Post your coins of Liber or Dionysus! In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Liber Pater was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians, and the god of wine and wine-making, fertility and freedom. Liber was closely (often interchangeably) identified with Bacchus, Dionysus and their mythology but was not entirely subsumed by them. The Latin liber means "free," or the "free one": when coupled with "pater", it means "The Free Father," who personifies freedom. "The inventor of wine is called Liber," Seneca notes,[1] "not from the licence which he gives to our tongues, but because he liberates the mind from the bondage of cares, and emancipates it, animates it, and renders it more daring in all that it attempts." Oddly, this god appears only infrequently on Roman coinage. On coins, Liber is typically shown crowned with vine or ivy leaves and holding a wine cup and thyrsus and accompanied by his attendant panther. Septimius Severus inaugurated his reign and dynasty with games to honor Liber/Shadrapa and Hercules/Melqart, the founding hero-deities of his native town, Lepcis Magna. He subsequently built them a massive temple and arch in Rome.[2] Because of his affinity for the god, Severus also issued coins depicting the god and dedicated to LIBERO PATRI. Septimius Severus, AD 193-211. Roman AR Denarius, 3.22 g, 16.5 mm, 11 h. Rome Mint, AD 194. Obv: L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP III, laureate head, right. Rev: LIBERO PATRI, Liber standing facing, head left, cloak over left shoulder, holding oenochoe and thyrsus; at feet left, panther standing left, catching drips from the jug. Refs: RIC 32; BMCRE 64-65; Cohen 301; RCV 6307; Hill 84. On a coin of Gallienus, the panther appears on its own, with the legend LIBERO P CONS AVG -- Libero Patri Conservatori Augusti -- "to Father Liber, defender of the Augustus." Gallienus, 253-268 AD. Roman Æ Antoninianus, 2.65 g, 20.1 mm, 5 h. Rome Mint, 10th emission, 267-268 AD. Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right. Rev: LIBERO P CONS AVG, panther walking left, B in exergue. Refs: RIC 230K; Göbl 713b; Cohen 586; RCV 10281; Cunetio 1341; Hunter 112. In the Roman provincial series, however, Dionysus was a very popular type and occurs on the coins of many cities. Here are a couple of Roman provincials depicting Dionysus and his panther, each with similar iconography to the denarius of Septimius Severus above. Faustina Jr., 147-175. Roman provincial AE 9.06 gm; 24.7 mm. Thrace, Anchialus, AD 147-155. Obv: ΦΑVCΤΕΙΝΑ ΝΕΑ CΕΒΑCΤΗ, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: ΑNΧΙΑΛΕΩΝ, Dionysos standing left, holding cantharus and thyrsus; panther at feet, left. Refs: AMNG 434; RPC 4525; Varbanov 90; BMC --; SNG Copenhagen --. Julia Domna, AD 193-217. Roman provincial Æ tetrassarion, 13.76 g, 26 mm. Moesia Inferior, Nicopolis ad Istrum; Legate Aurelius Gallus, AD 201-204. Obv: ΙΟVΛΙΑ ΔΟ-ΜΝΑ CΕΒΑ, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: VΠ ΑVΡ ΓΑΛΛΟV-ΝΙΚΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ | ΠΡΟC ΙCΤΡΟ, Dionysos standing left, naked except for boots, holding bunch of grapes and thyrsos, panther at foot left. Refs: AMNG I 1456; Varbanov 2897; H&J, Nikopolis 8.17.8.1 corr. (rev. legend); Mionnet Sup. 2, p. 134, 457 and pl. III, no 6. ~~~ 1. Dial. 9.17.8 in L. Annaeus Seneca, Minor Dialogs Together with the Dialog "On Clemency"; Translated by Aubrey Stewart. Bohn's Classical Library Edition; London, George Bell and Sons, 1900, p. 287. 2. Bowman, A., Cameron, A., Garnsey, P., (Eds) The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337, The Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd edition, Volume 12, 2005, p. 563.
Interesting write-up and beautiful coins! Here is my Liber denarius. I usually refer to it as my "How did I get so drunk, where are my clothes, and why the hell is there a panther?"-coin. Septimius Severus, Roman Empire, denarius, 194 AD, Rome mint. Obv: L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP III, head of Septimius Severus, laureate, r. Rev: LIBERO PATRI, Bacchus (Liber), wreathed, naked except for cloak over left arm, emptying oenochoe in r. hand over panther, and holding garlanded thyrsus in l. hand 17.5mm, 2.53g. Ref: RIC IV.1 Septimius Severus 32.
Denarius, Rome, 78 BC 16 x 17 mm, 3.80 g Ref.: Crawford 386/1; Sydenham 779; Cassia 6, BMC 3152; RBW 1419; Sear 317 Ob.: Head of Liber (or Bacchus) right, wearing ivy wreath; thyrsus over shoulder Rev.: (L)•CASSI•Q•F Head of Libera left, wearing ivy wreath.
A new acquisition: Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman provincial AE 24 mm, 6.35 g. Thrace, Pautalia, AD 161-175. Obv: ΦΑVϹΤΕΙΝΑ ϹΕΒΑϹΤΗ, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: ΟVΛΠΙΑϹ ΠΑVΤΑΛΙΑϹ, Dionysus seated on panther walking right, resting right arm on panther, holding thyrsus. Refs: RPC IV 8811; Ruzicka 99; Moushmov 4107 corr.; Wiczay 2383; BMC --; Sear --; Lindgren --. Note: Double die match to RPC specimen. The listing in Ruzicka:
Interesting Amisos, AE19 Head of Dionysos right Cista mystica, AMISOY at exergue 8.48 gr, 19 mm Ref : Sear #3640 Q
I just picked up this denarius of Septimius Severus from my old folders. Bacchus is there on reverse, with his wine and panther.
