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Even before the Roman Empire fractured politically from West to East, it grappled with a more profound disseverance: the transition from paganism to the adoption of Christianity as the official State religion. This remarkable progression is vividly evidenced on Rome's coinage. By the time this small bronze was struck in Rome in the late 4th century AD, the ancient gods had all but disappeared from imperial issues, their iconography yielding to the Christian Chi-Rho. Yet, every year on March 5th, the capital remembered its pluralistic foundations. Standing as a quiet testament to a disappearing world, this coin belongs to a rare category of "Festival of Isis" issues — anonymous bronze tokens that bypassed the heavy-handed imperial propaganda of the day to unapologetically celebrate the ancient, mysterious cults of Egypt.
As the emperors of the mid-to-late 4th century AD aggressively enforced monotheism, they faced a stark, pragmatic reality: theological purity could not feed the masses. For centuries, the survival of the capital had depended on massive grain fleets arriving from Egypt, a logistical marvel inextricably tied to the
Navigium Isidis. This ancient spring festival honored the goddess Isis as the patroness of navigation, officially marking the opening of the Mediterranean sailing season and blessing the merchant ships. Fearing riots and starvation if the vital grain shipments were delayed, Christian emperors essentially looked the other way, tolerating this blatantly pagan celebration out of sheer economic necessity.
This pragmatic loophole provided a golden opportunity for the traditionalist elite. Wealthy, aristocratic families in the Roman Senate — fiercely resistant to the death of the old gods — heavily funded the
Navigium Isidis and sponsored the striking of special, anonymous festival coins to be distributed among the public. Free from the rigid, militaristic propaganda mandated by the state, the engravers commissioned for these festival issues finally had a moment of true artistic freedom. One can easily imagine these craftsmen enthusiastically carving exotic deities onto small bronze tokens, reminiscing about the classical days of old while quietly keeping the ancient traditions alive.
This remarkable bronze is a surviving relic of that quiet cultural rebellion. The obverse features the draped bust of Isis wearing an elaborate Egyptian hem-hem crown, encircled by the legend VOTA P VBLICA (public vows) to bless the empire's continued prosperity. The reverse presents an incredibly striking depiction of Anubis, the jackal-headed Egyptian deity, holding a traditional musical sistrum and a Roman caduceus. This specific combination identifies him as Hermanubis, a syncretism of Anubis and the Roman god Mercury.
In ancient mythology, Hermanubis served as the quintessential psychopomp — the divine guide tasked with escorting souls to the underworld. Set against the backdrop of Christianity's rise, this imagery takes on a deeply profound irony. Anubis stands ready not just to bless the grain shipments, but to guide the pagan gods themselves back into the primordial Chaos from whence they came.
Coin Details: ROMAN EMPIRE, Anonymous, Festival of Isis coinage, struck circa 350-400 AD, Rome?, BI Nummus (AE4), NGC Grade: Ch VF, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5, Obverse: Bust of Isis? right wearing hem-hem crown, VOTA P VBLICA, Reverse: Anubis standing left holding sistrum right and caduceus left, VOTA P VLICA, References: Vagi 3397 Da reverse type.
Image: Sony ɑ 7R Ⅴ camera / Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS lens.