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Anniversary of Cannae


Octavius

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August 2nd is the anniversary of the battle of Cannae in 216 BCE. This was one of the worst defeats suffered by any Roman army. After terrible losses to Hannibal at Trebia, and again at Lake Trassimeno, during the second Punic war, Rome was again crushed at Cannae and lost about 60,000 troops. Surrender was never considered. Rome went on to eventually win the war against Carthage , and her nemesis, Hannibal , subsequently committed suicide. Countless thousands of lives were lost on both sides.

post any coins you feel appropriate to remember this event...

Roman uncia C.218 BCE...

Hi4Q99gN8T5kw33EFy74xQd28csMGK.jpg.5e78f06b46507074fea53f2ceff7c73d.jpg

Fd3xp7cSTa6b5PoWzgX8D4jmkGa9ZK.jpg.bca49c17b0dfea74f3608717a5e64806.jpg

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That is an anniversary to celebrate! Glad you made the post. (It was almost 20 years after the Battle of Zama, though, when Hannibal finally committed suicide, right? After joining up with the Seleucids and bouncing all around the East, finally being tracked down and cornered again by the Romans, then killing himself?)

I have very little Roman coinage from that early. I'd love to have some more, just not knowledgeable enough yet to be successful. But I do have some 2nd Punic War relevant coins.

My "Scipio section":

Top Left: The Cn. Blasio Cn.f. Denarius, c. 112-111 BCE, is thought by many to portray Scipio Africanus (or Scipio as Mars) about 70 years after his death;
Top Right: Little AE from Carthago Nova struck around the end of the 2nd Punic War or right after, when Scipio had taken the city. Many argue it's a lifetime portrait. (Horse head reverse.) There were also larger module versions struck for a brief period.
Bottom: Denarius of his descendant, Q Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio, struck 47-46 BCE. It's surely responding to Julius Caesar's famous elephant denarius of 49 (Scipio was a Pompeian, as beautifully dramatized on HBO's Rome !), but I think it's a reasonable assumption he is simultaneously invoking his own storied family connection to the Scipio who defeated Hannibal, the most revered pedigree in Roman history.

Timage.jpeg.704dc7c11a3d3b1586d107253fb54206.jpeg

 

-- EDITED ONE OUT WHILE COMPARING AGAINST KNOWN FAKES (THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP) --
Don't want to accuse an auction house of selling a fake publicly before I double-check myself, but send me a message if anyone wants a link to the ACSearch records. It's a 1/4 Shekel of the Melqart with Club / Elephant type.

 

The Hannibal Side:Below, Carthago Nova dated roughly to the 2nd Punic War. People have debated for a long time whether type coin has the features of Hannibal or another Barcid (Robinson [1956] vs. Villaronga [1973] and their successors) or is just plain Melkary. I try to remain agnostic, but personally, I think the features do resemble the few surviving busts of Hannibal.

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Greek World (Hellenistic). Spain under Carthage AR Shekel (13x22mm, 4.10g, 11h). Carthago Nova, temp. Barcids, ca. 237-209 BCE.
Obv: Male head left (bare head of Melqart w/ features of Hannibal?); dotted border.
Rev: Horse standing right, palm tree in background; ground line, linear border.
Ref:
MHC 131–65 (unlisted dies); ACIP 603.
Prov: Ex B. G. Collection, prev. CNG 88 (14 Sep 2011), Lot 2.

Edited by Curtis JJ
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That's a lovely boardwalk flan uncia, @Octavius!  And quite the bloody anniversary... 😬

Here are my quarter shekel and AE unit from Carthago Nova with the alleged portraits of Hannibal and Scipio:

image.jpeg.9768b9d7ecd227756763e1f4f75d2f2b.jpeg

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Whether or not that's accurate (I tend to agree that the first at least has the facial features of the Barcid family, I'm more doubtful of the second) they were certainly issued around the time that the Romans and Carthagineans were duking it out in Spain.

Here's a war issue "AE shekel" from the Carthage mint, caduceus behind the horse (why? I'd like to know - it's SNG Cop. 327):

image.jpeg.cb21b2e4f6e8f0abebcd90caf11fee7e.jpeg

And finally here's a triens associated with a battle in which the Romans did somewhat better, the Battle of Canusium.  It's thought these coins were minted in that city around the time it was fought, in which Marcellus faced Hannibal for three days, sustaining heavy losses in the second two but also inflicting heavy casualties on the third.  So a loss overall.. but not as bad as Cannae at least!

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(These coins are virtually all overstruck on bronzes that were likely captured during the raids of Marcus Valerius Laevinus on the Greek coast during the First Macedonian War which took place right smack-dab in the middle of the Second Punic War.  The Romans were a bit busy.)

 

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I am reading this book as we post. Highly recommend.

image.jpeg.132e53cfab01c346120251126dab1fe1.jpeg

The Roman Republic during its Darkest Hours...

Evolution of the 2nd Punic War CRISIS in a same Coin type


1) Around the Time of Cannae - SILVER

[IMG]
RR Anon AR Heavy Denarius -Quadrigatus - Didrachm 225-215 BCE Incuse Roma Janus Jupiter Cr 28-3 S 31


2) As Hannibal Ravages Italia and the Roman Armies - Less Silver

[IMG]
RR Anon AR Heavy Denarius Quadrigatus Didrachm 215-213 Janus Roma Relief tablet S 32 Cr 28-3

3) Nadir of the Republic - Scarcity of Resources - FEAR - Billon

[IMG]
RR 225-214 BCE Anon BILLON Heavy Denarius Quadrigatus-Janus Didrachm Janus-Jupiter galloping quadriga r 18.2mm 4-1g Cr 28-3 S 33


Suddenly, the Nadir was over... a turn in History that enabled the Romans to prevail and go on and flourish!

upload_2021-12-12_0-27-18.png
RR 
Anon 
AR denarius 
Roma 211-206 BCE 
ROMA 
incuse Dioscuri single horn-helmet 
Sear-- Craw 68-1b

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3 hours ago, Alegandron said:

I am reading this book as we post. Highly recommend.

image.jpeg.132e53cfab01c346120251126dab1fe1.jpeg

The Roman Republic during its Darkest Hours...

Evolution of the 2nd Punic War CRISIS in a same Coin type


1) Around the Time of Cannae - SILVER

[IMG]
RR Anon AR Heavy Denarius -Quadrigatus - Didrachm 225-215 BCE Incuse Roma Janus Jupiter Cr 28-3 S 31


2) As Hannibal Ravages Italia and the Roman Armies - Less Silver

[IMG]
RR Anon AR Heavy Denarius Quadrigatus Didrachm 215-213 Janus Roma Relief tablet S 32 Cr 28-3

3) Nadir of the Republic - Scarcity of Resources - FEAR - Billon

[IMG]
RR 225-214 BCE Anon BILLON Heavy Denarius Quadrigatus-Janus Didrachm Janus-Jupiter galloping quadriga r 18.2mm 4-1g Cr 28-3 S 33


Suddenly, the Nadir was over... a turn in History that enabled the Romans to prevail and go on and flourish!

upload_2021-12-12_0-27-18.png
RR 
Anon 
AR denarius 
Roma 211-206 BCE 
ROMA 
incuse Dioscuri single horn-helmet 
Sear-- Craw 68-1b

          Just took your advice and ordered the book on Amazon. I've never been disappointed with Goldsworty's works.

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On 8/7/2022 at 7:19 PM, Octavius said:

          Just took your advice and ordered the book on Amazon. I've never been disappointed with Goldsworty's works.

I have read others from him. This one is also well done.  Am thoroughly enjoying the book. 🙂

Enjoy!

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