Another "Agrippou" Athena Pentassarion for Marcianopolis

[slokind]

A set of pentassaria all evidently sharing one obverse die representing Agrippa's unique use of the Marcianopolis mint.  Though in HrJ (from recent auction), HrJ 6.24.4.9, in a very similar specimen, all the known specimens with the several reverses only now begin to yield a reliable completion of the reverse legend (so possibly in CORRIGENDA?).  Anyway, this one is I think new, and the Athena, in particular, preserves very nice details:

•• 18 01 11 AE 26.7  10.222g  axis 12h.  Marcianopolis, issued by Agrippa.
Confronted heads, Macrinus, laureate, to r. and Diadumenian to l.
From below tip of bust, AVT K OP[EL SEV MAKR]EINOS  K M OPEL ANTÔNINOS. 
Athena, helmeted, stg to l., pouring from patera in her r. hand, leaning on inverted spear in her l., wearing narrow peplos with aegis (scales actually preserved  and a mark probably for the gorgoneion.
VP AGRIPPOV MARK   IANOPOLEITÔN and value mark, E, in right field.
There may be, after all, two obverse dies involved in this set, unless the legend from about 5h to about 7h was retouched on the die.
This set, with Agrippa in the genitive ending in -OV, owes its rarity, which is real, to Agrippa's having used the Marcianopolis mint only for these (AMNG I, 1, only with Apollo / Bonus Eventus, no. 785; Varbanov nos. 1142-1144, which he illustrates, matching this one but without the split in the flan, and a Hermes.  I think cc may have a Hera.

Note that we have OPEL, not OPELL, for the Caesar's name on the Athena coins, and that Macrinus' name, taking all the known members of the set together, is not mispelled (as on the seller's label).

Compare also my 2003 Hermes:
•• 27 03 03 AE 28  Marcianopolis   Issued by Agrippa.  Macrinus, laureate, and Diadumenian, confronted heads.  AVT K OPEL SEVE MAKREINOS (?) K M OPEL ANTONEINOS' (trace of wedge mark).  Rev., Hermes, nude, stg. to l., holding purse in his r. and kerykeion over his chlamys-wrapped left arm.  VP AGRIPPOV MAR    KIANOPOLEITON (the omega-nu ligate); in field at l., below the purse, E.  See Pick, AMNG I, 1, p. 249, no. 785, but (though Varbanov lists none*) several reverses are now known).
* "none" in the 1st, Bulgarian edition.

I think it will be useful to add my other Hermes image, too:
•• 02 12 02 AE 26 Marcianopolis.  Issued by Agrippa.  Confronted heads of Macrinus to r., laureate, and Diadumenian, bareheaded, to l.  Obv. legend evidently (though worn) AV K OPEL SEV MAKREINOS K M OPEL ANTONEINOS.  Rev., Hermes with money bags in his r., with chlamys (as Hermes Belvedere, et al.) around his l. forearm, holding kerykeion, facing l.  VP AGRI[PPOV  MAR  KIANOPOLEITON (the omega-nu ligate); below the money bag, E (not lunate).  Not in AMNG I, 1, but cf. p. 249, no. 785.

CLICK to zoom all.
Pat L.

[majorcvs]

Just a question I have.
Just because there's an extra 'L' does that mean that the coin is not authentic? This the only reason to fail it as authentic? In those days not many could read and perhaps many coins were struck before the mistake was found, if it ever was found?? EZ

[slokind]

The usefulness to numismatists of the variant transliterations, abbreviated (and the name is Latin, while the transliteration is into Greek), on the coins of Moesia Inferior was already observed by Pick more than a century ago, and both I and (I think) Curtis Clay have remarked upon it here in Forvm.  The engravers were really remarkably literate.  The pronunciation and so the orthography of both languages was in flux, so it is not incorrect to write Seoueros/Severos or Nikopoleiton/Nicopoliton, and similar pairs both of which are defensible.  They did vacillate in this case between doubling the lambda or the pi or both or neither.  It wasn't one of the most familiar names, either, but a Roman probably would have known the customary spelling, Opellius.  Of course, for Greek they would use their own second-declension endings, too.  For the third declension, which doesn't work quite so similarly in the two languages it is sometimes a toss up.
Pat L.

[Jochen]

We should mention that the usual VP AGRIPPA is genitive too. I think with the A at the end it is called Doric genitive.

Best regards

[slokind]

Yes, and besides, when they really didn't have an idea of a genitive form to use, they often, even in literary prose, just let it be.  Pat L.