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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Mikey Zee, post: 2695942, member: 72818&quot;]This Roman Republic denarius caught my eye, intrigued me and perfectly aligned with my preference for variation of devices while falling within my preferred budget--- the obvious wear making it less costly than it otherwise might be. The more I viewed it and researched it, the more it spoke to me. It also seems to convey a &#039;message&#039; on two levels. Typical for the type, it commemorates the moneyers&#039; family/military service during the conquest of Gaul (and centuries earlier) but also appears to emphasize Caesar&#039;s accomplishments during the &#039;The Great Roman Civil War&#039; of 49-45 BC as well. The &#039;mask&#039; of Medusa and the rendering of Nicomachus&#039; painting of &#039;Victory in a Quadriga&#039; (4th Century BC) appears to reflect L. Plautius Plancus&#039; attempt to bring the following to light:</p><p><br /></p><p>Quoted from Acsearch auction archives (GMBH, Roma and CNG).</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;This moneyer was adopted into the Plautia gens. Sear suggests that the reverse type may be related to a picture by Nicomachus of Thebes which was placed in the Capitol by L. Munatius Plancus as a part of the celebrations of his Gallic triumph. In his Fasti, Ovid relates the origin of the festival of the lesser Quinquatria Minerva. He states that an aedile exiled Rome’s flute-players to Tibur, and that the moneyers adopted ancestor C. Plautius, who was consul that year, (circa 328 BC?) smuggled them back into Rome to appease the citizens. The flute-players wore masks to conceal their identities and this became a tradition of the annual festival.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;This reverse was inspired by a specific ancient work of art, the painting &quot;Victoria quadrigam in sublime rapiens&quot; by Nicomachus of Thebes. This famous Greek work is believed to have been the personal property of Plautius Plancus at the time he commissioned the dies for this issue, to celebrate the victories of Julius Caesar in 48 and 47 BC.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>For the sake of brevity, I&#039;ll attach the following links for those wishing to pursue the historical content further:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Caesar's_Civil_War" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Caesar's_Civil_War" rel="nofollow">http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Caesar's_Civil_War</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Munatius_Plancus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Munatius_Plancus" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Munatius_Plancus</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, the rendering of the reverse on a relatively small flan required a bit of &#039;artistic license&#039;:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;..... all that&#039;s left of the city Nicomachus of Thebes knew (and his art) are the sprawling piles of stone for which Greece is so famous. For the most part all we know about this artist we learn second-hand. The Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder gives us a list of his works: <i>Rape of Persephone</i>, <i>Victory in a Quadriga</i>, <i>Apollo and Artemis</i>, and <i>Cybele seated on a Lion, </i>all of which we know of only from the works of subsequent artists. Many of Nicomachus&#039; works eventually ended up in Rome, which would suggest they were <i>not</i> painted on stone or plaster (probably wood).</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://art-now-and-then.blogspot.com/2015/05/nicomachus-of-thebes.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://art-now-and-then.blogspot.com/2015/05/nicomachus-of-thebes.html" rel="nofollow">http://art-now-and-then.blogspot.com/2015/05/nicomachus-of-thebes.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]605692[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. <i>L. Plautius Plancus. </i></b>47 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 4.03 g, 5h). Rome mint. Facing mask of Medusa with disheveled hair; coiled serpents flanking / Victory (or winged Aurora) flying right, head slightly left, holding reins and conducting four rearing horses of the sun. Crawford 453/1a; CRI 29; Sydenham 959; Plautia 15. VF, attractively toned.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]605699[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Please feel free to indulge yourselves<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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