Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 2451294, member: 57495&quot;]She hasn&#039;t shown it in its full glory here yet, but her purchase of a beautiful example of this interesting RR type made me buy one for myself two days after she picked hers up.&nbsp; Dear [USER=56859]@TIF[/USER], you&#039;re the owner of many beautiful coins, and you&#039;re also a cruel and merciless enabler of collectors with poor self-control <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie7" alt=":p" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]512106[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>THE POMPEIANS</b></p><p><b>L. Cornelius Lentulus and C. Claudius Marcellus</b></p><p>AR Denarius</p><p>4.05g, 18.5mm</p><p>Military mint in the East (Apollonia and Asia), 49 BC</p><p>Crawford 445/1b; Sydenham 1029a</p><p>O: Triskeles with winged head of Medusa in centre and corn ears between legs. </p><p>R: LENT–MAR / COS, Jupiter standing facing, holding thunderbolt and eagle.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s a short writeup to give this cool coin some historical context.&nbsp; No dioramas or fun animated cartoons, I&#039;m afraid... that&#039;s TIF&#039;s department <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>49 BC</b> was the year the Great Roman Civil War began.&nbsp; The consuls for the year, L. Cornelius Lentulus Crus and C. Claudius Marcellus Major, had issued an ultimatum to Julius Caesar, ordering that he disband his legions and return to Rome from his command in Cisalpine Gaul.&nbsp; In response, Caesar famously crossed the Rubicon with a legion of soldiers, sparking a civil war between himself and the Roman Senate.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Pompey the Great, Caesar&#039;s chief rival in the Senate, was unaware that Caesar was marching on Rome with just one legion and believed that the city could not be defended.&nbsp; Along with the two consuls and the majority of the Senate, he abandoned the city and fled eastwards to raise troops to oppose Caesar.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Lentulus and Marcellus struck this issue at military mints (Apollonia and then Asia, per Crawford) during the summer of 49 BC, in support of Pompey.&nbsp; By September 48 BC, however, Pompey was dead, murdered when he tried to seek refuge from Caesar in Egypt.&nbsp; Lentulus arrived in Egypt shortly after Pompey&#039;s killing and was immediately imprisoned by Ptolemy XIII and soon thereafter executed.&nbsp; Marcellus&#039;s fate is not recorded, but he most likely did not survive the war either.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The design on the obverse of this issue, the triskeles with the winged head of Medusa, is a familial reference to the capturing of Sicily (whose symbol was the triskeles) by Marcellus&#039;s illustrious ancestor, M. Claudius Marcellus, five-time consul and&nbsp; hero of the Second Punic War.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in