Roman Republican Coins # 88-89: Mn. Aquillius (Sol/Luna) & L. Cassius Caeicianus (Ceres/Oxen)

[DonnaML]

Incorrigibly lazy as I am, even though I've purchased only three Roman Republican coins since June, until now I've written up none of them. Here are two, finally, #'s 88-89 overall, with the write-ups in chronological order rather than in order of purchase. (The third chronologically was actually # 87 in order of purchase, but will take the most time to write up so of course I put it off until last. I will add it to this thread when I get to it.)

Both of these have pedigrees back to the 1990s (hey, better than nothing!) from Italy and Germany respectively. The first represents one of only a couple of pedigrees I've actually succeeded in finding at the Richard Schaefer Roman Republican Die Project, even though I've searched there for almost every Republican coin I've bought since that Project has been online. (The more recent references in this pedigree come from the dealer, Philipp Krüger of Divus Numismatik in Vienna.)

Also regarding the first coin, a denarius of Mn. Aquillius with Sol on the obverse and Luna in a biga on the reverse, I previously purchased the best example I've ever seen of the type from a Cayon Subastas auction in 2022, but it disappeared in the mail somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean (as did a number of other lots from that auction sent to purchasers in the USA). I did get a refund eventually, but I still regret the loss. This new specimen isn't in nearly as great condition, but it's  quite nice nonetheless, I think, and it cost me only about 25% of the amount I originally paid for the other one.

88. Roman Republic, Mn. Aquillius, AR Denarius, Rome Mint, 109-108 BCE [Crawford], or 108-107 BCE [Mattingly]. Obv. Radiate head of Sol right; beneath chin, X [old mark of value used here (& on several other issues) despite revaluing of denarius from 10 to 16 asses in 136 BCE] / Rev. Luna in biga of galloping horses right, holding reins in both hands; above horses, crescent moon and three stars; beneath horses, a fourth star; MN • AQVIL [MN ligate] below; in exergue, ROMA. Crawford 303/1; RSC I (Babelon) Aquillia 1 (ill. p. 16); BMCRR II Italy 645 (ill. Pl. xcv no. 11); Sear RCV I 180; Albert 1094 (ill. p. 154) [Albert, Rainer, Die Münzen der Römischen Republik (2011)]; RBW Collection - [not included]; for date of issue, see also Mattingly, Harold B., "The Management of the Roman Republican Mint," p. 258 Table 3, in From Coins to History: Selected Numismatic Studies (2004). 18x19 mm., 3.82 g. Purchased 30 Sep. 2023 from Divus Numismatik (Philipp Krüger), Vienna, Austria; ex Marc Walter, Vienna, Austria; ex Numismatica Tintinna, Scandiano, Emilia Romagna, Italy [I couldn't find auction date online]; ex Mario Ratto, Milan, Italy, Fixed Price List Fall 1995, No. 56 [see Richard Schaefer Roman Republican Die Project at http://numismatics.org/archives/ark:/53695/schaefer.rrdp.processed_300-399#schaefer_clippings_output_303_sd, Col. 3, Row 11].*

 

The RRDP entry. (If anyone happens to have the Fall 1995 Ratto FPL, please let me know because I'd love to have a copy of the relevant page(s); I couldn't find it online.)

*The moneyer, Manius Aquillius, was Consul in 101 BCE (see Crawford p. 314) and, in 88 BCE, “was one of the consular legates appointed to prosecute the war in Asia against Mithradates the Great of Pontus” (BMCRR II Italy p. 300 n. 1). His grandson, Mn. Aquillius Mn.f. Mn.n., was a moneyer ca. 71 BCE, and the issuer of Crawford 401/1, which commemorates the senior Mn. Aquillius’s suppression of a slave revolt in Sicily in 101 BCE while serving as Consul. 

According to Crawford, the obverse and reverse types on this issue “need do no more than” reflect the moneyer’s predeliction for the the joint cult of Sol and Luna, with the stars on the reverse representing “the heavens through which Luna passes.” (Crawford p. 314, citing Grueber, BMCRR II Italy p. 300 n. 2; in turn, Grueber cites Babelon, Vol. I p. 212, for the suggestion that the design simply reflects a special interest in the cult by the moneyer’s family.) 

Grueber (id.) is skeptical of the theory, apparently first advanced by A. Vercoutre in 1890, that the four stars on the reverse of this issue were intended to represent “the sign of the constellation Aquila [meaning ‘Eagle’], which is in the form of the letter T, a punning allusion to the [gens] Aquillius. The introduction of Luna and Sol would be due to the desire of the engraver to emphasize specially the representation of this constellation.” Crawford’s failure to mention this theory can presumably be viewed as an implicit rejection of its plausibility. However, RSC I cites the theory at p. 16 (“The stars may be a punning allusion to the moneyer and the constellation Aquila”) without any indication that it should be viewed as farfetched.

From the photo at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquila_(constellation) of the constellation Aquila “as it can be seen with the naked eye,” I am somewhat skeptical of the theory as well. I think it  requires the exercise of some imagination to see the arms of the “T” of the constellation Aquila (or an eagle’s body and wings) in the arrangement of the four stars on the reverse of this issue. Even though I concede that the bottom star on the coin is -- as in the photo of the constellation -- closely aligned with the central star in the line of three above, with the other two stars in that line placed slightly lower than the central one. 

Other opinions are welcome, of course.

89. Roman Republic, L. Cassius Caeicianus, AR Denarius 102 BCE [Crawford] or 100 BCE [Yarrow and Mattingly], Rome Mint. Obv. Bust of Ceres, left, draped, wreathed with ears of grain; behind, CAEICIAN upwards [AE and AN ligate]; to left of “AN,” control-mark K with dot (•) beneath it / Rev. Pair of oxen left in yoke; above, control-mark M with dot (•) beneath it; in exergue, L • CASSI.  Crawford 321/1; RSC I [Babelon] Cassia 4 (ill. p. 29); BMCRR I Rome 1725-1741 [various pairs of control-marks, not including pair on this coin]; Sear RCV I 199 (ill. p. 110); Albert 1125 (ill. p. 157) [Albert, Rainer, Die Münzen der Römischen Republik (2011)]; RBW Collection 1176 (ill. p. 243); Yarrow p. 186 (ill. p. 187 fig. 4.31) [Liv Mariah Yarrow, The Roman Republic to 49 BCE: Using Coins as Sources (2021)]; for date of issue, see also Mattingly, Harold B., “Roman Republican Coinage ca. 150-90 B.C.,” in From Coins to History: Selected Numismatic Studies (2004) pp. 199-226 at Table 2, p. 206. 18 mm., 4.0 g. Purchased 11 Aug 2023 from Münzenhandlung M. Raffler, Hettenshausen (bei München), Germany, ex H.H. Kricheldorf, Freiburg, Germany, Auktion 46, 17 Jul 1998 in Stuttgart, Lot 187.*

 

 

*The moneyer is “not otherwise known” (Crawford p. 325), and his cognomen, Caeicianus, is apparently an alternate spelling of Caecianus (id., see also BMCRR I p. 236 n. 3). The control-mark pairs “are the letters of the Latin alphabet, with or without a dot” (Crawford p. 325); the dot, when present -- as is usually the case (BMCRR I p. 237 n. 3 cont.) -- may be above, below, to the right, or to the left of the letter, always in the same position on the obverse and reverse. The pairs of letters used are juxtaposed in reverse alphabetical order to each other (Crawford p. 325); see also BMCRR I p. 237 n. 3 cont. (“On the obverse the letter starts from the beginning of the Latin alphabet, whilst on the reverse it starts from the end”). Thus, “A on the obverse is paired with X on the reverse, B with V and so on as far as K with M” (Crawford p. 325), with the K-M pair on this coin (accompanied by dots below each letter) representing the final pairing of letters in the series.

According to Crawford, the reverse type (a pair of oxen yoked, often symbolizing the foundation of a colony; see Jones, John Melville, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (Seaby 1990) at pp. 121-122 [entry for “Founder”]) “merely complements the bust of Ceres on the obverse . . . ; together the two types recall the foundation of the temple of Ceres by Sp. Cassius,” a claimed ancestor of the moneyer, as the second Consul in 493 BCE. Crawford p. 326. Professor Yarrow accepts that interpretation, but also proposes a possible simultaneous association with the settlement of large numbers of Marian veterans in new colonies ca. 100 BCE, interpreting this issue together with the later issue of Gaius Marius C.f. Capito from ca. 81 BCE (Crawford 378/1c), which also has Ceres on the obverse and a reverse depicting a pair of oxen, this time driven by a plowman. See this photo of my example of that type, purchased Feb. 21, 2021 from Nomos AG, Obolos Auction 18, Lot 468 (the full write-up with footnotes, including more on the "foundation" theme, can be found at  https://www.numisforums.com/topic/4390-roman-coins-in-reverse-a-chronological-gallery/page/4/#comment-55702 , as # 4 of the five photos and write-ups I posted at that link):

 

Professsor Yarrow’s discussion may be found at pp. 185-186 of her book:

On the coins made at Rome, there are fewer references to colonization and land grants than we might expect from the literary sources. Images that may be relevant have disputed iconography. In the imperial age, plowing is a symbol associated with the expansion of the pomerium, Rome’s sacred boundary, a re-enactment of Romulus’ mythical plowing at Rome’s foundation, and, in imitation of this same myth, is used to symbolize the foundation of a colony. [Citations omitted.] . . . . The two Republican types in question both have Ceres, the goddess of grain, on the obverse and a yoked team of oxen on the reverse (Figures 4.31-2); on the later type the team is driven by a figure in a rustic belted tunic, not a ceremonial toga or priestly garb. The urge to see the Republican types as tied to colonization derives both from the later parallel iconography and their dates, c. 100 and 81 BCE, periods associated with the settlement of large numbers of Marian and Sullan veterans, respectively. The earlier type is readily linked to the foundation of the temple of Ceres, Liber, and Libera by a putative ancestor of the moneyer, Sp. Cassius, Cos. 493 BCE. Yet, there is no reason that the moneyer might not have wanted to associate himself both with the temple, the seat of the plebeian aediles, and with current colonization, proposed or realized.

(Emphases in original, footnote omitted.)

Please post anything relevant, including any recent Roman Republican acquisitions and anything with Sol, Luna, Ceres, or oxen, or any combination thereof!

And if anyone happens to have a copy of the catalog from Kricheldorf Auktion 46, I'd love a copy of the relevant page as well.

Edited October 9, 2023 by DonnaML

[ambr0zie]

As usually, great coins and write-up. 

A relevant coin in my collection is exactly the coin you had in mind

19 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

His grandson, Mn. Aquillius Mn.f. Mn.n., was a moneyer ca. 71 BCE, and the issuer of Crawford 401/1, which commemorates the senior Mn. Aquillius’s suppression of a slave revolt in Italy in 101 BCE while serving as Consul. 

20 mm, 3,74 g.
Mn. Aquillius. AR serrate denarius. Rome. 71 BC.
VIRTVS / III VIR, helmeted, draped bust of Virtus / MN AQVIL / MN F MN N / SICIL , warrior, holding shield and raising up fallen figure (or the consul Man. Aquillius raising Sicilia).
Cr. 401/1; RSC Aquillia 2; BMC 3364.

[DonnaML]

Just now, ambr0zie said:

As usually, great coins and write-up. 

A relevant coin in my collection is exactly the coin you had in mind

20 mm, 3,74 g.
Mn. Aquillius. AR serrate denarius. Rome. 71 BC.
VIRTVS / III VIR, helmeted, draped bust of Virtus / MN AQVIL / MN F MN N / SICIL , warrior, holding shield and raising up fallen figure (or the consul Man. Aquillius raising Sicilia).
Cr. 401/1; RSC Aquillia 2; BMC 3364.

Thank you! Nice example. Of course I meant "slave revolt in Sicily," not Italy; I don't know why I mis-typed that.

[DonnaML]

I'm still curious: does anyone buy the theory that the arrangement of the stars on the reverse of the Mn. Aquillius denarius was intended to evoke the shape of the constellation Aquila? I know that puns, particularly on the moneyer's gens, were rather common on Roman Republican coinage. I'm just not entirely sure that I see the "T" or eagle shape here, what with the horses in between the three stars at the top and the one on the bottom. 

[Al Kowsky]

19 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

I'm still curious: does anyone buy the theory that the arrangement of the stars on the reverse of the Mn. Aquillius denarius was intended to evoke the shape of the constellation Aquila? I know that puns, particularly on the moneyer's gens, were rather common on Roman Republican coinage. I'm just not entirely sure that I see the "T" or eagle shape here, what with the horses in between the three stars at the top and the one on the bottom. 

The 4 stars symbolizing the constellation Aquila seems logical 🤔.

[Curtisimo]

I think the importance of puns in influencing the choice of ancient coins types is heavily undervalued in modern numismatic study.

When we think of how obscure some of the references we can recognize on Republican coins are, I don’t think a reading of a constellation in this context is outlandish. Is such a thing really more obscure than… a statue that may have stood at the crossroads of an aqueduct my ancestor built centuries ago… or a voting tablet because someone in my family was involved in a trial 70 years ago? I think the suggestion is interesting and makes the coin more interesting too.

Nice additions! 🙂 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Curtisimo

[Marsyas Mike]

@DonnaMLyour write-ups are spectacular (the coins too).  Thank you again for sharing them and keep up the fine work.  

So I can't contribute exactly, but here is Vespasian with some oxen, apparently imitating Republican types - I have three of them in various degrees of decreptitude: