Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 490 21 Apr 2021
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Gaius Mitreius L.f., magister iuventutis. 1st century AD. Gilt Æ Tessera (19mm, 3.86 g, 12h). C MITREIVS L F MAG IVVE(NT), bare head of Mitreius right; cornucopia(?) below / Two story building (basilica?), each with five columns on each floor; between floors, L SEXTILI S P; in exergue, incised VI. Rowan, Ashmolean p. 102, 1b. Brown patina, significant gilding remaining. VF. Extremely rare – only seven known, with only one incised VI.
From the Peter J. Merani Collection. Ex Frank Kovacs MBS XV (1 October 2003), lot 304.
Mitreius is named on this token as a magister of one of the Roman youth organizations known as the iuvenes. The exact function of these organizations is uncertain, but they appear to have been social clubs, and to have periodically put on games or banquets, for which these tokens may have been used. Die links of Mitreius's obverse type to the "numeral" and "erotic" series of tesserae suggests that, at the very least, all three were produced at the same location, with the pssibility that Mitreius himself was responsible for the lot.
Mitreius's tokens are all exceedingly rare, with only one example recorded with the numeral 'VI' on the reverse. That piece was illustrated in a pre-1764 catalog, A collection of the Spintrian medals of Tiberius, now known to have belonged to Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804). His tesserae were acquired by the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum, which presently contains an example incised 'X.' It appears that this was the token illustrated in Tiepolo's catalog, with the incorrect numeral drawn by the artist. Accordingly, the present example would be the first and only known with the numeral VI.
Our thanks to Dr. Katherine Iselin for providing the information on the Tiepolo specimen.
From the Peter J. Merani Collection. Ex Frank Kovacs MBS XV (1 October 2003), lot 304.
Mitreius is named on this token as a magister of one of the Roman youth organizations known as the iuvenes. The exact function of these organizations is uncertain, but they appear to have been social clubs, and to have periodically put on games or banquets, for which these tokens may have been used. Die links of Mitreius's obverse type to the "numeral" and "erotic" series of tesserae suggests that, at the very least, all three were produced at the same location, with the pssibility that Mitreius himself was responsible for the lot.
Mitreius's tokens are all exceedingly rare, with only one example recorded with the numeral 'VI' on the reverse. That piece was illustrated in a pre-1764 catalog, A collection of the Spintrian medals of Tiberius, now known to have belonged to Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804). His tesserae were acquired by the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum, which presently contains an example incised 'X.' It appears that this was the token illustrated in Tiepolo's catalog, with the incorrect numeral drawn by the artist. Accordingly, the present example would be the first and only known with the numeral VI.
Our thanks to Dr. Katherine Iselin for providing the information on the Tiepolo specimen.