Caracalla
Interestingly to me, the second coin of the month turned out to be that of Roman Emperor Caracalla 198-211AD with the strange Cista Mystica image. That might sound like the latest pole dancer at your local nudie bar, but it's kind of the old snake in a box trick. Cista is a casket. A common theme for the Greeks from the olden days, also minted in Nicopolis, it represents a mystical snake coming out of a box of jewels or a sacred box. It is rare to find one on a coin and It was bad luck for Caracalla, as he was murdered by his personal body guard a few days after he had killed his brother, Emperor Geta. Mystica is a spiritual communication with God. Snakes rising from the basket would represent God. Cista Mystica was used in the ceremonies of Bacchus by Dionysis , the god of the wine festival depicted here. Things got pretty heated in the good old days, but the festival is still practiced today in a toned down version. You may recall this is the way Cleopatra ended her life. Ref coin Mushmov 1107 coin year 198 , The denomination is assarion, asses pl.
The image of Caracalla is poor on my coin so I enhanced the display by adding a painting of Charon's obol . It is the ritual of placing a coin in a dead persons mouth, or on the eyes, to pay the ferryman to get you to the "other side". A la Johnny Depp "From Hell". It makes you wonder how many coins in today's market originated from grave robbers?
My local ferryman, Eldert Vischer in 1790 gave his name to the village we've lived next to for 36 years. More horsepower in this month's horsepower chapter.
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