Tweet

Gareth Harney

21 Jul, 17 tweets, 6 min read

New coin: Roman Republican denarius serratus, minted by the moneyer Gaius Marius Capito in 81 BC. This moneyer, unrelated to the famous general Gaius Marius, is known only from this remarkable coin issue struck during the bloody dictatorship of Sulla.

The coin bears a portrait of Ceres, Roman goddess of agriculture, the harvest, and the all-important grain supply to Rome; shown wearing a wreath of grain ears, maybe celebrating the end of the civil war and a reestablished supply of grain to the city under Sulla's dictatorship.

The reverse presents a timeless agricultural scene, with a ploughman driving a yoke of two oxen. This may symbolise the prolific founding of new colonies by Sulla, with their boundaries defined by ritualistically marking them with a plough, following ancient Etruscan tradition..

While the farming motif both compliments the obverse portrait of Ceres and aptly recalls a 'founding' scene, it might also represent a subtle allusion to turbulent contemporary events and act as a chilling reminder to viewers of Sulla's supremacy...

Sulla had defeated the Marians and appointed himself dictator, yet his legate Lucretius Afella had the gall to continue canvassing for a consulship. Sulla promptly ordered him struck down in the middle of the Forum. Afterwards, a defiant Sulla explained his actions to the people:

"I ordered the death of Lucretius because he disobeyed me. Consider the following story: a husbandman was repeatedly bitten by fleas while ploughing. He stopped his ploughing twice in order to clear them out of his shirt...

"...When they bit him again he burned his shirt, so that he might not be so often interrupted in his work. And I tell you, those who have felt my hand twice, to take warning - the third time fire will be your answer."

(Appian, The Civil Wars, 1.11.101)

This series from Marius Capito is also of particular interest due to its fascinating use of numerical and pictoral control-marks, which reveal a great deal about the workings of the Republican mint. Likely as a further measure against counterfeiting and for quality control..

Every obverse and reverse die was given a corresponding number and unique symbol, placed under the chin of Ceres. With each control-mark only used once, for the lifespan of the coin die, we can learn a great deal about the longevity of dies and the scale of a particular issue.

In this case we know that 151 pairs of dies were eventually used for the entire coin issue, each with the potential to strike thousands of coins before wearing out or breaking. The first 25 dies were merely numbered, before the mint decided to add pictures too.. (die 20 pictured)

Die engravers were likely given some individual freedom to create their own mint marks and there are many fascinating sub-categories of image, such as animals of the land and sea, flora, weapons, tools, religious symbols, clothing and musical instruments..

Illustrating the creativity of the die engravers, here we see control marks in the form of a scorpion (die 37), anchor (die 50), lyre (die 102) and sword (die 112). With the dies numerically paired, if either obverse or reverse broke or wore down, both would be dispensed with.

My own example is struck from the 141st pair of dies - one of a consecutive run of marks based on sea life, with images of sea-anemones and mussel shells. This delightful control-mark shows a jellyfish, to my knowledge the only representation of a jellyfish on a Roman coin!

The coin is also a 'serratus' denarius with distinctive toothed edges. The blank coin flan was hit with a sharp tool whilst being rolled along a surface with pliers; an anti-counterfeiting measure, showing the silver interior of the coin while also discouraging coin clipping.

Sharply struck and beautifully toned, the denarius also offers an intriguing glimpse into a tumultuous period for the Republic that set many bloody precedents in Rome's history - where homegrown strongmen might march on their own city, purge their opponents and rule as dictator.

Holding a 2100-year-old Roman coin in hand. For context, when this was struck Julius Caesar was 19.

If you enjoyed this thread, a more detailed post on the denarius can be read here: harneycoins.com/post/founded-i…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @OptimoPrincipi

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

17 Jul

1) "The nature of the 'testudo' formation is as follows: our tightly packed soldiers raise their shields over the heads of themselves and their comrades, so that nothing but shields can be seen throughout the entire formation...

2) ..all men are protected from missiles by the density of the arrangement. Indeed, the 'testudo' is so incredibly strong that men can walk upon it, and whenever they come to a narrow ravine, even horses and vehicles can be driven over it!..

3) ..Hence the name 'testudo", which we derive from the Greek for 'tortoise' - a reference to both its strength and the shelter it affords. Our soldiers use it in two ways: either in advancing to make assault on a fort, often even enabling some men to scale the very walls..

Read 7 tweets

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

14 Jul

1) Around the year 1640, an unknown antiquary was visiting some of the historic sites around London - in his own words "intending to notice the fast ruining places and things that have been passed by or little mentiond" by historians..

2) As part of his survey he visited The Tabard, a famous Southwark inn established in 1307 that stood on the east side of Borough High Street, at the ancient intersection of the two Roman roads of Stane Street and Watling Street..

3) The Tabard was a raucous inn, celebrated for its literary links and quill-twiddling patrons; most famously being the inn where the pilgrims gathered at the beginning of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales written over two centuries earlier..

Read 8 tweets

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

12 Jun

1) A Roman grave memorial with a dark secret: this funerary altar was intended as a loving dedication to a child by grieving parents ..but later became a cursed testament of bitterness and betrayal. On the surface, it appears a finely carved but largely normal Roman gravestone...

2) The memorial is dedicated to the young Junia Procula, whose death has left her parents "wretched with grief". With an exactness that shows their love, it states she lived "eight years, eleven months and five days"..

3) 8-year-old Junia is shown in an affectionate portrait above, with ornately curled hair fashionable in the late 1st century; her image placed prominently in the panel usually reserved for the inscription - clearly a beloved child. But looking closer we see something is amiss..

Read 14 tweets

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

6 Jun

1) A Roman centurion and a Roman auxiliary cavalryman who both lived at a remarkable intersection in history; taking part in the Roman invasion of Britannia in 43 AD, they fought and died in the conquest of a wild and mysterious land at the edge of their world..

2) Marcus Favonius Facilis was a centurion (commanding a unit of around 80 men) in the Twentieth Legion, who came to Britain as part of Claudius’ initial invasion force. He died a few years after the invasion while still in service, but we are not told his age or cause or death..

3) In a wonderfully preserved depiction, Marcus is shown in his centurion's uniform, wearing a cuirass and ornate belt over the leather 'pteruges' kilt worn by officers. In his right hand he holds his centurion’s stick (vitis), and in his left he holds the pommel of his gladius..

Read 11 tweets

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

5 Jun

1) For many in the ancient world, life was a daily battle against hardship and hunger. Grinding poverty might even force people to give away their children, however much they loved them, as we see in this gut-wrenching document of relinquishment....

2) "Declaration by Aurelia Herais: my husband died and I was left by him to toil and suffer for my daughter, to provide her with the barest necessities in life. And now I no longer have the means to feed her. She is about nine years old...

3) ..I have therefore requested that you receive her from me as your daughter, so you may provide her with life's necessities and fill the position of parents to her. And I acknowledge that I have no power henceforth to reclaim her from you..

Read 4 tweets

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

4 Jun

1) The delightful Colchester Roman Circus mosaic, a modern mosaic designed by archaeological artist Peter Froste, taking inspiration from a famous chariot racing mosaic in Lyon. The mosaic shows the excitement of a race at Colchester's ancient circus which was discovered in 2005.

2) Chariot racing was extremely dangerous and the life expectancy of a charioteer was short. Here one of the racers crashes out with a broken wheel - such crashes were called 'naufragia' (shipwrecks) by the fanatical crowds, crying out "naufragium!" at the sight of an accident.

3) On the central barrier (spina) of the circus we can see the seven laps of the race being counted with large sculpted eggs; circus spinae were ornamented with water features, columns and sculptures, here Cybele, the Great Mother of the gods, is mounted on a lion.

Read 8 tweets

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!