Q. Pomponius Musa, 56 BC. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 4.07 g, 3 h), Rome. Laureate head of Apollo to right; to left, wreath. Rev. Q•POMPONI / MVSA Polyhymnia, the Muse of divine hymns and sacred poetry, standing facing, wearing long flowing tunic and peplum, her head bound with wreath. Babelon (Pomponia) 15. Crawford 410/10a. RBW -. Sydenham 817. Beautifully toned and of fine style. Very minor marks and the reverse struck slightly off center, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.


This lovely denarius of Q. Pomponius Musa, which shows Polyhymnia on the reverse, the Muse of divine hymns and sacred poetry, is one of the rarer issues of Musa's coinage that depicts the Nine Muses and their leader, Hercules Musagetes. The appearance of the Muses was of course an allusion on the moneyer's name, and while it is not certain, it is believed that their depictions on the coins were copied directly from their statues in the temple in the Circus Flaminius built by M. Fulvius Nobilitor. Since the god Apollo presided over the Muses, his head appears on the obverse of each of the ten types, along with a symbol behind his head that refers to the specific Muse depicted on the reverse (with the exception of the type depicting Hercules, which has the name of the moneyer in place of the symbol). Here the symbol is a laurel wreath, symbolizing the high honor Polyhymnia held as the greatest of all poets. Moreover, Polyhymnia was the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, and was also said to be the mother of the musician Orpheus, fathered by Apollo.