A Coin from Hell, or sort of...

[kirispupis]

Moesia Inferior, Nikopolis ad Istrum

Gordian III 238-244 CE

Sabinus Modestus, legatus Augusti pro praetore.

Æ 29mm, 12,67g

Obv: ΑΥΤ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ ΑΥΓ. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right

Rev: ΥΠ ϹΑΒ ΜΟΔЄϹΤΟΥ ΝΙΚΟΠΟΛЄΙΤΩΝ ΠΡΟϹ ΙϹΤΡΟ. Serapis seated left, extending arm over Cerberus, and holding sceptre

RPC VII.2 1300; AMNG 2046

 

I must admit that I purchased this coin to complete my "12 gods of Olympus" collection, which it didn't, and because it's an extremely rare depiction of Hades and Kerberos, which it technically isn't.

This is actually a depiction of Serapis, a deity "invented" by Ptolemy I to combine the Egyptian Apis with the Greek Hades. The two were very similarly depicted, but Serapis wore a little hat called a "modius", so called because it resembles a jar used for measurement.

Serapis and Hades were both basically rulers of the underworld, but Serapis was a bit "friendlier" in promoting fertility and the afterlife, and thus he was a bit less scary to worship. In fact, temples to Serapis eventually spread throughout the Roman Empire, and evidently hit Nicopolis ad Istrum too, where this coin was minted.

In terms of finishing my "12 gods of Olympus" collection, neither Hades nor Serapis numbered among them because neither lived on Olympus, duh! On the positive side, I hadn't realized I'd already completed that collection when I added an image of Vulcan.

Still, I really love the image, and whether you see the throned subject as Hades or Serapis, you have to sympathize for him. First, he was a dog owner, and not only that - he had a special needs dog.

Think about the travails of owning a three-headed dog. What happened if three squirrels ran in different directions? That could be seriously disconcerting, and must have required significant care and diligence in the owner. Clearly Hades couldn't have been that bad of a guy, though he may have been a bummer at parties.

Another interesting aspect of this coin is it continues a common practice at Nicopolis ad Istrum of minting coins based on statues. In this case, it's a well-known statue of Serapis sculpted in the 3rd century BCE by Bryaxis. We don't believe to have the original, but numerous copies are in museums and no doubt one was used as the model for this coin.

Bryaxis is most known for creating the sculptures on the north side of the mausoleum of Maussollos at Halikarnassos, one of the ancient seven wonders of the world. Queen Artemisia II comissioned the four greatest sculptors of the time (the others being Leochares, Scopas, and Timotheos) to each carve one side. He also carved a bronze statue of Seleukos Nikator, five statues at Rhodes, and a statue of Apollo at Daphne at Antioch. Some scholars, however, do not believe Bryaxis carved the Serapis statue at Alexandria that this coin copies, but I'm going to ignore that research because it makes my story less interesting.

Some sculptures from the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos have been found, but we don't know which side they adorned, and thus which sculptor created them. The Statue of Serapis at Alexandria has not survived. The temple was destroyed in 391 CE by Emperor Theodosius I, though some substructures and a column remain. At the time this coin was minted, though, the temple and presumably the statue were still standing.
 

Please post your own coins of Serapis or Hades!

[Ryro]

Huge coingrats on a stunning coin! 

I have a couple from Alexandria, Egypt, with Serapis and the 3 headed hell hound.

Egypt, Alexandria AE Drachm (Bronze, 23.98g, 33mm) Antoninus Pius (138-161)Alexandria RY 12 = 148/9 AD.

Obv: AVT K • T AIΛ A∆P •ΑΝΤѠΝΙΝΟC ЄVCЄB •, Laureate head of Antoninus Pius to right.

Rev: L / ΔѠΔЄΚΑΤO, Serapis seated left, pointing to Cerberus seated at feet and holding scepter, within distyle temple with large globe in pediment.

Reference: Dattari (Savio) 3058; RPC IV.4 Online temp. 13643

As you'd alluded, though different in name and context, multiple gods could fill the need for a specific branch of divinity, such as ruler of the dead. And plenty would've seen just that person on your spectacular coins reverse. 

 

 

[shanxi]

One from Pergamon:

Antoninus Pius
Pergamon, Mysia
Magistrate Quartos (strategos for the second time)
AE 21, c. AD 144-158
Obv.: ΑV ΤΙ ΑΙ ΑΔΡ ΑΝΤΩΝƐΙΝΟС, laureate head of Antoninus Pius, r.
Rev.: ƐΠΙ СΤΡ ΚοVΑΡΤοV ΤΟ Β ΠƐΡΓΑ, Serapis seated left, extending arm over Cerberus, holding long sceptre
AE, 7.23g, 21mm
Ref.: RPC IV 3195, Weisser 610, BMC 281, Cop 484

Edited Friday at 10:19 AM by shanxi

[JayAg47]

Serapis-Agathodaemon

[Roman Collector]

I have quite a few depicting Serapis, mostly Roman provincial issues, but none with Cerberus. Here's a Roman Imperial issue.

Caracalla, 198-217 CE.
Roman AR denarius, 2.9g, 19mm, 6h.
Rome, issue 10, 217 CE.
Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, laureate head right.
Rev: P M TRP XX COS IIII PP; Serapis, wearing polos on head, standing facing, head left, holding wreath and scepter.
Refs: RIC 289c; BMCRE 188; Cohen/RSC 382; RCV 6846; Hill 1586.

[CPK]

Great coin @kirispupis!

[Alegandron]

Great job completing the set @kirispupis

I want a three-headed dog!

RI 
Didumenian and Macrinus 
217-218 CE 
AE28 
Markianopolis mint 
Serapis modius
 

RI Maximinus II Daia 305-308 CE Folles AE 26mm Trier mint GENIO POPV-LI Genius-Serapis Modius on head standing RIC VI Treveri 667b

[expat]

Even though it was not what you thought, still a very nice coin @kirispupis

I have an Alexandrian issue of Elagabalus with Sereapis reverse, sadly not a three headed dog in sight.

RPC Volume: VI №: 10032 (temporary)
Reign: Elagabalus Persons: Elagabalus (Augustus)
City: Alexandria  Region: Egypt Province: Egypt
Denomination: Tetradrachm Average weight: 12.63 g. Issue: L B = 2 (218/9)
Obverse: Α ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΜΑ ΑΥΡ ΑΝΤωΝΙΝΟϹ ΕΥϹΕΒ; laureate head of Elagabalus, right
Reverse: L Β; Sarapis bust right, draped and wearing kalathos. 23mm, 11.64g.
Reference: D 4137, Ο 2757, Geissen 2313, E 2952 (2)

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Serapis Head held by Genius. Maximinus Daia struck at Alexandria

[catadc]

@kirispupis your "12 gods of Olympus" collection does not have a separate section on your website, right?

[-monolith-]

Not a coin of Serapis or Hades, but definitely a coin from hell. Even the Lot number is evil.

Barbarous Imitating Tetricus I

 

[Heliodromus]

12 hours ago, kirispupis said:

Serapis seated left, extending arm over Cerberus

Cool type, but tbh it looks more like a turkey flapping it's wings than Cerberus!

 

Edited Friday at 06:21 PM by Heliodromus

[kirispupis]

3 hours ago, catadc said:

@kirispupis your "12 gods of Olympus" collection does not have a separate section on your website, right?

No, because I couldn't decide on the parameters that define it.

However, when I add support for coin tags it will be easy to see coins with different deities.

[Hughie Dwyer]

Only one Serapis from me:

 

[Shea19]

That’s a beauty, love the Cerberus!  Here is my favorite coin with Serapis:
 

Commodus, Alexandria, BI Tetradrachm,(24.2mm., 10.19g), circa 183-185 (RY 24 of Marcus Aurelius), Laureate head of Commodus right/ Rev. Commodus, in priestly attire, standing left before bust of Serapis set on low cippus, sacrificing and dropping incense over lighted altar, L-K-Δ. RPC Online 16005 (this coin), Dattari-Savio Pl. 207, 9553 (this coin)
From the Dattari Collection

[DonnaML]

I have many coins depicting Serapis, but here's my only one also showing Cerberus:

Hadrian, Billon Tetradrachm, Year 18 (133/134 AD), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from rear, ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙϹ ΤΡΑΙΑΝ - ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ / Rev. Serapis [associated with Hades] seated left on high-backed throne, crowned with modius, wearing himation, holding scepter in left hand, and extending right hand downwards toward Cerberus/Kerberos seated to left at his feet; L IH [= Year 18] in left field. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. III 5871 (2015); RPC III Online at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/5871; BMC 16 Alexandria 620-621 at p. 74 & PL. XIII; Dattari (Savio) 1480 [Savio, A. ed., Catalogo completo della collezione Dattari Numi Augg. Alexandrini (Trieste, 2007)]; Emmett 892.1; Milne 1394 at p. 34; K&G 32.571 [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria (2008)]. 25 mm., 12.42 g., 12 h.

[Qcumbor]

Two Serapis .... plus Serapis head 🙂 

Severus Alexander, tetradrachm - Emmett # 3134/5

 

Postumus, antoninianus - RCV # 10992

 

Maximinus II, follis - RIC VI Alexandria # 160b

Q