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<p>[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 4525778, member: 110350"][USER=89970]@Fugio1[/USER], a beautiful coin. It's one of the best examples I've seen, in terms of the degree of detail still visible. From looking at it closely, I realize that I have to revise my description: it's not only the twin on the right who carries a spear pointing downward behind his horse; it's both of them. Now that I know where to look, I can see the spearhead and the top of the spear shaft on my coin beneath the horse on the left, although I still don't see the other end.</p><p><br /></p><p>As far as I can tell from what the catalogs say, this coin is not simply "one of the earliest deviations from what had been a pretty standard depiction of the dioscuri riding right for the previous 80 years," it's the very first such deviation in the depiction of the Dioscuri in the 75-year history of the denarius. As Sear points out, it's also the very first denarius ever to have the "ROMA" legend appear on the obverse instead of the reverse. (Does it surprise anyone to learn that that hadn't happened before?) It's also the second denarius to use the monogrammed form of XVI; the first was Crawford 238/1. For whatever reason, this must have been a time of innovation in the denarius coinage. For example, the first denarius ever to have the head of anyone but Roma appear on the obverse was issued just the previous year, in 137 BCE (the Ti. Veturius denarius [Crawford 234/1] with the head of Mars on the obverse, and the reverse showing a youth holding a pig kneeling between two soldiers).</p><p><br /></p><p>And thanks so much to everyone for posting all your examples of Dioscuri doing things other than galloping in the same direction! Like so many threads here, it's been both fascinating and educational. I've learned a lot today. (Not about road apples, though. Even growing up in New York City, I've seen plenty of them in my time!)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 4525778, member: 110350"][USER=89970]@Fugio1[/USER], a beautiful coin. It's one of the best examples I've seen, in terms of the degree of detail still visible. From looking at it closely, I realize that I have to revise my description: it's not only the twin on the right who carries a spear pointing downward behind his horse; it's both of them. Now that I know where to look, I can see the spearhead and the top of the spear shaft on my coin beneath the horse on the left, although I still don't see the other end. As far as I can tell from what the catalogs say, this coin is not simply "one of the earliest deviations from what had been a pretty standard depiction of the dioscuri riding right for the previous 80 years," it's the very first such deviation in the depiction of the Dioscuri in the 75-year history of the denarius. As Sear points out, it's also the very first denarius ever to have the "ROMA" legend appear on the obverse instead of the reverse. (Does it surprise anyone to learn that that hadn't happened before?) It's also the second denarius to use the monogrammed form of XVI; the first was Crawford 238/1. For whatever reason, this must have been a time of innovation in the denarius coinage. For example, the first denarius ever to have the head of anyone but Roma appear on the obverse was issued just the previous year, in 137 BCE (the Ti. Veturius denarius [Crawford 234/1] with the head of Mars on the obverse, and the reverse showing a youth holding a pig kneeling between two soldiers). And thanks so much to everyone for posting all your examples of Dioscuri doing things other than galloping in the same direction! Like so many threads here, it's been both fascinating and educational. I've learned a lot today. (Not about road apples, though. Even growing up in New York City, I've seen plenty of them in my time!)[/QUOTE]
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