TEMPLES ON ANCIENT COINS

Two of the most common circulating American coins depict buildings modeled on Greco-Roman temples: the Lincoln Memorial on the cent, and Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's elegant domed residence, on the nickel. Coinage is conservative! Temples of many different deities adorn the reverses of hundreds of ancient coin types, and collectors have eagerly sought the finest and most historic specimens for centuries. By one estimate, over a thousand different ancient buildings are depicted on coins, and, in many cases, the coins are the only evidence for how the structures appeared (Price and Trell, 11).

To understand descriptions of ancient temples found in coin catalogs, it's helpful to know some terminology.

Temples are categorized by the number of columns visible on the front. A tetrastyle temple has four columns, a hexastyle has six, a decastyle has 10, and so on. The pediment is the triangular panel, often filled with sculpture, above the columns. An architrave is the main beam that rests across the top of the columns. A lintel is the beam above a doorway.

Jupiter

The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (Jupiter Best and Greatest) on Rome's Capitoline Hill was one of the oldest and most important structures in the city. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly destroyed by fire and rebuilt. The temple appears on the reverse of a denarius issued in 41 BCE by the moneyer Petilius Capitolinus. The obverse bears Jupiter's emblem: an eagle grasping a thunderbolt.

More than a century later (76 CE), this temple appears in greater detail on the reverse of a large bronze sestertius of the emperor Vespasian. Between the central columns, we see a statue of Jupiter enthroned, flanked by standing figures of goddesses Juno and Minerva.

To read the complete article, see:
Temples on Ancient Coins (https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/temples-on-ancient-coins/)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web