Wonderful aquaduct coin!

[Coinmaster]

Hi all,
on my wish list is this great denarius from L. Marcius Philippus (RRC 425/1), from 56 BC.
Frontside: Head of Ancus Marcius, right, wearing diadem. | ANCVS
Backside: Aqueduct, on which stands equestrian statue; at horse's feet, flower. | PHILIPPVS AQVAM͡A͡R

It seems the coin type is not rare at all. I'm curious about any background information: could anyone share some light on the purpose of the coin production, etc.?
It seems Ancus Marcius was a Roman king from the 7th century BC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancus_Marcius) and the aquaduct was the Aqua Marcia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_Marcia). The aquaduct was built by the praetor Quintus Marcius Rex. So I guess L. Marcius Philippus commemorates with the coin type his great ancestors on both front- and backside.
Any additional remarks? And please share your aquaduct coins and additional stories! These are great architectural works don't you think?
 

(image source: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10437060k)

[DonnaML]

@Coinmaster, here is my writeup of my own example of this type, with the information I was able to find. 

Roman Republic, L. Marcius Philippus, AR Denarius, 56 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Diademed head of Ancus Marcius [fourth King of Rome] right, lituus behind, ANCVS below / Rev. The Aqua Marcia aqueduct, represented as an arcade of five arches surmounted by an equestrian statue right [portraying Quintus Marcius Rex, builder of that aqueduct], with horse rearing; flower below horse; PHILIPPVS on left, AQVAMAR [MAR in monogram] within the arches. Crawford 425/1, RSC I Marcia 28, Sydenham 919, Sear RCV I 382 (ill.), Harlan, Michael, Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins 63 BCE - 49 BCE (2d ed. 2015) (“RRM II”), Ch. 15 at pp. 122-128. 18 mm., 3.92 mm., 7 h. Purchased from Bertolami Fine Arts Ltd ., 22 Nov. 2020.*

* The moneyer, Lucius Marcius Philippus (triumvir in 56 BCE, praetor in 44, suffect consul in 38 BCE) was the stepbrother of Gaius Octavius [later Augustus] (age seven at the time of this issue). The moneyer’s father, also named Lucius Marcius Philippus (consul in 56 BCE), was Octavius's stepfather by virtue of marrying the widow Atia, who was the mother of Octavius and Julius Caesar's niece (the daughter of Caesar’s sister Julia and her husband M. Atius Balbus). See Sear RCV I at p.145, Harlan, RRM II at pp. 122, 127-128.

The gens Marcia, to which the moneyer belonged, was named after Ancus Marcius, depicted on the obverse -- the legendary fourth king of Rome, who was the founder of that gens, and, therefore, the moneyer’s ancestor. (The lituus probably represents the king's augurship.)  Quintus Marcius Rex, the horseman depicted by the equestrian statue atop the Aqua Marcia aqueduct on the reverse, and the builder of that aqueduct in 144 BCE when he was praetor, was a distant cousin of the moneyer. However, he was not actually the moneyer’s ancestor, because Quintus belonged to the Reges branch of the gens Marcia, rather than the moneyer's Philippi branch of that gens. The two branches had separated by the end of the third century. Harlan, RRM II at pp.122-126. See id. for details on the size of the aqueduct and its reputation (according to Pliny) of having the coolest and most healthful waters of all Roman aqueducts. See Pliny, Naturalis Historia, 31.41.

The flower beneath the horse may refer to the conception of Mars by the fertilization of Juno by a flower. (See the discussion at Crawford Vol. I p. 308 of a similar motif on Crawford 293, issued in 113/112 BCE by an earlier L. Marcius Philippus, Consul in 91 BCE.)

 

[Coinmaster]

This is great Donna, many thanks!
Interesting to read about the augurship and the lituus. But is the lituus a wand, an instrument or both?
I wonder if the 'flower' might instead be a branch, pointing out the ancestral lineage of the gens Marcia. That seems more logical don't you think?

 

 

Edited May 22 by Coinmaster

[DonnaML]

2 minutes ago, Coinmaster said:

This is great Donna, many thanks!
Interesting to read about the augurship and the lituus. But is the lituus a wand, an instrument or both?
I wonder if the 'flower' might instead be a branch, pointing out the ancestral lineage of the gens Marcia. That seems more logical don't you think?

 

 

As far as I know, a lituus was just a wand in ancient Rome. The "family tree" idea is clever, but it looks like a flower to me! Plus, is there any evidence that family relationships were analogized to trees and branches at the time?

[Coinmaster]

34 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

is there any evidence that family relationships were analogized to trees and branches at the time?

I'm not sure, but this link describes it as a branch instead of flower: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/142609/denarius-coin-depicting-king-ancus-marcius.

[Dafydd]

This is my example and I was very happy because in hand it has a deep dark tone quite unlike the auction house images. I will photograph this in due course to illustrate the difference.

 Not quite on topic but Aqua was on my radar today as I was investigating water bottles that contained crystals of minerals such as Amethyst that apparently improve the Ph of the water. Apparently very popular in Germany and a huge spread of prices ranging from $30 to $300. The $300 ones have a better story than the less expensive ones but I think you pay for the story and the claims. 

 

 

 

 

L. Marcius Philippus 56 BC. Rome
Denarius AR

18mm., 3,64g.  Ex Savoca September 2019 Auction 16
Lot 933

[Marsyas Mike]

Nice acquisition, @Coinmaster.  This type was one of the very first ancients I ever purchased, way back in 1987, $25 with free banker marks (that probably works out to $128 adjusted for inflation):

Roman Republic       Denarius L. Marcius Philippus (56 B.C.)  Diademed head of Ancus Marcius right, lituus left; below, ANCVS / Equestrian statue right on arcade of five arches, inscription within, AQVA MR; on l., PHILIPPVS Crawford 425/1; RRC 919. (3.77 grams / 16 mm) McDaniels Sep. 1987     $25.00

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Yes, I really love this type!  Most coins of this decade are somewhat scarce, but they must have really cranked out this neat issue.  Nice examples are pretty plentiful.

 

[Romancollector]

Here's my example of the type which I added not too long ago. The verism of the portraiture is really what attracted me to this type.

Denarius of L. Marcius Philippus obv. head of Ancus Marcius/rev. Aqua Marcia surmounted by equestrian statue

Edited May 23 by Romancollector

[David Atherton]

10 hours ago, Coinmaster said:

Hi all,
on my wish list is this great denarius from L. Marcius Philippus (RRC 425/1), from 56 BC.
Frontside: Head of Ancus Marcius, right, wearing diadem. | ANCVS
Backside: Aqueduct, on which stands equestrian statue; at horse's feet, flower. | PHILIPPVS AQVAM͡A͡R

It seems the coin type is not rare at all. I'm curious about any background information: could anyone share some light on the purpose of the coin production, etc.?
It seems Ancus Marcius was a Roman king from the 7th century BC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancus_Marcius) and the aquaduct was the Aqua Marcia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_Marcia). The aquaduct was built by the praetor Quintus Marcius Rex. So I guess L. Marcius Philippus commemorates with the coin type his great ancestors on both front- and backside.
Any additional remarks? And please share your aquaduct coins and additional stories! These are great architectural works don't you think?
 

(image source: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10437060k)

 

Fantastic example!

[Coinmaster]

7 hours ago, Marsyas Mike said:

with free banker marks

Great coin! I don't think they are banker marks as coins from the republic period are used to pay soldiers in the Rhine army. Often these coins bare these marks (also different letters and symbols). As bankers, moneyers and salesmen are not involved with the payment of the wages (or exhances and taxes), it must be the army treasury that's involved with these marks (this was highly regulated). I think most likely to validate these coins as salary. Next year I want to write an article about this topic, but now I'm too busy with other topics..

Edited May 23 by Coinmaster

[Limes]

Coincidentally, I recently added this type to my collection. It was on my wishlist because of the reverse, which shows the aquaduct constructed by Q Marcius Rex. I have a book by Liv Mariah Yarrow, which dedicates a couple of pages to the moneyer and reverse. I have yet to read it properly, and do some additional research, but do have taken pictures of the coin. Luckily, @DonnaML added her thorough footnote, which I'm happy to read as well 🙂

There's some wear on the obverse, and some weakness on the reverse. Nevertheless, it still shows a strong portrait, and readible reverse, with the main details clearly visible. And the metal is quite good as well. 

 

[Coinmaster]

1 hour ago, Limes said:

I have a book by Liv Mariah Yarrow, which dedicates a couple of pages to the moneyer and reverse.

That's great (and indeed a nice coin!)! If possible, I'd be happy if you could share these pages. 😊👍🏻👍🏻

[Marsyas Mike]

8 hours ago, Coinmaster said:

Great coin! I don't think they are banker marks as coins from the republic period are used to pay soldiers in the Rhine army. Often these coins bare these marks (also different letters and symbols). As bankers, moneyers and salesmen are not involved with the payment of the wages (or exhances and taxes), it must be the army treasury that's involved with these marks (this was highly regulated). I think most likely to validate these coins as salary. Next year I want to write an article about this topic, but now I'm too busy with other topics..

I really look forward to your article - I've never heard of that Army connection to banker's marks and would love to learn more about it.  

[akeady]

I have a couple of them - this is the better one:

ATB,
Aidan.

[akeady]

Actually, I'll cheat - this looks like an aqueduct but is a bridge/viaduct - from a medal of Pius IX from 1851 (Bartolotti E 851).

Edited May 23 by akeady

[LONGINUS]

Great post!

I have no aqueduct coins but I do have a few Roman and Judaean coins featuring the lituus symbol.

 

 

Edited May 24 by LONGINUS

[antwerpen2306]

 

my exemple