First 2023 coin - and my type of coin

ambr0zie · January 10, 2023

Although my main interest in 2022 remained Imperial coins, last year was quite rich in Republicans. You can see my top here

I don't know if I will specialize on Republicans but I enjoy them a lot because of the variety and originality of designs, especially the ones with heavy symbolism.
My first 2023 purchase is a Republican denarius. I wasn't 100% sure I want it, because the condition was a little discouraging (although this is not a major criteria for my collecting strategies). In the end I decided to bid on it and won it.

I think I mentioned in the past (and the experienced Republican collectors will disagree) that I do not like the "generic" RR denarius - generic meaning obverse with a character, usually Roma, facing right and the reverse with a biga. I simply find them too repetitive for my tastes.
This one almost fell into that category, but the biga is slightly different from what one would imagine.

M. Volteius M. f 75 BC. Rome. Denarius AR. 17 mm, 3,36 g
Head of Bacchus (or Liber) right, wearing ivy wreath / Ceres driving biga of snakes right, holding torch in each hand; Dolphin behind. Crawford 385/3; Sydenham 776; Volteia 3.

Biga of snakes? yep, let me have it. And looking at the coin, the wear does not bother me. I strongly prefer a coin that is worn and toned, but with design elements clearly visible. Much more than a coin with better details, but harshly cleaned or something similar.

Please post new 2023 Republican acquisitions, or non-horse bigas, or coins with fantastic designs, or anything relevant.

Spaniard · January 10, 2023

@ambr0zie...That's a great looking coin!...Congrats on a super start to the new year..

happy_collector · January 11, 2023

Nice snake biga, @ambr0zie. I like your complete biga, and Ceres is not off-flan. Congrats to your first purchase, and thanks for sharing. 🙂

I think non-horse bigas are fun. It is one of my collecting themes. Here are my two RR snake bigas.

Edited January 11, 2023 by happy_collector

Roman Collector · January 11, 2023

Woo hoo! Way to go, @ambr0zie! Snake biga!!

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman provincial Æ 25.4 mm, 10.73 g, 7 h.
Mysia, Cyzicus, AD 169-175.
Obv: ΦΑVСΤΕΙΝΑ СΕΒΑCTH, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: ΚVΖΙΚΗΝ ΝΕΩΚΟΡ, Demeter standing in biga drawn by coiling serpents, right, holding torch in each hand.
Refs: RPC IV.2, 17502 (temporary); BMC –; Mionnet II –; Wiczay –.

DonnaML · January 11, 2023

8 hours ago, ambr0zie said:

I think I mentioned in the past (and the experienced Republican collectors will disagree) that I do not like the "generic" RR denarius - generic meaning obverse with a character, usually Roma, facing right and the reverse with a biga. I simply find them too repetitive for my tastes.

Congratulations on your snake biga, @ambr0zie! And I don't disagree at all. I've said more than once that I have no great interest in the standard Republican reverses (especially in the early period) of the two Dioscuri galloping right, or the garden-variety reverses showing a goddess in a biga of horses. I'm only interested if there's something more, such as an animal and/or other being(s) beneath the horses' hooves, or one of the horses turning its head back to look at the others, or, best of all, the biga being pulled not by horses but by a pair of non-equine creatures, real or mythical.

Here are some of my examples from the last category, in no particular order. I've posted most of them fairly recently, such as in my 2022 top Roman Republicans list, so I won't repeat the descriptions.

Snakes: