Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 2783844, member: 85693&quot;]I believe that is correct - C. Maianius, as moneyer - chose the design; although we don&#039;t really have any records outlining a moneyer&#039;s exact duties - the coins themselves are about all we have to go on.&nbsp; You&#039;ll find that the earlier denarii from the Republic carry the same few designs - Roma on the obverse, a chariot (biga, etc.) of some sort, or the dioscuri (the gods Castor &amp; Pollux) on the reverse.&nbsp; This one being early (by &quot;early&quot; I mean c. 211-100), the design is pretty standard.&nbsp; It seems these earlier moneyers were pretty conservative in their design choices (perhaps there was a law about this - we just don&#039;t know).</p><p><br /></p><p>The very earliest denarii did not carry the moneyer&#039;s name, which makes collecting these a real challenge.&nbsp; Then small, discrete monograms started appearing - a while back I got what I thought was an &quot;anonymous&quot; denarius:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]644745[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]644748[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As it turns out, the tiny squiggle above the dioscuri is the moneyer&#039;s name - it took me a while to figure this one out!</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Cn. Baebius Tamphilus</b></p><p><b>(194-190 B.C.) </b></p><p>Helmeted head of Roma rt;</p><p>X (mark of value) to left /</p><p>The Dioscuri on horseback;</p><p>TAMP monogram above.</p><p>Crawford 133/2b;</p><p>Sydenham 334; Babia 1;</p><p>RBW 592.</p><p><br /></p><p>The later coins have a far wider range of designs - Sallent&#039;s very nice specimen with Philip V of Macedon is an example of the later types.&nbsp; My avatar is a very worn Roman Republican denarius of L. Censorinus (82 B.C.) which shows the satyr Marsyas, paunchy, drunk, bald, and naked with a wine bag slung over his shoulder.&nbsp; This is quite a departure from the earlier designs!&nbsp; It is a fascinating series to collect.[/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