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Message:: [QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 3149166, member: 83845"]Welcome to Round 1 of CIT 2018!  If you are unaware of the tournament I invite you to get caught up with all the fun on the following link: <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it%E2%80%99s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it%E2%80%99s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it’s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/</a> [ATTACH=full]806412[/ATTACH] I want to give a special thank you to the participants for volunteering to play the game.  We have a great group of people here at CT. ........................................................... #16 [USER=87404]@Justin Lee[/USER] [ATTACH=full]806406[/ATTACH] Marcus Aurelius as Caesar, AE As, Struck 145 AD, Rome MintObverse: AVRELIVS CAES-AR AVG PII F COS II, Bare head of Marcus Aurelius to right with slight, youthful beard.Reverse: [No legend], Minerva standing right, holding spear and resting hand on shield, S-C in field.References: RIC III (Antoninus Pius) 1264, Cohen 573Size: 26.22mm, 11.47gDescription: Deep black patina with hints of rich green peeking through in places. Price: $23 Why It’s Cool:In January 145 AD, Marcus Aurelius was made consul for the second time, alongside emperor Antoninus Pius. This is denoted on the coin by COS II in the obverse legend. Having a Caesar reach a second consulship wasn’t out of the ordinary, but Marcus Aurelius was 23 years old, far younger than the minimum age requirement for a consul (some say 32yo and others 42yo). Marcus Aurelius’s first consulship was in 139 AD, when he was only 18, so he obviously exhibited certain extraordinary traits early in his life (a sort of emperor prodigy) that the emperor Hadrian, and later the emperor Antoninus Pius, took careful note of. This coin was struck in the same year that Marcus Aurelius married Faustina Junior, the daughter of emperor Antoninus Pius. This marriage, and his previous adoption by Antoninus, is represented on the coin with PII F in the obverse legend representing “Pius Filius”, meaning “son of Antoninus Pius”, further declaring his hierarchical place to the Roman people and drawing connotations between the piety and moral dignity of Antoninus Pius and himself. [ATTACH=full]806407[/ATTACH]A young Marcus Aurelius (Wikipedia) Marcus Aurelius was Caesar under Antoninus Pius during one of the most peaceful and stable periods of the Principate.  He was scholarly and introspective by nature and it is hard not to contrast the youthful and relaxed portrait on this coin with the later portraits showing a stern statesman faced with what must have been, for him, the distasteful task of constant warfare to defend the empire. The date this coin was struck, 145 AD, would equate to 898 ab urbe condita (“from the founding of the City”). RIC mentions that the usage of divine types, such as Minerva appearing on this reverse, became more common as Rome approached its 900th anniversary. Minerva was a very central goddess for the Romans, and was part of the Capitoline Triad, alongside Jupiter and Juno. Minerva is the goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare. In contrast to Mars the Roman god of war, Minerva was a more thoughtful deity—Minerva appears often with her sword lowered showing sympathy for the recently dead rather than having it raised in boastful triumph. It is thought that Minerva was an evolution of the Etruscan goddess Menrva and a counterpart to the Greek goddess Athena (they both are often shown with an owl to represent their wisdom). Beyond wisdom, battle, and warfare, Minerva also represented medicine, crafts, commerce, poetry, and the arts. This timely depiction of Minerva on the reverse of this coin may represent a general reminiscing on the mystical past of Roman culture by the public. One can only speculate if there were any hidden meaning intended for the Roman people in the usage of Minerva on the reverse. ........................................................... #17 [USER=19463]@dougsmit[/USER] [ATTACH=full]806409[/ATTACH] Augustus AE as 26mm 10.85g 10-7 BC Lugdunum mintCAESAR PONT MAX l. hd. rt.ROM ET AVG altarMillennium Sear 1690, RIC 230, C 240Countermarked on reverse TIB C AVF in rectangular box with extension to accommodate the tall I Price: $65 Why It’s Cool:Bargain: Purchased from Don Zauche's half price box at a coin show in 2017. On 1 August, 10 BC, the city of Lugdunum dedicated its new altar to Rome and Augustus. The dedication was set for the first day of the month honored by being renamed in honor of the Emperor. Bronze coins in a series of sizes were issued showing the altar. Of that series, the most common is the copper as. Much of what we know about the altar comes from well preserved coins, particularly the larger sestertii. You will see some variations in descriptions of the figures shown in different references. Most clear are the two Victories on tall columns flanking the altar. The coins stopped after about three years but were revived near the end of the reign with a different (longer) obverse legend and a parallel issue in the name of Tiberius Caesar. Our coin is special due to the countermark on the reverse. It reads TIB C AVF with the AVF ligate. This reads TIBerius Caesar Filius (son) of AVgustus. Most unusual is the way the I and B of TIB were formed into a ligature. Since the I would disappear completely into the straight stroke of the B, it was raised up but that ran into the top of the rectangular box which had to be bumped out a bit to accommodate the tall I. To me that is a cool extension on a cool countermark carefully aligned on a cool coin issued to commemorate a cool altar dedicated in a hot month. Well, we can't all be cool, can we? I have been told that this countermark is “Martini 32” but I really don't like quoting references I have not seen.<a href="http://www.romancoins.info/CMK-Lugdunum-Aug-Part2.html#MP32" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.romancoins.info/CMK-Lugdunum-Aug-Part2.html#MP32" rel="nofollow">http://www.romancoins.info/CMK-Lugdunum-Aug-Part2.html#MP32</a> I have not seen other examples of this mark on these asses but there are several marks found on the series including some more simply TIB. Why was the mark applied? I do not know. What other coin types bore this mark? What did 'Martini' have to say about it? (Does anyone have this collection reference?). I consider this coin the coolest of my eligible entries (January 2017 to July 2018) even though many people consider countermarks a form of damage. Frequently countermarks are placed in such a way that they damage design on one side or the other of the coin. Many are applied to coins already well worn or otherwise compromised. This coin is above average in these respects. All things considered, the coolest thing about this coin is that it found a collection (mine) where it is appreciated. In researching this write-up, I found a note stating that the altar remained in place until Septimius Severus remodeled the temple complex after defeating Clodius Albinus but details and what happened later are not known. Since I collect Septimius, how cool is that? ........................................................... A Gentle ReminderWe have had a remarkably fun and friendly tournament so far and I want to thank all of our members who have contributed and commented <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Let's continue to do a good job of keeping our tournament friendly! Instead of focusing comments too much on why you didn't vote for one coin over the other try to focus on why you did vote for the one you chose! Remember that everyone gets 3 votes to choose which coin you think comes out on top in each of the three categories. With that I will open the floor to comments, pile-ons and shameless lobbying. FYI:  I am trying out whether or not it will harm participation to make the polls viewable to anyone, even those who haven't voted.  Please provide feedback on this if you have any.[/QUOTE]

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