I recently purchased a large (250-coin) lot from the last Triskeles lot to try my luck at flipping it. I did of course cherrypick a little bit, and after not much luck of selling it piecemeal via Facebook, I dumped it all back together to put on
ebay.
I was in the middle of taking photos when I saw this coin and had an epiphany!
Augustus
AE19 of Berytus, Phoenicia
P Quinctilius Varus, Legate
IMP CAESAR AVGVSTV, Bare head of Augustus right
P QVINTILVS VRVS around two Aquiliae (Legionary standards)
Minted 6-4 BC
Born in about 46 BC to a distinguished but poor family in Rome, Quinctilius Varus' early life and rise to power are somewhat unclear. His father, Sextus Varus, was on the losing side of Caesar's civil war, may have been one of the senators involved in his assassination, and ultimately took his own life after his defeat at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. Little detail survives of Quinctilius Varus, but he seems to have found favor with Augustus, as he received Agrippa's daughter Vipsania Marcella Aggripina's hand in marriage in 13 BC and delivered his stepfather's eulogy the following year.
Varus served as governor of Africa from 8-7 BC, and thereafter was granted the governorship of Syria from 6-4 BC. During this time, he achieved notoriety for his harsh treatment of his subjects, particularly in crucifying 2,000 Jews as punishment for riots after the death of Herod the Great. After this, he returned to Rome to live the good life for the next decade.
Following the successful campaigns in Germania by Tiberius, Drusus, Ahenobarbus, and Germanicus, Augustus created the new province of Germania and sent Varus to be its governor in 7 AD. The facade of a pacified Germany began to crumble, as a Germanic prince and supposed ally, Arminus, delivered news of a growing rebellion over the Rhine. In September 9, Varus along with the XVII, XVIII and XIX legions crossed over the Rhine to make a show of force and scare the barbarians back into compliance. Expecting no resistance, Varus did not keep his troops ready for battle, and chose the quicker route rather than the more defensible one. While marching his legions in a thin line several miles long through swampy terrain in the Teutoburg Forest, the Romans were ambushed in a surprise attack. Despite capable leadership, the troops were largely inexperienced fighting Germans, and after three days of fighting, the Romans were almost totally annihilated - the vast majority killed, some captured, and only a handful escaped back to Roman territory. In the final stages of the battle, Quinctilius Varus fell on his own sword. The victorious Germans cut off his head and sent it back to Rome with news of his defeat. The three Aquiliae of the lost legions were kept by the Germans along with the other booty from the defeated Romans. This defeat was the greatest catastrophe of the early Empire, and it is said that Augustus utterly lost composure when he received the news, tearing at his hair and clothes and screamed "Quintili Vare, legiones redde!" - "Quinctillus Varus, Give me back my Legions!" This set the stage for Germanicus' famous German campaign a decade later, in which two of the three lost Aquiliae were recovered; the third not being found until the reign of Claudius. All three standards were kept in the temple of Mars Ultor, possibly until the fall of Rome at the hands of the Goths over 400 years later. The legion numbers XVII XVIII and XIX were retired permanently.
Four types and one series of countermark have been attributed to Varus:
- An extremely rare portrait issue from his tenure as governor of Africa (A high 4 to low 5-digit coin!)
https://www.cNGCoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=122119- An equally rare bronze from Achulla, also featuring his portrait along with Augustus, Gaius, and Lucius (A testament to how highly this man was regarded!)
https://www.cNGCoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=355683- This issue under Augustus from Berytus
(A better, more legible example)
https://www.cNGCoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=236837- A pseudo-autonomous issue of Antioch, bearing the date when Varus was proconsul
https://www.cNGCoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=345658- A VAR ligate countermark on issues of Augustus, mostly on Lugdunum bronzes
https://www.cNGCoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=67884
Posted 08/07/2019 1:36 pm
