Republican Denarii Nos. 35 & 36

wonderful RR denarii! I don't have much to add to your questions. My Jupiter doesn't seem to have the heel dart, but I like the fancy sandal theory. I don't see the front edge of the seat on your coin, I suspect it is just a toning artifact or just his clothing? I also see a one legged "stadium stool" - a modern version here on Etsy:


Here are my coins of these types: I like the explicit naming of Jupiter as Axur on this coin.

C. Vibius C.f. C.n. Pansa Caetronianus, 48 BC, AR Denarius, Rome mint
Obv: Mask of Pan right; pedum (a shepherd's crook) behind
Rev: C·VIBIVS·C·F·C·N IOVIS·AXVR, Jupiter Axurus seated left, holding patera and scepter
Ref: Crawford 449/1b

And the shield always leads me to Juno playing the viola...

L. Procilius, 80 BC, AR serrate denarius
Obv: Head of Juno Sospita right; S C behind
Rev: Juno Sospita, holding spear and shield, in biga right, serpent below; L PROCILI F in exergue.
Ref: Crawford 379/2

 

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Thank you. I'm curious as to what specifically associates that type of shield with Boeotia? Given that the ancilia seems to be connected to Juno Sospita, Lanuvium, and/or the Sallian priesthood of Mars in Rome (see the discussion in my OP), and that none of those are associated with Greece in general or Boeotia in particular.

 

Wow. Those might be the best examples of the two L. Procilius Juno Sospita coins I've ever seen. It's extremely unusual to have Juno's face on the reverses so well-preserved. Not to mention the horses' faces on the second one. All those faces are either completely gone or gone except for the outline of Juno's profile in my two examples, even though I believe mine are otherwise in much better than average condition.

 

Sorry for the photos of photos (and for my inability to post correctly yet!) But here is my Pansa. I particularly liked the obverse toning.

 

Yes, I've noticed! Very odd, and one would think that when she lets go it won't travel very far. But she is Juno, so you're correct that she isn't limited by human anatomy.

 

It's a great coin. To make your photos part of the text, simply click on "full image" after you upload them, and they'll post wherever your cursor is located.

 

If you mean the object that looked to me like a dart, you can see in my photos that it is sticking directly out of Jupiter's right back heel. So I'm going with the theory of the fancy sandal with a wing or something of the like protruding from the back of the heel. He's definitely wearing sandals; I think you can sort of see the toes of his left foot.

 

@Sulla80, your coins are terrific.

In terms of what Jupiter is sitting on, perhaps it's sort of like a Rorschach test, but I still see a squarish seat with a front edge, at least on my die. Here's another photo of the reverse that I just took; if you zoom in on it, it shouldn't blur too much and I think perhaps you'll be able to see what I'm looking at more clearly than in the other photos I posted.



First, I don't think that his seat or throne or whatever it is looks much like the modern one-legged camp stool of which you posted a photo. I wonder if there are any drawings of Roman camp stools. In this one, as in all the examples I've seen, there's one visible and very ornate leg -- directly to the left of Jupiter's long scepter -- that's off to the right of his seat instead of extending from its bottom center as in the camp stool photo you posted. This leg is undoubtedly part of the seat, because in my example you can clearly see the metal bar extending upwards from the leg and curving around behind Jupiter, serving as a very low backrest against which he's leaning.

Second, what I'm seeing as the front edge of his seat -- again, it doesn't seem to be present in the other examples people have posted -- is the thick black line angling upwards to the left from Jupiter's left leg, just below his knee. There's another thick black line angling upwards a bit less sharply to the right from his left leg, also at or just below his knee. Even though it doesn't line up precisely with the line angling off to the left, I see it as a possible side edge of his seat.

In addition, when the thick black line going left reaches Jupiter's right leg, I see an edge curving around and going under his very skinny right leg, which seems to go over and under that edge before emerging at the bottom right as his right foot and ankle. (Which, of course, would make his right leg about twice as long as his left leg, but hey, who's complaining!)

So perhaps it's a one-legged seat, but I do see it as squarish in shape and partially visible, rather than round and completely hidden under Jupiter.

 

I do think in the new photo I see what you are describing, and of course trust you can see more clearly in hand that any photo. In the latest photo I see a rounded ridge, which does look interesting and I don't have any additional guesses as to what it could be. This is the joy of these little works of art - no shortage of fun thoughts to ponder (not all with answers). I appreciate your post for raising thoughtful questions that prompt a closer look.

 

Thanks for keeping an open mind! Another difference I notice between my example and the others posted in this thread (as well as others I've seen) is that in all the other examples, Jupiter's left leg is considerably slanted down towards the left all the way to his left foot, and looks like it's crossed with his right leg in front of the seat (which makes sense for a traditional camp stool). In mine, by contrast, Jupiter's lower left leg points straight down to his foot from his knee -- almost as if it could itself be a chair leg! -- while his right leg crosses behind under the seat (at least as I see it).

 

Excellent!

 

my Juno Sospita coins

Republican Denarius , L. Thorius Balbus. Rome. 105 BC.
I.S.M.R. abbreviated legend behind head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat-skin headdress /
Bull charging right; L THORIVS BALBVS legend in two lines in exergue, control letter K above. Crawford 316/1; Sydenham 598; Thoria 1; Sear 192.


Republican Denarius Serratus , L Papius. 79 BC.
Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goatskin, symbol ''double-ended comb'' behind / Gryphon springing right, symbol ''two joined earrings'' below, L PAPI in ex. , Crawford Symbol Pair #23 ''double-ended comb/ two joined earrings'' , Babelon Symbol Pair #48


Republican Denarius , L Procilius. 80 BC.
Bust of Jupiter right, SC behind / L PROCILI F, Juno Sospita advancing right with sheild, spear aloft, serpent in front of him. Syd 771, Cr379/1.

 

IVNO SOSPITA

Couple of mine:


Roman Republic
Head of Juno Sospita R, goat skin headdress,
She-wolf R, placing stick on fire, eagle standing fanning flames,
45 BCE 19.0mm 4.07g
Craw 472-1



RR L Papius serratus 79 BCE Juno Sospita goat skin JUG Griffon Sear 311 Craw 384-1

 

Well, why not pile on with a few Juno Sospitas?

Cr. 384/1 (Papia 1) (all auction photos, need to shoot them myself):





Cr. 472/1 (Papia 2):


Cr. 379/2 (Procilia 2) (old photo'):


Cr 379/1 (Procilia 1):



Cr. 412/1 (Roscia 3):



ATB,
Aidan.

 

I might as well post my two other Juno Sospita coins, in addition to the two L. Procilius coins depicting her that I posted in the OP. She certainly was a popular deity back in Republican days! I know that her final appearance on an Imperial coin, from the reign of Commodus, has been posted in this thread, but how many other times was she depicted on an Imperial coin?

Roman Republic, L. Papius, AR Serrate Denarius, 79 BCE. Obv. Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat skin; control-symbol of lyre behind/ Rev. Gryphon prancing right, control-symbol of lyre-key below, L. PAPI in exergue. Crawford 384/1 (see also Crawford Vol. II Plate LXVII, control-symbol 127 & p. 788), RSC I Papia 1, Sear RCV I 311 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 7 at pp. 32-35, BMCRR Rome 2977-3095 [control-symbol pair not in BMCRR]. 19 mm., 3.79 g., 9 h.




Roman Republic, L. Roscius Fabatus, AR Serrate Denarius, 64 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat's skin, control-symbol to left, [L.] ROSCI in exergue/ Rev. Maiden standing right with basket over shoulder, feeding serpent erect before her, control-symbol to left, FABATI in exergue. RSC I Roscia 3, Crawford 412/1 (see also Crawford Vol. II Plate LXVIII, control-symbol pair 106* & pp. 790-792), Sear RCV I 363 (ill.), Harlan, RRM II Ch. 3 at pp. 21-27, BMCRR Rome 3507 (control-symbol pair 106). 16mm, 3.93g., 3h. (Depicts annual ceremony at Juno Sospita festival in Lanuvium, in grotto under temple; see RSC I at p. 85.)



* Flaming oil lamps/candle-holders (not identified as such in BMCRR or Crawford).

 

OK, let’s try my Juno Sospita and see if I learned anything about posting photos!

 

I like your Pansa, Cr 449/1a. I bought a similar coin shortly after starting collecting RR coins. Unfortunately the coin looked poorer in hand than in the pics.

 

Edit – accidental double post

 

Two very nice coins, @DonnaML ! The bearded mask of Pan on your coin is in truly excellent style.

My only Pansa was struck by the abovementioned older relative of your moneyer and is far less spectacular:


Roman Republic, moneyer: C. Vibius Pansa, AR denarius, 90 BC, Rome mint. Obv: laureate head of Apollo r.; behind, PANSA downwards; before, control-mark. Rev: Minerva in quadriga r., holding spear and reins in l. hand and trophy in r. hand; in exergue, C VIBIVS C F. 19mm, 3.67g. Ref: RRC 342/5b.