Leu Numismatik AG
Auction 1 25 Oct 2017
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MYSIA. Pergamum. Geta, 209-211. Medallion (Bronze, 44 mm, 48.61 g, 12 h), Menogenes the Younger, strategos. AYTOKPA•KAI•ΠΟΠΛIOC•CЄΠTI ΓЄTAC• Laureate and cuirassed bust of Geta to right, cuirass decorated with gorgoneion. Rev. ЄΠI CTP MHNOΓЄNOYC B NЄOY•ΠЄPΓAMH/NΩN / B NЄOKOPΩ/N Geta on horseback to right, preparing to spear bound fleeing Parthian captive, wearing Phrygian helmet and looking back; below horse, oval shield. SNG Copenhagen -. SNG Leypold -. SNG Paris 2217 var. (same obverse die, but with the Parthian lying left instead of running right. This coin is heavily tooled, and misattributed to Caracalla). SNG von Aulock -. Tkalec (2001), 320 = CNG 88 (2011), 883 (same obverse die). Very rare. A bold and impressive medallion of magnificent style. Light porosity, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.
The name and epithet of the magistrate, given as ЄΠI CTP MHNOΓЄNOYC B NЄOY on the reverse of this impressive medallion, leave some room for interpretation. Clearly it was struck under the strategy of Menogenes, but what are we to make of the B = 2 and the unusual epithet NЄOY, 'the Younger'? The most obvious solution would be to relate the B to the strategy, despite its odd placement, and thus read the line as 'under the second strategy of Menogenes the Younger' - as opposed to an eponymous ancestor of the magistrate who was known in the city as 'Menogenes the Elder'. It is possible, however, to make an alternate reading. We know from both numismatic evidence and inscriptions that Menogenes was not a rare name in Pergamum, and that citizens bearing this name had played an important role in the Polis administration before: a coin of Tiberius (RPC I 2368), for example, names a Menogenes, while an fragmentary inscription found in the Asklepieion (IvP III 153, tentatively dated by the editor to the time of Hadrian) mentions a βʹ τοῦ Μηνογένους. According to the editor of the inscription, the B here is a tally of eponymous family members, and belongs to a family who followed the Greek habit of naming first-born sons after their grandfathers. It should therefore be translated as 'of Menogenes, grandson [of Menogenes]'. If this is true, the reverse legend of our coin would translate as 'under the strategy of Menogenes the Younger, grandson [of Menogenes]'. It is tempting to identify this Menogenes as the one mentioned in the inscription from the Asklepieion, but this habit in naming most likely extended across many generations and families. There might have been, in fact, more than one 'Menogenes the Younger' in Pergamum.
The name and epithet of the magistrate, given as ЄΠI CTP MHNOΓЄNOYC B NЄOY on the reverse of this impressive medallion, leave some room for interpretation. Clearly it was struck under the strategy of Menogenes, but what are we to make of the B = 2 and the unusual epithet NЄOY, 'the Younger'? The most obvious solution would be to relate the B to the strategy, despite its odd placement, and thus read the line as 'under the second strategy of Menogenes the Younger' - as opposed to an eponymous ancestor of the magistrate who was known in the city as 'Menogenes the Elder'. It is possible, however, to make an alternate reading. We know from both numismatic evidence and inscriptions that Menogenes was not a rare name in Pergamum, and that citizens bearing this name had played an important role in the Polis administration before: a coin of Tiberius (RPC I 2368), for example, names a Menogenes, while an fragmentary inscription found in the Asklepieion (IvP III 153, tentatively dated by the editor to the time of Hadrian) mentions a βʹ τοῦ Μηνογένους. According to the editor of the inscription, the B here is a tally of eponymous family members, and belongs to a family who followed the Greek habit of naming first-born sons after their grandfathers. It should therefore be translated as 'of Menogenes, grandson [of Menogenes]'. If this is true, the reverse legend of our coin would translate as 'under the strategy of Menogenes the Younger, grandson [of Menogenes]'. It is tempting to identify this Menogenes as the one mentioned in the inscription from the Asklepieion, but this habit in naming most likely extended across many generations and families. There might have been, in fact, more than one 'Menogenes the Younger' in Pergamum.