[Poll-5] #2 Ancient Aussie vs #31 TypeCoin971793 (Round 1) CIT 2018

Welcome to Round 1 (Group 3) 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:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it’s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/



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.

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#2 @Ancient Aussie


Roman Provincial. MACEDON. Koinon of Macedonia. Pseudo-autonamous 222 AD to 249 AD
Æ (27mm, 11.19 g, 6h). Beroea mint.
OBV: AΛEΞANΔPOC bust of Alexander the Great right, flowing hair.
REV: KOINMA KE ΔONΩN.B.NE Two tetrastyle temple façades; in field between, column surmounted by statue.
Unpublished in the standard references. VF, green surfaces, ragged edge, some smoothing and roughness.
From the Belgica Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group

Price: $250

Why It’s Cool:
I was attracted to this coin for a number of reasons. First, the portrait of Alexander the Great is rendered in such fine style that it would not be out of place among the highly artistic Hellenistic representations made shortly after his death. It’s amazing to think how lovingly rendered his portrait is on this rare example struck almost 600 years after his death! Second, I love the reverse detail showing two temples and a column which alludes to the fact that the inhabitants of Macedonia were thrilled to bits at being awarded such a privilege as “guardian of the temples” by their Roman overlords (See below).

Beroea was the primary city of the Koinon of Macedonia, a political organization which administered the semi-autonomous Roman Province of Macedonia and was also responsible for issuing coinage. The individual cities, as members of the Koinon, sent representatives to participate in popular assemblies several times each year.

The highlight of these yearly assemblies was a festival, the Alexandreia, organized by the ruling emperor in honor of Alexander the Great which was held at Beroea. This coin was likely produced in that context. The two temples and legend on the reverse indicate "Two Neokorie," advertising that the Koinon of Macedonia held the highly prized designation of "double temple guardian" of the imperial cult. The first Neokoros was awarded by Nerva. The second Neokoros, indicated by B (the Greek number two) or rarely ∆IC (double in Greek) on coins, was first received under Elagabalus. The title was rescinded but was later restored by Severus Alexander, probably in 231 A.D.

Physical remains of the imperial cult from ancient Macedonia are very rare and in fact no trace of a provincial sanctuary remains at Beroea. That means that this coin may give us our best look at what the temples might have looked like. The column, topped with a statue of either Alexander or the emperor, is reminiscent of the types of monuments set up by Trajan, Antoninus Pius and Commodus in the 2nd century and likely represented a local or regional monument that was somehow associated with the festival.

All in all it’s a seemingly rare large diameter bronze coin depicting Alexander the Great that provides a fascinating glimpse into a neat ancient event. What more can you ask for?


Tetrastyle cult temple of Augustus at Pula. Possibly similar in appearance to the cult temples shown on the coin. (Wikipedia)


Image courtesy of ewallmaps.com

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#31 @TypeCoin971793


Lucius Hostilius Saserna
AR Denarius
Obv.: head of Gallia r., hair long and disheveled, Gaulish trumpet (carnyx) behind,
Rev: L HOSTILIUS SASERNA, Diana of Ephesus facing with stag and spear
Seaby, Hostilia 4

Price: $133

Why It's Cool:
I first became intrigued with this coin because it is one of the very few ancient coins that was intentionally designed to look creepy. The bankers’ marks coincidentally add to the forlorn expression of the figure on the obverse. Further research revealed that this coin was part of a trio of denarii struck by Saserna in 48 BC, one other portraying a disheveled figure and the other portraying a classy lady. These can be seen in the image below (not my coins):



On my coin, the Gallic trumpet behind the head alludes to the Gallic Wars, in which Julius Caesar emerged victorious only 4 years earlier. This gives a strong possibility that the obverse figure is a disheveled representation of the recently-defeated Galia. Likewise, on the above coin with a disheveled figure (Coin 1), there is a Gallic shield behind the head and the reverse portrays a Gallic warrior on a chariot, so the obverse figure is interpreted as Vercingetorix, the leader of the Gauls. He surrendered to Caesar at the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, and was executed in 46 BC. Below is a memorial dedicated to Vercingetorix. Note how similar in appearance the hair is to the coin. Since Vercingetorix was alive at the time these coins were made, it is entirely possible that the design was inspired by his appearance.

Vercingetorix monument at the site of Alesia (Wikipedia)

Coin 2 features victory on the reverse, so it is likely representing Rome’s victory in the war.

The Hostilius family can trace its history to Hostus Hostilius, who was a nobleman during the time of Romulus. His grandson, Tullus Hostilius, would become the third king of Rome. Interestingly, Tullus founded temples for Pallor and Pavor, the goddes of fear and the god of panic, respectively. Given the disheveled and forlorn state of the man and woman on the two coins of Saserna, it seems rather possible that he was paying homage to his ancestor and portraying Gallia as Pallor and Vercingetorix as Pavor. This would certainly make sense if Saserna was attepting to further ridicule the defeated Gauls. I am a believer of this theory, so, to me, my coin represents the earliest days of Rome, the victory of Julius Caesar and his rise to power, and the final days of the Roman Republic before the drastic change brought on by the actions and assassination of Caesar.

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A Gentle Reminder
We have had a remarkably fun and friendly tournament so far and I want to thank all of our members who have contributed and commented 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.

 

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This one’s gonna be close

Great coin @Ancient Aussie

 

I've been to Pulla several times and highly suggest others visit if possible. Full of Roman history! Here is a photo of my wife on the steps to the Temple of Augustus in Pulla:

 

BTW, this will be hard decision between two lovely and historical coins. I will have to think on it before I vote.

 

Your absolutely right. I've been looking forward to posting this one since I received the entries!

I don't have any Gaul related coins but here is my only portrait of Alexander III to add to the thread

Kings of Thrace, Macedonian
Lysimachus (305-281 BC)
AR Tetradrachm, Lampascus mint, struck ca. 297-281 BC
Dia.: 31 mm
Wt.: 16.5 g
Obv.: Diademed bust of deified Alexander right with Horn of Ammon
Rev.: ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ Athena Nikphoros seated left with shield and spear. Monogram above crescent
Ref.: Thompson 61
Write up:
Is This What Alexander the Great Looked Like? A Diadochi Tetradrachm

 

That Alexander piece is very nice and somewhat historical. I think that because of the memento value of the coin I'm going to vote for @Ancient Aussie 's coin.

 

Oh my gosh, this is a GREAT bracket! Two cool coins: A haunting coin harkening to a loss of a whole civilization and the always cool Koinen of Macedon! Nice choices!

I have a Haunting Denarius from Cassius, buddy to Brutus from his final days, literally as a bookend to the Denarius above:


RR Gaius Cassius Longinus & P Corn Lentulus Spinther AR den 42 BCE military mint Brutus Cassius Smyrna Libertas r- jug & lituus 18mm 3.3g


And here is a cool Koinen from the Roman Republic's province of Macedonia:


RR Prv Macedon Province 168-166 BC Tamios Quaestor Athena Cow - Eeyore

 

What a masterful job of pairing contestants!!

Eye appeal: both coins have engaging images flawed by damage. They are both artfully done. However, the jagged edge I found disquieting and agreed with TypeCoin that the chops on their coin fit the mood of what it portrays. And that little stag is too cute to miss.

Best bargain: how can you talk about "bargain" with an unpublished variety, unless the seller missed something. CNG did not. I think the denarius fared about as expected for a great imperatorial with facial problems, but a sound specimen of this is quite pricey. I'm giving the edge to AA because of the uniqueness factor.

Historical/numismatic writeup. AA connected the dots for the design elements on the coin and its historical setting. Big subject, deftly handled. But for a contest challenge the introduction of additional material not in the competition took up valuable space from what TypeCoin needed to say about their entry. More than half the writeup was about the other two coins; and did not substantially deepen my appreciation for the entry choice.

 

Well reasoned commentary. Although I will say that I enjoyed the discussion of the other two denarii because I think it strengthens the case for TypeCoin's denarius being associated with Julius Caesar's Gallic campaign. Way cool!

Plus now one of those Coin 1 types has jumped high on my list... who needs to eat when you can buy denarii?... thanks a lot @TypeCoin971793




Edit to add: @Ancient Aussie totally hit it out of the park too. Either of these contestants could have easily found themselves on the winner's podium!

 

In my defense, the context for my coin is rooted in the trio, which tell the complete story. You really cannot talk about one without mentioning the others.

 

I agree close one for sure, I am definitely up against it with your fantastic Hostilius love the facial expression.

 

This choice is a tough one. I like both types (have one, and am on the prowl for the other). So, like in some elections, a close call leads to a landslide -- all three of my votes went one way when the choice was closer to 52 - 48.

 

I had no trouble making this choice because one of these coins has been on my radar since I first saw it. I won't tell which to avoid disrespecting the coin the other half of you preferred.

 

Had to re-read the thread a least 4 times before I made a decision... Decisions decisions

 

@Ancient Aussie , you're letting him pull away brother! Am I going to have to channel Stevex6 and start coaching?

==> Sweep the leg Peter! SWEEP THE LEG!!

 

This is going to be a tough call, I have to think about it tomorrow while I am cutting lawns! Both are great historical pieces. Awesome write-ups too I will cast my vote on Saturday.
John

 

Hang on guys, you might think I'm asleep at the wheel but I'm in heavy negotiations with Bing...

come on Bing what will it take you still after my Anton Galley?

Come on panzaman we go back a long way.....well at least the last tournament, what will it take..hmmm think gold...I got some gold plated earrings that my wife threw back at me on our last anniversary. And one more thing when I have you guys in my pocket and I will....put all your votes in the best bargain category, I'm getting killed there I dunno what's an ultra rare coin worth these days.

 

lol valiant effort my friend

 

I agree
I have a AV Gallic Wars "Uniface Stater"
These were struck to pay the Gallic warriors fighting vs Julius Ceasar.

 

Here is a AV Stater Kolophon Mint 8.59g. 18mm.
Philip III of Macedon 323-17BC struck under Menander