Featured Roman Republic denarii with reverses showing animals (other than horses)

I got the one without the scorpion.....

It might be more rare than the scorpion variety, but I would have liked a scorpion


Aemilia
Moneyer: M. Aemilius Scaurus
Coin: Silver Denarius
above M SCAVR; on either side, EX SC; below, AED CVR - Camel right; before, kneeling figure holding reins in let hand and olive-branch tied with fillet in right hand, border of dots.
P HVPSAEVS; AED CVR; below, C HVPSAE COS; PREIVER; on right, CAPTVM upwards - Jupiter in quadriga left, holding reins in left hand and hurling thunderbolt with right hand, border of dots.
Mint: Rome (58 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.76g / 18mm / -
References:

• Crawford 422/1a
• BMCRR Rome 3877

 

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WoWiE @DonnaML! Some real showstoppers you've got and a great thread idea ta boot!
I'll try not to trample the same ground but I'm noticing a derth of pachyderms!

And a pooch for good measure

 

A few more non-Biga/Triga/Quadriga RR Dens:


RR L Rustius 76 BCE AR Den 19mm 3.6g Mars SC Rome - Ram L RVSTI Cr 389-1 Sear 320



RR M Volteius Mf AR Denarius 78 BCE 18mm 3.96g Hd Hercules R lion skin headdress - Erymanthian boar Cr 385-2 ex SteveX6



RR 265-242 BCE AR Heavy Denarius - Didrachm Roma-Victory Crawford 22-1 Sear 25



RR Hd Juno Sospita R goat skin hddrss She-wolf R placing stick on fire eagle stndng fanning flames 45 BCE 19.0mm 4.07g Cr 472-1



RR Malleolus Albinus Caecilius Metellus AR Den 20.0mm 3.7g Rome 96 BCE ROMA - Roma seated L pile of shields spear and sword Vict Cr335-1b Syd611a

 

I have only one Republican denarius, but it proudly wears a most fearsome boar:



AR denarius, Rome. M. Volteius M. f. 75 BC. Obv. Head of young Hercules right, wearing lion’s skin headdress. Rev. Erymanthian Boar charging right, VOLTEI·M·F in exergue. 17mm, 3.64 g.

 

All of these are so great. Thank you for posting them, everyone!

 

Fun coins, everyone!

@DonnaML, although it's not limited to Republican coins you may be interested in this old but in-depth thread:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancient-coin-animals-by-alphabet.267837/

CoinTalkers have an extensive zoo!

Here are some of my Republican animals, real and mythological:

Hippocamps

ROMAN REPUBLIC, Moneyer Q. Crepereius M.f. Rocus
69 BCE (revised from Crawford's 72 BCE)
AR serrate denarius; 3.99 gm
Obv: draped bust of Amphitrite seen from behind, with head turned r.; behind, sea anemone; horizontal I to right of right shoulder (only partly visible on this coin)
Rev: Neptune in biga of hippocamps right, holding reins and brandishing trident; above, I and below, Q·CREPER·M·F / ROCVS
Ref: Crawford 399/1b; Babelon Crepereia 1. Sydenham 796a. Rare.
from HJB BBS 200, October 2016
ex NAC 78 lot 1828, from the JD Collection of Roman Republican Coins

Centaurs

ROMAN REPUBLIC, M. Aurelius Cotta
139 BCE
AR Denarius, 20 mm, ? gm (can't find my scale right at the moment )
Obv: helmeted head of Roma right; X (mark of value) behind; COTA before; dotted border
Rev: Hercules carrying a club, driving biga of centaurs right; centaurs each carrying a branch; M·AVRELI (AVR is ligate); in exergue, ROMA; line border
Ref: Crawford 229/1b; Sydenham 429; Aurelia 16
formerly slabbed, NGC bulk submission holder, "VF"

Goats

Roman Republic fourée mule denarius
L. Antestius Gragulus, 136 BCE, and C. Renius, 138 BCE
ancient forgery, 3.18 gm
Obv: Roma helmeted head right, * below chin, GRAG behind
Rev: Juno Caprotina in a biga of goats, C・RENI below, ROMA in exergue
Ref: Obverse S.115, Cr.238/1, Syd.451, RSC Antestia 9; Reverse S.108, Cr.231/1, Syd.432, RSc Renia 1

Wolf, birds

Roman Republic, Anonymous
Rome, 115-114 BCE
AR denarius, 20 mm, 3.91 g, 10 h
Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right, X behind, ROMA below
Rev: Roma, helmeted, seated on two shields, holding spear before her, she-wolf standing right at her feet, head turned back, sucking Romulus and Remus. In left and right fields, two birds flying towards her.
Ref: Crawford 287/1

Eagles

Roman Republic, the Pompeians
L. Cornelius Lentulus and C. Claudius Marcellus
Military mint in the East (Apollonia and Asia), 49 BC
AR denarius, 19 mm, 3.8 gm
Obv: Triskeles, with winged head of Medusa facing at center; stalk of grain between each leg
Rev: Jupiter standing facing, head right, holding thunderbolt in right hand and eagle on left; LE(NT) (MAR) upward to left, COS upward to right
Ref: Crawford 445/1b; Sydenham 1029a


Roman Republic, Lucius Aurelius Cotta
105 BCE
Fourree AR serrate denarius, 20 mm, 3.8 gm
Obv: draped bust of Vulcan right, wearing laureate pileus; tongs and star behind; all within wreath and dotted border
Rev: eagle standing on thunderbolt, head left; L·COT below, V to right; all within laurel wreath and dotted border
Ref: c.f. Crawford 314/1c; Sydenham 577a; Aurelia 21b
formerly slabbed, NGC ChVF, 5/5 strike, 3/5 surface

Pig

Roman Republic, Ti. Veturius
137 BCE, Rome
AR denarius, 3.85 gm
Obv: Helmeted bust of Mars right
Rev: youth kneeling left, holding pig; two soldiers standing holding spear and touching pig with swords. ROMA above.
Ref: Crawford 234/1, Sydenham 527, RSC Veturia 1

Dogs

Roman Republic, C. Postumius
73 BCE, Rome
AR denarius, 18.74 mm, 3.6 gm
Obv: bust of Diana right, bow and quiver over shoulder
Rev: hound running right, spear below; C. POSTVMI, TA in exergue
Ref: Crawford 394/1a


Roman Republic, L. Caesius
112-111 BCE
AR denarius, 3.92 gm
Obv: bust of Vejovis (some references say Apollo?) from behind, head turned left, holding a thunderbolt, legend AP; dotted border.
Rev: Lares praestites seated with heads left, dog between, bust of Vulcan above, with tongs behind; legend LA-RE; dotted border.
Ref: Crawford 298/1. Sydenham 564. RSC Caesia 1

Sheep (I really want to upgrade this coin!)

ROMAN REPUBLIC, L. Rustius
74 BCE
AR denarius, 18 mm, 3.7 gm
Obv: helmeted head of Mars right
Rev: ram standing right; L RVSTI in exergue
Ref: Crawford 389/1, Sydenham 782, Rustia 1

 

Beautiful zoo @DonnaML

She-wolf :



Bull :



Swan (or Ibis) :



Snake :



Hound :



Camel and scorpion :



Elephant and snake :



Stork :


Q

 

GLADIATORIAL


Roman Republic
42 BCE
Moneyer: L Livineius Regulus (one of 4 Moneyers that year! A quattuorvirate)
AR Denarius 3.7g, 19mm
Obv: Bare head of the praetor L. Livineius Regulus right
Rev: Gladiatorial scene; in foreground, one man attacks lion with spear; in back ground, second man with shield and sword attacks panther; on left, wounded boar; in exergue, L. REGVLVS
Ref: Sear 489; Crawford 494/30; Syd. 1112



AR denarius T. Deidius / Didius, Rome 113-112 B.C. -- gladiatorial scene-
Grade: VF Material: SilverWeight: 3.81 g
Diameter: 18.00 mm
Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma to right, star below, ROMA in monogram behind
Reverse: T.DEIDI Two gladiators fighting each other, the one on the left uses a whip, the one on the right, a sword

 

Warriors Fighting


RR Minicuis Thermus 103 BCE AR Den Mars 2 Warriors fighting fallen S 197 Cr 319-1

 

But where's the animal?! The barbarian? That's not a very nice thing to say!

 

These people were ANIMALS!

 

two of my favorites

 

Thanks for the link, TIF. I spent more than an hour yesterday reading all 25 pages of that thread. A lot of fascinating coins, but I'm glad I limited this thread to Republican coins, or there would be no end to it! Interesting that there were some posters who apparently didn't even realize that there's more to Republican coins than an endless series of bigas and quadrigas!

I really do like the Philip I SAECVLARES AVGG animal reverses -- I have a nice example of the lion (RIC IV-3 12), and also his elephant reverse (RIC IV-3 58), which isn't actually part of that series. I've often been tempted to buy some of the Gallienus zoo coins, but it's really hard to find examples that don't look terrrible. Interesting how much the coinage seems to have deteriorated in only 20 years or so.

 

A new animal arrived today to live in my Republican non-equine zoo (which I keep separate from my Philip I/Otacilia Severa SAECVLARES AVGG zoo!):

Roman Republic Cn. Plancius, AR Denarius, 55 BCE, Rome mint. Obv. Female head (Diana Planciana [acc. to RSC] or Macedonia [acc. to RCV & Crawford]) right, wearing causia, CN. PLANCIVS before, AED. CVR. S. C. behind/ Rev. Cretan goat standing right, bow and quiver to left. RSC I Plancia 1, Crawford 432/1, Sydenham 933, Sear RCV I 396 (ill.). 18 mm, 3.82 gm, 5h.


I really love this coin!

Here is Crawford Vol. I at p. 355, discussing the identification of the personification on the obverse:

And here is David Sear's discussion of the coin in RCV Vol. I (Millennium Edition) at p. 48. He obviously changed his mind on identifying the head on the obverse at some point between the publications of RSC and the Millennium Edition of RCV:

 

Lovely coin @DonnaML

 

Thank you. I'm very happy with it. It cost a bit more than I am usually willing to spend for a single coin, but it was love at first sight! It came from Eukratides -- Bradley J. Bowlin.

 

Niiice! Well done.

Here is mine to make yours look even better!


RR Cn Plancius 55 BCE Macedonia causia Cretan Goat quiver Sear 396 Craw 432-1

 

Vibius Varus, 42/41 BC. Young Bacchus/Panther jumping at bacchic table of ornaments:



Or, as others might have said: «Varus! Where are my reverses!»

 

I recently read J. P. Harlans chapter about this coin, as I bought one of the type for myself. Quite interesting coin and story. That Scaurus was a real scoundrel, if there ever was one!

 

Gogeeous !

Q