Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 58 27 Apr 2021
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Ancient Coins, Roman Republic, anonymous (struck after c. 211 BC), Æ, laur. janiform head, I above, rev. prow r., I above, ROMA below, wt. 38.09gms., 6h (Cr.56/2; Syd.143; RBW.200), dark green patina, about very fine
Coming from the Latin words januae (doorways) and jani (archways), Janus was the animistic spirt of beginnings and transitions. The Romans were a rather suspicious people, particularly when it came to spirts and magic, which were thought to manifest in places of change or 'limbo' such as doorways and crossroads. Here Janus is shown with two heads, but he occasionally takes the form of a four headed bust, representing the spirt of a four-way arch. The most prominent janus within Rome was the Janus Geminus, a shrine with two sets of doors. The historian Livy recalled that the doors were to be opened in times of war and closed when Rome was at peace, infamously, the doors were shut only twice in 600 years.
Coming from the Latin words januae (doorways) and jani (archways), Janus was the animistic spirt of beginnings and transitions. The Romans were a rather suspicious people, particularly when it came to spirts and magic, which were thought to manifest in places of change or 'limbo' such as doorways and crossroads. Here Janus is shown with two heads, but he occasionally takes the form of a four headed bust, representing the spirt of a four-way arch. The most prominent janus within Rome was the Janus Geminus, a shrine with two sets of doors. The historian Livy recalled that the doors were to be opened in times of war and closed when Rome was at peace, infamously, the doors were shut only twice in 600 years.