As the king of the gods, Jupiter is commonly portrayed on coins of Roman emperors, usually when asking for victory or assistance. The most common animal associated with him was the eagle, but given the common portrayal of the animals on the "Zoo" coins, the eagle would likely have made this resemble the "Consecratio" issues of other emperors. Unless you looked close, you would have thought the coin was declaring the emperor dead! Instead the goat was used, a reference to the goat Amalthea which was associated with the infant Jupiter/Zeus.

According to this myth, Jupiter was fed goat's milk by a nymph named Amalthea. Other versions don't include the nymph, and have Jupiter suckling from a goat named Amalthea. Representations on other coins sometimes have the baby Jupiter holding Amalthea's horn - this refers to him breaking off one horn and endowing it with the power to become filled with whatever the bearer might wish - this is the origin of the cornucopia.

The Celator recently had an excellent article by Dr. John Twente, expressing doubt as to the "goat" attribution of these coins, arguing in favor of the European Elk. Please see my Jupiter goat/elk page for more information, and my opinions on this issue.

In spite of the rather low number of these coins in the Cunetio Hoard, the Jupiter coins in this series are quite commonly seen in catalogues today. There are large differences in style found, especially in the depiction of the horns. Also, some show a very shaggy, wooly coat while others show a simpler smooth coat.

If you have an comments, questions, or corrections, please email me.
All coins from the author's collection. Not a commercial site, these coins are not for sale.