Compared to when I was in school, relatively few kids today study Latin. Many collectors of Roman coins are not all that comfortable with the language needed to read the legends. This post is a call for coins that actually have Latin grammer on the coins. I'm not asking for a laundry list of titles referring to the emperor but a legend that actually says something even if part of it is abbreviated. In this case, I suggest that those not owning a coin might play by posting a type they would like to own. Extra credit would be awarded for words showing endings spelled out in cases other than nominative. Who can think of such a coin?
My example is actually two coins with a minor variation of the same theme. Issued by Nero to celebrate the end of war across the empire (not something that happens everyday then or now) these asses read:
Top coin:
PACE Populi Romanorum VBIQue PARTA IANVM CLVSIT
Roughly: In honor of peace for the people of Rome being everywhere the doors of Janus are closed.
Underneath is the less common variety where VBIQ (everywhere) is replaced by TERRA MARIQue (at land and sea). This long form is more common on sestertii than on asses where space favored the short form.
As a side note, this coin commemorates a peace almost immediately broken by the revolt of the Jews that caused Nero to send Vespasian to clean up the mess. That included the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and the issue of Vespasian's Judaea Capta coins.
OK, who else knows a coin that shows enough words that your Latin teacher would be happy to know you can read? How about coins with grammar even if not in a complete sentence? Remember, you don't have to own the coin to play.
Posted 09/18/2012 07:18 am
