A scarcer Nemesis from Marcianopolis

[Jochen]

Hi!

Recently I found a scarcer Nemesis from Marcianopolis with 'pulling out her garment'.

Macrinus, AD 217-218
AE 25, 11.60g
struck under governor Furius Pontianus
obv. AVT KM OPEL CEVH MAKREINOC [KM OPE ANTWNE] / NOCI(sic!)
Confronted busts of Macrinus, draped and cuirassed with scale armor, laureate,
r., and Diadumenian, draped and cuirassed, bare-headed, l.
rev. VP PONTIANOV MAR - KIANOPOLEITWN (AR ligate)
Nemesis, in double chiton, stg. frontal, head l., holding in l. arm rod with hook,
and pulling with r. hand end of her garment to the chin.
in l. field E (for pentassarion)
not in AMNG (no Nemesis for Macrinus&Diadumenian!); Hristova/Jekov 6.24.35.2 var. (has INOC on obv. and POLITWN on rev.); Varbanov (engl.) 1211 (writes scepter!)
rare, about VF, dark green patina

'Pulling out garment': Pick, p.257 writes "this gestus seems not to appear on coins of Marcianopolis!". He was wrong.

Another interesting detail is the end of the obv. legend. It seems to be from r. to l. NOC in small letters followed by a bigger I. The strange end of the obv. legend is not mentioned in the references above.

Best regards

[archivum]

Same obverse die (a now-blocked online listing), a strange one undoubtedly (looks as if the caelator transposed I and retrograde NOS), and another die used for the Nemesis-garment reverse:

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/macrinus/_markianopolis_AE5As_Moushmov_566.jpg

[slokind]

Yes, that retrograde -nos is a handy earmark for that delightful obverse die.  Since my friends, Hr&J, were about to issue Marcianopolis (and of course have done so) I have concentrated on Nicopolis.  I have the Nemesis with the folds of the peplos pulled out at the neck (we've had threads on that), same die as yours, which I got so early in collecting that I didn't even own Pick yet.  Here it is.
• 03 VIII 00 AE26 Marcianopolis.  Macrinus and Diadumenian. 
Confronted heads.  AVT K OPEL SEV MAKR[EINOS K M OP]EL ANTON[EI]NOS, so well as I can make out.  Rev. Nemesis stg. left, with the spitting motif, holding cornucopiae (rather than goad?) in her l. and with wheel at her feet.  VP PONTIANOVMAR    KIANO[POLEITON]--the end half legible.  E in the field at left.  Cf. Pick 762, but the personnification here "spits" like Nemesis and does NOT have scales like Dikaiosyne (Aequitas), but the wheel at her feet, like Tyche or Nemesis.  The AR ligature in the city name resembles no. 764, but that is Homonoia (Concordia), and Pick cites the ligature AR on two examples as an Abweichung, while he does not mention a wheel on any Tyche issued by Pontianus here.  Despite its stiffness, the object on her left arm probably is a cornucopiae.  [No, it's a goad or ell, take your choice, and one no longer thinks that she spits!]  A good example of the mixed die-pairing that I was beginning to notice.
Note: This is a good example of the reasons for buying an ugly, badly cleaned coin with even a couple of blobs to retouch or seal (I'd better check for BD) for reasons of study.  One thing eBay has done is put these orphans on the market.  I am afraid that too often a century ago ugly coins just got lost.  I paid precious little for this one, but I've got it together with others related to it.
There are 3 other Nemesis reverse types for Macrinus and Diadumenian also at Marcianopolis that I have.  Now I'll post and go check Hr&J.
Pat L.
For Hristova and Jekov's coverage of the Nemesis and Nemesis-Aequitas and Aequitas, see their Markaianopolis, pp. 112-114 (6.24.35.1-9.
Jochen's Nemesis reverse is their no. 1, which uses the 'singular' confronted heads of my no. 11 at https://www.forumancientcoins.com/ayiyoryitika/singularmarcdies.html where it is used with a youthful (unbearded) Zeus.
In sum: both these dies are in Pick, but not together, and in HrJ, but not together--and who knows whether they're together in Varbanov, if he has specimen(s).

[Bacchus]

Hi - yes this coin does seem to turn up the odd time - here is my example - though yours has a great patina. 

I think there are at least 15 Nemesis or Nemesis Aequitas 5 assaria die combinations at Marcianopolis - they are listed here somewhere around the middle
http://www.diadumenian.com/marcianopolis5.html

From memory, that obverse die, with the error NOCI ending is paired with at least 4 other reverses

all the best

Malcolm

[kerux]

Since my friends, Hr&J, were about to issue Marcianopolis (and of course have done so) I have concentrated on Nicopolis. 

Pat,

Am I correct in inferring that Hr&J are working on a Nicopolis volume?

Joe W.

[slokind]

Yes, but it has not yet been published.  For that reason, I have taken pains not to duplicate their work but to make a different kind of study.  We have shared photos, too, and of course so has Ivan Varbanov.  Pat L.

[kerux]

Yes, but it has not yet been published.  For that reason, I have taken pains not to duplicate their work but to make a different kind of study.  We have shared photos, too, and of course so has Ivan Varbanov.  Pat L.

I wonder if they would be interested in some Nicopolis unlisteds from my personal collection? If so, is there a way to contact them?

Joe Winnett