Republican Denarii Nos. 35 & 36

Back to normal, after my venture far afield to a Roman Provincial of Caesarea! Although these may be my last purchases of Roman Republican coins for a while -- I don't want to get carried away. Unless, of course, I see something I can't resist!

35. Roman Republic, C. Vibius C. f. C. n. Pansa Caetronianus, AR Denarius 48 BCE, Rome mint. Obv. Mask of bearded Pan right; below, PANSA / Rev. Jupiter A[n]xurus, laureate, barechested, seated left on throne, holding patera in right hand and long scepter in left hand; on right, C•VIBIVS•C•F•C•N curving downwards; on left, IOVIS • AXVR curving upwards. Crawford 449/1a, RSC I Vibia 18 (ill.), Sear RCV I 420 (ill.), BMCRR 3978, Sydenham 947. 19 mm., 3.75 g.* (Purchased from Silbury Coins, UK, Sep. 2020.)


*Caius Vibius Pansa, son of Caius and grandson of Caius, was Consul in 43 BCE. (Crawford p. 465.) According to Grueber in BMCRR (pp. 509-510 at n. 1), he was a supporter of Caesar, and governor of Bithynia and Pontus in 47 BCE, striking coins at Apamea and Nicaea. He was killed in battle in 43 BCE before the town of Murina.

The mask of Pan on the obverse -- I assume it's considered a representation of a mask of Pan, rather than a representation of Pan himself, because it has no neck? -- is a pun on his cognomen, Pansa. (Crawford p. 465.) The figure of Jupiter A[n]xurus on the reverse (see the reverse legend) refers to an association of the moneyer’s gens, Vibia, with the town of Anxur (now Terracina). (See id.) The town is in Latium on the Tyrrhenian sea, about 98 km. southeast of Rome. See BMCRR at p. 510 at n. 1, stating that in Anxur “there was a special cult of Jupiter, whose temple was situated on the highest point of the city, and who was represented as a youth, handsome in features, and of perfect form; a representation suggested by the type of the coin.” See also John Melville Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (Seaby, London 1990) at p. 153, under entry for Jupiter.

The ruins of the sanctuary platform and temple of Jupiter Axurus can still be found in Tarracina; here's a photo from Wikipedia:



I have a couple of questions/comments about the reverse; here's a detail of the relevant portion:



First, there's more detail on this example than on a lot of others I've seen, which leads me to ask: what's that thing sticking out of the back of Jupiter's left heel? It looks like a dart. But he's not Achilles, so I doubt that that was the intention!

Second, this is also one of the few examples I've seen on which one can see the front edge of the seat of Jupiter's throne. From the angle, it almost looks like an attempt at perspective. But then again, where are the front legs of the throne?

36. Roman Republic, L. Procilius L.f., AR Serrate Denarius, 80 BCE. Obv. Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goatskin headdress; behind, S•C downwards / Juno Sospita wearing goatskin headdress, standing in biga right with galloping horses, holding figure-eight style shield [prob. an allusion to the mythological Shield of the Salii priests, or ancilia] in left hand and brandishing spear in right hand; coiled serpent below horses; in exergue, L•PROCILI•F. Crawford 379/2, RSC I Procilia 2 (ill.), Sear RCV I 307 (ill.), BMCRR Rome 3150, Sydenham 772, Harlan, RRM I Ch. 4 at pp. 19-22 [Michael Harlan, Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins, 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012)]. 20.05 mm., 3.97 g. (Purchased from Marc Breitsprecher, Oct. 2020.)*



* See Crawford at p.396, stating that the moneyer, Lucius Procilius son of Lucius, “is presumably to be identified with the Senator attested in 56 [citing Cicero] and with the man later condemned for misconduct in that year [also citing Cicero].” The presence of Juno Sospita on both sides of the coin “reveals the moneyer’s Lanuvine origin” (id.), as does the presence of the serpent, which “alludes to a sacred ritual performed at Lanuvium.” Harlan, RRM 1, Ch. 4 at p. 20.

Regarding the type of shield held by Juno Sospita and its connection to the ancilia, that connection is supported by David R. Sear, whose online Glossary of Frequently Encountered Terms in Roman Coin Descriptions (also found in each volume of the Millenium Edition of Roman Coin Values) states as follows: "Ancile a shield of distinctive form (narrow central section of oval shape with broad curving extensions at top and bottom). It was a particular attribute of Juno Sospita and was associated with the Salian priesthood of Mars." See https://www.davidrsear.com/academy/roman_glossary.html#Ancile. See also the discussion of the ancile at https://www.romanumismatics.com/historicarticles?view=article&article_id=509, with a photo of an example of an Augustus denarius (RIC 343) depicting two ancilia on the reverse.

Now that I have an example of Crawford 379/2, I can pair it with my example of Crawford 379/1:

Roman Republic, L. Procilius L.f., AR Denarius, 80 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Jupiter R., S C behind/ Rev. Juno Sospita advancing right, wearing Etruscan shoes turned up at the toe, holding figure-eight shield [prob. an allusion to the mythological Shield of the Salii priests, or ancilia] in left hand and hurling spear with right hand; snake before; behind, L. PROCILI/F downwards. RSC I Procilia 1 (ill.), Crawford 379/1, Sydenham 771, Sear RCV I 306 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 4 at pp. 19-22 [Michael Harlan, Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins, 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012)], BMCRR Rome 3147. 19.5 mm., 3.6 g. (Purchased from Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., NYINC Jan. 2020.)*





* Same footnote, except to note Crawford's statement at p. 396 that the reverse type on this coin “doubtless portrays the cult statue of Juno Sospita” (id., citing Cicero, De Natura Deorum 1.82).

Edited to add: Please post your own Vibius Pansa coins (there are quite a few different kinds, from both this moneyer and his father), your own Juno Sospita coins from anyone, or anything else that you think is appropriate.

 

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Nice! I like those Juno Sospita issues.

 

nice!...i like those Panza coins

 

Amazing coins!!
And you sure don't have to twist my arm to get me to show off my Pansa
Edit: doh! That was my balbus... here's my pretty Pansa:

C. Vibius C.f. Pansa.

90 B.C.E. AR denarius (16.5 mm, 3.70 g, 6 h). Rome mint. PANSA, laureate head of Apollo right, liitus below chin / C·VIBIVS·CF, Minerva driving quadriga right, holding reins and spear. Crawford 324/5b;

 

@DonnaML, That's some Stuff! ...Done for this minute. --If I wasn't, the loop would just start over again....

 

..and now that i look at the one of the beo shield, i really like that one too!

 

Beo?

 

C, Vivius Pansa Ar Denarius 48 B.C. Obv Head of bearded Pan right Rv. Jupiter seated left Crawford 449/1a 4.04 grms 18 mm Photo by W. Hansen PS I like yours as well Donna

 

I don't know that either of my coins adds anything to the questions but it does seem that Jupiter is sitting on a stadium stool rather than a throne. On these it seems regular that his right leg is a bit overlong.

 

Thanks. But how would you interpret what I see on my coin as the straight front edge of the seat? I agree that it simply isn't present on your example, and I hadn't noticed it on any other examples before mine.

 

I notice that your Jupiter also has something sticking out of the back of his left heel. Any thoughts on what it might be?

 

Great additions, @DonnaML ...

I have Vibius’ and Pansa’s earlier relatives from the Social War in 90 BCE


RR Vibius Pansa 90 BCE AR Den Apollo Minerva Quadriga Sear 242 Cr 345-5 Social-Marsic War

 

Nice examples of two interesting types that are still on my want list. I'm particularly fond of the L. Procilius and am surprised/annoyed that I haven't gotten round to getting one of my own yet.

Fancy (winged) sandals is my guess. On some of them, I believe you can see the detail on his other heel as well.

Here's a Juno Sospita from the last time she ever appears on Roman coinage.

COMMODUS
AR Denarius. 3.33g, 18mm. Rome mint, Autumn - Dec AD 177. RIC (Marcus Aurelius) 646; Cohen 270. O: L AVREL COMMODVS AVG GERM SARM, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: IVNONI SISPITAE TR P II IMP II COS P P, Juno Sospita, advancing right, brandishing javelin in right hand and holding shield in left; in front, snake.

 

...yeah...boeotian.....pardon the lazy slang..

 

No more figure-eight shield by then, I see.

 

The answer to DonnaML question is I really do not know. Both my reverse die and yours has the feature. It could be almost anything.

 

Could it be that we see a small part of the right back leg of whatever Jupiter is sitting on, partly hidden by his foot ?

Excellent coins anyway


L. Procilius L.F., Denarius - Rome mint, 80 BC
Laureate head of Jupiter right, S . C behind
Juno Sospita right holding spear and shield. A snake at her feet. L . PROC[ILI/F] behind
3.77 gr
Ref : RCV # 306, RSC, Procilia # 1



L. Procilius L.F., Denarius - Rome mint, 80 BC
Head of Juno Sospita right, clad in goat’s skin, S . C behind
Juno Sospita in biga right holding spear and shield. A snake below biga. [L. PROCILI. F] at exergue
19,5 mm - 3.89 gr
Ref : RCV # 307, RSC, Procilia # 2

Q

 

I’ve always thought of the shield she carries on the RR issues as being peanut-shaped. On the later Imperial issues I think it more closely resembles the Roman scutum.

 

The funny thing with those RR Juno Sospitas is she holds her spear in the right hand but seems to throw it above her left shoulder (you see the spear behind her neck). I guess one has to be a deity to have the ability to doing it that way

Q