The Roman Genius

I love these Genius coins and have a ton of them. Here are a few of my bigger folles. I also have many of the later ones... These are great because they can be found cheaply in great condition and are of nice size.


Diocletian RIC 26a Alexandria


Diocletian RIC 170a Trier


Maximianus RIC 19b Heraclea


Maximianus RIC 27b Aquileia


Maximianus RIC 25b Aquileia


Maximianus RIC 21b Thessalonica


Constantius I RIC 37a London

 

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...a few more...

Maximianus RIC 31b Ticinum


Galerius RIC 35b Ticinum


Constantius I RIC 642a Trier

 

Very nice first issue Alexandria!

 

S.A., Thanks for posting this rare coin & the enlightening research on the "military boots" & "loins draped" variety (I love that expression, it sounds so British ). All kidding aside, it's good to see researchers taking the iconography of coins in this era seriously & doing die studies . I wonder if Christian iconography had any influence on the Roman celators of this era, after all I've never seen images of Christ showing everything ? Is the research by Cloke & Toone available in printed form or on the internet?

 

O.J., That's an impressive run of good looking folles ! You're right about bargains galore with these large folles , but "the times they are a changing". More Roman coin enthusiasts are taking a closer look at these coins & snatching up high grade examples, especially slabbed coins. The coin pictured below sold last week at auction by G.C. for $348.75 ! I don't pretend to have grading expertise but this coin looks over-graded to me . Both sides of this coin have obvious corrosion, so why does it get a "Surface: 5/5" rating? This is a very common follis. In this case I believe someone bought the slab & not the coin....

 

Great assortment of folles, Al! They are large and satisfying to hold .

I'm not sure about Juno being the female counterpart of the genius. I thought she was the counterpart/wife of Jupiter. Perhaps I misunderstood your statement?

Here's a budget example picked up at a coin show:


Maximianus
CE 286-305
AE follis, 9.9 gm, 27 mm
Obv: IMP C M A MAXIMIANVS PF AVG, laureate head right
Rev: GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius standing left holding cornucopia and pouring from a patera; XXI in left field, E in right field, ALE in exergue
Mint: Alexandria
Ref: RIC VI 30b

And a wonderful follis given to me by PishPash, who was my 2016 Secret Saturn:


Diocletian
CE 302-303, Antioch
AE follis, 27 mm, 9.57 gm
Obv: IMP C DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG, laureate head right
Rev: GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius standing left, naked but for chlamis covering shoulders and modius on head, holding cornucopia and pouring from a patera; K in left field, Δ/V in right field; ANT in exergue
Ref: RIC VI 56a

A bust of Genius:


Commemorative Series under Constantine I
330 CE; Æ 14.5 mm, 1.16 gm
Constantinople mint, 1st officina
Obv: POP ROMANVS; draped bust of Genius left, with cornucopia over shoulder
Rev: Milvian Bridge over Tiber River (traditional attribution; may not be the Milvian bridge); CONS//A
Ref: RIC VIII 21; LRBC 1066; Vagi 3043
ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli collection
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/celebrating-the-site-of-constantine-is-vision-and-victory.280747/

Genii are also present on various coins of Roman Egypt, frequently seen surrounding Nilus or coming out of a cornucopia held by him. Here's a terrible example with a genius standing in front of the door to a Nilometer:


EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius
AE drachm, regnal year 17 (CE 153/4)
Obv: laureate bust left
Rev: Nilus, with crocodile below him, reclining left, holding reed and cornucopia; to left, a nilometer entrance, in front of which stands a Genius; L-IZ in upper field
Ref: Emmett 1622.17; Dattari 2764
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago (1981.475); Supposedly ex Dattari Collection (Giovanni Dattari, 1853-1923), not in Savio.

 

A review of the literature suggests that disrespecting Juno by downgrading her from queen of the gods to just a Genius level could cause one to suffer. Olympians did not take well to mortals who were not respectful.

 

TIF, Thanks for the interesting post, all 4 coins are outstanding especially the small Constantine I commemorative ! The importance of Genius can't be understated when you see his image on the obverse of a coin . The argument in regards to the reverse of the coin may never be convincingly resolved, but I'm with the majority of numismatists & believe the Milvian Bridge is depicted on the reverse of the coin. While browsing through Wikipedia for info on Genius, I found a number of sources calling Juno the Genius of women. The link below from Encyclopedia Mythica is a good example. Take note of the 3rd paragraph. They also support your statement regarding Jupiter .

https://pantheon.org/articles/g/genius.html

 

Good post and a reminder to us that even though a word may be the same in English as one in Latin or Greek, its meaning can be quite a bit different between then and now, Genius being one of them, causing us to think that the Ancients thought the same as we do when such was not the case. One of the strangest is the word "lemur" which to us is a species of a large eyed, primitive primate while to the Romans it meant the approximation of "ghost". As for "Genius" I have often thought that for the Romans it might have carried the meaning of a "presence" or the "spirit of" something or someone, as in the genius of Augustus or the genius of the Roman Army or just the spirit of the Roman people.

 

Kevin, Good point !

 

TIF, If you go to the Wikipedia link below on Juno, there is a segment near the end, Juno and Genius, that explores the relationship of the two .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_(mythology)

 

Their book is available from Spink here (highly recommended!), with supplements periodically posted here. Toone has posted some articles (including the one on draped loins), and of course there is our own @jamesicus's excellent website!

 

S.A., Thanks for the valuable information . I did go to the Spink website for info on the book & was surprised that no review had been posted . Hopefully you can answer some questions for me about the book that the website didn't. On a 1-10 scale how would you rate the book? How many pages are in the book & is it hard cover or soft? Are the illustrations actual size or larger & rate their quality? What is the size of the book? Thanks again. AK

 

Sorry for the slow reply. Busy times. Here are my answers.

- 10 out of 10! Assuming one has an interest in the topic. It starts with an excellent historical introduction, then there are about 50 pages detailing the general characteristics of the coins and each emission, followed by the catalogue proper.
- Hardcover, 320 pages, coffee-table format i.e. 30cm x 22cm.
- The images are generally of very good quality (greyscale), although they vary somewhat with the source. In some cases the authors just didn't have access to a high quality image. But nearly every listing is illustrated by one or more examples – on the page facing its listing – which is an impressive achievement.

 

S.A., Thanks for the info on the book , I'll probably end up getting a copy. While browsing thru old photos I stumbled on another London follis I forgot about, pictured below (it's a poor photo I'll have to shoot again). I couldn't find the reverse of it .

 

Wikipedia has some etymology - citing the New York Times, oddly enough - but the best I found quickly was from Mirriam-Webster:

The belief system of the ancient Romans included spirits that were somewhere in between gods and humans and were thought to accompany each person through life as a protector. The Latin name for this spirit was genius, which came from the verb gignere, meaning "to beget." This sense of "attendant spirit" was first borrowed into English in the 14th century. Part of such a spirit's role was to protect a person's moral character, and from that idea an extended sense developed in the 16th century meaning "an identifying character." In time, that meaning was extended to cover a special ability for doing something, and eventually genius acquired senses referring particularly to "very great intelligence" and "people of great intelligence."
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genius

About the verb gigenere, allow me to offer this. In college, our German professor did not like to speak the language and we did a lot of translation while he offered asides on philology (his Rhodes Scholarship). There's a thing in Indo-European languages about doubling the first syllable to intensify the meaning. The verb is genere - generative; genitive; gens=family, etc., etc. gi-genere would be some more powerful meaning, i.e., as you note, the spirit that gives you power to generate. We see the same thing in words like PEpper (ach-oo!), and POpulus PO-puli (poli poli very many) people, populace, etc.

(You know... since no one asked...)

 

Michael, Thanks for the etymological take on the word Genius , posted like a true Genius . I do remember reading that passage in Wikipedia. It is fun to see the evolution of some words .