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053. 2'nd Jewish (bar Kokhba) Revolt.Zuz (denarius), attributed to Year 3 (134-35 AD).
Obverse: (Shim'on) / Bunch of Grapes.
Reverse: (For the Freedom of Jerusalem) / Lyre with three strings.
3.19 gm., 18.5 mm.
Mildenberg #205.19 (this coin); Hendin #734.
This coin likely started out as a denarius of one of the Roman emperors between Vespasian and Hadrian. Many coins of the Second Jewish Revolt show traces of the earlier Roman coin. This coin is no exception, and traces of the previous coin can be seen on the obverse in and around the bunch of grapes.
The bunch of grapes on the obverse is an ancient symbol of blessing and fertility. As such it occasionally appears on ancient coins of other areas besides this series. Given the messianic nature of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the bunch of grapes takes on added significance because in Jewish prophetic literature, grapes (and the vine or vineyard) are often symbolic of the restoration of Israel, or even symbolic of Israel itself.
The lyre on the reverse is associated with temple worship, as are trumpets, which are also found on coins of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. King David is mentioned as playing a lyre, and there are numerous Biblical references to praising the Lord with the lyre and trumpets. (The word "kinnor," sometimes translated as "harp," is really a type of lyre.) Even today the lyre is an important Jewish symbol and the state of Israel has chosen to portray it on the half New Israeli Sheqel coin. Callimachus
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Antoninus Pius, RIC 612, Sestertius of AD 140-144 (Ops)Æ sestertius (24.0g, 33mm, 6h) Rome mint. Struck AD 140-144
ANTONINVS AVG PI VS P P TR P COS III laureate head of Antoninus Pius facing right
OPI AVG ()around S C [in ex.] Ops seated left, holding sceptre, left hand drawing back drapery.
RIC 612 (Scarce); Cohen 569 (fr.8); BMC 1258-62; Strack 842; Banti (I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali II-3) 245 (17 spec.); Foss (Roman Historical Coins) 130:67; Sear (Roman Coins & Their Values II) 4197
ex D.Ruskin (said to have been found near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK, 1994)
Ops stands for plenty, properity, power, fertility... Her cult goes back to the earliest times, supposedly founded by Romulus. She is the wife of Saturn, sometimes equated with Cybele. Appears on Roman coins only twice (second appearance on issues of Pertinax). The issue under A. Pius is probably associated with the 900th anniversary of Rome.Charles S
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Cilicia, Anemourion, Valerian I SNG Lev. 513Valerian I, AD 253-260
AE - AE 28, 11.71g
Anemourion (Anamurium), Year 2 = AD 254/5
obv. AVK PO LI OYALEPIANON
bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r.
rev. ET B ANE - MOY - REWN
Cult-statue of Artemis standing facing on pedestal, with blowing veil, both hands
outstretched, holding r. branch(?) and l. sistrum, stag at her feet, in upper r. field crescent
ref. SNG Levante 513
good F
added to www.wildwinds.com
It seems to be an unknown local cult-statue in the style of the Artemis of Ephesos. Her body is completely covered with rows of breasts denoting her fertility. Another interpretation: That may be testicles of castrated adherants.
Jochen
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Gallienus (Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus) (253-268 A.D.)SRCV 10368, RIC V-S 585 var. (grape-bunch and without E) or 287 var. (different obverse legend, same reverse), Göbl 583a, Van Meter 278.
BI Antoninianus, 2.77 g., 18.62 mm. max., 270°
Siscia mint (per RIC), Rome mint (per Göbl and Sear), fifth officina, ninth emission, struck during solo reign (260-268 A.D.), in 265-267 A.D.
Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right.
Rev: VBERITAS [AVG], Uberitas standing facing, head left, holding purse in right hand and cornucopia in left, E to right.
Uberitas was the personification of fruitfulness, primarily agricultural fertility.
Although this obverse legend is not listed in RIC for the type, there were over 400 examples in the Cunetio hoard.
RIC rarity C, Van Meter VB1.Stkp
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Gallienus (Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus) (253-268 A.D.)SRCV 10368, RIC V-S 585 var. (grape-bunch and without E), Göbl 582a, Van Meter 278.
BI Antoninianus, 4.15 g., 22.64 mm. max., 0°
Siscia mint (per RIC), Rome mint (per Göbl and Sear), struck during solo reign (260-268 A.D.), in 265-267 A.D.
Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right.
Rev: VBERITAS AVG, Uberitas standing facing, head left, holding purse in right hand and cornucopia in left.
Uberitas was the personification of fruitfulness, primarily agricultural fertility.
RIC rarity C, Van Meter VB1.Stkp
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Italy- Rome- Largo (di Torre) ArgentinaLargo di Torre Argentina is a square in Rome that hosts four Republican Roman temples, and the reminings of Pompey's Theater. It is located in the ancient Campus Martius.
Common knowledge refers the name of the square to a Torre Argentina, which is not related to the South American country, but to the city of Strasbourg, whose original name was Argentoratum. In 1503, in fact, John Burckhardt from Strasbourg built in via del Sudario a palace (now at number 44), Casa del Bucardo, annexing a tower, called Torre Argentoratina from the name of his hometown.
After Italian unification, it was decided to reconstruct part of Rome (1909), demolishing the zone of Torre Argentina, where the remainings of a medieval tower, Torre Papito or Torre Boccamazzi, and of one temple were to be included in the new buildings. During the works (1927), however, the colossal head and arms of a marble statue were discovered. The archeological investigation brought to light the presence of a holy area, dating to the Republican era, with four temples and part of Pompey's Theater.
The buildings
The four temples, designated today by the letters A, B, C, and D, front onto a paved street, which was reconstructed in the imperial era, after 80 AD fire.
Temple A was built in the 3rd century BC, and is probably the Temple of Juturna built by Gaius Lutatius Catulus after his victory against Carthaginians in 241 BC. It was later rebuilt into a church, whoes aprses are still present.
Temple B, a circular temple with six columns remaining, was built by Quintus Lutatius Catulus in 101 BC to celebrate his victory over Cimbri; it was Aedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei, a temple devoted to the Luck of the Current Day. The colossal statue found during excavations and now kept in the Capitoline Museums was the statue of the goddess herself. Only the head, the arms, and the legs were of marble: the other parts, covered by the dress, were of bronze.
Temple C is the most ancient of the three, dating back to 4th or 3rd century BC, and was probably devoted to Feronia the ancient Italic goddess of fertility. After the fire of 80 AD, this temple was restored, and the white and black mosaic of the inner temple cell dates back to this restoration.
Temple D is the largest of the four, dates back to 2nd century BC with Late Republican restorations, and was devoted to Lares Permarini, but only a small part of it has been excavated (a street covers the most of it).
Teatro Argentina is a 18th century theater, where Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville debuted in 1816, as well as Giuseppe Verdi's I due Foscari (1844) and La battaglia di Legnano (1849).
Located in the Largo Argentina is the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, a no-kill shelter for homeless cats (of which Rome has many). The presence of the shelter proves to be a point of interest for both tourists and locals, as the historical area abounds with various breeds of cat, cavorting and lounging about on the ancient (and semi-ancient) ruins.
Peter Wissing
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Opsorichalcum sestertius (24.0g, 33mm, 6h) Rome mint. Struck AD 140-144
ANTONINVS AVG PI[-]VS P P TR P COS III laureate head of Antoninus Pius facing right
OPI AVG / S C [in ex.] Ops seated left, holding sceptre, left hand drawing back drapery.
RIC 612 (Scarce); Cohen 569 (fr.8); BMC 1258-62; Foss (Roman Historical Coins) 130:67
Ops stands for plenty, properity, power, fertility... Her cult goes back to the earliest times, supposedly founded by Romulus. She is the wife of Saturn, sometimes equated with Cybele. Appears on Roman coins only twice (also on issues of Pertinax). The issue under A. Pius is most probably associated with the 900th anniversary of Rome.Charles S
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RPC 2750 DomitianÆ Dichalkon, 1.58g
Alexandria mint, 91-92 AD
Obv: No legend; Head of Domitian, laureate, r.
Rev: LΙΑ; Crocodile, r., with sun disc
RPC 2750. Emmett 333.11. Dattari-Savio 6815-16.
Acquired from Athena, March 2021.
A series of small bronzes were struck at Alexandria without obverse inscriptions. Identifying which reign they belong to is down to identifying the obverse portrait and the regnal year date on the reverse. We are on firm ground with this dichalkon which unmistakably features a portrait of Domitian on the obverse and regnal year 11 on the reverse. This ethnic type featuring a Nile crocodile is fairly rare, being struck for just a handful of regnal years. It almost certainly depicts the ancient Egyptian crocodile god Sobek, god of the Nile and fertility. Sobek was particularly venerated during the Roman period in the Fayum, a swampy area west of the Nile Valley that was a natural home for crocodiles.
One of the finest known specimens of this rare type.David Atherton
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SALONINA AVG / FECVNDITAS AVG antoninianus (close to 265-267 A.D.) Obv.: [SALONIN]A AVG, Bust of Salonina, diademed, draped, right, on crescent.
Rev.: [F]ECVNDITAS [AVG], Fecunditas, draped, standing left, with right hand reaching down to child at her feet left, holding cornucopiae in left hand. Right field: Δ
d oval 16-18- mm, 1.94g, die axis 7h (coin alignment), material: bronze/copper-based alloy supposedly with some silver.
Portrait: Cornelia Salonina (Augusta in 253-268), wife of Gallienus
Authority: Gallienus (joint reign 253-, sole reign 260-268).
Mint: Rome.
AVG = Augusta. FECVNDITAS AVG(ustae) = Fecundity of Augusta. Fecundity is the ability to produce an abundance of offspring or new growth, it is simply a different name of fertility. Feritility was an important concept in Roman religion and culture, as least two religious festivals, Lupercalia in February and Paliria in April had fertility as their major themes. But later Fecundity itself, possibly as an aspect of Juno, became a goddess. Nero erected a temple to Fecundity, on the occasion of a daughter being borne to him by Poppaea (Tacit xv 23). And the adoration of this divinity, once established at Rome, became a frequent subject of allusion and typification on the coins of succeeding empresses, as one of the most relevant goddesses (and qualities) for Roman matrons. As in this case, she typically appears with the horn of plenty and a child or children, with obvious connotations. Delta in the right field probably means officina 4.
RIC V-1 Rome 5; Göbl 662s; Sear 10633.
ID straightforward. The mark can appear in left or right field or in exergue. In some cases it is epsilon, designating the fifth officina that probably made these from time to time. Mark A mentioned is some cases if probably a usual misreading of delta. The most significant variation, with possible relevance in this case, since the start of obverse legend is lost, is obverse legend COR SALONINA AVG or CORNEL SALONINA AVG. The size is consistently in the range 18-21mm with only a few smaller and larger exceptions. Note that as often with Rome mint some letters are made of separate lines and thus sometimes V = II, N = ΛI or III, M = IIII etc.Yurii P
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Trajan Decius (Caius Messius Quintus Decius) (249-251 A.D.)RIC IV-3 28b, Sear 9384, Van Meter 20
AR Antoninianus, 3.28 g., 22.78 mm. max., 0°
Rome mint, Group II, struck 250-251 A.D.
Obv.: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind.
Rev.: VBERITAS AVG, Uberitas standing left, holding purse/cow's udder and cornucopia.
Uberitas was the personification of fruitfulness, primarily agricultural fertility.
RIC rarity C, Van Meter VB1. Harshly cleaned (not by me), perhaps by electrolysis, which might explain the lightness of the coin.Stkp
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