Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Limes, post: 4584654, member: 101013&quot;]My latest addition is an absolute fascinating issue of the Severan dynasty. This coin (the reverse, that is) has been on my ‘dreamlist’: a list of coins so beautiful or historically significant, but financially forever out of my reach. This coin showed up for auction, with an attractive starting price, which, like we all know, means absolutely nothing. However, I was absolutely baffled that no one made a bid when this coin went up for auction! So, I went in and got the coin for starting price. Perhaps it’s because it has some obvious issues (rough, weak, weird flan, obverse crack) that no one wanted this one, but I absolutely love it! Auctions are just very strange phenomena, aren’t they?</p><p><br /></p><p>I did some additional research on the reverse, and this led to the longest write up I ever made, for reasons explained below. In case you don’t want to read it, here’s the coin. And for those who are willing to read the entire write-up and help me with some of my questions, I am forever grateful!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1135397[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>During the attribution process (I always like to check this out thoroughly myself and not simple copy/paste the description given by the seller) and research, I stumbled upon some things that puzzle me. Generally speaking, auction houses use the following description of the coin: “the spina of the Circus Maximus decorated as a ship facing left, with the turning posts at its prow and stern, a sail mounted on the central obelisk, and the spina&#039;s other monuments visible in between; above the ship, four quadrigas racing left; below, seven animals: an ostrich at left and a bear at right; between them a lion and a lioness chasing a wild donkey and a panther attacking a bison.” Sear describes it as: “ship l. in the arena, with mast and sail, tripods on deck, four quadrigae galloping l. in upper field, variety of animals below and on either side of ship.” (Sear 2002, no. 6704, 6813.) There’s no mention of the Circus Maximus.</p><p><br /></p><p>First, a little background information about the coin: the reverse of this type, which was struck in 206 AD, depicts the Ludi Saeculares held by Severus in AD 204. We can see two ‘games’: chariot races and <i>venationes </i>(animal slaying). In the center we can see a large ship with several attributes on it, and some animals running, standing and jumping left an right of the ship, and below it. It is believed that the ship is build in the middle of the Circus Maximus, cleverly incorporation the various adornments that stood there. The general attribution mentioned above, states that one can see the adornments depicted on the coin, which I’m willing to believe even though I am having trouble seeing it.</p><p><br /></p><p>The ludi Saeculares held by Septimius Severus is mentioned by Roman historian Cassius Dio in his work, and there have been found inscriptions of those games in Rome in the 1870s and 1930s (Curtis Clay, FAC). This fascinating coin, together with what history has left us in writing, thus refers to that actual event more than 1800 years ago. It gives us an insight on how that event may have looked like and what occurred: lavish games consisting of chariot races and large animal slayings, in the Circus Maximus, where the Secular games traditionally were held. However, despite the material present today, there is still room for debate. Let’s take a closer look to what Cassius Dio mentions in his writings (book 77, section 1 - via the wonderful website LacusCurtius, of Bill Thayer):</p><p><br /></p><p>“<i>At this time there occurred, too, all sorts of spectacles in honour of Severus&#039; return, the completion of his first ten years of power, and his victories. At these spectacles sixty wild boars of Plautianus fought together at a signal, and among many other wild beasts that were slain were an elephant and a corocotta. 4 This last animal is an Indian species, and was then introduced into Rome for the first time, so far as I am aware. It has the colour of a lioness and tiger combined, and the general appearance of those animals, as also of a dog and fox, curiously blended.</i>”</p><p><br /></p><p>This passage refers to the decennial games in 202 AD. These games are not the Ludi Saeculares of 204 AD. Mentioned in the same section, immediately following this passage about the decennial games, Cassius Dio writes the following:</p><p><br /></p><p>“<i>The entire receptacle in the amphitheatre had been constructed so as to resemble a boat in shape, and was capable of receiving or discharging four hundred beasts at once; and then, as it suddenly fell apart, there came rushing forth bears, lionesses, panthers, lions, ostriches, wild asses, bisons (this is a kind of cattle foreign in species and appearance), so that seven hundred beasts in all, both wild and domesticated, at one and the same time were seen running about and were slaughtered. For to correspond with the duration of the festival, which lasted seven days, the number of the animals was also seven times one hundred.</i>”</p><p><br /></p><p>The ‘jump’ from the games in 202 AD to the games in 204 AD in the text is noticeable, as if a large portion of the text was lost/is missing. Notice the difference in number of animals in the ‘receptacle’ (animal container, so to say) which is 400, and the 700 animals that could be released “at one and the same time”. Even more interesting in the mentioning of specific animals by Cassius Dio. However, when I looked at various examples of this coin, I realized that the animals mentioned by Cassius Dio seemed not to be depicted on the coin! This has really puzzled me, as I was trying to properly ID my coin. Looking at the numerous descriptions of other coins, and descriptions in reference books, I can conclude there is much difference in interpretation of the animals depicted on the reverse.</p><p><br /></p><p>First, Cassius Dio mentions the following seven animals (I placed them in alphabetical order):</p><p>1) Bears, 2) Bisons, 3) lions, 4), lionesses, 5) ostriches, 6) Panthers, 7) wild asses. If I understand it correctly, according to Cassius Clay, these are also the type of animals mentioned on the inscriptions of the games found in Rome.</p><p><br /></p><p>I’ve gone through the descriptions of all 37 coins of Caracalla (RIC 157) on ACSEARCH and the same reverse type of Septimius Severus (RIC 274- 61 hits, including 3 aurei) and found the following animals in the various description of the reverse of the coin:</p><p>1) Bear, 2) ‘Bird’, 3) Bovine (Rind), 4) Bizon 5) Bull, 6) Lion (male/female), 7) Ostrich, 8) Panther, 9) Rooster, 10) Stag/deer, 11) Stork, 12) Tiger, 13) Wild Ass/Donkey, 14) Zebra</p><p><br /></p><p>These are definitely more animals than mentioned by Cassius Dio, and the inscriptions found in Rome as mentioned by Cassius Clay. What does this mean? Which animals are depicted on the reverse of my coin?</p><p><br /></p><p>I created an image with some of the most clear types freely available online (I do not own these coins, nor the pictures, and I am not using these in any commercial manner). For analyzing purposes, I numbered the positions of the animals, 1 to 7. Position 1 and 2 are (in general, as we will see below) left and right of the boat. Numbers 3 to 7 are below. Then, I compared the animals shown on the reverses, by using the positions.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1135396[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Numbers 1 and 2 should be the ostrich and bear respectively, by which I follow the generally used attribution of the reverse. From left to right, in this image with the various coins, I can only clearly distinguish the following animals. Again, the positions are fixed.</p><ul> <li>Roma Aureus: 1) ostrich, 2) Bear 3) Lion, 4) ?, 5) ? 6) bull or bison,7) the legs of ?</li> <li>Wildwinds example: 1) ostrich, 2 bear, 3) Lion, 4) ?, 5) zebra (with the manes on the back of its head) or horse, 6) bison, or bull, 7) a very stretched ... ?</li> <li>Britisch Museum type: 1) bird, 2) bear ?, 3) front part of a lion, 4) ?, 5) ? 6), wild ass or gazelle (compare eg. The coins of Gallienus), 7) bull or bison</li> </ul><p>To make it more complex, not only are the animals different, some other examples online show a different position of some of the animals as well. I believe my coin has this as well.</p><ul> <li>An example from Lanz, auction 100, 20-11-2000, shows the bull/bison behind, on the position of the ‘panther’ (position no. 6 and 7). </li> <li>An example from NAC, Auction 84, 20-05-2015, also shows the bull/bison on the position of the ‘panther’ (position no. 6 and 7). The description of the coin mentions the presence of three tigers.</li> <li>It appears my coin also has a different positioning of the animals, whereas the bear looks to have position no. 7, the bull position no. 6, and an unidentifiable animal position no. 2. (Actually, the quadriga is on position 2, necessitating animal on position 2, the be shown below the ship.)</li> </ul><p>I have found a very interesting drawing from the British Museum. According to the description, the drawing is dated 1768 - 1805, and shows the reverse, very clearly, of the LAETITA TEMPORVM reverse. The description of the drawing mentions the number of a coin I cannot locate via the website, so it is unclear whether the drawing is based on an actual coin. Whatever the case may be, the drawing clearly shows two lions (one lion on the position of the bear, no. 3), and a panther behind the bull/bison. Also, on position no. 4, we do not see a lioness (as mentioned by some descriptions), but a deer of some sort. Also the wild ass is missing.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1135395[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Next, some thoughts about the ‘bison’. I immediately noticed the word ‘bison’ in the text of Cassius Dio and I find this very peculiar. The explanation he uses is the following: “this is a kind of cattle foreign in species and appearance.” Would he have meant an actual bison, like the bison we know of today: European wisent? Or a domesticated species of cow, not known to (many) Romans? Or would he have meant the African buffalo, which looks more like a cow than the bison does? In any case, the description of Cassius Dio clearly discards the bull as an option (in my opinion), which is used in some attributions of the reverse of the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>In case Cassius Dio meant a European bison, (we can safely conclude that the American Bison was not known to the Romans) there are three possibilities. The European bison consisted of several subspecies: the lowland wisent, the Carphatian wiscent, and the Caucasian wisent. The latter two are now extinct but would have existed during the time of Septimius Severus. Their living area was eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Could this mean that the animal Cassius Dio was referring to, is one of the two extinct species of bison? Could this mean the coin contains the image of a now extinct species?</p><p><br /></p><p>Cassius Clay mentions that on a clear type of the British Museum (which I could not locate unfortunately, but compare the Roma aureus), one can clearly see the bison has horns and a hump. The appearance of the European bison, however, is more notable than just horns and a hump and I, even though this is mere speculation, find it hard to believe that Cassius Dio would refer to the European wesent as “a kind of cattle”. Could Cassius Dio perhaps have meant an African buffalo, or a related species such as the Sudan buffalo? The appearance of this animal is surely more ‘cattle like’, even though its behaviour is extremely dangerous, so no one would attempt to milk it of course. Also, the buffalo comes from Africa (either the African or Cape buffalo, or a subspecies such as the Sudan buffalo), as do the other animals displayed on the coin, and as mentioned by the historian (NB. I also think with ‘panther’, Cassius Dio refers to the animal we call today ‘leopard’). Or did the ancient Romans have a word for wisent, and a different one for the African buffalo, and could it indeed be a bison?</p><p><br /></p><p>So, what can be concluded from all of this? First of all, I believe that the words of Cassius Dio can only partly be used to adequately describe the reverse of the coin. It does not appear as if Cassius Dio compiled an exhaustive list of animals that were killed in the Secular game. Also, the reverse of the various coins do give the suggestion that they show a variety of animals, not just the seven mentioned by Cassius Dio. This would mean that every reverse needs an identification and adequate description based on the appearance and look of the seven animals. This is quite difficult, of course, as not all coins are clear enough to support this method.</p><p><br /></p><p>Secondly, I question the use of the term ‘bison’ in the description. Based on the depiction of the animal on some of the more clear coins it is, in my opinion, not enough to define the animal as a ‘bison’. Perhaps the term was introduced to use by a subtle misstep in the translation of the ancient text?</p><p><br /></p><p>An entirely (and speculative) different conclusion can be drawn as well. Taking the text of Cassius Dio as a starting point, instructions may have been given to die makers to create a coin showing the seven animals described by Cassius Dio. Again, the event was held in 204 AD, but the coins were struck two years later. Could it be possible, that the die makers had no idea how some of the animals looked like? In a time when photo’s and the internet, or perhaps even a drawing book of the animal kingdom, were not available, did fantasy and reality got mixed up?</p><p><br /></p><p>Whatever may be the case, I think for now I will use the following description: the spina of the Circus Maximus decorated as a ship facing left, with the turning posts at its prow and stern, a sail mounted on the central obelisk, and the spina&#039;s other monuments visible in between; above the ship, four quadrigas racing left; below and to the left and to the right, seven animals, including, from left to the right, an ostrich, a lion and a bear.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thank you for reading! Please share your thoughts, comments, and of course coins!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><i><font size="3">Sources of the images: </font></i></p><p><font size="3">British Museum Drawing: museum number 2010,5006.1277</font></p><p><font size="3">British Museum number: 1857,0812.10</font></p><p><font size="3">Britisch Museum Caracalla: R.12660</font></p><p><font size="3">Wildwinds example: <a href="https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s6813.html#RIC_0157" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s6813.html#RIC_0157" rel="nofollow"><u>https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s6813.html#RIC_0157</u></a></font></p><p><font size="3">Roma Aureus: Roma Numismatics Ltd, Auction IV, lot 574, 30 Sep - 1 Oct 2012</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><i><font size="3">Other sources:</font></i></p><p><a href="https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/the-grandeur-that-was-rome-the-secular-games-of-the-circus-maximus/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/the-grandeur-that-was-rome-the-secular-games-of-the-circus-maximus/" rel="nofollow"><u><font size="3">https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/the-grandeur-that-was-rome-the-secular-games-of-the-circus-maximus/</font></u></a></p><p><font size="3"><a href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/home.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/home.html" rel="nofollow"><u>http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/home.html</u></a> </font></p><p><a href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Ludi_Saeculares.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Ludi_Saeculares.html" rel="nofollow"><u><font size="3">http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Ludi_Saeculares.html</font></u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection" rel="nofollow"><u><font size="3">https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection</font></u></a></p><p><font size="3"><a href="http://www.acsearch.com" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.acsearch.com" rel="nofollow"><u>www.acsearch.i</u></a>nfo</font></p><p><font size="3"><a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=93747.0" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=93747.0" rel="nofollow"><u>https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=93747.0</u></a> </font></p><p><a href="http://www.numisbids.com" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.numisbids.com" rel="nofollow"><u><font size="3">www.numisbids.com</font></u></a></p><p><font size="3">And ofcourse, good old wikipedia</font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in