435

Roman Empire. Antinous. Oktassarion or quinarius after 130, Æ 37.57g.

Currency:CHF Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Ancient Start Price:5,600.00 CHF Estimated At:7,000.00 CHF
Roman Empire. Antinous. Oktassarion or quinarius after 130, Æ 37.57g.
The sign-up for this auction will close 48 hours before the auction starts. Please make sure you sign up on time. Also, there is NO ABSENTEE BIDDING for this auction. Please plan to bid live during the sale.
The Roman Empire. Antinous, favourite of Hadrian. Oktassarion or quinarius, Mantineia Arcadiae after 130, Æ 37.57g. BE–TOVPIOC Bare head r. Rev. TOIC [AP] KACI Pacing horse r., with l. foreleg raised. Blum 11. BCD Peloponnesus –. Extremely rare. A masterful portrait of fine style and a very attractive untouched light green patina, very fine / fine. Mantineia produced a variety of coins from the 5th through to the 2nd Century B.C. in the form of silver minors and small bronzes. However, during the age of Roman rule it was allowed to issue coins only on two occasions–under the emperor Hadrian in c. A.D. 134/5 to honour his deified companion Antinous, and early in the Severan period, c. A.D. 198-205. The connection between Mantineia and Antinous is described by Pausanius, the Greek travel writer who composed his work soon after the reign of Hadrian: “He has won worship in Mantineia for the following reason. Antinous was by birth from Bithynium beyond the river Sangarius, and the Bithynians are by descent Arcadians of Mantineia. For this reason [Hadrian] established his worship in Mantineia...” (Arcadia IX.7) Pausanius reports that in his day the newest temple in Mantineia was dedicated to Antinous: “...mystic rites are celebrated in his honour each year, and games every four years. There is a building in the gymnasium of Mantineia containing statues of Antinous, and it is remarkable for the stones with which it is adorned, and especially so for its pictures. Most of them are portraits of Antinous, who is made to look just like Dionysus.” (Arcadia IX.7-8) This entire series of coins was sponsored by a wealthy Greek named Veturius who, according to the inscription, “dedicated [this coinage] to the Arcadians”. His ego must have matched his wealth and social standing, for his name BETOYPIOC appears alone on the obverse, surrounding the portrait of Antinous (which in this case bears a strong resemblance to Alexander the Great). Even though the context of the issue would have been known to all, and the portraits of Antinous were distinctive enough to not require an inscription, it is still remarkable that the sponsor's name surrounds the portrait. It is a well-structured series consisting of five denominations. The largest (such as this) was an 8-assaria, with the smaller denominations being 4-assaria, 2-assaria, an assarion and a hemiassarion. Furthermore, the series includes both right- facing and left-facing issues for all denominations, creating what must have been a tempting series to collect for those who attended the festivities of c.134/5 (presumably the first in the sequence of quadrennial games described by Pausanius). Another feature of the series is the reverse type of a standing horse with a front leg raised. The type clearly relates to the worship of Poseidon, for Pausanius states that less than half a mile from Mantineia Hadrian had built a sanctuary and temple dedicated to the Horse Poseidon beside the ruins of the old sanctuary. He notes, also: “...there is, beside the walls of Mantineia, a place where horses race, and not far from it is a race-course, where they celebrate the games in honour of Antinous.” (Arcadia X) The worn state of the reverse and the appearance of the edge lead us to believe that this coin, like many other Antinous coins, was mounted and worn extensively. Otherwise, there would be no explanation for the disparity in wear between the obverse and reverse.