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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Mikey Zee, post: 2405617, member: 72818&quot;]This was one Roman Republic denarius I just had to have. It seems the Romans had a peculiar love/hate relationship with all things Greek. They admired the military prowess of the Spartans and the Macedonians yet one of the most despicable terms a Roman could levy against another was &#039;Greekling&#039;---an allusion to decadence and weakness---not deserving of esteem; while others viewed the Greeks with unabashed admiration bordering on unbridled love..... in utter awe of their cultural achievements. Hadrian is a classic example of a Roman &#039;Philhellenic&#039; and I would imagine Nero should be considered one as well..... So this denarius of &#039;Corinthian&#039; devices (Bellerophon was worshipped in Corinth), struck in the late Roman Republic, seems a bit out of place yet totally appropriate.</p><p><br /></p><p>The moneyer appears to have chosen these devices to commemorate an ancestor who may have been a Quaestor in Corinth or Greece prior to the destruction of that city in 146 BC. Sabula struck this coin series, and apparently no others, in 74 BC and then seems to have disappeared from history.</p><p><br /></p><p>Medusa was one of the three gorgons (and my second of the three) who had the ability to petrify every human who gazed upon them. Perseus cut off its head and from the blood was born Pegasus the winged horse of Bellerophon, a descendant of Poseidon who also tamed Pegasus---and was known as &#039;greatest hero and slayer of monsters&#039;....including the adorable Chimera<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Placing this denarius in historical context, among other events, in 74 BC, civil war raged in Spain and Pompey was battling Sertorius; meanwhile Mithradates VI declared war on Rome and invaded Bithynia.....and the slave revolt of Spartacus in 73 BC was finally crushed by Crassus and &#039;friends&#039; in 71 BC.</p><p><br /></p><p>L Cossutius C. F. Sabula</p><p>AR Denarius, Rome mint 74 BC</p><p>SABVLA</p><p>Winged head of Medusa left.</p><p>L COSSVTI C. F.</p><p>Bellerophon on Pegasus flying right hurling spear;</p><p>XXVIIII to left; 3.97 grams, 19.1 mm</p><p><br /></p><p>This specific issue was not large since the highest control number is XXXXII; the posted example is #29 out of 42 known. But other sources seem to record only 38 known dies. Are the number of dies the same as the control numbers? Perhaps some of the more astute can clarify this? Anyone willing to venture a guess as to how many were struck from a typical die before repair or replacement of the existing die?</p><p><br /></p><p>Please feel free to post any example that remotely relates to this denarius---especially &#039;mythological creatures&#039;<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie100" alt=":wideyed:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]496454[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]496457[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]496458[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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