King Micipsa of Numidia

Here's my second write-up for coins received this week:

North Africa, Numidia. Micipsa (148-118 BC). AE 25. Obverse: Laureate bust left with pointed beard. Reverse: Galloping horse, pellet below. Anepigraphic. References: SNG Copenhagen 508, Sear GCV 6597.

Numidia was the region in North Africa immediately to the west of Carthage and extended to the border of Mauretania; its territory is now western Tunisia and northern Algeria. The inhabitants were originally nomads, related to the Berbers, who picked up agriculture and began living in settled towns by copying their Carthaginian neighbors, while remaining politically independent. During the Second Punic War, Masinissa unified the Numidian tribes and allied himself with Rome, and was named the first King of Numidia. Upon Masinissa's death in 148 BC, the throne went to his three sons, two of whom soon died, leaving Micipsa the sole ruler. He continued his father's pro-Roman policy, although he was accused of delaying sending practical military assistance against Carthage until the outcome was beyond doubt. In 146 BC, when Carthage fell at the end of the Third Punic War, Micipsa allowed thousands of Carthaginian refugees to settle in his territory. Little else is known of his reign, although he is recorded in Roman sources as having twice sent soldiers and elephants to assist Roman forces in the Iberian peninsula. Numidia remained an independent ally of Rome until 46 BC, when it was annexed as the province of Africa Nova.

Note that this coin is anepigraphic (lacking inscriptions); it is assigned to Micipsa based on artistic similarity to other coins that do bear his name. This is another recent purchase from Marc Breitsprecher (Ancient Imports). Despite the low technical grade, I find this piece quite attractive; the portrait features are clear, the horse looks like a real, vibrant animal, and the coin has smooth, evenly brown surfaces.

 

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WOW @Parthicus , great example. Nice write-up.

I have a Micipsa and his father, Masinissa also. I agree, I generally have not seen them in the best of condition. But it is great to have them as place markers in this cool time in History.


Numidia - Micipsi - 148-118 BCE


Numidia - Massinissa

 

Neat OP coin.

 

Cool write up @Parthicus here's mine:


Kings of Numidia, Micipsa, c. 148-118 BC
Æ26, 12.9g, 12h; Numidian mint.
Obv.: Laureate head of king left.
Rev.: Horse galloping left, pellet below.

 

What you say


Numidia, Mikipsa, AE26 Minted c.148-118 BC
Laureate head of Mikipsa left
Horse galloping left, beneath, punic letters
15.23 gr, 26 mm
Ref : Sear #6596

Q

 

Ummm, is this dirty ol' tattooed-pony allowed to play with your cool coins?

 

Please explain how to tell the difference.

 

oh yeah, cool...numidian is on the list for sure...nice parthicus.

 

Great question! As I was posting them, I had the same same thoughts.

I purchased from two different Sellers. I took their attributions at face value. Additionally, I noticed that my Massanisa is more like Parthicus' Micipsa, so I challenged if I mis-attributed them / crossed the attributions myself.

@John Anthony listed it as EITHER Micipsa or Masinissa (too hard to tell)

(I called it Micipsa)

AND:

My Masinissa looks a LOT like @Parthicus ' Micipsa
+
(I called Masinissa)
Agora Auction: Lot 49-056. Numidian Kingdom. Massinissa. 203-148 B.C. AE 28. Ex Elwood Rafn collection.
Numidian Kingdom. Massinissa. 203-148 B.C. AE 28 (27.9 mm, 14.78 g, 1 h). Laureate bust left / Horse running left, pellet below. Mazard 50; SNG Cop 506; MAA -. Fine, porous.

Parthicus' Micipsa:

 

These are great coins - there isn't a proper distinction between the issues of father and son. Even the big boys like CNG say Massinissa or Micipsa. I wish the coins were better made, but they are notorious for weak, off-center strikes. On top of that, many are damaged. I buy every half-decent example I can get my hands on. This is the latest one in my stable, and it's real purdy, found it at the last Baltimore show...

 

Good question. On some varieties, there are actually several letters in Punic. On the example that @Cucumbor posted, look under the horse's belly: there are two faint letters there that (reading right to left) seem to be M K, which indicates Micipsa. But a lot of these (including my specimen) don't have any inscription at all. My impression for how to distinguish the two kings is that Masinissa has a wider, "fatter' head, while Micipsa is thinner and more elongated. This is a highly subjective distinction, and one that I arrived at empirically after looking at photos of coins ID'd as Masinissa or Micipsa, especially the photos in Sear. @Alegandron's coin is one that I would count as a wide head and thus probably Masinissa. Ultimately, I guess we have to embrace a certain amount of uncertainty about ancients. Otherwise, we might as well just collect Lincoln cents by date and mintmark.

 

I still need one of these.

 

I had been looking for one of these for a while, preferably attributable to Massinissa because of my interest in the 2nd Punic War, and ancient North Africa in general. However, when the opportunity to acquire this one presented itself, the galloping horse caused my preference of father over the son to evaporate.

Massinissa or Micipsa, (leaning towards the latter) 203-148 BC or 148-118 BC, AE, 26.5MM, 15.7g.
Obverse: Laureate head left, Reverse: Horse galloping left, Punic MN below.
MAA 12a,; SNG Copenhagen 514-5.

As with most others posting on this thread, I've had a tough time determining if this was minted under the father or the son. Parthicus' follow up post listing initials as distinguishing one from the other makes sense. We may never know for sure, which is one of those mysteries that makes collecting ancients so attractive.

 

Nice to see all the attention for these attractive coins. I bought mine as a Micipsa in the 1970s. It is one of the few coins I preserved all those years, most were sold as I started working and earned very little money. The obverse is good, but the reverse not very clear. I don't see anything under the horse, but there's a star over it.
It's a thick 25 mm coin, the weight is 10.56 gr.

 

WOW!! What a cool variety of different grades and strikes....and what a terrific write-up not to mention subsequent clarifying posts!

My example of Micipsa was a FAC 'free auction' purchase:

 

there're big different between massnissa coin and macipsa cin

 

very similar Mikey zee