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Campania

Map_Ancient_Southern_Italy_1900pix.jpg

Ancient Coins (other than Roman) from Italy including Magna Graecia in the Forum Ancient Coins shop

The coinage of this district was of Greek (Phocaean) origin, and consisted of didrachms weighing 118 grs. maximum, gradually falling in weight, and of bronze coins of about the same size as the didrachm, which perhaps represent the older litra of silver. The silver money comes to an end in general about B.C. 268, when the Roman denarius was first issued. How long after this date bronze continued to be coined in Campania it is hard to determine. It was certainly very generally issued down to the close of the Hannibalic war and the fall of Capua, B.C. 211, and some towns specially favored by the Romans may have preserved the right of coining their own bronze money for perhaps a century longer.

The inscriptions are at first purely Greek; subsequently the Oscan element prevails, except at Neapolis; and finally the Latin gradually supersedes both Oscan and Greek.

Acerrae (?). (Acherra, north-east of Naples.) To this town Sambon (Mon. ant. de l 'Italie, p. 418) conjecturally attributes the bronze coins dating from about the middle of the third century B.C., described in the first edition of this work (p. 26) under Aurunca. The name of the town, which is in Oscan characters, is still uncertain.

Head of Apollo; behind, Θ.
(Sambon, op. cit., 419.)
Dolphin; beneath, club; above. ...V (?); beneath ΙΙ
Æ Size .7

Makkiis (cf. the Latin 'Maccius ') may be a magistrate 's name.

Allifae (Alife). Of this town, which was situated on the eastern or Samnite side of the Vulturnus valley, only silver coins are known (cf. those of Phistelia). Their Campanian and frequently maritime types point to commercial relations with the Campanian coast towns, especially with Cumae. The inscc. consist of mixed Greek and Oscan characters, e.g. ΛΙΟΗΛ, Ι8, ΑΛΛΙΒΑΝΟΝ, Α ΙΒΑ, ΑΛΛΕΙ. It is clear that the f sound was variously written ΟΗ, 8, or Β. (Conway, Ital. Dial., i. 196.) The chief types and denominations are as follows:—

Head of Athena in helmet adorned with owl and olive-branch. Man-headed bull.
AR didr.
[Sambon, ltalie, p. 324.]
Head of Apollo (?). Skylla and shell.
AR litra, 9-12 grs.
  „  Athena.   „  ,,   „  ,,
Oyster-shell. H(ημιλιτρον?)
AR ½ litra.

All these coins belong in style to the first half of the. fourth century B.C., but they may be later. For varieties see Sambon, op. cit., pp. 324 sqq.

Atella. This city, midway between Capua and Neapolis, struck bronze money only, of late style and bearing an Oscan inscr. (Aderl. retrograde) and marks of value (circ. B.C. 250-217). It participated in the revolt


31
from Rome during the Hannibalic war and was severely punished in consequence, B.C. 211, after which it ceased to coin money.

Triens. Head of Zeus • • • • {oE} or {oL}{oR}{oE} Zeus in quadriga driven by Nike.
Æ 1.25
Sextans.  „    „  • •   „  Two warriors taking oath upon a pig.
Æ 1.1
Uncia.  „    „  •   „  Nike crowning trophy.
Æ .8
  „  Bust of Helios *   „  Elephant.
Æ .75

Caiatia lay about ten miles north-east of Capua on the river Vulturnus. Its coinage (see also under Aquinum, p. 26) is wholly of bronze and dates from B.C. 268 or later: inscr. CAIATINO:—

Head of Athena in Corinthian helmet. Cock and star.
Æ Size .7

Calatia was also in the neighbourhood of Capua. Its coins are of struck bronze with Oscan legend (sometimes retrograde). The sizes and marks of value are similar to those of Atella. These two towns were probably dependent upon Capua, whose fate they shared after the revolt of B.C. 216. The date of the coinage is circ. B.C. 250-210.

Triens. Head of Zeus • • • • ΚΤΙ Zeus in quadriga • • • •
Sextans.  „    „  • •
,,  „    „   • •   „  Selene in biga • •
Uncia.  „    „  *   „  Nike crowning trophy.
  „  ,,  „  •   „   Horse prancing •
  „    „   ,,   „  Head of trident.

Cales (Calvi), a few miles north of Capua, was originally the capital of the Ausonian Caleni. It received a Latin colony of 2,500 citizens from Rome in B.C. 334. Its coinage is plentiful and consists, according to Haeberlin (System. d. ältesten röm. Münzwesens, p. 33) :—

(i) of a series of aes grave as follows (As of 273 grm.) :—

As. Head of Athena in Corin- thian helmet. Kantharos.
Semis.  „    „     „  
Triens.  „    „     „  • • • •
Quadrans. Helmet • • •   „  
Sextans. Cockle-shell.   „  • •
Uncia. Club •   „  

The constant type of the reverses, a kantharos or cup (calix), was probably chosen as an indication of the chief industries of the city, the wine-trade and the manufacture of ceramics. It also suggests the resemblance in sound between calix and Cales.

(ii) Of silver didrachms wt. c. 115-100 grs.

Head of Athena as above. CAENO Nike in biga. (Fig. 7.)

FIG. 7.

32

These silver didrachms are clearly contemporary with the struck bronze coins of the following types, and are doubtless subsequent to B.C. 268:—

(iii) Head of Athena as above. CAENO Cock and star.
Æ Size .8
CAENO Head of Apollo. CAENO Campanian Man-headed bull.
Æ Size .8

For numerous adjunct symbols and other details see Sambon (Italie, p. 354). For the coins with the Cock-type see under Aquinum (p. 26). The series of aes grave, above described, if rightly attributed to Cales, is cer- tainly earlier than the silver and struck bronze coins, and would tend to show that, down to the earlier part of the third century B.C., Cales traded only with the bronze-using districts of Samnium.

Capua. The various series of coins issued at Capua, and perhaps else- where, by the Romans in their own name (ROMANO and, later, ROMA), in gold, silver, and bronze between B.C. 335 and 268 fall rather into the category of Roman than of Greek numismatics.

The Romano-Campanian coins (for a catalogue of which see Bahrfeldt in Riv. Ital. di Num., 1899) are as follows:— The didrachm in the first period being of the Phocaïc standard (normal wt. 7.58grm. = 1.17grs.):—

Period I. B.C. 335-312.

SILVER.
young Hercules, r. Rx. Wolf and twins; ROMANO (Babelon, op. cit., i. 13. 8).

BRONZE (perhaps pieces of 1, 2, and 4 litrae).

1. Head of Minerva, I.; ROMANO. R. Eagle on thunderbolt; ROMANO (Babelon, op. cit., i. 14. 10).

2. Head of Apollo, l. or r. R. Lion biting spear; ROMANO (Babelon, op. cit., i. 13. 10).

3. Head of Minerva, l. or r. R. Head of horse, r. or l.; ROMANO on one or both sides (Babelon, op. cit., i. 13. 5).

Period II. B.C. 312-286.

SILVER AND BRONZE.

In the second period the Phocaïc silver standard is replaced by the scruple standard (scripulum 1.137 grammes = 1/288 of the pound of 327.45 grammes). The light Oscan pound of 272.88 grammes is 5/6 of the heavy pound, and contains 240 scripula. Silver is to bronze as 1:120. After the first issue of the new didrachms, ROMANO is replaced by ROMA.

The object of the introduction of the scruple standard was to harmonize the chief denominations of the bronze and silver standards; 2 scripula


33
of silver (2.274 grammes) at 1: 120 are equivalent to 1 bronze .As or 272.88 grammes. The struck bronze is still as in the first Period a token-currency; but it is smaller, consisting of tenths and twentieths of the scruple, i. e. libellae and sembellae. The struck coins of the second period are:—

(α) FIRST ISSUE: didrachm of 6.82 grm. (= 105.36 grs. = 6 scruples ); no smaller money.

1. Head of Roma in Phrygian helmet, r. R. Victory fastening taenia to palm-branch; ROMANO (Babelon, op. cit., i. 12. 7). (Fig. 8.)


FIG. 8.

(β) LATER ISSUES: three didrachms, drachms, and bronze.

1. Head of Mars, r., beardless; behind, club. R. Horse, r.; above, club; ROMA (Babelon, op. cit., i. 26. 32). Libella of same types.

2. Head of Mars, r., beardless. R. Bust of horse, r.; behind, sickle; ROMA (Babelon, op. cit., i. 27. 34). (Fig. 9.) Drachm and libella of same types.


FIG. 9.

3. Head of Apollo, r. Rx. Horse, I.; ROMA (Babelon, op. cit., i. 28. 37). Drachm and libella of same types.

These three later issues have a common sembella, Head of Roma, r., in Phrygian helmet. Rx. Dog; ROMA (Babelon, op. cit., i. 28. 42).

Period III. B.C. 286-268.

GOLD, SILVER, AND BRONZE.

In the third period the bronze unit becomes subordinated to the silver unit, and in this change lies the secret of the Roman reductions. The Roman As, equated with the silver unit of the scripulum, loses half its weight, and is issued on the semi-libral standard. The silver coinage of the Capuan mint is thoroughly Romanized; its types are, Obv. Head of youthful Janus; Rev. Jupiter in his quadriga (Fig. 10). Corresponding to these quadrigati is a bronze coinage (struck pieces with ROMA, from triens or 4-libellae to half-uncia or sembella) which has hitherto not been recognized as Capuan, and which was a true coinage, not mere token


34

FIG. 10.
money like the small bronze of the previous period. It is partly to the preceding and partly to this period that Haeberlin (Z. f. N., xxvi, p. 261) attributes the series of gold coins, Obv. Head of youthful Janus; Rev. Two soldiers taking oath. over a pig held by a kneeling youth (Fig. 11)


FIG. 11.
(weights 105, 70, and 53 grs.= 6, 4, and 3 scripula). The pieces of 4 scripula, bear on the obv., beneath the head of Janus, the mark of value XXX (= 30 bronze asses of circ. 273 grm.). The 4-scruple pieces with this mark of value must have been struck in Period II before the As was reduced to half its original weight. The authenticity of the specimens with XXX has been doubted on insufficient evidence. (See Haeberlin, op. cit., pp. 229 sqq.).

Period IV. After B.C. 268.

In the fourth period when the coinage of silver was mainly transferred from the Roman mint at Capua to the mint of Rome itself, and when the Roman denarius was first coined, the only silver denominations which continued to be struck at Capua were the later quadrigati of 6 and 3 scruples respectively:—Obv. Head of youthful Janus; Rev. Jupiter in quadriga driven by Victory (wt. 105.3 grs. and 52.3 grs.). The quadrigatus didrachm continued to be struck at Capua probably until the Hannibalic war, but the smaller denomination was soon replaced by the Victoriatus struck at the Roman mint, the weight of which speedily fell to about 45 grs. (See Haeberlin, op. cit., p. 238.)

The strictly autonomous Capuan coinage, as distinct from the Romano-Campanian issues, consists entirely of bronze, except during the few years of the revolt during the Hannibalic war. These coins bear the name of the town in Oscan letters (Π = KAPU), and are briefly as follows :—

Before B.C. 268. Bronze, with Π, no marks of value.

Head of Janus. Zeus in quadriga.
Æ 1.5
Heads of Zeus and Hera.   „    „  
Æ 1.5
Head of Zeus. Eagle on fulmen.
Æ 1.05
Bust of Hera. Two veiled figures, archaic idols.
Æ .75
  „    „   Fulmen.
Æ .55
Head. of Demeter. Ear of corn.
Æ .6
Head of Apollo. Lyre.
Æ .65

35
Head of Roma in Phrygian head-dress. Infant suckled by doe.
Æ .55
Head of Athena. Elephant.
Æ .5
  „     „   Trophy.
Æ .5
Head of young Herakles. Kerberos.
Æ .55

After B.C. 268. Bronze, with Π and marks of value.

Quincunx. Head of Athena. Pegasos.
Triens. Head of Zeus. Fulmen.
Quadrans. Head of Demeter. Ox.
  „   Head of Zeus. Two soldiers and pig.
Sextans.   „    „   Selene in biga.
  „     „     „   Eagle on fulmen.
  „   Head of Herakles. Lion with spear in mouth.
  „   Female head turreted. Horseman armed with spear.
Uncia. Head of Zeus. Nike crowning trophy.
  „   Head of Athena. Nike holding wreath.
  „   Female head turreted. Horseman armed with spear.
Head of Artemis. Boar.

Capua during its revolt from Rome B.C. 213-211. Silver with Π.

Head of Zeus. Eagle on fulmen.
AR 92grs.

In addition to the above there are likewise coins of electrum, Obv. Janiform female (?) head; Rev. Zeus in quadriga, which, it will be remarked, are without inscription, either ROMA or Π. This fact, combined with their late style, renders it probable that they were issued during the Hannibalic war, B.C. 216-211, while Capua was in revolt against the Roman domination; but there is nothing to prove that they are Capuan rather than Carthaginian. The fact that they are of electrum rather indicates that they were a Carthaginian coinage of necessity (cf. Hammer in Z. f. N., 1907, p. 60). They must be studied in connexion with the issue of Roman Republican gold money, Obv. Head of Mars; Rev. Eagle or Fulmen, of three denominations with marks of value ΨX, XXXX, and XX (= 60, 40, and 20 sestertii). (See Haeberlin, op. cit., pp. 265 sqq., and Pl. I. 12 and 29-31.)

Compulteria or Cubulteria (Livy xxiii. 39; xxiv. 20) on the upper Vulturnus a few miles south of Allifae.

Bronze coins only with Oscan inscriptions, circ. B.C. 268-240.

Head of Apollo. ΚVΠΕΤΕDΝV Man-headed bull crowned by Nike.
Æ .8

On the rev. sometimes ΙΣ, as on similar coins of Neapolis, Aesernia, Cales, Suessa, and Teanum.

Cumae was the oldest Greek colony on the west coast of Italy. According to Strabo (v. 4) it was founded by Chalcidians from Euboea, and Cumaeans, from either Euboea or Aeolis. Its earliest coins date from circ. B.C. 490, and are of the same standard as the early issues of the other Chalcidian colonies, Rhegium, Zancle, Naxus, and Himera. They are equivalent to the Aeginetic drachm, and, at the same time, to one-third of the Euboïc tetradrachm.


36

Circ. B.C. 490. (Aeginetic (?) weight.)
Lion 's scalp flanked by two boars ' heads (Sambon, Italie, p. 150). VΚ ΜΕ Bivalve shell (mussel ?)
AR 84 grs.

To this first period also we may ascribe certain small gold coins of Cumae :—

Head of nymph, hair in sphendone (Babelon, Traité, Pl. LXIX. 1). ΚVΜΕ Mussel-shell.
AV 22 grs.
Corinthian helmet. ΚVΜΕ Mussel-shell.
AV 5.5 grs.

Supposing the relative value of gold to silver to have been the same here, as at Syracuse, viz. 15:1, this Euboïc half-obol of gold would have been the exact equivalent of 1 Aeginetic drachm of 84 grs.

In all the above-mentioned Chalcidian colonies, about B.C. 490, the Aeginetic m standard was abandoned for the Euboïc, and the same change is noticeable at Cumae.

Circ. B.C. 490-480. (Euboïc-Attic weight.)
ΚVΜΑΙΟΝ (retrograde) Head of Athena (Sambon, Italie, p. 165). Crab holding mussel-shell.
AR 129 grs.

The Attic (or Tarentine) didrachm of 130 grs. max. took no firm root at Cumae, and early in the fifth century it gives place to the Phocaïc didrachm or stater of 118-115 grs. imported from the Phocaean colonies Velia and Poseidonia before its abandonment by them.

The silver currency of Cumae on the Phocaïc or Campanian standard is very plentiful, and lasts from circ. B.C. 480-423, the date of the capture of Cumae by the Samnites, Circ. B.C. 338 Cumae received from Rome the status of a civitas sine suffragio, but neither then nor during the period of its greatest prosperity does it appear to have struck any bronze coins, for the few bronze coins that are known were probably once plated with silver.

Circ. B.C. 480-423.


FIG. 12.
Female head diademed, of archaic style. ΚVΜΕ or ΚΥΜΑΙΟΝ Mussel-shell, and various symbols, e.g. corn-grain, sea-serpent, mouse, fish, or marine- plant (Fig. 12)
AR 118 grs.
Head of Athena in round Athenian helmet. Similar.
AR   „  
Lion 's scalp facing, between two boars heads. Similar.
AR   „  

37

FIG. 13.

Female head of early fine (transitional) style. Mussel-shell; symbol sometimes Skylla, sea-serpent, &c. (Fig. 13).
AR 118 grs.
Young male head in laureate pilos. Skylla.
Æ Size .8 (once plated ?)
Head of Athena. ΚV, ΚVΜΕ, or ΚVΜΑ Mussel.
AR 12-8 grs.
Wheel with three spokes. ΚV Dolphin.
AR 2.2 grs.
Helmet. Mussel.
AR 1.2 grs.

The Mussel-shell is a remarkable example of the παρασημον of a city borrowed from among the natural products of the locality, the shallow salt-lakes Avernus and Lucrinus being peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of shell fish. [1] Cf. κυματοτροφος, nourished by the waves.

The female head on the coins of Cumae may perhaps represent a nymph Kyme as a personification of the city, or possibly the famous Cumaean sibyl or the siren Parthenope. For numerous other varieties see Sambon, Mon. ant. de l 'Italie, pp. 139 sqq. Among these may be mentioned a didrachm of the Neapolitan type, Obv. Female head; Rev. Campanian man-headed bull crowned by flying Nike, which must be assigned to circ. B.C. 343, when Cumae shook off the yoke of the Samnites.

Fenseris is perhaps identical with the town called by the Romans Veseris, on the slopes of Vesuvius, and close to Nola. Imhoof (Num. Zeit., 1886, 211 ff.) identifies it with Hyria (q. v.). Its rare coins are Campanian didrachms, dating apparently from circ. B.C. 400-335, inscribed with mixed Greek and Oscan characters ΕΝΣΕΡ (= Fenser.) or 8ΕΝΕDΝV (= Fensernum). The types are as follows:

Head of Hera Argoia or Lakinia to front. (See p. 100.) Bellerophon on Pegasos, spearing Chimaera.

See also Hyria and Nola, and Conway (Ital. Dial., p. 141).

Hyria. The coins variously inscribed in mixed Greek and Oscan characters, ΗVRΙΕΤΕS, ΥΡΙΝΑ, ΥΡΙΝΑΙΟΣ, ΥΡΙΑΝΟΣ, ΥDΙΝΑ, ΥDΙΝΑΙ, VDΙΝΑ ,ΥDΕΝΑ, &c., &c., consist of Campanian didrachms of about 115 grs., ranging in date from circ. B.C. 400-335. Their types are copied from coins of Croton, Poseidonia, Neapolis, and Thurium. Some of the obv. dies have been shown by Imhoof (Num. Zeit., 1886) and Dressel (Berl. Cat., III. i. 98) to be identical with dies used at Fenseris and Nola. It would seem, therefore, that the Hyrians, Fenserines, and Nolaeans, using

1 Hor. Epod. ii. 49; Sat. ii. 432.


38
the same mint must, from a numismatic point of view, be regarded as closely connected communities. The didrachms of Hyria are of the following types :—

Head of Athena in crested Athenian helmet. Man-headed bull.
Head of Nymph in profile. Similar.
Head of Hera Argoia or Lakinia to front (Fig. 14). (See p. 100.) Similar.


FIG. 14.

See also Fenseris and Nola.

Neapolis, an ancient Rhodian colony, originally called Parthenope, was recolonized by the Cumaeans in the course of the sixth century B.C. About the middle of the fifth century Chalcidian and Athenian settlers called the place Neapolis. Subsequently it was menaced by the Samnites, circ. B.C. 420, who had overrun Campania, and who, circ. B.C. 390, occupied the citadel of Parthenope and dominated the city for about half a century. In B.C. 290 Neapolis fell into the hands of the Romans, but it always remained essentially a Greek town, and continued to strike silver coins probably down to the end of the First Punic War, B.C. 241.


FIG. 15.

The coins of Neapolis have been described in approximate chronological order by A. Sambon (op. cit., pp. 193 sqq.):—

Period I, circ. B.C. 450-340. Didrachms. Obv. Helmeted head of Athena (Fig. 15) or Head of Nymph (Siren Parthenope ?). Rev. Man- headed bull (Fig. 16). Later, circ. B.C. 340, Obv. Head of Apollo. Rev. Tarentine horseman (Sambon, op. cit., p. 213).


FIG. 16.

Period II, ending B.C. 241. Didrachms of poorer style. Obv. Head of Nymph. Rev. Man-headed bull (Fig. 17).


39

FIG. 17.

The later issues are usually signed by magistrates or moneyers, in more or less abbreviated forms.

The chronological sequence of the Neapolitan issues is, however, by no means definitely settled, owing perhaps mainly to the fact that the obverse and reverse dies were frequently interchangeable and of different periods, old obverse dies having been sometimes utilized in conjunction with new reverse dies. The classification according to the forms of the inscr. ΝΕΟΠΟΙΤΕS, ΝΕΟΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΟΝ, ΝΕΟΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ, ΝΕΟΠΟΛΙΤΑΣ, ΝΕΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ, ΝΕΟΠΟΛΙΤΕΩΝ, &c., cannot therefore be relied upon, in all cases, as a proof of the date of issue. There are other variants which also occur on fourth century coins, e. g. ΝΕΠΟΙΤΕS, ΝΕΟΠΟΙΤΗS, ΝΕΥΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ, ΝΟΥΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ, ΝΗΟΠΟΛΙΤΑΣ, &c., &c., which are probably due to the mixed character of the population of the city, or to the semi-barbarous Samnite occupation of the citadel of Parthenope after circ. B.C. 390.

To the Neapolitan mint must also be assigned (on account of the identity of an obverse die, Imhoof, N. Z., 1886, 226), the didrachms reading ΠΠΑNΟΣ, ΗΑΜΠΑΝΟΣ, ΚΑΠΠΑNΟΣ, ΑΚΠΑΝΟS, ΚΑΜΠΑΝΟΣ ΚΑΜΠΑΝΟΝ, &c. But whether these coins were struck by or for the Campanian invaders is doubtful. In any case Neapolis and not Capua is their place of mintage.

The types of the Neapolitan coins are probably agonistic. The head of most frequent occurrence on the obverses would seem to be that of the Siren Parthenope variously represented in profile, and occasionally facing with flowing hair, a type very closely resembling the chef-d 'oeuvre of Kimon at Syracuse, the famous tetradrachm with the full-face head of Arethusa (A. Evans, N. C., 1891, pl. XI). In honor of Parthenope, identified as the local goddess of Neapolis, annual games were celebrated (Roscher, Lex., 1653). The man-headed bull on the reverses is thought to be the River-god Acheloös, the father of the Sirens, whose cultus was wide-spread throughout the Greek world; cf. the well-known coin of Metapontum with the inscr. ΑΨΕΛ◇S◇ ΑΕΘΛ◇Ν (infra, p. 76).

At Neapolis, however, it is possible that the periodical agonistic festivals for which coins were issued were not held solely in honor of Acheloös, the father of Rivers. The man-headed bull, crowned on the later coins by a winged Nike, clearly an agonistic type, is characteristic of many Campanian coins, and may have been generally understood as symbolical of Acheloös, and, locally perhaps, of the tauriform chthonian divinity, Bacchus Hebon, whose worship was prevalent in Southern Italy, and more especially in Campania (Lenormant, La Grande Grèce, i. 420).

For descriptions of the numerous subdivisions of the Neapolitan staters, ranging in date from the middle of the fifth to the latter part of the


40
fourth century B.C., students must be referred to A. Sambon 's work, Les Monnaies antiques de l 'Italie. Many of the types of these smaller coins are modifications of Cumaean, Sicilian, Terinaean, Acarnanian, or Tarentine drachms, obols, litrae, &c., current in Southern Italy. One of the most interesting among them is an obol of the fourth century, bearing on the obv. the head of a young River-god accompanied by his name SΕΠΕΙΘΟS (the modern Sebeto), and on the rev. Nike seated on a hydria (Berlin Cat., III. i. Pl. VI. 76).

About B.C. 340 the small silver coinage is for the most part replaced by a bronze coinage which began then to be issued. These coins seem to be fractions of the obol or of the litra, and they outlast the silver coinage by a period of uncertain duration. The chief types are the following:—

Head of Apollo.Forepart of. Man-headed bull. [1]
  „   Man-headed bull.
  „   Man-headed bull crowned by Nike.
  „  Omphalos and Lyre.
Head of one of the Dioskuri.Horseman.
Head of Artemis.Cornucopia.
Head of young Herakles, laureate.Tripod.

All the later coins of Neapolis, whether of silver or bronze, have symbols or letters in the field. Among the latter we may mention IΣ as being extremely common, and curiously enough not peculiar to coins of Neapolis, for it likewise occurs on contemporary coins of Aesernia, Cales, Compulteria, Suessa, and Teanum. (See A. Sambon, op. cit., p. 190.)

Nola. The coinage of this prosperous town, the center of the Samnite opposition to the Roman domination in Campania, is modelled on that of Neapolis, but it does not begin at so early a date. It would seem, for the most part, to be included between B.C. 360 and 325.


FIG. 18.

Silver didrachms, wt. 117-107 grs.
Female head diademed, as on coins of Neapolis. ΝΩΛΑΙΩΝ, rarely ΝΩΛΑΙΟΣ. Man- headed bull crowned by Nike.
Head of Athena in round Athenian helmet bound with olive-wreath on which an owl is seated. ΝΩΛΑΙΩΝ Man-headed bull. (Fig. 18.)

1 Of this type there is a variety reading ΡΩΜΑΙΩΝ instead of ΝΕΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ. It is supposed to have been issued at Neapolis in B.C. 326 on the occasion of the foedus  Neapolitanum (see Sambon, Italie, 182, 188, 255, and Hunter Cat. i. 43).


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In B.C. 313 Nola was conquered by the Romans, and there is a break in its coinage until about B.C. 270, to which date the following issues, possibly litrae of silver and bronze, may probably be assigned:—

ΝΩΛΑΙ Head of Apollo. Man-headed bull crowned by Nike.
AR Wt. 10.2 grs.
ΝΩΛΑΙ Head of Apollo. Man-headed bull crowned by Nike.
Æ Size .85

Nuceria Alfaterna. An Oscan town on the river Sarnus (Nocera dei Pagani). It was taken by the Romans during the second Samnite war, B.C. 308. No coins are known which can be safely given to an earlier date than circ. B.C. 280. They all bear some form of the Oscan inscription, (= Nuvkrinum Alafaternum) usually on the obv. Some have also inscription on the rev. such as (= Sarnsneis), (= Regvin?), &c. For other varieties see Conway, Ital. Dialects, p. 14l.

Silver didrachms, wt. 113-100 grs.


FIG. 19.

Young male head with ram 's horn. One of the Dioskuri (?) standing beside his horse with sceptre in l. hand (Fig. 19).

Bronze litrae (?) and ½ litrae (?).
Young male head diademed. The Dioskuri (?) on horseback.
Æ Size .8
Young male head bound with wreath. Hound on the scent.
Æ Size .65

Phistelia. This town is only known to us by its coins, which, together with those of Allifae, have been discovered on the borders of Campania and Samnium. It is probable that Phistelia, like Allifae, was a Samnite city. Its numismatic relations, however, are clearly Campanian. Its coins are of silver only, and may be dated circ. B.C. 380-350. They are inscribed in Oscan characters, ΤV, ΤVΙS, ΤEV, &c., almost always retrograde, a legend which on the obverses of some of the smaller coins is repeated in Greek characters as ΦΙΣΤΕΛΙΑ, ΦΙΣΤΕΛΑ, ΦΙΣΤΕΛΑD, &c. The weight of the didrachms ranges between 118 and 105 grs. The following are the chief types. For other varieties see Sambon, op. cit., pp. 327 ff.

Young head facing. Mussel-shell and corn-grain.
AR obol.
Head of nymph facing, hair loose. Man-headed bull.

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Similar. Lion.
AR obol.
Head of Athena r. or facing. Forepart of Man-headed bull.
AR obol.
Young head facing. Mussel, corn-grain, and dolphin.
AR litra, 12 grs.

Suessa Aurunca (Sessa), between the Liris and the Vulturnus, west of Teanum, was occupied by a Roman colony in B.C. 313. Its coins are all late in style, like those of Cales, Nuceria, Teanum, &c.

(i) Circ. B.C. 280-268.


FIG. 20.
Head of Apollo, apparently copied from coins of Croton. SVΕSΑΝΟ Rider carrying filleted palm, on horseback, leading a second horse (Fig. 20)
AR didrachm 114-100 grs.
Head of Hermes, inscr. ΠRΟΒΟVΜ or ΠRΟΒΟΜ, as to which see Z. f. N., xiv. 161. Cf. ΠRΟΒΟΜ on con- temporary coins of Beneventum. SVΕSΑΝΟ Herakles strangling lion.
Æ Size .8

(ii) Circ. B.C. 268-240.
Head of Athena in Corinthian helmet. SVESANO Cock and star.
Æ Size .8
SVESANO Head of Apollo. Man-headed bull crowned by Nike
Æ Size .8

The two last varieties point to a monetary convention between Suessa and other towns in Campania, Latium, and Samnium. For the former see under Aquinum (p. 26).

Teanum Sidicinum (Teano), a town of Oscan origin and the chief city of the Sidicini, stood on the Via Latina in the northern corner of Campania. Its coinage consists of two distinct classes :—

(i) Circ. B.C. 280-268.

Silver didrachms (wt. 114 grs. max.) and bronze litrae (?) with Oscan inscription or only (= Tianud Sidikinud or Tiianud).

Head of Herakles in lion-skin. Nike in triga (Fig. 21). (Cf. Z. f. N., xi. Pl. I. 6)
Head of Apollo. Man-headed bull sometimes crowned by Nike.
Æ Size .8

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FIG. 21.

(ii) After B.C. 268.

Bronze with Latin inscr. TIANO.

Head of Athena. Cock and star.
Æ size .8

For the last variety see under Aquinum (p. 26).

 

UNCERTAIN OF CAMPANIA.

Irnum (?). The coins conjecturally attributed to an unknown town of this name (near Salernum ?) are bronze of circ. B.C. 300 (Sambon, Mon. ant. de l 'Italie, p. 337), inscribed ΙDΝΘΙ, ΙDΝΘ├, ΙDΘΝΗ, \\\\DNΘΙ, &c., bearing types imitated from coins of Neapolis and Cumae. Obv. Head of Apollo. Rev. Man-headed bull, or Mussel-shell surrounded by three dolphins.

Maiies or Malies. See Beneventum Samnii (p. 28).

Velecha (?). Bronze coins, circ. B.C. 250-210, (a) cast, and (b) struck.

(a) Aes grave. Semis, Triens, Sextans, and Uncia. Obv. Head of Helios, Rev. {oVm}Ε Horse 's head. (Berlin Cat., p. 25; Sambon, op. cit., p. 410; Con- way, op. cit., p. 147.)

(b) Struck coins. Sextans. Obv. Bust of Helios, Rev. {oVm}ΕΛΕΧΑ Elephant. Restruck over Mamertine coin. Uncia (?). Obv. Bust of Helios, Rev. {oVm}ΕΛΕΧ Horse 's head. Restruck over Romano-Campanian coin. (Berlin Cat., p. 164.)

In addition to the above described uncertain coins of Campania, there are others of more doubtful origin bearing inscriptions which have not been satisfactorily explained, e.g. ΑΟΡΤΟΝ (?) (Hunter Cat., p. 49); FΕΙΝΕ (?) (Ibid., p. 150), the latter assigned by Garrucci to Venafrum.

 

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