Crawford 464/7, ROMAN IMPERATORIAL, T. Carisius, AR Sestertius
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Rome, The Republic.
T. Carisius, 46 BCE.
AR Sestertius (0.65g; 12mm).
Rome Mint.
Obverse: [Mask of Silenus]; [T·]CARISI[VS] below.
Reverse: Panther advancing right with thyrsus; III VIR in exergue.
References: Crawford 464/7a; Sydenham 988 (R8); RBW 1620 (this coin); BMCRR 4076; Babelon, Carisia 12 (this coin illustrated inaccurately as Carisa 13); Borghesi, Oeuvres, Vol 1, Pl. 1, Fig 7 (this coin illustrated inaccurately); Riccio, Le Monete Delle Antiche Famiglie di Roma (2nd Ed., 1843), Carisia 9 and Pl. 54, Fig 2 (this coin cited and illustrated inaccurately); B. Borghesi, “Dodici sesterzj illustrati”, Giornale numismatico, No. IV, July 1808, pp. 52-57, extracted and republished in Borghesi 1862-4, vol. 1, pp. 29-38 (this coin described inaccurately).
Provenance: Ex STR collection; RBW Collection [NAC 63 (2012) Lot 395]; bought from W. Verres in Aug 2002; Sarti Collection [Hirsch VII (1903), Lot 1606]; Bartolomeo Borghesi (d. 1860) Collection, acquired before July 1808 (when it was described in the Borghesi article in Giornale numismatico).
An extremely rare coin with only 5 obverse and 4 or 5 reverse dies known to Crawford (Richard Schaefer identified 6 obverse dies in his Roman Republican Die Project). Crawford listed two obverse varieties – the first with inscription beside and below Silenus’ head (464/7a), and the second with inscription above Silenus’ head (464/7b) for which my coin was the basis. The misinterpretation of my coin by Borghesi, a famous 19th century collector with mediocre eyesight, and the subsequent reliance by cataloguers on the numismatic artist Dardel’s line drawing of the coin which followed Borghesi’s misinterpretation, resulted in the cataloguing of the second obverse variety by Babelon, Sydenham and Crawford. In fact, Borghesi was holding the obverse upside down and thought Silenus’ beard was the top of his head – an easy mistake to make with limited, 19th century numismatic aids and resources. My comparison of this coin to known dies for the type yielded a die match to the Berlin specimen (Crawford’s plate for 464/7a) which proved that the visible obverse device is actually Silenus’ beard, and thus the inscription runs beside and below and beard as per Crawford 464/7a. Recently, an example of the type was auctioned which bore an obverse inscription running over the top of Silenus’ head, providing plausible support to the Crawford 464/7b variety.
Prior researchers have alternately identified the obverse mask as either Silenus or Pan. See, Sear HCRI, no. 75 (Silenus); Crawford 464/7a and 464/7b (Pan); Banti 1981, Carisia 36-38 (Pan); BMCRR, no. 4076 (Pan); Babelon, Carisia 12 and 13 (Pan); Cohen, Carisia 9 (Silenus); Borghesi 1862-4, vol. 1, p. 32, n. 2 (Silenus); Riccio 1843, p. 46, Carisia 9 (Silenus). Silenus is typically identifiable as an old man with pug nose and some horse characteristics (notably, ears and tail), while Pan is recognized as part goat and part man. I believe that this coin actually depicts a Silenus.
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