest where the judges are also gods, don&#039;t sign off on a vague agreement about the prize that allows the god to do horrible things to you. Marsyas, against all reason, agreed that the winner could do whatever he liked to the loser. The actual contest was close, with Marsyas seeming like he could win, until Apollo (depending on which version of the legend you follow) either turned his lute upside down and continued to play, or started to sing along with his playing. Either way, Marsyas could not follow suit on the aulos, and complained to the Muses, but to no avail. Apollo was declared the winner, and he proceeded to flay Marsyas and hang his skin from a tree, which naturally caused Marsyas to die. Marsyas is sometimes shown in ancient art carrying his own flayed skin (much like the later Christian Saint Bartholomew), or else, as on this coin, carrying a large wineskin over his back.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin was found in the junk box of Harlan J. Berk, and I paid $22 for it.&nbsp; I recognized the reverse type, thanks mainly to remembering the icon photo of Cointalker [USER=85693]@Marsyas Mike[/USER] .&nbsp; This is obviously a heavily worn coin, with several bankers&#039; marks on the obverse, but I think it still has a certain charm.&nbsp; Post your coins showing Marsyas, or junk box coins that you love anyway.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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