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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bing, post: 4601508, member: 44132&quot;]I recently came upon this coin for sale with a reverse that I had either never heard of or I had forgotten about.&nbsp; After doing some research, I found the following information:</p><p><br /></p><p><i>&quot;Although the moneyer Q. Pomponius Musa is unknown to history, his choice of Hercules Musarum and the nine Muses as coin types is remarkable and clearly connected to his cognomen.</i></p><p><i>This series of coin types, Hercules playing the lyre and the Muses, can be no other than the celebrated statue group by an unknown Greek artist, taken from Ambracia and placed in the Aedes Herculis Musarum, erected by M. Fulvius Nobilior in 187 BC after the capture of Ambracia in 189 BC (Plin. NH xxxv.66; Ov. Fast. vi.812). By the second century BC Rome had overrun most of Greece and was captivated by Hellenic art and culture, not the least statuary. Fulvius is said to have taken the statues to Rome because he learned in Greece that Hercules was a musagetes (leader of the Muses). Thalia, as Muse of Comedy, would have been behind the works of Roman playwrights such as Plautus.</i></p><p><i>Remains of this temple have been found in the area of the Circus Flaminius close to the south-west part of the circus itself, and north-west of the porticus Octaviae. An inscription found nearby, ‘M. Fulvius M. f. Ser. n. Nobilior cos. Ambracia cepit;’ may have been on the pedestal of one of the statues. The official name of the temple was Herculis Musarum aedes, which Servius and Plutarch called Herculis et Musarum ades.&quot;</i></p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m not certain if all nine muses are available, but doing a quick research, I found 6 available and for sale on Vcoins alone.&nbsp; It would seem to me that collecting all of the muses could be a worthwhile sub-collection.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>So I have purchased my first in this series.&nbsp; It may or may not be scarce or rare, but I found very few of this type for sale or in past sales information on Acsearch and CNG.&nbsp; This first in the series is not in the best of conditions, but it is a start.&nbsp; I&#039;ve included a blow-up image of a better quality coin so those unfamiliar can see what it should look like.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1139728[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1139729[/ATTACH] </p><p>Q. POMPONIUS MUSA ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS POMPONIA</p><p>AR Denarius</p><p>OBVERSE:&nbsp; Laureate head of Apollo right; sandal to left </p><p>REVERSE:&nbsp; Thalia, the Muse of Comedy, wearing long flowing tunic and peplum, standing left and leaning left arm on column, holding persona (comic mask) in outstretched right hand</p><p>Rome 55 BC</p><p>3.39g, 16mm</p><p>Crawford 410/9b; Sydenham 821; Pomponia 19</p><p><br /></p><p>If anyone has any of the coins with one of the muses, I&#039;d love to see them[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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