Roman Republic fourée mule denarius L. Antestius Gragulus, 136 BCE, and C. Renius, 138 BCE ancient forgery, 3.18 gm Obv: Roma helmeted head right, * below chin, GRAG behind Rev: Juno Caprotina in a biga of goats, C・RENI below, ROMA in exergue Ref: Obverse S.115, Cr.238/1, Syd.451, RSC Antestia 9; Reverse S.108, Cr.231/1, Syd.432, RSc Renia 1 I am thrilled to have acquired this fun little coin. While fourées (ancient plated counterfeit coins) might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I know many of you here like them and own them. I’ve been particularly envious of John Anthony’s Vespasian “zombie” mule denarius. Doug, Steve, Eng, Zumbly, Cucumbor, Noob, and other CoinTalk members have fun fourées… I wanted one too . It took a while to find one that called to me but for once I was patient. One whimsical subset I’m building is “Alternative Modes of Transportation”: coins featuring people riding on something other than horses, or chariots drawn by something other than horses. In Roman Republican coinage there are numerous amusing options. Various errors such a brockages are fairly common in the Roman Repubican era; fourées are too. Mule fourées are harder to find. With this one coin I ticked three checkboxes on The List: ✔︎ fourée ✔︎ mule ✔︎ goat biga Very efficient. The prevailing opinion seems to be that fourées were not struck from official dies. For a good discussion of fourées, see Doug's webpage. I’ve looked through all of acsearch, CNG’s archives, and whatever catalogs I have and did not find a die match for either side of my coin. The style certainly looks official enough, but I’ve yet to find a die match. This doesn’t prove that the dies were unofficial but it does skew the odds. I’d love to know how this coin came to be. Since we’ll never know, I’ve imagined the following story. ... Rome, 150 BCE “Appi! Get in here and help your sister with this amphora!” He pretends not to hear his mother. Squinting and hunched close to the ground, with a stick he makes a few more strokes in the portrait he’s drawn at the edge of the dirt road. Not bad, he thinks. It looks like Pater, or it would if he had a seedling growing out of his ear. He plucks the offending plant and gathers rocks to place protectively around the portrait. Maybe I can finish it after supper. It’s the best one I’ve done so far. “Appius Cornelius, you get in this house right this minute, young man!” Focused on his work, he didn’t notice the older boy’s approach, nor the foot carefully placed so that Appi would trip upon standing up. Windmilling his arms, Appi tries to regain balance but tumbles directly on the dirt portrait. “Aww. Did you ruin your precious mud pie, little Caecelius?” Without looking up Appi knew the voice. Lucius Antestius Gragulus. Well, it could be worse. At least this time he didn’t give me a wedgie. Rome, 136 BCE Sweat was dripping down his nose onto the die. It didn’t have far to fall; his nose was mere inches away. Sharpening his graver, he put the final touches on Roma's face. Nearsighted to the point of near blindness, he was lucky to have such artistic talent. What work would otherwise be available for someone like him? In the three years since he’d been in the service of the Rome mint he had helped make hundreds of dies. His work was superior to most of the other engravers’ dies, although he knew better than to brag. Short, slight, and squinty meant being an easy target for bullies, even at eighteen years of age. In name, he was only a junior apprentice. His job was to add the lettering after the master carved the design. In reality, his master made him stay hours later to practice carving the main devices. Recently Appius found that his own "practice" dies were being passed off as the master’s work. The revelation started a chain of events which would change his life. I’m eighteen and still a junior apprentice. My work is better than the master’s yet I’m still being paid as a menial laborer. I’ll never be elevated to master or even junior apprentice as long as that jackass is alive, and Antonia will never marry me until I have at least made apprentice. I’m lucky that she even likes me. People say she’s ugly, maybe that’s why she accepts my advances. She sure feels beautiful though... Thwack. “Appius, you scraggy little cinaedus! You’re going to rust out that die before the first denarius is struck! Move you stupid head further away and stop sweating!” It’s as hot as a brazier in here, you pig’s ass, he thought, but he wiped his brow and raised his head, at least until the dominus was out of sight. No more, he silently vowed. I snuck a Renius die out of here two years ago, and now I have but to engrave the letters on this Gragulus. Rufus has been making plated flans in a workshop hidden near the docks. If we spread the forgeries out in the city, maybe get them into the hands of travelers and soldiers, we won’t have to put up with these fools any longer. I wonder how Antonia would feel about moving to Sicily? ... Please show your fourées, mules, and unusual modes of transportation
LOL, great story. And it looks like a bankers mark or pm test mark on the reverse too... as well a good toning... LOTSA check-offs!
Thanks!! I guess it could have test marks on the reverse but suspect you're seeing areas where the plating has failed.
If you do find what looks like a die link, look very closely. Fourees were sometimes made from transfer dies. Some very high quality modern forgeries are made using a similar process.
That is a very nice and very well made fouree! If it didn't have the breaks in the plating, I think it would be hard to tell it was a fouree with just a picture. Nice coin!
What I find interesting here is the fact that my mule fourree also has a Gragulus obverse but with an M. Aburius reverse. I hear a lot about transfer dies but some I have seen so labeled did not strike me as certain matches. Certainly mine is not the same die as TIF's. Were either transferred or are both cut by someone well skilled and using the other as a guide? The modern transfer methods were not available back then but they may have had other ways. At the show Friday, a dealer had a fourree Republican priced at $150. That is absurd. When I bought mine, they were considered uncollectible by everyone save fools. I paid $25 to a dealer I never patronized (because he was so overpriced) because I already owned solid coins of both types and thought the mule was interesting. TIF's coin is as nice as they get.
Warren Esty (@Valentinian ) also has a page with many Roman Republican fourées. He notes that 2-3% of all denarii of that period were plated. Also, I may be misspelling the word. Is it fourée, foureé, fourrée, or fourré? Or something else?
Love your new coin. One of the best fouree's I've seen. Congrats. C RENIUS AR Denarius OBVERSE: Helmeted head of Roma right, X behind REVERSE: Juno Capriotina in biga of goats right, C RENI below goats, ROMA in ex Struck at Rome 138 BC 3.6g, 16mm Cr231/1, Syd 432
Wow Princess => that's an absolutely awesome coin (and an even better fourree coin!!) => it's a transportation coin => it's a fourree => "and" it's got awesome toning!! You're correct => I also have a fourree that I "love" ... KINGS of MACEDON. Philip III Arrhidaios Fourrée Fifth Tetradrachm 323-317 BC Copying Amphipolis mint issue struck under Polyperchon, circa 318–317 BC Diameter: 13 mm Weight: 1.94 grams Obverse: Head of Apollo right, wearing tainia Reverse: Youth on horseback right; shield below Reference: For prototype, cf. Le Rider pl. 46, 29 & 32; cf. Troxell, Studies, Group 8, 382; cf. SNG ANS 731-5 Other: 8h … toned, breaks in plating exposing bronze core From the collection of a Southern Pathologist, purchased from Antioch Associates, 23 February 1998
Thanks for posting it, Steve-O! How about adding your funky modes of transportation coins? I know you have several... Here are some of my non-horse bigas and quadrigas: Roman Republic moneyer L. Julius L. f. Caesar, 103 BC AR denarius, 17mm, 3.9 gm Obv: Helmeted head of Mars left; CAESAR; ・J above (or retrograde C?) Rev: Venus Genetrix in chariot left, drawn by two Cupids; lyre to left; ・J above Ref: Crawford 320/1 ex RBW Collection Cupid bigas didn't catch on, plus the biga's wheel placement was an issue. Another flying animal with dubious aerodynamics: THRACE, Pautalia. Caracalla CE 198-217 AE29, 16.4 gm Obv: AYT K M AY CEY ANTΩNEINOC; Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev: OYΛΠIAC ΠAYTAΛIAC; Asklepios seated right on back of winged serpent Ref: Varbanov 5007 Hippocamp quadriga! (insert girlie squeal) PHOENICIA, Berytos 1st century BCE Æ19.5, 5.9 gm Obv: Turreted head of Tyche right Rev: Poseidon standing left in quadriga drawn by four hippocamps Ref: SNG Copenhagen 83
I have an opinion on that one. You can spell it as you wish. I use fourree after the choice made by Campbell in his great book on the subject http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000104992965;view=1up;seq=7 now free to all who click. He rarely uses the word and I am not devoted enough or French so I don't go to the trouble of the é. Call me lazy. Other spellings may be equally fine but I have not seen the books I worship written by their proponents.
I'm leaning towards just calling them "plated". Or, if I were ten years old and texting someone about ancient plated counterfeit coins, 4E
LOL, googled French translation for fourree = STUFFED in English. I thought it was a derivative of "Forgery" Laughed, then realized, yup, base-metal is "stuffed" into a casing of silver... And, @TIF it showed the accent on the first "e" in French
Are you actually trying to increase the desirability (and prices) of fourrees? Well, you're succeeding! Is anyone else just a teeny bit annoyed that their authentic ancient coins aren't as beautiful as TIF's fourree?