Titus Carisius - Moneta & Mint Implements

Titus Carisius denarius, 45 B.C. - head of Juno Moneta right, one lock of hair falls down her neck; MONETA behind. Rx: T CARISIVS, anvil die with garlanded cap of Vulcan above (some have interpreted it as a die punch), between tongs and hammer, all tools of the mint and the province of The goddess of the mint, Moneta. This particular type refers directly to the office of moneyer; the obverse alludes to the location of the mint, which was adjacent to the temple of Juno Moneta. Again, the reverse depicts the implements used by the mint workers to manufacture coins. This issue ws struck to meet the extreme demand for coinage to pay the veterans of Julius Caesar's quadruple triumph. Often found lightly struck and showing signs of hasty manufacture. Publius Carisius (Carisia, gens) defeated the Astures in Hispania (Cantabrian - Asturian Wars) and took their main town of Lancia (c.25 BC), his cruelty lead to a revolt in 22 B.C. Another of his coin issues identifies him as "triumvir monetalis", or moneyer of the Republic. Good silver, mass is 3.44 g. Sear Vol.1 #447; Crawford 464/2; Sear CRI 70; Sydenham 982; Carisia 1a. VF and better obverse than most, reverse is also well struck. Obverse has two test punches and unusual die error at the ear; edge also exhibits die overlap of obverse over reverse.
One of the most modest coins in the Smithsonian exhibition is a slender silver denarius dating from the year 46 BCE. On the obverse is a portrait of the goddess Juno Moneta, in whose temple money was minted (and whose name is the etymological root of money). The reverse, not visible in the exhibition or on the website, shows the tools used in the minting process – tongs to remove molten metal from the furnace and a hammer to strike a design in it – effectively demystifying the process by which money comes into being. Juno may be supernatural, but making money isn’t magic. More than two millennia after it was struck, the candor of that denarius remains unsurpassed, standing in stark contrast with the cryptic ways of crypto. In our fragile economy, the design brief for future money might begin by requesting money to explain itself. Until that happens, we’ll have to glean what we can from the numismatic galleries of the Smithsonian. [excerpt: Forbes Magazine, on-line, Dec 21, '22, by Jonathon Keats.
Still More from E-Sylum (Dec 10, 2023): Juno Moneta (the Warner) appears on a denarius of the moneyer T. Carisius issued in 46 BCE. Her hair is tied back with ribbons and her epithet MONETA is inscribed behind her head. Not much is known about Titus Carisius. He was a supporter of Julius Caesar who survived the civil wars and was defeated the Astures in Hispania circa 25 BCE but in consequence of his cruelty and insolence, the Astures took up arms again in 22 BC.
This coin is enormously popular with collectors because it is one of the few types that depicts the implements used to strike ancient coins. One the reverse, we see a hammer, an anvil, a pair of tongs used to handle hot blanks, and a decorated rounded object that is usually described as a Vulcan's cap, the leather hat worn by metal workers to keep flying sparks from setting their hair on fire. Some sources describe this object as a garlanded punch die, but this now seems to be a minority opinion.